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Portland/Compare

Downtown vs Goose Hollow

Downtown and Goose Hollow are two official neighborhood associations in Portland. Goose Hollow is the calmer Part I map (32 vs 16). Downtown wins the errand count. Downtown has the lower ACS median ($1,403).

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.

AxisDowntownGoose Hollow
Safety1632
Schools5050
Walk10034
Cost fit100100
Vibe10024
Median rent$1,403$1,541
Median home$489,163$434,391
Population13,4717,577
Commute to Downtown6 min10 min
Commute to OHSU12 min8 min
Commute to Lloyd10 min14 min

Living numbers

Who rents, how old, how much crime, how many shops — beside the scores.

FactDowntownGoose Hollow
Renters85%87%
Median age35.935.9
Median income$59K$55K
Part I per 1k146.978.3
Groceries / 800m2510
Transit stops / 800m14077
Parks / 800m2714
311 last 14 days

Rent

Rent since 2014

ACS 5-year median gross rent for Portland city. Up 75% since 2014. Downtown is 15% below the 2024 city median. Goose H. is 7% below the 2024 city median.

$950$1.9kDowntown $1,403Goose H. $1,541201420162018202020222024

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 Downtown if you want the cafes and the night and you want the errands on foot. Vibe is 100 vs 24. Walk is 100 vs 34. ACS median rent is $1,403 vs $1,541. Read both pages before you decide.

Pick Goose Hollow if the quieter map matters more than the scene. Safety is 32 vs 16. Read both pages before you decide.

Downtown

The official name is Portland Downtown. Pioneer Courthouse Square and the bus mall are the center; the Part I count includes visitors and the night. Walk is the point. A yard is not. Old Town is a different association and not this row.

$1,403 median rent · safety 16 · walk 100

Goose Hollow

Between Providence Park and the West Hills. A MAX line, smaller apartments, and the short OHSU commute in this set. It is not Nob Hill, and it is not the Pearl.

$1,541 median rent · safety 32 · walk 34

Common questions

Same pair, said in questions. The numbers are in the tables.

Which is cheaper, Downtown or Goose Hollow?

Downtown is the lower ACS median: $1,403 vs $1,541. About 85% rent in Downtown vs 87% in Goose Hollow. Survey medians, not a listing you can message tonight.

Is Downtown more walkable than Goose Hollow?

Downtown wins the errand count (walk 100 vs 34). Groceries inside 800 meters: 25 vs 10. Not a Walk Score license.

Which is safer on this map, Downtown or Goose Hollow?

Goose Hollow is the calmer Part I read (32 vs 16). Combined rate 78.3 vs 146.9 per 1,000. Visitors count in those numbers.

Which scores higher for families, Downtown or Goose Hollow?

Downtown leads the school axis (50 vs 50). Nearby rating is thin vs thin. Median age 35.9 vs 35.9. Goose Hollow has more of the night. Neither number is a school assignment.

Which has the shorter commute to Downtown?

6 minutes from Downtown to Downtown, 10 from Goose Hollow. Downtown is the shorter weekday. Not this hour's traffic.

If you drop both

Closest official neighborhood association that is not Downtown or Goose Hollow: Pearl. Search Pearl or Pearl District. Warehouses turned condo stacks, with a grocery that arrived with the towers. The property rate is written by the shops as much as the residents. Northwest is the older grid next door.

Downtown vs PearlGoose Hollow vs Pearl

Scores are relative among official Portland neighborhood associations with the same editorial weights. Read the method.