AreaProfile

Forest Grove, Oregon

Area Profile

26,529 residents. Jobs, income, climate, physical risk, development and airport access for Forest Grove, in Washington County.

60
Area Score
Bottom 38% of 1,482 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
Opportunity1204th of 1,567 published cities44
GrowthTop 45% of 1,503 published cities53
Housing affordability1071st of 1,876 published cities71
ClimateTop 40% of 1,876 published cities73
Physical resilience982nd of 1,849 published cities54
Access1451st of 1,876 published cities85
Economic stability1158th of 1,876 published cities55
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable published city profiles: unemployment is 5.7% and the Opportunity signal places Forest Grove in the bottom 23%.

Residential permitting has slowed: 116 units authorized over the past twelve months, 36% below the prior year.

Its Area Score of 60 places Forest Grove in the top 62% of published city profiles.

At a glance

Population
26,529
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$87,933
Top 27% nationally
Density
4,426/sq mi
6.0 sq mi of land
Median age
34.0
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Washington County
Oregon
Metro area
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA
Nearest major airport
PDX
25 mi · Portland Intl
Median home value
$479,600
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 5.7% is lower than 12% of the 1,567 measured US cities.

Employment fell 0.8% over the past year, to 13,119 employed residents.

32% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 72% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$9,916$87,933Top 27%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,253$35,143Top 46%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate15.4%Top 35%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute28.5 minTop 41%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher31.8%Top 28%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment13,119Bottom 8%June 2026
Employment change (3 years)-1.2%Bottom 30%June 2026
Employment change (year over year)-0.8%Top 48%June 2026
Labor force13,916Bottom 9%June 2026
Labor force participation63.6%Top 39%2024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$78,430Top 18%2025 OEWS
Median annual wage$60,690Top 17%2025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)0.3%Top 39%June 2026
Unemployment rate5.7%Top 12%June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032026/012026/066.23.2
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 5.7% in June 2026.
Median household income, successive ACS releases
202120222023202488k73k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $87,933 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.
Largest occupations — Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA
OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Fast Food and Counter Workers34,840$35,620
Retail Salespersons28,230$37,340
Stockers and Order Fillers26,750$44,440
Registered Nurses24,220$130,310
Home Health and Personal Care Aides22,860$45,570
General and Operations Managers21,070$121,050

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $1,460 takes 20% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 5.5 times median household income here, well above the historic benchmark, at a level conventionally described as seriously unaffordable.

Rent as a share of income
19.9%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
5.5×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$1,460
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$479,600
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income5.45Top 12%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate64.1%Bottom 27%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±4859,094Top 7%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$70$1,460Top 21%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$13,752$479,600Top 13%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income19.9%Top 41%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate3.1%Bottom 20%2024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →
Development Momentum
53/ 100
Top 45% of 1,503 published city profiles
Permitting is decreasing, measured from 2020 to 2025.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has grown 4% since 2020, reaching 27,076 in 2024.

Permitting has turned downward after moving the other way the year before.

Population is still rising, but more slowly than in the preceding year.

New construction is predominantly single-family: only 0% of permitted units are in buildings of five or more homes.

At 4.4 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
116
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
4.4
Top 35% nationally
Year over year
−36%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
2020202120222023202427k26k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population.
Housing units permitted per year
20202021202220232024202538662
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2020 (+52%).

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 82°F and January a low of 34°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 35.9 inches.

20°40°60°80°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station PORTLAND-HILLSBORO AP, 7.9 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND6.0"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation35.9"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low34°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high82°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months51991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing27°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today.

Physical risk

54 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are earthquake and heat wave.

EarthquakeElevated
Heat waveModerate

Low or minimal exposure: inland flooding, ice storm, cold wave, volcanic activity, landslide, lightning, strong wind, winter weather, tornado, wildfire, hail, drought, avalanche.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Taxes

AreaProfile does not yet publish tax comparisons. No tax dataset has met the source admission test for coverage, methodology transparency and update cadence, and the product rule is to omit a dimension rather than estimate it. The Area Score is calculated without a tax component and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Nothing on AreaProfile is individualized tax advice.

Access

2 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 25 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Portland IntlPDX25 mi11,000 ft
Mahlon Sweet FldEUG97 mi8,009 ft
Seattle-Tacoma IntlSEA138 mi11,901 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
60
Your Score

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Other cities in Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
PortlandMultnomah County641,16560vs Forest Grove
VancouverClark County195,30062vs Forest Grove
GreshamMultnomah County112,37856vs Forest Grove
HillsboroWashington County108,23160vs Forest Grove
BeavertonWashington County97,81264vs Forest Grove
TigardWashington County56,01164vs Forest Grove
Lake OswegoClackamas County40,38159vs Forest Grove
Oregon CityClackamas County37,75564vs Forest Grove
McMinnvilleYamhill County34,59653vs Forest Grove
TualatinWashington County27,76361vs Forest Grove
CamasClark County27,00767vs Forest Grove
West LinnClackamas County26,93559vs Forest Grove

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWSAnnual (spring release)
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)

Profile recalculated August 29, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology or browse every source.

ZIP codes in Forest Grove

1 published ZIP profiles
ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeArea Score
9711629,800$92,61359