Photo: M.O. Stevens · CC BY-SA 3.0With 0.4 jobs for every working resident, most of Cornelius works elsewhere
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 4.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 19.6 in Portland. 2,666 jobs are based in Cornelius; 6,819 of its residents have a job. Cornelius grades B for jobs and income and A+ for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The short version on getting to work from Cornelius
Cornelius and Hillsboro trade workers both ways
Hillsboro is the top workplace for Cornelius residents (27%) and also where the most people who work in Cornelius come from (14% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Cornelius workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 29 minutes each way, against 23 across Oregon. Over a year that’s about 222 hours of commuting, 46 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
The four measures behind Cornelius’ grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Cornelius is better than 64% of U.S. towns, #48 of 142 in Oregon. Household income holds Cornelius’ grade up ($96,273, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (5.0%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Cornelius could be anywhere from C+ to A.
27% of working residents work in Hillsboro
Where Cornelius clocks in
27% of workers
9% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
The daily trip from Cornelius: about 29 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Cornelius workers work from home, vs 19% across Oregon. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 6,747 commuters (the 9% who work from home are left out). Across Oregon: 80% drive alone, 3% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
How a workday changes Cornelius
On a workday 6,507 residents head out to work, 312 work right here, and 2,354 people come in from elsewhere.
About 11,000 people are in Cornelius on a workday afternoon, 27% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
The kinds of work in Cornelius
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Cornelius, 2013 → 2023: 2,311 → 2,666. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Cornelius’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The commute from Cornelius, by distance
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Good to walk, short on transit: Cornelius
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Cornelius is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns, #19 of 142 in Oregon. Both inputs place Cornelius near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 7,413 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). Nearly all residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, <1% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 4.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 81% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 2.1% of Cornelius households have no vehicle (Oregon 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 7% of Cornelius’ commuters take a bus or train.
Cornelius places 1,069th of 2,109 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 11,000 to 21,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| 2 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 170 | Oak Hills OR | 11,131 | $127K | 3.4% | 3.1% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 355 | Damascus OR | 11,437 | $123K | 3.2% | 3.6% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 436 | Sherwood OR | 20,535 | $110K | 4.3% | 3.5% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,067 | Rio Linda CA | 16,335 | $96K | 14.4% | 4.4% | 6% | B |
| 1,068 | Star ID | 20,874 | $98K | 5.8% | 6.9% | 6% | B |
| 1,069 | Cornelius OR | 15,520 | $96K | 9.1% | 5.0% | 5% | B |
| 1,070 | Fairhaven MA | 16,110 | $96K | 8.3% | 5.6% | 14% | B |
| 1,071 | Grand Terrace CA | 12,936 | $84K | 7.5% | 6.7% | 3% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 2,109 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Cornelius, the top three, the last and three more from Oregon.
Cornelius and its neighbors
The biggest share goes to Forest Grove (9%).
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Cornelius workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cornelius | – | B | A+ | 29 min | $96,273 |
| Forest Grove | 9% | B− | A+ | 30 min | $87,933 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Cornelius’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Cornelius: questions
What is the median household income in Cornelius?
$96,273 (±$11,088) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,011 across Oregon and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Cornelius?
9.1%, against 11.9% across Oregon and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Cornelius?
29 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Oregon and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Cornelius work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Hillsboro (27%, 6 mi), Portland (16%, 19 mi), Forest Grove (9%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Cornelius walkable?
Cornelius is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 12.6 out of 20, and 10% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Cornelius without a car?
7% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. <1% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Cornelius, from the people who make the trip.
More of Cornelius
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.