Photo: Tedder · CC BY 3.0West Slope has 0.5 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Measured by household income, West Slope is ahead of 80% of U.S. towns. West Slope has 1,433 jobs, and 3,184 of its residents work somewhere. The two grades for West Slope are A− for jobs and income and A+ for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets West Slope apart on work
Most West Slope residents work close to home
80% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. Only 6% work more than 50 miles away. How far ↓
West Slope and Portland trade workers both ways
Portland is the top workplace for West Slope residents (38%) and also where the most people who work in West Slope come from (19% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
41% of the jobs in West Slope are in trade, transport and utilities, against 18% of the jobs its residents hold. The jobs ↓
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.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in West Slope
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, West Slope is better than 83% of U.S. towns, #15 of 142 in Oregon. Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 91% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (8.6%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, West Slope could be anywhere from B to A+.
How far it is to work from West Slope
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.
38% of working residents work in Portland
Where West Slope clocks in
14% of workers
10% 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.
What West Slope’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in West Slope, 2013 → 2023: 1,278 → 1,433. 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 West Slope’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily flow of workers through West Slope
On a workday 3,140 residents head out to work, 44 work right here, and 1,389 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,800 people are in West Slope on a workday afternoon, 27% 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.
The trip to work from West Slope: about 21 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of West Slope workers work from home, vs 19% across Oregon. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,914 commuters (the 18% 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.
West Slope is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 3,568 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 64% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 11% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 27.4 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, among the most 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 West Slope households have no vehicle (Oregon 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 5% of West Slope’s commuters take a bus or train.
West Slope is 671st of 3,283 U.S. towns of 4,600 to 8,900 on jobs and income
| # | 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 | Norwood NJ | 5,817 | $178K | 2.8% | 0.9% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 324 | Beavercreek OR | 4,894 | $135K | 4.9% | 2.4% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 390 | Creswell OR | 5,566 | $100K | 4.3% | 0.8% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 483 | Cedar Hills OR | 8,388 | $106K | 2.3% | 5.0% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 669 | East Allen Township PA | 5,472 | $98K | 5.8% | 3.4% | 3% | A− |
| 670 | Jamestown RI | 5,480 | $141K | 3.5% | 4.9% | 16% | A− |
| 671 | West Slope OR | 6,582 | $105K | 8.6% | 3.5% | 1% | A− |
| 672 | Whiteland IN | 5,884 | $97K | 9.3% | 2.3% | 4% | A− |
| 673 | Butler NJ | 8,184 | $112K | 8.7% | 4.1% | 6% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,283 | 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 West Slope, the top three, the last and three more from Oregon.
Work next door: 15% of West Slope’s workers
The biggest share goes to Beaverton (14%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | West Slope workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Slope | – | A− | A+ | 21 min | $104,875 |
| Beaverton | 14% | B+ | A+ | 24 min | $98,622 |
| Raleigh Hills | 1% | A− | A+ | 21 min | $120,000 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of West Slope’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 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 West Slope: questions
What is the median household income in West Slope?
$104,875 (±$19,782) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,011 across Oregon and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in West Slope?
8.6%, against 11.9% across Oregon and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from West Slope?
21 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Oregon and 26 nationally. 18% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in West Slope work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Portland (38%, 7 mi), Beaverton (14%, 2 mi), Hillsboro (10%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is West Slope walkable?
West Slope is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 12.8 out of 20, and 12% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around West Slope without a car?
5% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 11% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from West Slope, from the people who make the trip.
More of West Slope
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.