Orchards, Washington

Area Profile

29,438 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Orchards, in Clark County.

59out of 100
Area Score
Top 50% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 14 sources
Opportunity2,158th of 4,199 cities measured56
Schools3,224th of 4,162 cities measured28
Growth2,207th of 4,224 cities measured49
Housing affordability2,456th of 4,218 cities measured63
ClimateTop 22% of 4,225 cities measured78
Physical resilienceTop 43% of 4,226 cities measured65
Access2,395th of 4,226 cities measured90
Economic stabilityTop 44% of 4,226 cities measured61
The quick read

Unemployment is 3.9% and median household income $100,146, putting employment conditions in the middle range of cities measured. The unemployment rate is published for Clark County, WA, which contains Orchards, rather than for Orchards alone.

In the public schools here, 47% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 18.6 students for every teacher. Math proficiency and 1 other measure here are published for Clark County, WA, which contains Orchards, rather than for Orchards alone.

3,347 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 13% of the prior year — steady rather than turning. The permit count and 1 other measure here are published for Clark County, WA, which contains Orchards, rather than for Orchards alone.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
29,438
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$100,146
Top 18% nationally
Density
5,499/sq mi
5.4 sq mi of land
Median age
35.3
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Washington
Nearest major airport
PDX
8 mi · Portland Intl
Median home value
$461,700
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Clark County, WA, which contains Orchards, is 3.9%, lower than in 65% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment across Clark County, WA, which contains Orchards, fell 1.2% over the past year, to 239,768 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsClark County, WA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$91,69876th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftClark County, WA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$81,28866th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$9,8862024 ACS 5-Year$100,146Top 18%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$5,1292024 ACS 5-Year$44,625Top 24%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year9.5%Top 45%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.4 min2024 ACS 5-Year27.7 minBottom 45%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year24.7%Top 40%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year72.9%36th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentClark County, WA’s figureJuly 2026239,768Top 30%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Clark County, WA’s figureJuly 2026−2.7%Bottom 16%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Clark County, WA’s figureJuly 2026−1.2%Bottom 40%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceClark County, WA’s figureJuly 2026249,62170th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year80.7%Top 41%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wagePortland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$78,430Top 20%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wagePortland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$60,690Top 20%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.5%2024 ACS 5-Year0.4%78th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Clark County, WA’s figureJuly 2026−0.8%Top 16%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateClark County, WA’s figureJuly 20263.9%Top 35%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year15.2%76th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

2021202220232024100k81k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $100,146 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

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

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 does not publish a labor-market series for this place — true of a consolidated city-county, a city and county sharing one government, or a Puerto Rico municipio, regardless of population. This is the figure for Clark County, WA, which contains this city.

47% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 61% in reading, across the schools here that reported results. Math proficiency and 1 other measure here are published for Clark County, WA, which contains Orchards, rather than for Orchards alone.

There are 18.6 students for every full-time teacher, more than in most measured places. The student-teacher ratio is published for Clark County, WA, which contains Orchards, rather than for Orchards alone.

Public schools
—
Students per teacher
18.6
Math proficiency
46.9%
Bottom 30% in Washington
Reading proficiency
60.7%
Bottom 28% in Washington

The proficiency and staffing figures above are for Clark County, WA: too few schools in Orchards reported a usable figure on their own to weight one honestly.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Washington’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 7% above the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 106.7, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA Metro Area is up 21% over five years, and up 1.4% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $3,815 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.83% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,922, some 8% above the $1,784 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,922 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $76,900 a year, about 77% of the median household income here of $100,146.

The typical renter household here spends 29% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,784 a month.

