Photo: Esprqii · CC BY-SA 3.0Households in Happy Valley have higher incomes than those in 89% of U.S. towns
The two grades for Happy Valley are A− for jobs and income and A for walkability. Poverty touches 7.7% of residents, next to 11.9% for Oregon as a whole. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 6.7 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 19.6 in Portland.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Happy Valley apart
Happy Valley and Portland trade workers both ways
Portland is the top workplace for Happy Valley residents (39%) and also where the most people who work in Happy Valley come from (23% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Happy Valley has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Happy Valley went from 3,986 in 2014 to 6,917 in 2024, +74%. The jobs ↓
Short distances, slow trips
Half of Happy Valley’s working residents have a job less than 9 miles away, yet the average commute still takes 27 minutes, longer than the Oregon average of 23. Time on the road ↓
Most Happy Valley residents work close to home
60% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. Only 5% work more than 50 miles away. How far ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
What’s behind Happy Valley’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Happy Valley is better than 78% of U.S. towns, #22 of 142 in Oregon. Household income holds Happy Valley’s grade up ($122,151, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (4.8%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Happy Valley could be anywhere from B+ to A.
39% of working residents work in Portland
Where Happy Valley clocks in
5% of workers
3% 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.
Jobs in Happy Valley: what the 6,917 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Happy Valley, 2014 → 2024: 3,986 → 6,917. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Happy Valley’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 27 minutes to work from Happy Valley
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Happy Valley workers work from home, vs 19% across Oregon. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 10,024 commuters (the 24% 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 far Happy Valley goes to work
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
How a workday changes Happy Valley
On a workday 10,782 residents head out to work, 472 work right here, and 6,445 people come in from elsewhere.
About 25,000 people are in Happy Valley on a workday afternoon, 15% fewer than live here.
0.61 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 2024, primary jobs.
Good to walk, short on transit: Happy Valley
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Happy Valley is more walkable than 88% of U.S. towns, #68 of 142 in Oregon. Both inputs place Happy Valley 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 13,169 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 21% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 8% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 6.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 89% 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). 4.6% of Happy Valley households have no vehicle (Oregon 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Happy Valley’s commuters take a bus or train.
Happy Valley is 542nd of 1,467 U.S. towns of 20,000 to 39,000 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 193 | Bethany OR | 33,106 | $168K | 4.0% | 4.0% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 293 | Sherwood OR | 20,535 | $110K | 4.3% | 3.5% | 9% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 329 | West Linn OR | 26,567 | $147K | 5.5% | 4.3% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 540 | Arnold MO | 20,994 | $78K | 8.2% | 2.8% | 7% | A− |
| 541 | Belmont CA | 28,752 | $205K | 6.9% | 7.2% | 4% | A− |
| 542 | Happy Valley OR | 28,916 | $122K | 7.7% | 4.8% | 4% | A− |
| 543 | Greenfield IN | 26,544 | $76K | 5.3% | 3.3% | 20% | A− |
| 544 | Walker MI | 25,881 | $76K | 7.6% | 2.9% | 11% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,467 | Barstow CA | 24,804 | $53K | 23.1% | 11.9% | 16% | 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 Happy Valley, the top three, the last and three more from Oregon.
Bordering towns draw 39% of Happy Valley’s workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Happy Valley workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Happy Valley | – | A− | A | 27 min | $122,151 |
| Damascus | under 2% | A | B | 28 min | $122,500 |
| Portland | 39% | B | A+ | 24 min | $90,919 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Portland. Darker towns draw more of Happy Valley’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 2024, 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 Happy Valley: questions
What is the median household income in Happy Valley?
$122,151 (±$9,243) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,011 across Oregon and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Happy Valley?
7.7%, against 11.9% across Oregon and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Happy Valley?
27 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Oregon and 26 nationally. 24% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Happy Valley work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Portland (39%, 10 mi), Gresham (5%, 6 mi), Tigard (3%, 13 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Happy Valley walkable?
Happy Valley is more walkable than 88% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 9.6 out of 20, and 7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Happy Valley without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. 8% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Happy Valley, from the people who make the trip.
More of Happy Valley
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.