5 Things You Didn’t Know About Beaverton, Oregon

Updated 09/2024.

The well-known city of Beaverton is nestled between the Tualatin Valley farmlands and the West Hills. It is one of Portland’s fastest-growing, thriving suburbs. As of the latest census numbers in 2023, it has a population of 97,494, up from 89,803 in 2010. It’s easy to see why. It is Washington County’s second-largest city with a land mass of 16 square miles, boasting over 100 parks, restaurants, shops, wineries, historic landmarks, and highly recognized corporations, while only seven miles west of Portland.

In 2021, we deemed Beaverton the top Portland suburb, and it regularly shows up on lists of best places to live in the state. We thought we’d look closer to see what makes Beaverton such a unique city. Here’s what we found.

1. Beaverton, Oregon, Wants to Make the World a Better Place

Beaverton ranks high in diversity, having garnered an A grade from Niche.com, ranking it 4 out of 88 suburbs. The city also continues to make strides toward inclusion.

The Beaverton City Council and BURA Board in October 2022 passed the Downtown Equity Strategy to redevelop the city’s downtown area in the interest of racial equity. Stating that Beaverton’s downtown belongs to all residents, public investments and updates will be made to create a space that is “interesting, inviting, and accessible to people of all backgrounds, centering Black, Indigenous and people of color; and in doing so, prevent, minimize, and mitigate involuntary residential and business displacement.” This initiative is a move in the right direction, as Beaverton’s degree of diversity is changing in its schools and workforce.

The city is also a member of the Welcoming America network, a blend of nonprofits and local governments creating welcoming environments for immigrants. In 2018, Beaverton was also the first jurisdiction to join and contribute financially to a research study titled, “Leading with Race: Research Justice in Washington County.”

These aren’t the only ways Beaverton is actively working toward progress and growth. In 2019, the City adopted the Climate Action Plan to fight climate change by becoming carbon neutral by 2030 and reducing Beaverton’s greenhouse gas emission to zero by 2050. This plan is a reaction to the city’s eco-friendly mentality, reflected in its 133 bike paths, and encouraging residents to make cycling a way of life through events like Bike Beaverton.

Deemed a “Green Power Community” by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2007 and maintaining the designation to now, Beaverton is not only conscious of its kilowatt-hours usage, but its local businesses, including housing developers, are also mindful of the impact of our presence on the earth.

Beaverton also proactively encourages residents to participate in climate initiatives through its Beaverton Climate Challenge. The city engages with households, schools, and businesses, helping them reduce carbon initiatives by examining everyday choices and offering low-cost solutions.

2. Beavertonians Have an Excellent Quality of Life

Beaverton is brimming with features that make it a desirable place to live. In addition to the above-mentioned equity initiative and climate action initiatives, the city is full of features that lend to a high quality of life.

Beaverton Parks

As mentioned, Beaverton has over 100 parks within its boundaries. This translates to an abundance of options for outdoor enthusiasts. The Willow Creek Greenway is a 17-acre natural area with a paved trail and a boardwalk running alongside Willow Creek. Moshofsky Woods Natural Area is in the same general area and a prime spot for birding and wildlife watching.

The city continues to finds ways to improve outdoor experiences. La Raí z Park, a new 2-acre greenspace, opened in 2024 along the SW Lombard Ave corridor.

Learn more about all of Beaverton’s parks, trails, and natural areas.

Beaverton Arts

Beaverton loves the arts, and the city’s art market and numerous museums and galleries are a testament to this. A new addition is the Patricia Reser Arts Center for the Arts. It opened in 2022 and seeks to honor the cultures and customs of the city’s diverse community. It creates an environment for connection and understanding between people through the power of the arts.

Beaverton Farmers Market

Like many Oregon cities, Beaverton has a farmers market, but this one is something special. It is the largest all-agricultural market in Oregon and receives 20,000 visitors a week. Since 1988, the market has offered residents and visitors high-quality local produce, plants, honey, and more. The market is also a gathering place where people enjoy prepared foods and connect while listening to local musical acts and art viewings.

Beaverton Food and Wine Scene

Nestled in Tualatin wine country, Beaverton has a foodie scene undergoing massive growth. More than 10 years ago, the city began its plans to build up its Restaurant Row, and with those seeds planted, growth bloomed. 2018 marked a jump in drinking and eating establishments in the city — including familiar names like Afuri Izakaya, Top Burmese, Whole Bowl, Ex Novo Brewing, and BG Food Cartel, home to 31 food trucks. But since 2022, the growth has gone in overdrive. It has a range of gastronomical options that mirror Portland’s foodie scene.

No review of Beaverton is complete without discussing the wine. If you’re in the mood for a quiet tour through the area’s abundant wine country, keep Cooper Mountain Vineyards and Hamacher Wines in mind. Both are within the Beaverton zip code, with several other wineries in nearby surrounding towns.

Beaverton Unique Events

The city hosts a few specially-themed walks annually, like the bubble tea, wine, and beer walks in Old Town for tasty samplings and camaraderie.

Beaverton Night Market features authentic international foods and arts in a variety of forms, including musical acts, to celebrate the growing diversity of the community.

In early fall, Beaverton Restaurant Week is a great way to check out all the downtown eateries with foods explicitly made for the event.

