John and Carolena Heimuller Farmstead · Photo: Jon Roanhaus · CC BY-SA 3.0Scappoose has 0.5 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Scappoose grades B+ for jobs and income and A− for walkability. There are 1,842 jobs in Scappoose, against 3,907 working residents. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 1.6 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 19.6 in Portland.
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 Scappoose
30% of Scappoose works in Portland
1,179 working residents, 30%, have their main job in Portland, 19 miles away. That’s 3 times as many as work in Scappoose itself. The commute map ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Scappoose
67% of Scappoose residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 49% of the jobs based in Scappoose pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 91% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Scappoose workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 28 minutes each way, against 23 across Oregon. Over a year that’s about 215 hours of commuting, 38 more than the state’s typical worker. 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.
The figures behind Scappoose’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Scappoose is better than 69% of U.S. towns, #36 of 142 in Oregon. Unemployment holds Scappoose’s grade up (2.1%, U.S. 5.2%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 25% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Scappoose could be anywhere from B− to A−.
30% of working residents work in Portland
Where Scappoose clocks in
9% 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.
The kinds of work in Scappoose
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Scappoose, 2013 → 2023: 1,407 → 1,842. 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.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Scappoose’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Time on the road from Scappoose: about 28 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Scappoose workers work from home, vs 19% across Oregon. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,185 commuters (the 14% 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.
Who leaves Scappoose for work, and who comes in
On a workday 3,537 residents head out to work, 370 work right here, and 1,472 people come in from elsewhere.
About 6,200 people are in Scappoose on a workday afternoon, 25% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Scappoose’s commute, mile by mile
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Scappoose is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Scappoose is more walkable than 79% of U.S. towns, #98 of 142 in Oregon. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 8.4% across Oregon.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 3,695 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 68% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 68% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 65% 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). 2.1% of Scappoose households have no vehicle (Oregon 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Scappoose’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Scappoose ranks: 1,150th of 2,956 U.S. towns of 5,800 to 11,100
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 173 | Bull Mountain OR | 9,865 | $165K | 4.7% | 2.3% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 499 | Cedar Hills OR | 8,388 | $106K | 2.3% | 5.0% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 517 | Rockcreek OR | 9,223 | $107K | 4.3% | 4.0% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,148 | Topsham ME | 9,982 | $91K | 6.4% | 4.3% | 13% | B+ |
| 1,149 | The Village OK | 9,276 | $77K | 11.6% | 3.2% | 3% | B+ |
| 1,150 | Scappoose OR | 8,257 | $98K | 7.2% | 2.1% | 9% | B+ |
| 1,151 | Handy Township MI | 8,887 | $79K | 8.0% | 3.2% | 11% | B+ |
| 1,152 | Ash Township MI | 8,013 | $73K | 6.9% | 4.0% | 8% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,956 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Scappoose, the top three, the last and three more from Oregon.
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 Scappoose: questions
What is the median household income in Scappoose?
$97,708 (±$13,916) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,011 across Oregon and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Scappoose?
7.2%, against 11.9% across Oregon and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Scappoose?
28 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Oregon and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Scappoose work?
9% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Portland (30%, 19 mi), Hillsboro (9%, 16 mi), St. Helens (6%, 7 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Scappoose walkable?
Scappoose is more walkable than 79% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 12.5 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Scappoose without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 68% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Scappoose, from the people who make the trip.
More of Scappoose
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.