Portland/Compare
Sellwood vs Sunnyside
Sellwood and Sunnyside are two official neighborhood associations in Portland. Sellwood is the calmer Part I map (47 vs 26). Walk is a wash (18 vs 18). Sellwood has the lower ACS median ($1,561).
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 | Sellwood | Sunnyside |
|---|---|---|
| Safety | 47 | 26 |
| Schools | 50 | 50 |
| Walk | 18 | 18 |
| Cost fit | 100 | 100 |
| Vibe | 23 | 25 |
| Median rent | $1,561 | $1,788 |
| Median home | $658,627 | $589,800 |
| Population | 10,569 | 3,717 |
| Commute to Downtown | 20 min | 14 min |
| Commute to OHSU | 16 min | 14 min |
| Commute to Lloyd | 22 min | 14 min |
Living numbers
Who rents, how old, how much crime, how many shops — beside the scores.
| Fact | Sellwood | Sunnyside |
|---|---|---|
| Renters | 55% | 65% |
| Median age | 37.8 | 37.3 |
| Median income | $86K | $95K |
| Part I per 1k | 63.9 | 85.0 |
| Groceries / 800m | 8 | 9 |
| Transit stops / 800m | 38 | 38 |
| Parks / 800m | 22 | 6 |
| 311 last 14 days | — | — |
Rent
Rent since 2014
ACS 5-year median gross rent for Portland city. Up 75% since 2014. Sellwood is 6% below the 2024 city median. Sunnyside is 8% 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 Sellwood if the quieter map matters more than the scene and you want the quieter, family-leaning read. Safety is 47 vs 26. Sellwood is tagged family on this map; Sunnyside is not. ACS median rent is $1,561 vs $1,788. Read both pages before you decide.
Pick Sunnyside if you want the cafes and the night and the shorter ride to Downtown is the point. Vibe is 25 vs 23. 14 vs 20 minutes to Downtown. Read both pages before you decide.
Sellwood
Sellwood and Westmoreland, one association: the bridge, the antique row, more house than Hawthorne. Search Moreland or Westmoreland and you land here. It is not a west-side neighborhood.
$1,561 median rent · safety 47 · walk 18
Sunnyside
Hawthorne’s north side. Belmont sits in the same small association. Search Hawthorne and Richmond also answers; this is the row people mean when they mean the street. A yard is rare.
$1,788 median rent · safety 26 · walk 18
Common questions
Same pair, said in questions. The numbers are in the tables.
Which is cheaper, Sellwood or Sunnyside?
Sellwood is the lower ACS median: $1,561 vs $1,788. About 55% rent in Sellwood vs 65% in Sunnyside. Survey medians, not a listing you can message tonight.
Is Sellwood more walkable than Sunnyside?
Walk is basically a tie (18 vs 18). Count groceries if you care: 8 in Sellwood vs 9 in Sunnyside, inside 800 meters.
Which is safer on this map, Sellwood or Sunnyside?
Sellwood is the calmer Part I read (47 vs 26). Combined rate 63.9 vs 85.0 per 1,000. Visitors count in those numbers.
Which scores higher for families, Sellwood or Sunnyside?
Sellwood leads the school axis (50 vs 50). Nearby rating is thin vs thin. Median age 37.8 vs 37.3. Sunnyside has more of the night. Neither number is a school assignment.
Which has the shorter commute to Downtown?
20 minutes from Sellwood to Downtown, 14 from Sunnyside. Sunnyside is the shorter weekday. Not this hour's traffic.
If you drop both
Closest official neighborhood association that is not Sellwood or Sunnyside: 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.
Scores are relative among official Portland neighborhood associations with the same editorial weights. Read the method.