Photo: M.O. Stevens at en.wikipedia · Public domainHillsboro has higher household incomes than 81% of U.S. towns
The poverty rate is 8.5% (Oregon 11.9%). Jobs and income earn Hillsboro B+; getting around on foot earns it A+. Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 7.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 19.6 in Portland.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Hillsboro, in a few figures
Hillsboro is where the jobs are
Hillsboro has 85,018 jobs, 1.6 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Most jobs in Hillsboro pay over $40,000 a year
78% of the jobs based in Hillsboro pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), the top earnings band in the Census data. The jobs ↓
Hillsboro and Portland trade workers both ways
Portland is the top workplace for Hillsboro residents (20%) and also where the most people who work in Hillsboro come from (12% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Hillsboro makes and builds things
36% of the jobs based in Hillsboro are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Hillsboro residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 25%. The jobs ↓
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.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Hillsboro
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Hillsboro is better than 73% of U.S. towns, #28 of 142 in Oregon. Household income holds Hillsboro’s grade up ($106,409, 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, Hillsboro could be anywhere from B+ to A−.
The daily commute in and out of Hillsboro
On a workday 36,098 residents head out to work, 17,704 work right here, and 67,314 people come in from elsewhere.
About 142,000 people are in Hillsboro on a workday afternoon, 28% more than live here.
1.6 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
Making and building: 36% of jobs based in Hillsboro
85,018 jobs are based in Hillsboro.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Hillsboro, 2014 → 2024: 66,338 → 85,018. 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 Hillsboro’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The towns that send workers to Hillsboro
Where Hillsboro clocks in
8% 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.
Commuting from Hillsboro: about 23 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Hillsboro workers work from home, vs 19% across Oregon. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 46,230 commuters (the 22% 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.
The distance from Hillsboro 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.
Good to walk, short on transit: Hillsboro
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Hillsboro is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns, #22 of 142 in Oregon. Both inputs place Hillsboro 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 59,257 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 83% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 18% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 7.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 91% 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). 6.1% of Hillsboro households have no vehicle (Oregon 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 6% of Hillsboro’s commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
Hillsboro next to U.S. towns of 78,000 to 150,000: 127th of 378 on jobs and income
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 125 | Niles Township IL | 109,978 | $97K | 8.9% | 5.4% | 15% | B+ |
| 126 | New Braunfels TX | 122,492 | $86K | 7.4% | 4.2% | 26% | B+ |
| 127 | Hillsboro OR | 111,126 | $106K | 8.5% | 4.8% | 33% | B+ |
| 128 | Concord CA | 123,261 | $109K | 8.2% | 5.4% | 14% | B+ |
| 129 | Whittier CA | 85,815 | $97K | 9.1% | 5.4% | 9% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 136 | Beaverton OR | 97,842 | $99K | 10.1% | 4.4% | 16% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 159 | Bend OR | 107,342 | $96K | 8.8% | 3.7% | 60% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 248 | Gresham OR | 111,513 | $78K | 13.0% | 5.6% | 17% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 378 | 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.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Hillsboro, the top three, the last and three more from Oregon.
10% of Hillsboro works in a town next door
The biggest share goes to Beaverton (8%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
Darker towns draw more of Hillsboro’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 Hillsboro: questions
What is the median household income in Hillsboro?
$106,409 (±$2,499) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,011 across Oregon and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Hillsboro?
8.5%, against 11.9% across Oregon and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Hillsboro?
23 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Oregon and 26 nationally. 22% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Hillsboro work?
33% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Portland (20%, 14 mi), Beaverton (8%, 6 mi), Tigard (3%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Hillsboro walkable?
Hillsboro is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 12.9 out of 20, and 9% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Hillsboro without a car?
6% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 18% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Hillsboro, from the people who make the trip.
More of Hillsboro
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.