Photo: SkatePark in Main City Park, Gresham, Oregon.jpg · CC BY 4.0About two in five of Gresham’s working residents commute to Portland
Jobs & income B−: better than 50% of U.S. towns on income, poverty, unemployment and job access · #69 of 142 in Oregon.
Walkability A+: more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns · #29 of 142 in Oregon.
Household incomes here are higher than in 53% of U.S. towns. Working residents average 26 minutes each way (Oregon 23, U.S. 26). About one in seven work in Gresham; the top destination outside it is Portland (41%, 10 miles).
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 Gresham
Much of Gresham works one town over
46% of working residents work in a town that borders Gresham: Portland (41%), Troutdale (4%) and Fairview (1%). Next door ↓
Short distances, slow trips
Half of Gresham’s working residents have a job less than 9 miles away, yet the average commute still takes 26 minutes, longer than the Oregon average of 23. 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.
What’s behind Gresham’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Gresham is better than 50% of U.S. towns, #69 of 142 in Oregon. Job access by car holds Gresham’s grade up (ahead of 80% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (5.6%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Gresham could be anywhere from C+ to B.
About 26 minutes each way, longer than most of Oregon
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Gresham workers work from home, vs 19% across Oregon. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 46,189 commuters (the 13% who work from home are left out). Across Oregon: 80% drive alone, 3% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
Gresham quiets down on a workday
On a workday 40,227 residents head out to work, 7,886 work right here, and 28,124 people come in from elsewhere.
About 99,000 people are in Gresham on a workday afternoon, 11% fewer than live here.
0.75 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
41% of working residents work in Portland
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Where Gresham clocks in
4% of workers
2% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
What the 36,010 jobs in Gresham are
36,010 jobs are based in Gresham. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Gresham’s own residents hold wherever they work.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Gresham, 2013 → 2023: 30,871 → 36,010. 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.
Half of Gresham commutes less than 9 miles
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Gresham is more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Gresham is more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns, #29 of 142 in Oregon. Both inputs place Gresham 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 53,074 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 87% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 24% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 10.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 94% 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). 8.8% of Gresham households have no vehicle (Oregon 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 4% of Gresham’s commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
Gresham is 250th of 382 U.S. towns of 78,000 to 151,000 on jobs and income
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Gresham, the top three, the last and three more from Oregon.
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lakeville MN | 79,270 | $139K | 2.9% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| 2 | Plymouth MN | 78,942 | $137K | 4.3% | 2.3% | 12% | A+ |
| 3 | South Jordan UT | 87,614 | $134K | 3.7% | 2.4% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 128 | Hillsboro OR | 111,126 | $106K | 8.5% | 4.8% | 34% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 137 | Beaverton OR | 97,842 | $99K | 10.1% | 4.4% | 16% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 160 | Bend OR | 107,342 | $96K | 8.8% | 3.7% | 60% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 248 | Missoula MT | 78,903 | $70K | 11.8% | 3.8% | 72% | B− |
| 249 | South Gate CA | 90,071 | $75K | 12.7% | 7.4% | 5% | B− |
| 250 | Gresham OR | 111,513 | $78K | 13.0% | 5.6% | 16% | B− |
| 251 | Indio CA | 94,269 | $77K | 11.5% | 4.8% | 16% | B− |
| 252 | Lowell MA | 119,971 | $79K | 16.9% | 5.7% | 19% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 382 | Flint MI | 79,306 | $38K | 34.1% | 14.8% | 20% | 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.
46% of Gresham works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to Portland (41%). Darker towns draw more of Gresham’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Gresham workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gresham | – | B− | A+ | 26 min | $77,795 |
| Portland | 41% | B | A+ | 24 min | $90,919 |
| Fairview | 1% | B− | A | 23 min | $70,107 |
| Troutdale | 4% | B+ | A− | 24 min | $89,337 |
| Orient | under 2% | — | — | 32 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Orient: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
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 Gresham: questions
What is the median household income in Gresham?
$77,795 (±$3,707) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,011 across Oregon and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Gresham?
13.0%, against 11.9% across Oregon and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Gresham?
26 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Oregon and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Gresham work?
16% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Portland (41%, 10 mi), Troutdale (4%, 4 mi), Beaverton (2%, 18 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Gresham walkable?
Gresham is more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 13.6 out of 20, and 8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Gresham without a car?
4% of commuters take transit and 9% of households have no car. 24% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Gresham, from the people who make the trip.
More of Gresham
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.