Living in Troutdale, Oregon: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 5.4% above the U.S. average in the Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro metro area.
More house for the moneyA typical home costs 5.1 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Troutdale itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
Schools in town8 public schools: 6 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
A hospital close byLegacy Mount Hood Medical Center is in town and has an emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityPortland is about 12 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Troutdale meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

What kind of town

A suburb, not a stand-alone small town

Troutdale runs into the built-up area around Portland (Census Bureau, 2020 urban areas). We include suburbs under 20,000 people because some still feel like small towns, but daily life here is closer to the suburbs than to the towns Frank and Dave's book describes. Weigh it against towns farther out.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024: $456,100U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Down 0.5%Multnomah County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $1,653 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $89,337U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 69%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $4,316 a yearOregon: $3,876
Homes built before 1940: 1%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 9%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 105.4U.S. average = 100 (the Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved down 0.5% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro metro area, not Troutdale alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate: 15,7762020: 16,304
Median age: 38.1 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 15%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 27%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 29%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 2%U.S.: 6%
College students: 6%share of all residents

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work: Schools, health care and social services (19%); retail (17%); transportation, warehousing and utilities (11%)
Unemployment rate: 5%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 24 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 14%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 7%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Legacy Mount Hood Medical Center, Gresham, OR, in town. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 3 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

8 public schools in Troutdale, run by Reynolds SD 7 and Gresham-Barlow SD 10J.

Colleges in or next to town: Mt Hood Community College (5,000 to 9,999 students).

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Oregon's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with any internet subscription: 95%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low: 35°F
July average high: 81°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 18 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 40 a year
Rain and melted snow: 43.7 inches a year
Snow: 3 inches a year
Elevation: 110 feet

Weather stations: Troutdale (1 mile away) and Portland Wfo (7 miles away, rain and snow). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Gresham, ORCity of 112,0003

Portland, ORMetro of 2.5 million12

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Gresham, Portland.

Multnomah County is in a metro area of 1 million people or more (USDA rural-urban code 1, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

4 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Columbia River Highway Historic District. One is a National Historic Landmark, the country's highest honor for a historic place.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Fort Vancouver National Historic Site14 miles

Campus life. Check Mt Hood Community College's events calendar for games, concerts and plays open to the public.

Read about Troutdale's history on Wikipedia.

Know Troutdale?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Wood Village, OR4,700 people, 1 miles
Fairview, OR10,800 people, 2 miles
Washougal, WA18,000 people, 4 miles
Damascus, OR11,400 people, 8 miles
Sandy, OR13,300 people, 11 miles
Oatfield, OR13,300 people, 13 miles

Smaller places

Orient, OR (unincorporated)481 people, 5 miles
Fern Prairie, WA (unincorporated)2,053 people, 7 miles
Boring, OR (unincorporated)1,869 people, 8 miles
Maywood Park, OR808 people, 8 miles
Johnson City, OR554 people, 13 miles
Dunthorpe, OR (unincorporated)1,875 people, 15 miles

Sources

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.