A median home at $461,700 costs 4.0 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $114,152, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Cost of living
106.7

Prices here run about 7% above the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
29.0%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
4.0×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,922
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,784
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$461,700
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Orchards’s median household income of $100,146, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA Metro Area’s figure2023106.7Bottom 31%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+1.4%29th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+21.2%6th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+70.8%15th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.42024 ACS 5-Year4.0Bottom 17%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year66.3%30th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±5702024 ACS 5-Year10,53594th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,677Bottom 35%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$2,619Bottom 32%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,922Bottom 36%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$772024 ACS 5-Year$1,784Bottom 12%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$10,6762024 ACS 5-Year$461,70087th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1322024 ACS 5-Year$3,81582nd percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$11,2062024 ACS 5-Year$114,152Top 18%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.03%2024 ACS 5-Year0.83%40th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year29.0%Bottom 46%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±862024 ACS 5-Year5884th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.6%57th percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year2.9%26th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±1742024 ACS 5-Year35986th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

49/ 100
Ranks 2,207 of 4,224 published city profiles

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.

Federal tax returns show Clark County, which contains Orchards, gained about 0.5% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $91,698, above the $81,288 of households that moved out.

At 6.5 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities. The permit rate is published for Clark County, WA, which contains Orchards, rather than for Orchards alone.

Units permitted
3,347
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
6.5
Top 21% nationally
Year over year
−13%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
33.3%
units in 5+ unit buildings

People moving in and out

Net migration
+0.5%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
80%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$91,698
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$81,288
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Multnomah County, OR 4,587 people · 19% of arrivals
  2. Washington County, OR 1,915 people · 7.8% of arrivals
  3. Clackamas County, OR 1,433 people · 5.8% of arrivals
  4. Cowlitz County, WA 1,320 people · 5.4% of arrivals
  5. King County, WA 786 people · 3.2% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Multnomah County, OR 2,838 people · 13% of departures
  2. Cowlitz County, WA 1,891 people · 8.4% of departures
  3. Washington County, OR 1,079 people · 4.8% of departures
  4. Clackamas County, OR 1,045 people · 4.6% of departures
  5. King County, WA 761 people · 3.4% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Clark County, WA. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

The Census Bureau's Building Permits Survey lists only jurisdictions that issue their own permits, and Orchards, WA is not one. This is the figure for Clark County, WA, which contains this city.

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 31, in the Good band, and one day a year passes 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, 7.6 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND5.8"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year532024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals36.9"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals4.2"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals36°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals82°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals61991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year12024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year312024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals29°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
31
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
53
90th percentile index
Days above 100
1
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. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

65 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, earthquake and cold wave, with inland flooding alone responsible for 43% of it. Inland flooding and cold wave are independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large those hazards are.

EarthquakeElevated
Heat waveModerate
Volcanic activityModerate
Strong windModerate
AvalancheModerate

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

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 offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Clark County records 2.9 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 12.5 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 25.7 per 100,000 residents in Clark County.

Homicide
2.9
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
12.5
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
25.7
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
17.1
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around Orchards (Clark County) rather than Orchards itself. They are shown and not scored. How to read death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. Either no municipal department reports for this place — many smaller communities are policed by the county — or its department did not report every month of the year. Either way there is no figure to show. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

1 major airport lies within 100 miles, the nearest Portland Intl at 8 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±0.3%2024 ACS 5-Year96.1%Top 20%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle8 miTop 18%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle1Bottom 1%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year2.0%Top 19%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Portland IntlPDX8 mi11,000 ft
Mahlon Sweet FldEUG113 mi8,009 ft
Seattle-Tacoma IntlSEA122 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
59
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—

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

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
PortlandMultnomah County641,16556Portland vs Orchards
VancouverClark County195,30055Vancouver vs Orchards
GreshamMultnomah County112,37847Gresham vs Orchards
HillsboroWashington County108,23156
BeavertonWashington County97,81264
TigardWashington County56,01162
AlohaWashington County52,38960
Lake OswegoClackamas County40,38159
Oregon CityClackamas County37,75561
McMinnvilleYamhill County34,59653
BethanyWashington County33,10665
TualatinWashington County27,76360

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.

Compare

Put Orchards side by side with a similar place.

Orchards vs WoodbridgeOrchards vs Minnehaha

Moving to Orchards from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 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 every source with how often each updates.