Portland Neighborhood Reports

Out of Love for Portland

Portland, Oregon is an amazing place with distinct neighborhoods, each with its own attractions and culture. We love our town! As top local real estate agents we enjoy writing about these unique spots, offering relocation tips and providing stats on Portland neighborhoods, their growth, development, schools, and more.

If you’re looking for a full guide on every Portland neighborhood (over 95 of them!) check it out here – The Portland Neighborhood Guide – we help run and support. The neighborhood guide is so extensive, it requires its own site.

If you’re considering buying a home in a Portland neighborhood in the next twelve months, Kami Price, buyers specialist would love to hear what you’re looking for. Call today to set an appointment.

Kami Price, Realtor
Represented Hundreds of Buyers
Licensed since 2004
503-773-0000

If you’re thinking of selling your home in the next twelve months, Stephen would love to tour your home. Call today to set an appointment.

Stephen FitzMaurice, Realtor
4% Max. to Sell a Home
Cancel Anytime Policy
Licensed Since 2003
503-714-1111

Top 10 Portland Neighborhoods in 2023

March 17, 2023

The neighborhoods across Portland have so much to offer – whether you’re visiting from out-of-town or want to buy a home in an area that matches your specific wants and needs. What makes Portland neighborhoods unique is that they each have their own distinct “feel”, shaped by their natural surroundings, local businesses and restaurants, and of course the people who live there. The appeal of some of these neighborhoods is the proximity to nearly everything a resident could want, and often within walking distance, so there’s hardly a need to venture outside the neighborhood for daily necessities. Others are surrounded by natural beauty while also enjoying quick access to downtown. In this article we’ll explore ten desirable Portland neighborhoods based...

Top 10 Portland Neighborhoods – 2022 Report

February 25, 2022

Whether you’re moving to Portland or thinking about it, or whether you’ve lived here for a while, knowing which neighborhoods rank highest is important. Making an investment in a home is one of the biggest any of us makes in our lifetimes, so being informed about what neighborhoods have to offer will go a long way in helping you make your decision. We looked at a variety of features in each Portland neighborhood, including highly rated schools (according to greatschools.com), shops and restaurants, as well as walk, bike, and transit scores. We also explored the history of each neighborhood to see how the past informs the present. 10. Sellwood Neighborhood Portland’s Sellwood neighborhood may not be as trendy as other...

What are the Quietest (and Loudest) Neighborhoods in Portland?

December 27, 2021

Did you notice how quiet life got at the beginning of pandemic? As we all sequestered indoors, traffic decreased—even disappeared in some areas, the din of human voices didn’t mix and mingle with the air waves, and even mass transit met a lull for a short time. But life goes on, and humans find ways to maintain and continue. With the world slowly opening up and/or figuring out how to function in this new normal, noise levels are increasing, as well. Whether you’ve stayed put since the pandemic began, whether you made a move, or whether you’re thinking about making a move now, knowing where to find peace and quiet is important for quality of life. We took a recent...

The Best County in Portland, Oregon is?

August 23, 2021

Portland, Oregon is a sprawling metro sometimes referred to as the tri-county area. Clackamas, Multnomah, and Washington counties are Oregon’s three most populous, and together they hold nearly 2 million people (1.9). Portland proper in contrast has a population of over half a million, and so most of the population in Portland’s metro area is contained within the expansive tri-county area. Let’s meet our contenders to find out which Oregon county is the best in Portland. Multnomah County This county holds the entirety of Portland proper within its borders, but also extends far to the east, nearly all the way to Mt. Hood. Multnomah has the distinction of hosting Portland downtown, the international PDX airport, and has within its borders...

10 New Oregon Homes and Places added to the National Historic Registry

June 14, 2021

For both the history and architecture buffs out there, the National Register of Historic Places constitutes a gold mine of fascinating stories and imagery. Begun in 1966, the Register seeks to preserve and memorialize significant buildings and places across the nation. If your mind goes straight to colonial settlements as you’re reading, you wouldn’t be totally wrong. But the Register includes much more than that. Yes, most sites must meet a minimum age requirement for consideration. But that requirement is only 50 years – meaning, as of right now the 1970’s have entered the building! Therefore, sites from a wide range of eras can attain “historic” status. And beyond age, context matters. The general guiding principle of the Register is...

Top 10 Portland Neighborhoods: 2021 Update

February 26, 2021

Thinking of buying a home in Portland but not sure where to start? Right now is a very strange time to be buying a home. It’s the middle of a pandemic, which makes it much more difficult to get a feel for neighborhoods. When even the concept of indoor dining is at times hypothetical, how do you get a gauge of a neighborhood? But the good news is that means there’s still so much out there to be explored! So to help you in your search for a new home, we’ve gathered up our top ten favorite neighborhoods in Portland right now. If you’re wondering how we decide – well, the thing about neighborhoods is they’re organic. There’s something ineffable...

Is Portland, Oregon Safe? – 2021 Update

February 19, 2021

Is Portland, Oregon Safe? This is a legitimate question and like most good questions it has a nuanced answer. There are parts of Portland that have been hit hard recently, and other neighborhoods that haven’t seen any statistical crime increase. Thankfully, we have exceptional, official Portland Crime Maps provided by the city itself. This crime map is incredibly detailed down to the street level and you can even select what type of crime you’d like to research. You’ll notice the current map is the feature image of this article and downtown Portland is not faring well. Portland Crime Charts 2021 The Portland Police Bureau creates detailed monthly crime charts and makes them available to the general public. Here again, you...

Shhh: Here are Portland’s Quietest Neighborhoods

February 1, 2021

Updated 4/2023. The idea of “home” usually brings to mind a sense of peace: it is ideally a place where we can relax and retreat from the outside world. We imagine entertaining friends outside without being interrupted by annoying sounds or sudden loud noises. Unfortunately though, the noise level of a neighborhood can often go undiscovered until it is too late. If you are getting ready to buy a new home and finding a quiet neighborhood is high on your list of priorities, it is first important to understand how local authorities define “quiet”. According to the Portland Police Bureau, “No excessive noise is allowed in the City of Portland between the hours of 10:00pm and 7:00am.” You can find...

Portland’s MAX Light Rail: Where’s it going in 2020?

August 28, 2020

The MAX (short for Metropolitan Area Express) is the only light rail system in Oregon and the fourth-busiest in the country, after systems in LA, Boston and San Fransisco. The service, run by TriMet, hopes to gain funding to expand MAX service into Tigard and Tualatin in 2020. This year also brings fresh challenges in maintaining ridership and safety. We’ll look at some 2020 updates for the MAX, but first, a little background on the trains that are ubiquitous across Portland. MAX Quick Facts 60 miles of rails run the MAX light rail from Hillsboro to Gresham; Portland Airport to Milwaukie and just about everywhere in between. It has five color-coded lines (blue, green, orange, red, yellow) and 94 stations...

Oregon County Spotlight: Clackamas – Land of Rivers, Mountains, & Trees

August 10, 2020

The Portland metropolitan area (on the Oregon side) spans five counties: Multnomah County, Washington County, Columbia County, Yamhill County and Clackamas County (possibly Columbia as well). In this County Spotlight, we head to Clackamas, where forested wilderness meets picturesque suburbia, and rivers nurture outdoor recreation and fantastic farmland.  Geography of Clackamas, Oregon Clackamas County is a mostly rural county that begins where Southeast Portland leaves off. Generally speaking, Clackamas encompasses the area east of the I5, with its northern border running in a straight line from Milwaukie to Mt. Hood. Oregon City is the county seat of Clackamas, and its claim to fame is that it was the End of the Oregon Trail and the first incorporated city west of...