Every official Portland neighborhood associations whose ACS median rent still sits at or under $2,500. Then we rank what’s left. A median is not this week’s one-bedroom.
First we drop every official neighborhood association whose ACS median rent is over $2,500. Then we rank what is left like the walkable list. The cut is five years of survey mixed across unit sizes — not the one-bedroom in the window.
10 of 20
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.
Top 10 of 20 official neighborhood associations. Same order for every reader. Fit is a number inside Portland only.
| # | Neighborhood | Fit | Rent | Schools | Safety | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Downtown | 82 | $1,403 | 50 | 16 | 100 |
| 2 | St. Johns | 56 | $1,698 | 50 | 89 | 37 |
| 3 | Northwest | 51 | $1,609 | 50 | 11 | 44 |
| 4 | Multnomah | 51 | $1,615 | 50 | 100 | 22 |
| 5 | Hillsdale | 49 | $1,664 | 50 | 84 | 24 |
| 6 | King | 48 | $2,019 | 50 | 79 | 21 |
| 7 | Pearl | 47 | $1,908 | 50 | 21 | 33 |
| 8 | Goose Hollow | 47 | $1,541 | 50 | 32 | 34 |
| 9 | Richmond | 46 | $1,751 | 50 | 53 | 23 |
| 10 | Boise | 45 | $1,708 | 50 | 58 | 17 |
$1K ACS median rent
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.
Stuck between these two? Downtown vs St. Johns
$2K ACS median rent
The bridge, the plaza, and a peninsula that feels like its own town. St. Johns is the official association. Cathedral Park is a different association and not this row. Downtown is a trip, not a walk.
Stuck between these two? St. Johns vs Northwest
$2K ACS median rent
Nob Hill, NW 23rd, and the Alphabet District are searches inside the Northwest District. The grid is older than the Pearl, and the shops are why the property count is not quiet. Goose Hollow is the stadium side.
Stuck between these two? Northwest vs Multnomah
$2K ACS median rent
Multnomah Village is the search inside the Multnomah association. A main street, houses up the hill, and the lowest property rate in this set. Hillsdale is the next hill. Downtown is a drive.
Stuck between these two? Multnomah vs Hillsdale
$2K ACS median rent
Southwest hills and a town center, with a shorter OHSU trip than most of this set outside Goose Hollow. Houses, not a strip. Do not confuse it with the Northwest District.
Stuck between these two? Hillsdale vs King
$2K ACS median rent
Alberta Arts is the search. The official association is King. The street is cafes; the numbered streets are houses. Concordia shares the Alberta alias farther east. Boise is Mississippi, not this row.
Stuck between these two? King vs Pearl
$2K ACS median rent
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.
Stuck between these two? Pearl vs Goose Hollow
$2K ACS median rent
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.
Stuck between these two? Goose Hollow vs Richmond
$2K ACS median rent
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.
Stuck between these two? Richmond vs Boise
$2K ACS median rent
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.
Same list, said in questions. The numbers are in the table.
Who still has an ACS median rent at or under $2,500, then who walks better among those. It is not a list of apartments you can rent tonight.
Downtown survives the $2,500 ACS cut at $1,403 and then ranks on walk (100 vs 37 in St. Johns). St. Johns is $1,698 — still under the line.
Same errand weights as the walkable list, then a hard cut at $2,500 ACS median rent. If the median is over the line, the area never shows up — even if it walks well.
Irvington never enters. ACS median rent is $2,621, over the $2,500 line, so the ranking never sees it. That line is a survey median, not this week’s asking rent.
No. Hyde Park in Austin is not Hyde Park in Chicago. A 72 here is a rank inside this city’s official neighborhood associations, not a grade you can carry across a state line.
ACS median gross rent among these 10 areas runs $1,403 to $2,019. Five-year survey, studios through large apartments mixed together — not a listing you can message tonight.
Everyone sees this order so the list is arguable. Set your own weights · Method.