Portland, where the dream of the 90s is still alive! Whether you’re an outdoor sports guru interested in maximizing your time on mountain and coast or a caffeinated fashionista joining the hipster pilgrimage, Portland, Oregon, is a fun and funky place to inhabit. But the intention to be a Portlander is only part of the formula; you still need a place to crash, right? Let’s find you a flippin’ sweet apartment.
Having trouble with Craigslist Portland? Can't find that special apartment for rent on Apartment Finder or Zillow? Apartment List is here to help!
Cathedral Park and St. John's Bridge
Trees blossoming at Reed's College
View of Portland, OR
Every region boasts a unique set of perks and challenges to human survival. Here are some considerations you ought to weigh in choosing a place to live.
Rain: Oregon’s called the Evergreen State for a reason: rainfall amounts to forty inches a year in Portland, over half this amount accruing between November and February. So you’ve got to be prepared to conduct your daily existence in the bald threat of wetness. Invest in some good boots and a raincoat. And—if you’re a bike commuter—front and back fenders are absolutely essential.
Sun: The maritime climate may keep temperatures mild (it rarely strays more than fifteen degrees on either side of 53° F, the annual average), but latitude dictates surprisingly short winter days. If you’re worried about seasonal affective disorder, be sure to choose a pad with lots of natural light and south-facing windows.
Transport: Think of Portland as the littlest brother in a trio of Pac NW cities: Vancouver, British Columbia, and Seattle, Washington, lie to the north along the heavily trafficked I-5 corridor. Portland has decent public transport options, and Amtrak offers rail travel north as well as south (to Corvallis and Eugene). But if you aim to make it out to stunning Cannon Beach or up to staggering Mt. Hood, both within a 100 miles of the metro area, you’ll need a car. (Just make sure it’s a hybrid!)
Portland is bisected vertically by the Willamette River and horizontally by Burnside St., rendering four quadrants: Southwest, Northwest, Southeast, and Northeast. Yet the ubiquitous “Keep Portland Weird” slogan characterizes even the city’s geography. That’s right, there’s a fifth “quadrant,” North Portland.
• SW Portland: Home to two of the city’s largest universities, Portland State and OHSU, Southwest is the quieter option for those hungry for downtown amenities. Upscale dining without the touristy bustle? Find it here. Brownstone duplex apartments.
• NW Portland: The veritable heartbeat of Portland’s financial sector. PGE Park hosts MLS soccer games, Powell’s City of Books always has a world-renowned author lecturing, and Nob Hill’s got the highest per capita boutique greeting card stores. The only quadrant where the average building height exceeds five stories. Chic and contemporary studios.
• SE Portland: The original bohemian ghetto. This neighborhood birthed Stumptown Coffee almost 20 years ago and Hawthorne St. has more vintage clothing stores than stoplights. Can’t stop showing off your fixie? Contemplating yet another tattoo? You’ll love Southeast. Room in a shared co-op.
• NE Portland: Highest percentage of homes on the historic registry. Beautiful, tree-lined avenues scattered by the occasional brewpub or roastery. Serene and suburban (but not, ya know?). Renovated “Old Portland” craftsman house.
• N Portland: Recently revitalized, North is quickly becoming the new artist hotbed. Home to Adidas, a replica of the Golden Gate Bridge, and a slew of Ethiopian restaurants. Condo near the Mississippi Arts District.
Portland is a diverse town—in more ways than one. Fitting yourself into that diversity can be a trial, but feeling comfortable in your place of residence is propriety number one. Good luck, and welcome to Bridgetown, USA!
Welcome to the March 2021 Portland Rent Report. Portland rents increased over the past month. In this report, we'll evaluate trends in the Portland rental market, including comparisons to cities throughout the state and nation.
Welcome to the March 2021 Portland Rent Report. Portland rents increased over the past month. In this report, we'll evaluate trends in the Portland rental market, including comparisons to cities throughout the state and nation.
Portland rents have increased 0.6% over the past month, but are down sharply by 7.1% in comparison to the same time last year. Currently, median rents in Portland stand at $1,121 for a one-bedroom apartment and $1,308 for a two-bedroom. Portland's year-over-year rent growth lags the state average of -1.9%, as well as the national average of -0.8%.
While rent decreases have been occurring in the city of Portland over the past year, cities in the rest of the metro are seeing the opposite trend. Rents have risen in 7 of the largest 10 cities in the Portland metro for which we have data. Oregon as a whole logged rent growth of -1.9% over the past year. Here's a look at how rents compare across some of the largest cities in the metro.
As rents have fallen sharply in Portland, many other large cities nationwide have seen prices increase, in some cases substantially. Compared to most similar cities across the country, Portland is less affordable for renters.
For more information check out our national report. You can also access our full data for cities and counties across the U.S.
Data from private listing sites, including our own, tends to skew toward luxury apartments, which introduces sample bias when estimates are calculated directly from these listings. To address these limitations, we’ve recently made major updates to our methodology, which we believe have greatly improved the accuracy and reliability of our estimates.
Read more about our new methodology below, or see a more detailed post about the methodology on our blog.
Apartment List is committed to making our rent estimates the best and most accurate available. To do this, we start with reliable median rent statistics from the Census Bureau, then extrapolate them forward to the current month using a growth rate calculated from our listing data. In doing so, we use a same-unit analysis similar to Case-Shiller’s approach, comparing only units that are available across both time periods to provide an accurate picture of rent growth in cities across the country.
Our approach corrects for the sample bias inherent in other private sources, producing results that are much closer to statistics published by the Census Bureau and HUD. Our methodology also allows us to construct a picture of rent growth over an extended period of time, with estimates that are updated each month.
Read more about our methodology.
Apartment List publishes monthly reports on rental trends for hundreds of cities across the U.S. We intend these reports to be a source of reliable information that help renters and policymakers make sound decisions, and we invest significant time and effort in gathering and analyzing rent data. Our work is covered regularly by journalists across the country.
We are continuously working to improve our methodology and data, with the goal of providing renters with the information that they need to make the best decisions.
Apartment List has released Portland’s results from the third annual Apartment List Renter Satisfaction Survey. This survey, which drew on responses from over 45,000 renters nationwide, provides insight on what states and cities must do to meet the needs of the country’s 111 million renters.
"Portland renters expressed general satisfaction with the city overall," according to Apartment ...
Here’s how Portland ranks on:
Apartment List has released Portland’s results from the third annual Apartment List Renter Satisfaction Survey. This survey, which drew on responses from over 45,000 renters nationwide, provides insight on what states and cities must do to meet the needs of the country’s 111 million renters.
"Portland renters expressed general satisfaction with the city overall," according to Apartment List. "However, ratings varied greatly across different categories, indicating that even though renters love Portland, some aspects can be better."
Key Findings in Portland include the following:
Renters say:
"There are so many activities both in and outside of the city. Unfortunately, rent is skyrocketing and traffic is getting worse." -Nolan B.
"People love living in Portland, which makes it a happy, fun environment. However, people love it so much that it’s crowded and expensive, too." -Chelsea C.
"I love how green and vibrant everything is, especially in the summer. I also like the laid-back atmosphere." -Ashley M.
For more information on the survey methodology and findings or to speak to one of our researchers, please contact our team at rentonomics@apartmentlist.com.