Milwaukie, Oregon

Area Profile

21,392 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Milwaukie, in Clackamas County.

53out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 23% of 2,944 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
Opportunity2645th of 3,904 published cities48
Schools2509th of 2,668 published cities16
Growth1617th of 2,973 published cities48
Housing affordability3162nd of 4,223 published cities64
ClimateTop 22% of 4,223 published cities78
Physical resilience2495th of 4,182 published cities49
AccessTop 40% of 4,226 published cities95
Economic stabilityTop 25% of 4,226 published cities72
The quick read

Unemployment is 5.0% and median household income $86,892, putting employment conditions in the middle range of published city profiles.

Residential permitting has slowed: 105 units authorized over the past twelve months, 17% below the prior year.

A major airport is 10 miles away, giving the area unusually direct access to the national air network.

At a glance

Population
21,392
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$86,892
Top 27% nationally
Density
4,287/sq mi
5.0 sq mi of land
Median age
41.3
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Clackamas County
Oregon
Metro area
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA
Nearest major airport
PDX
10 mi · Portland Intl
Median home value
$505,100
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 5.0% is lower than 25% of the 3,904 measured US cities.

Employment fell 0.9% over the past year, to 213,591 employed residents.

41% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 83% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$8,127$86,892Top 27%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$6,270$52,715Top 15%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate7.9%Bottom 37%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute28.1 minTop 43%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher41.5%Top 17%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment213,591Top 28%June 2026
Employment change (3 years)-1.3%Bottom 27%June 2026
Employment change (year over year)-0.9%Bottom 46%June 2026
Labor force224,846Top 28%June 2026
Labor force participation69.2%Top 20%2024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$78,430Top 20%2025 OEWS
Median annual wage$60,690Top 20%2025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)0.1%Top 49%June 2026
Unemployment rate5.0%Top 25%June 2026
Median household income, successive ACS releases
202120222023202487k73k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $86,892 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.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes city-level labor data only for places of 25,000 or more. This is the figure for Clackamas County, OR, which contains this city.

19% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 21% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 17.4 students for every full-time teacher, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
11
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
17.4
across all schools here
Math proficiency
18.8%
Bottom 21% in Oregon
Reading proficiency
21.3%
Bottom 1% in Oregon
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Milwaukie High SchoolNorth Clackamas SD 1287417.1
Rowe Middle SchoolNorth Clackamas SD 1274718.78%
Whitcomb Elementary SchoolNorth Clackamas SD 1241516.610%10%
Milwaukie El Puente Elementary SchoolNorth Clackamas SD 1240817.035%15%
Ardenwald Elementary SchoolNorth Clackamas SD 1239616.525%30%
Lewelling Elementary SchoolNorth Clackamas SD 1228218.830%30%
Milwaukie Academy of the Arts · charterNorth Clackamas SD 12281
Oak Grove ElementaryNorth Clackamas SD 1226217.510%30%
Linwood Elementary SchoolNorth Clackamas SD 1225916.210%10%
Cascade Heights Public Charter School · charterNorth Clackamas SD 1222816.341%30%
Sojourner SchoolNorth Clackamas SD 1215922.7

63.5% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with rather than how the schools perform, which is why AreaProfile shows it and does not score it.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data. Schools are placed by ZIP code, so this is which schools are in this place rather than which one a particular address is zoned for — district boundaries do not follow municipal ones, and enrollment zones change. Fully virtual schools are excluded: they enroll students from across the state while reporting one administrative address, and counting them here would describe a school population this place does not have. The assessment covers grades 3 through 8, so a high school shows no proficiency figure — a dash in those columns means the test was not given at that school, not that it performed badly. Proficiency is measured against Oregon’s own standard, so it compares cleanly within the state and only broadly against other states; AreaProfile therefore ranks it within state. The directory is current, while the proficiency figures are from the last school year with national coverage before the pandemic interrupted testing.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $1,598 takes 22% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 5.8 times median household income here, well above the historic benchmark, at a level conventionally described as seriously unaffordable.

Rent as a share of income
22.1%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
5.8×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$1,598
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$505,100
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income5.81Top 10%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate60.8%Bottom 22%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±4329,859Top 6%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$83$1,598Top 18%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$24,988$505,100Top 11%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income22.1%Top 29%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate4.3%Bottom 25%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
48/ 100
Ranks 1617 of 2,973 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 2% since 2020, reaching 21,620 in 2024.

