This Is The Best City In Oregon To Live In

Beaverton is the best city to live in Oregon, according to a new list that ranks the best cities state by state. Health and fitness, livability, and employment opportunities were named as the city's best qualities.

The list, compiled by 24/7 Wall Street, notes Beaverton's as one of the healthiest populations in the United States, citing the city's low rate of preventable hospitalizations as one of the best in the nation; and if you're looking for work, Beaverton's variety of job prospects are tough to match.

"Few cities are likely to offer more (job) opportunities than Beaverton," 24/7 Wall Street writes. "Over the last two years, employment in Beaverton has increased by 8.3 percent, faster than in all but a few dozen other U.S. cities. The national job growth rate over the same period was 3.5 percent."

The median home value in Beaverton is $363,100, just slightly below the Portland metro region average of $385,000, and the poverty rate is 9.6 percent, below Portland (12 percent) and the state as a whole (13 percent).

Through its analysis, 24/7 Wall Street found that the majority of cities that made its list are home to a larger share of college-educated adults than the share of college-educated adults nationwide (31.3 percent). Educated populations, 24/7 Wall Street writes, are more resilient to economic downturns. Nearly 45 percent of Beaverton's residents reportedly have at least a bachelor's degree.

Another trend noted by 24/7 Wall Street was the violent crime rate for almost every city on the list is lower than the U.S. rate overall; and the presence of cultural amenities and entertainment venues was another common factor for the cities.

To determine the best city to live in every state, 24/7 Wall Street considered the 550 cities with populations of 65,000 or more. If a state had no cities with a population of at least 65,000, all cities in the state with a population of 40,000 or more were considered.

Data was collected in nine categories:

1. Crime
2. Demography
3. Economy
4. Education
5. Environment
6. Health
7. Housing
8. Infrastructure
9. Leisure

24/7 Wall Street used data from Census Bureau’s 2016 American Community Service, the FBI’s 2016 Uniform Crime Report, the Bureau of Labor Statistics and ATTOM Data Solutions. For each category, specific measures contributed to a city’s overall score.

See the full list from 24/7 Wall Street here.

The city of Beaverton was also named one of Money Magazine's best cities in both 2016 and 2017, ranking 9 and 12 in the U.S., respectively.

Written by Feroze Dhanoa, Patch National Staff, with additional reporting by Travis Loose.

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