Pride Beaverton is an annual event created to acknowledge, support, and give joy to the city’s LGBTQIA+ community, complete with a parade and entertainment.

Other events include the Mayor’s Ball, Beaverton Arts Mix! Show & Sale, the Beaverton Half Marathon, and Welcoming Week.

Learn more about Downtown Beaverton events.

3. Beaverton has Plenty of Job Opportunities

Considering the fact that Beaverton is located in Oregon’s Silicon Forest, with coveted high-tech employers including Tektronix, Maxim, VTech, Merix, and IBM, as well as Columbia Sportswear and Nike, the largest company in Oregon, the job market here is thriving and strong. And with Oregon set to receive billions of dollars in investment in semiconductors in coming years, employment opportunities are expected to remain strong.

4. Beaverton Is Rich in History

Beaverton has always been a beaver town. The Atfalati tribe were the first residents of the Tualatin Valley and Beaverton area. They were a hunter-gatherer group that got their sustenance more from plants than animals, including food, clothes, housing, and more. They occupied a village on the Fanno and Beaverton creeks called Chakeipi, which meant “place of the beaver.” Early settlers called the village Beaverdam due to the plethora of dams they saw in the area’s bodies of water. Later, the city was named Beaverton.

The first acquired land claim in Beaverton went to Lawrence Hall in 1847. He and his brother built the first grist mill in the area, with many soon to follow, providing support for Oregon’s early agriculture communities. The other early influential industry at the time was logging and wood products, with the first sawmill established in the Beaverton area by Thomas Hicklin Denney and his wife Berrilla in 1849. In 1850, the Portland-Tualatin Valley Plank Road Company set out to build plank roads along Canyon Road between Portland and Hillsboro to accommodate the transportation of agricultural and wood products. Despite financial problems, the construction of the road made it as far as Beaverton by 1860.

Motion pictures came to Beaverton in 1920 with the construction of Premium Picture Productions near Erickson Street. The company employed local residents but went bankrupt in 1925 after making about 15 movies. When the studio closed, the site became an aircraft hangar factory, and Watts Airport was built. For a time, Beaverton was known as a location for home-built airplanes.

But this hasn’t stopped Beaverton from being a popular film location. Some of the more popular movies include:

Into the Wild (2007)
Short Circuit (1996)
Untraceable (2008)
Extraordinary Measures (2010)

One of Beaverton’s long-time companies is Beaverton Foods, owned and operated by the Biggi family and started by Rose Biggi in 1929. They make gourmet condiments and ship across the globe.

Bonus Facts about Beaverton:

Beaverton was the first city in Oregon to have an ice rink dedicated to Curling, earning this distinction in 2013 with the Evergreen Curling Club.
The Beaverton Murray Hill Little League baseball team was the first Little League team in the area in 48 years to make it to the Little League World Series. While they didn’t win their 2006 debut, they still made history by making it as far as they did.
Beaverton has an established sistership with six international cities: Gotenba, Japan; Hsinchu, Taiwan; Cheonan, South Korea; Birobidzhan, Russia; Trossingen, Germany; and Cluses, France.
Beaverton has an ongoing transit improvement project that seeks to help make the city a hub of activity. While the project has hit some roadblocks over the course of its development, it is still ongoing, and the resulting transit overhaul should benefit all Beaverton residents with easier transportation.
Beaverton is home to Evergreen Curling Club, a non-profit sports organization with the only dedicated curling facility in the state of Oregon.

5. Beaverton Real Estate Options are Growing

As a response to Beaverton’s growing population, the South Cooper Mountain Community Plan was proposed in 2018. The entire Cooper Mountain area is comprised of a 1,242-acre urban reserve area sandwiched between a 510-acre area to the north and a 544-acre area to the south, the latter of which was annexed into the city in 2012 and is slated for residential development. Learn more about the Cooper Mountain Project.

Also slated for completion is Meadowlark Place, a six-story, 104-unit senior housing development. Construction will begin in 2025 and is expected to be completed in 2027.

Beaverton’s housing market prices are comparable to Portland’s, with housing prices hovering at a median of $560,700. Beaverton remains a popular place for people to move to, with newcomers making their way to the town from as far-flung as Austin, Texas, though most residents came from Seattle, Washington.

Beaverton offers job prospects on a smaller, more personal scale than Portland, drawing in people from all over the country. Currently, their housing marketing is slightly more competitive than Portland’s, given their quality of life, culture, and business opportunities. For people looking to be close to nature without sacrificing creature comforts or struggling to find a nearby job, Beaverton can be a great option.

If you’re in the market for a home that’s close to the action, without the overwhelming city atmosphere of the Portland housing market, Beaverton is a great place to settle down. Not only can you take advantage of the boons we’ve discussed so far, but you can also invest in a home close to a hundred parks, giving you ample opportunity to explore all of Beaverton. Whether you’re a nature lover or are looking to take advantage of the urban aspects of Beaverton, there’s plenty of reason to move to this incredible city.

Ready to Make Your Move to Beaverton?

If Beaverton sounds like a place you’d love to live, or if you want to relocate within Beaverton, get in touch with our top 1% buyer’s agents or our top 1% seller’s agents. We’ve been helping people buy and sell homes in the Portland metro area for over 20 years, and we’d love to help you find your next home. Chat with the bot on our site, or give us a call today. We can’t wait to show you what Beaverton has to offer!