Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 3,414, settled in 1910.
For most people who can afford it, yes. North Plains grades B+ overall, 27th among Oregon's 142 graded towns. It is healthier than 86% of U.S. towns and the median household earns $118K. The catch is cost: the typical home is worth about $558K, 5.7 years of the Portland metro’s $97K median household income. On safety, just 6 of Oregon’s 79 towns do better. North Plains has 1 place on the National Register. No town among the 75 in Oregon we compare has a lower property crime rate than North Plains.
Where North Plains beats most towns.
1,947 counted in 2010 and 3,441 in 2020; an estimated 3,414 in 2025.
Growth has leveled off: within 1% of 2020, after 76.7% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Oregon), ordered by how far North Plains is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 690 in 1970, 3,441 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 2004 and 6 maps from 1940 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around North Plains. Close and well known come first.
17 mi Stadium & arenaModa Center
16 mi Stadium & arenaProvidence Park
13 mi GardenForest Park
14 mi MuseumPittock Mansion
5 mi Stadium & arenaHillsboro Stadium
28 mi MuseumEvergreen Aviation & Space MuseumModa Center: Lugnuts, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Providence Park: Pdx.rollingthunder, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Forest Park: EncMstr, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Pittock Mansion: PittockBack.jpg: Cacophony derivative work: Tiptoety talk, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Hillsboro Stadium: Hillsboro Parks and Recreation, CC BY 3.0 · Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum: Notkeel at English Wikipedia, Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in North Plains, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Oct 2, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in North Plains.
North Plains fares better on crime within Oregon than nationally, has home values still below their peak and has less heart disease than most of Oregon.
Its widest gap with Oregon is heart disease: 4.1% of its 2,577 adults have heart disease, against 6.5% statewide. Against the 6,079 U.S. towns with household incomes like North Plains’s, it is healthier than 70%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
8.2% of adults have diabetes in North Plains, where Oregon’s towns sit at 11% and U.S. towns at 12%. 27% of adults have high blood pressure in North Plains. North Plains beats the Oregon average on 14 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 2.
| North Plains | Oregon towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 68% | 73% | 79% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 33% | 35% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 21% | 25% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 8.2% | 11% | 12% |
| What stands out | North Plains | OR |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 4.1% | 6.5% |
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 8% | 12.5% |
| Fewer adults treating high blood pressure | 64.1% | 71.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by Hillsboro SD 1J. One of its 2 schools is below, with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Plains Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–6 | Grades K–6 | 235 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within OR on state tests and graduation
Jobs based here grew from 691 in 2013 to 935.
2.9% of residents live below the poverty line in North Plains, against 11% in Oregon’s towns and 9.6% across U.S. towns. Jobs based in North Plains grew to 935 in 2023, 244 more than in 2013. 1.5% of North Plains working residents work locally.
| North Plains | Oregon towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $118,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 2.9% | 11% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 1.5% | 10% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 26 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
At 12.1 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 95% of Oregon’s graded towns. Violent crime is rare: 4 reported in 2025, 1.2 per 1,000 residents.
North Plains’ violent crime rate is 1.2 per 1,000 residents.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
North Plains has mild winters and pleasant summers. The July high in North Plains is 81°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The typical value, about $558K, is 10% below its July 2022 peak. 74.7% of renter households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, against 52.5% across Oregon.
The typical North Plains home is worth about $558,000, down 2.7% in a year, 13% above the Oregon typical home.
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 60% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Sunset Ridge Nature Reserve | — | 4 |
| 2. Sunset Ridge West Park | 0.2 mi | 3 |
| 3. Jessie Mays Community Park | — | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
2 within 15 miles of the center of North Plains
About 5 of every 100 North Plains residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Oregon.
Where North Plains’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
City in Oregon, United States
North Plains is a city in Washington County, Oregon, United States, off U.S. 26 on the northwest outskirts of the Portland metropolitan area. The population was 3,441 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. North Plains grades B+ overall, better than 67% of U.S. towns and #27 of 142 in Oregon. It grades A for health, B+ for safety and B for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
