Aubrey R. Watzek House · Photo: Visitor7 · CC BY-SA 3.0More people are out of work in Portland (5.8%) than in 72% of U.S. towns
For 28% of workers, the job is at home, against 19% across Oregon. Portland grades B for jobs and income and A+ for walkability. More than half work in Portland itself; outside it, Hillsboro draws the most (4%, 14 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Portland
Home offices are common in Portland
29% of Portland workers work from home, against 19% across Oregon. Time on the road ↓
Most jobs in Portland pay over $40,000 a year
73% of the jobs based in Portland pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), the top earnings band in the Census data. The jobs ↓
Portland gains people on a workday
About 765,000 people are in Portland on a workday afternoon, 20% more than the 635,000 who live here: 255,000 come in to work and 125,000 head out. Day and night ↓
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.
Inside Portland’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Portland is better than 59% of U.S. towns, #55 of 142 in Oregon. Job access by car holds Portland’s grade up (ahead of 90% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down. It also does well on household income.
A firm grade. At either end of the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Portland stays B.
Commuting from Portland: about 24 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Portland workers work from home, vs 19% across Oregon. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 255,988 commuters (the 29% 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.
73% of the jobs in Portland pay over $3,333 a month
428,196 jobs are based in Portland.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Portland, 2014 → 2024: 395,268 → 428,196. 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 Portland’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who commutes out of Portland, and who commutes in
On a workday 124,826 residents head out to work, 173,214 work right here, and 254,982 people come in from elsewhere.
About 765,000 people are in Portland on a workday afternoon, 20% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.44 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
Where Portland goes to work
Where Portland clocks in
4% of workers
3% 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.
Where in the region Portland works
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.
Portland is among the most walkable U.S. towns
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Portland is among the most walkable U.S. towns, #1 of 142 in Oregon. Both inputs place Portland 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 358,029 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 96% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 65% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 19.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 98% 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). 13.7% of Portland households have no vehicle (Oregon 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 8% of Portland’s commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
For jobs and income, Portland is 11th of 30 U.S. towns of 445,000 to 857,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hempstead NY | 795,734 | $141K | 5.9% | 5.2% | 28% | A |
| 2 | Seattle WA | 784,777 | $124K | 9.9% | 4.6% | 58% | A− |
| 3 | Brookhaven NY | 496,410 | $120K | 7.0% | 5.2% | 32% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 9 | Washington DC | 693,645 | $110K | 15.4% | 6.3% | 69% | B |
| 10 | Nashville TN | 745,904 | $78K | 13.9% | 4.5% | 62% | B |
| 11 | Portland OR | 635,109 | $91K | 12.7% | 5.8% | 58% | B |
| 12 | Boston MA | 672,973 | $97K | 16.6% | 6.1% | 54% | B |
| 13 | Colorado Springs CO | 494,743 | $85K | 9.0% | 5.6% | 62% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 30 | Detroit MI | 649,095 | $40K | 32.7% | 14.0% | 31% | C− |
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 Portland, the top three, the last and three more from Oregon.
How Portland compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Gresham (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Portland workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portland | – | B | A+ | 24 min | $90,919 |
| Gresham | 3% | B− | A+ | 26 min | $77,795 |
| Dunthorpe | under 2% | A+ | A | 22 min | $250,000+ |
| Beaverton | 3% | B+ | A+ | 24 min | $98,622 |
| West Haven-Sylvan | under 2% | A− | A | 23 min | $110,200 |
| Garden Home-Whitford | under 2% | A− | A+ | 23 min | $97,500 |
| Lake Oswego | 2% | A | A | 22 min | $141,549 |
| Milwaukie | 1% | B+ | A+ | 26 min | $86,892 |
| Cedar Mill | under 2% | B+ | A+ | 25 min | $164,079 |
| Happy Valley | under 2% | A− | A | 27 min | $122,151 |
| Raleigh Hills | under 2% | A− | A+ | 21 min | $120,000 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Portland’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 Portland: questions
What is the median household income in Portland?
$90,919 (±$1,681) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,011 across Oregon and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Portland?
12.7%, against 11.9% across Oregon and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Portland?
24 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Oregon and 26 nationally. 28% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Portland work?
58% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Hillsboro (4%, 14 mi), Beaverton (3%, 9 mi), Gresham (3%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Portland walkable?
Portland is among the most walkable U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 15.8 out of 20, and 19% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Portland without a car?
8% of commuters take transit and 14% of households have no car. 65% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Portland, from the people who make the trip.
More of Portland
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.