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

At 4.9 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
105
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
4.9
Top 30% nationally
Year over year
−17%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
42.9%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
2020202120222023202422k21k
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
20202021202220232024202528623
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2020 (+18%).

Weather & climate

6 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 36°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 36.9 inches, including 4.2 inches of snow.

Air quality measures a median index of 30, in the Good band, and about 6 days a year pass 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station PORTLAND INTL AP, 10.1 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND5.8"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index51.02024 calendar year
Annual precipitation36.9"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall4.2"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low36°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high82°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months61991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 10062024 calendar year
Median air quality index30.02024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing29°F1991-2020 Normals
Air quality
Median air quality index
30
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
51
90th percentile index
Days above 100
6
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

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. Air quality is measured rather than modelled, by EPA monitors, and published by county only where a monitor sits — roughly half the counties AreaProfile publishes have one, and the rest show nothing rather than an estimate. Air masses are regional, so a county reading describes the air over a place reasonably well, but it is still the county reading.

Physical risk

49 / 100
Physical resilience

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

EarthquakeHigh
Volcanic activityModerate
Heat waveElevated
Strong windModerate

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

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.

These are deaths, not offences. AreaProfile does not publish reported crime, and this is not a substitute for it — it says nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Clackamas County records 2.0 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, lower than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 14.9 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, because nationally most firearm deaths are suicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 15.6 per 100,000 residents in Clackamas County.

Homicide
2.0
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Firearm deaths, all intents
14.9
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Drug overdose
15.6
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Suicide
21.7
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides. The two columns overlap and should not be added.

Age-adjusted rates from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC for Clackamas County as a whole — these rates are not published below county level. A county can hold both a dense city centre and a suburb whose experience of it is nothing alike, so this describes the county around Milwaukie rather than Milwaukie itself. That is why AreaProfile shows these figures and does not put them in the Area Score. Where fewer than ten deaths were recorded the count is suppressed at source, and a rate built on single figures moves sharply between releases. What this measure has that reported crime does not: a death certificate is filed whether or not the local police agency submitted a return that year, so the figures stay comparable between places and over time.

What this profile does not cover

Three things people look for are missing from every AreaProfile page, and each is missing for a reason rather than by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Reported crime
The FBI’s Crime Data Explorer is the only source for reported offences with national coverage and a published method, and it requires an API key AreaProfile does not hold. Arrest counts, news volume and commercial “safety scores” are not substituted in the meantime. What is published above under Safety is a different measurement — deaths rather than offences, from death certificates rather than police returns — and it covers no property crime at all.
Taxes
No tax dataset has met the source admission test for coverage, transparent methodology and update cadence. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Full cost of living
No public source publishes one with national coverage and a documented method. Housing affordability above is computed from published rent, price and income, and excludes transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes — commuting cost in particular tends to offset suburban housing savings.

Access

2 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 10 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Portland IntlPDX10 mi11,000 ft
Mahlon Sweet FldEUG96 mi8,009 ft
Seattle-Tacoma IntlSEA139 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
53
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Other cities in Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
PortlandMultnomah County641,16560vs Milwaukie
VancouverClark County195,30060vs Milwaukie
GreshamMultnomah County112,37854vs Milwaukie
HillsboroWashington County108,23157vs Milwaukie
BeavertonWashington County97,81265vs Milwaukie
TigardWashington County56,01163vs Milwaukie
AlohaWashington County52,389vs Milwaukie
Lake OswegoClackamas County40,38161vs Milwaukie
Oregon CityClackamas County37,75558vs Milwaukie
McMinnvilleYamhill County34,59652vs Milwaukie
BethanyWashington County33,106vs Milwaukie
OrchardsClark County29,438vs Milwaukie

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)
safetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
April, 2025 to March, 2026Quarterly, with a rolling twelve-month window alongside complete calendar years
schoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2019-20 school year; 2024-25 school yearDirectory annually; assessment results as EDFacts releases them
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar yearAnnually, once a calendar year is complete

Profile recalculated August 30, 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 Milwaukie

1 published ZIP profiles
ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeArea Score
9722236,398$83,11952