These Are The 10 Most Successful Cities In Oregon

What is success? Is it the amount of money you have in your bank account, at any given point? Is it that feeling you get after delivering a killer presentation, or even a pretty decent bar joke?

Or is it something bigger–something wholly unnamable, undefinable, immeasurable, and totally subjective?

Probably so.

But here at Zippia, we like things that we can neatly measure and then expound upon. So yes, with the Power of Math, we have determined the unarguable, totally objective 10 most successful cities in Oregon. And here they are:

1. Happy Valley
2. Sherwood
3. West Linn
4. Lake Oswego
5. Damascus
6. Sandy
7. Tigard
8. Hillsboro
9. Wilsonville
10. Tualatin

If you are trying to argue already with our unarguable list, keep reading. There’s a method to this madness.

How We Determined The Most Successful Cities In Oregon

The first thing that comes to most capitalist minds in terms of success is–money. After all, rich people must be successful, right?

Meh. Maybe. But we think there’s a bit more that goes into it than that. So we looked at this set of criteria from the 2010-2014 American Community Survey:

1. Happy Valley

Population: 15,693Median Income: $100,438
Poverty Level: 4.0%
Unemployment Rate: 7.5%

2. Sherwood

Population: 18,687Median Income: $84,360
Poverty Level: 6.2%
Unemployment Rate: 7.5%

3. West Linn

Population: 25,710Median Income: $83,933
Poverty Level: 5.7%
Unemployment Rate: 8.1%

4. Lake Oswego

Population: 37,310Median Income: $84,244
Poverty Level: 7.3%
Unemployment Rate: 9.1%

5. Damascus

Population: 10,711Median Income: $85,708
Poverty Level: 8.4%
Unemployment Rate: 8.9%

6. Sandy

Population: 9,945Median Income: $56,476
Poverty Level: 8.4%
Unemployment Rate: 8.5%

7. Tigard

Population: 49,633Median Income: $60,849
Poverty Level: 10.5%
Unemployment Rate: 8.3%

8. Hillsboro

Population: 95,765Median Income: $66,668
Poverty Level: 12.4%
Unemployment Rate: 8.4%

9. Wilsonville

Population: 20,335Median Income: $58,757
Poverty Level: 9.8%
Unemployment Rate: 8.9%

10. Tualatin

Population: 26,604Median Income: $65,903
Poverty Level: 10.5%
Unemployment Rate: 9.6%

Measuring Success

If you’re still looking at this post thinking, “Surely, such superficial methods can’t possibly measure a city, or rather, the individuals that make up that city’s success!” well, you’re probably right.

But we like to measure things, and when it comes to success, we feel pretty successful in our approach. Congrats to Happy Valley and our winners. And for those who didn’t make the cut, well, better luck next year.

Detailed List Of The Most Successful Cities In Oregon

Rank	City	Median Income	Poverty Rate	Unemployment Rate
1	Happy Valley	$100,438	4.0%	7.5%
2	Sherwood	$84,360	6.2%	7.5%
3	West Linn	$83,933	5.7%	8.1%
4	Lake Oswego	$84,244	7.3%	9.1%
5	Damascus	$85,708	8.4%	8.9%
6	Sandy	$56,476	8.4%	8.5%
7	Tigard	$60,849	10.5%	8.3%
8	Hillsboro	$66,668	12.4%	8.4%
9	Wilsonville	$58,757	9.8%	8.9%
10	Tualatin	$65,903	10.5%	9.6%
11	Molalla	$52,193	8.1%	9.8%
12	Hood River	$49,350	15.5%	4.2%
13	Fairview	$53,381	17.2%	5.4%
14	Beaverton	$57,068	13.3%	9.2%
15	Oregon City	$59,429	12.5%	9.8%
16	Bend	$52,471	13.5%	8.3%
17	Canby	$58,653	10.8%	10.3%
18	Creswell	$49,867	7.2%	10.3%
19	Newberg	$54,856	19.0%	7.9%
20	Scappoose	$62,244	12.4%	12.1%
21	Gladstone	$54,494	13.5%	9.9%
22	Keizer	$50,897	14.2%	9.5%
23	Milwaukie	$55,827	13.6%	10.2%
24	Central Point	$46,765	12.0%	10.1%
25	Hermiston	$46,655	17.4%	8.1%
26	Eagle Point	$56,597	13.5%	12.1%
27	Portland	$53,230	18.0%	9.4%
28	Warrenton	$38,693	15.1%	5.5%
29	Pendleton	$45,930	14.4%	9.7%
30	The Dalles	$41,561	14.7%	8.3%
31	Silverton	$53,929	14.9%	11.3%
32	Newport	$40,448	17.9%	7.1%
33	Brookings	$41,704	11.4%	10.2%
34	Troutdale	$58,790	15.8%	12.8%
35	Astoria	$45,104	21.7%	7.8%
36	Forest Grove	$48,365	15.1%	10.9%
37	Cornelius	$55,203	12.5%	16.3%
38	Ashland	$43,500	21.2%	9.5%
39	Talent	$32,168	20.9%	7.0%
40	Gresham	$47,706	20.0%	12.1%
41	Dallas	$50,170	17.1%	14.4%
42	North Bend	$43,097	15.5%	12.5%
43	Salem	$46,273	18.0%	12.9%
44	St. Helens	$47,421	16.6%	15.1%
45	Lebanon	$40,791	20.6%	10.0%
46	Albany	$45,478	19.8%	12.5%
47	Umatilla	$44,038	20.4%	12.5%
48	Seaside	$41,037	18.3%	12.2%
49	Baker City	$35,963	17.5%	10.8%
50	Florence	$32,459	18.5%	9.8%
51	Eugene	$42,715	28.5%	10.0%
52	Corvallis	$40,425	36.0%	8.7%
53	McMinnville	$44,451	23.7%	12.1%
54	La Grande	$36,536	26.7%	9.4%
55	Junction City	$40,625	17.4%	14.6%
56	Medford	$42,366	22.5%	12.2%
57	Stayton	$41,432	19.9%	15.1%
58	Sutherlin	$37,764	21.9%	11.8%
59	Woodburn	$43,144	24.1%	13.6%
60	Sheridan	$40,729	17.4%	21.5%
61	Coos Bay	$36,360	23.0%	11.1%
62	Springfield	$39,355	22.1%	12.9%
63	Lincoln City	$35,524	24.4%	10.4%
64	Cottage Grove	$35,717	22.0%	12.8%
65	Sweet Home	$36,387	21.0%	14.7%
66	Roseburg	$39,081	22.4%	14.2%
67	Madras	$40,631	25.9%	14.0%
68	Monmouth	$35,750	36.3%	10.9%
69	Grants Pass	$33,240	22.4%	13.3%
70	Redmond	$39,008	23.0%	19.5%
71	Independence	$40,904	32.6%	18.8%
72	Klamath Falls	$33,604	26.0%	16.2%
73	Prineville	$29,249	27.8%	15.0%
74	Winston	$30,843	27.8%	15.1%
75	Milton-Freewater	$33,082	29.7%	17.0%
76	Ontario	$26,512	31.3%	15.1%

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