Portland/Compare
Boise vs Richmond
Boise and Richmond are two official neighborhood associations in Portland. Boise is the calmer Part I map (58 vs 53). Richmond wins the errand count. Boise has the lower ACS median ($1,708).
Data period. ACS 2024 5-year (2020-2024) · PPB May 2025 – Apr 2026 · OSM Sep 2026. ACS and PPB retrieved 2026-09-23; OSM retrieved 2026-09-23. Editorial copy last revised Sep 2026.
Scores
Fit axes among official Portland neighborhood associations.
| Axis | Boise | Richmond |
|---|---|---|
| Safety | 58 | 53 |
| Schools | 50 | 50 |
| Walk | 17 | 23 |
| Cost fit | 100 | 100 |
| Vibe | 30 | 28 |
| Median rent | $1,708 | $1,751 |
| Median home | $587,600 | $702,581 |
| Population | 4,501 | 17,628 |
| Commute to Downtown | 16 min | 16 min |
| Commute to OHSU | 20 min | 14 min |
| Commute to Lloyd | 12 min | 16 min |
Living numbers
Who rents, how old, how much crime, how many shops — beside the scores.
| Fact | Boise | Richmond |
|---|---|---|
| Renters | 75% | 45% |
| Median age | 34.1 | 39.4 |
| Median income | $80K | $114K |
| Part I per 1k | 51.1 | 53.0 |
| Groceries / 800m | 7 | 7 |
| Transit stops / 800m | 31 | 53 |
| Parks / 800m | 8 | 13 |
| 311 last 14 days | — | — |
Rent
Rent since 2014
ACS 5-year median gross rent for Portland city. Up 75% since 2014. Boise is 3% above the 2024 city median. Richmond is 6% above the 2024 city median.
Overlapping 5-year ACS windows (B25064), not asking rent. Census does not publish a rent series for each official neighborhood, so the line is the city place. Dashed marks are each area’s ACS 2024 median.
Which to pick
The same numbers as the table, in sentences. Nobody wins the city.
Pick Boise if you want the cafes and the night. Vibe is 30 vs 28. Read both pages before you decide.
Pick Richmond if you already want this pocket more than the table. Boise leads the numbered axes on this page.
Boise
Mississippi Avenue is the search. The official association is Boise. The street is the night; the blocks off it are houses. Alberta is King, one association east — not this polygon.
$1,708 median rent · safety 58 · walk 17
Richmond
Hawthorne’s south side and the eastern run of Division both land in Richmond. Cafes, houses, and the lowest violent rate in this set. Sunnyside is the north side of Hawthorne, its own association.
$1,751 median rent · safety 53 · walk 23
Common questions
Same pair, said in questions. The numbers are in the tables.
Which is cheaper, Boise or Richmond?
Boise is the lower ACS median: $1,708 vs $1,751. About 75% rent in Boise vs 45% in Richmond. Survey medians, not a listing you can message tonight.
Is Boise more walkable than Richmond?
Richmond wins the errand count (walk 17 vs 23). Groceries inside 800 meters: 7 vs 7. Not a Walk Score license.
Which is safer on this map, Boise or Richmond?
Boise is the calmer Part I read (58 vs 53). Combined rate 51.1 vs 53.0 per 1,000. Visitors count in those numbers.
Which scores higher for families, Boise or Richmond?
Boise leads the school axis (50 vs 50). Nearby rating is thin vs thin. Median age 34.1 vs 39.4. Richmond has more of the night. Neither number is a school assignment.
Which has the shorter commute to Downtown?
16 minutes from Boise to Downtown, 16 from Richmond. A wash on this estimate. Not this hour's traffic.
If you drop both
Closest official neighborhood association that is not Boise or Richmond: Eliot. A small association between the river and MLK, south of Boise. Broadway is the edge. The property rate is the highest in this Portland set because that edge is busy — it is not a score for every side street.
Scores are relative among official Portland neighborhood associations with the same editorial weights. Read the method.