How many neighborhoods does Portland, Oregon have?

Own It Northwest publishes neighborhood real estate guides for 95 named Portland neighborhoods. The City of Portland's Office of Community & Civic Life recognizes roughly 95 neighborhood associations citywide, grouped by seven coalition districts; precise counts shift as associations merge or form, so verify against the city's current directory for the exact present-day list.

What are the six address sectors in Portland?

Portland uses NW, SW, N, NE, SE, and S address prefixes. The city added South Portland (S) in May 2020, making six sectors total — the City of Portland's own notice calls these "sextants" rather than quadrants. Burnside Street and the Willamette River provide general orientation, but the actual sector boundaries control; always verify a specific address with PortlandMaps rather than inferring the prefix from the river or Burnside.

Which Portland neighborhoods are most popular with home buyers?

Buyer interest varies by budget and life stage, so there is no single answer. In the inner-east neighborhoods Alameda, Irvington, Laurelhurst, Grant Park, Rose City Park, Mt. Tabor, Sellwood-Moreland, Richmond, and Ladd's Addition consistently attract buyers wanting walkable blocks and character homes. On the west side, the Pearl District, Northwest District, Hillsdale, Multnomah Village, and Forest Heights draw different buyer profiles. North Portland neighborhoods St. Johns and Kenton remain active for buyers wanting more land and a distinct identity. Use the individual neighborhood guides linked below to compare the specific blocks you are considering.

What are the safest neighborhoods in Portland?

Crime statistics vary year to year and differ meaningfully by block within the same neighborhood, so a single ranked list rarely holds up. The city publishes neighborhood-level data through the Portland Police Bureau's open-data dashboard; buyers typically compare their specific candidate addresses against that data rather than relying on a published list. Our Portland neighborhoods to consider when safety is a priority will be covered in a separate guide planned for later this week.

How do Portland neighborhoods differ in home style?

The inner-east neighborhoods and parts of Northwest Portland hold the largest concentration of pre-1930 character homes — Craftsman bungalows, Old Portland foursquares, English Tudors, and Colonial Revivals, often on smaller streetcar-era lots. Outer-southeast and east Portland lean toward post-war ranches and mid-century homes on larger lots. South Waterfront is almost entirely 2000s and newer condos and towers. North Portland mixes older bungalows in St. Johns and Kenton with newer infill. The sector tells you something about likely era and style, but two homes on the same block can differ by 50 years of construction — always verify era, condition, and lot specifics for the exact address.

What's the difference between a Portland neighborhood and an address sector?

An address sector (NW, SW, N, NE, SE, S) is the direction prefix used in the city's grid-based addressing system. A neighborhood is a named community area recognized by the City of Portland's Office of Community & Civic Life and typically governed by a neighborhood association. The two overlap but are not the same — a single sector contains many neighborhoods, and some neighborhoods have been reassigned sectors over time (notably when South Portland was created in 2020). An address sector also does not equal a school district, a county, or a municipal boundary; verify each separately for a specific address.

Should I pick a Portland neighborhood before looking at homes?

No — pick your daily destinations first. Put work, regular appointments, schools, and activities on a map, then identify the sectors or suburbs that connect those destinations efficiently. From there, narrow to a handful of candidate neighborhoods and compare individual addresses within them. Choosing a neighborhood first often locks the search into the wrong geography for the commute or the family's actual pattern of use. Our complete Portland relocation guide explains the sequence in detail.

Portland Neighborhoods Hub

A reviewed guide to every Portland neighborhood

Portland, Oregon is organized into six address sectors — NW, SW, N, NE, SE, and S — and roughly 95 named neighborhoods inside those sectors. Own It Northwest publishes real estate guides for 95 of them, grouped below by sector so you can compare the places your daily life will actually connect. Each neighborhood guide covers the housing stock, era, typical lot pattern, price context, and the specifics that change block to block. Use the sector descriptions to orient yourself, scan the lists for the names you recognize, and click through for the detail that supports a real buying decision. Reviewed October 21, 2026.

For the sequence of choosing a neighborhood, pairing it with a budget, and planning the move itself, see our complete Portland relocation guide. For side-by-side suburb comparisons, see Beaverton vs Hillsboro or Lake Oswego vs West Linn.

What are Portland’s six address sectors?

Portland’s addressing system uses six directional prefixes. The city’s own announcement describes the addition of South Portland (S) in May 2020 and refers to the six-sector framework as “sextants.”

Prefix	Sector	What’s there
NW	Northwest Portland	The west side of the Willamette River north of Burnside — Pearl District, Northwest District, Forest Park, Linnton, and the Forest Heights hills. Dense urban living on one side, forest-adjacent on the other.
N	North Portland	The peninsula between the Willamette and Columbia rivers — St. Johns, Kenton, Overlook, Cathedral Park, Portsmouth, University Park. Working-river heritage, bridges, and some of the city's most distinctive address prefixes.
NE	Northeast Portland	North of Burnside and east of the Willamette — Alameda, Irvington, Hollywood, Rose City Park, Beaumont-Wilshire, Laurelhurst, Grant Park, Cully. The city's largest sector by neighborhood count, with the deepest stock of character homes.
SE	Southeast Portland	South of Burnside and east of the Willamette — Sellwood-Moreland, Mt. Tabor, Hawthorne-adjacent blocks (Richmond, Sunnyside, Buckman), Division-adjacent blocks (Hosford-Abernethy, Brooklyn), and the Lents and Powellhurst-Gilbert outer east.
S	South Portland	The city's newest address sector, created in May 2020 — South Waterfront and other S-prefix locations between downtown and the Lake Oswego border. Dense riverfront redevelopment on one end, hillside blocks on the other.
SW	Southwest Portland	West of the Willamette and south of Burnside — Downtown, Goose Hollow, Hillsdale, Multnomah Village, the Southwest Hills, Arlington Heights, Bridlemile, and other hill-and-valley neighborhoods with the city's steepest grades.
E	East Portland	The far-east neighborhoods — Centennial, Hazelwood, Mill Park, Parkrose, Glenfair, Powellhurst-Gilbert — annexed through the 1980s and 1990s and anchored by larger lots, newer post-war housing, and SE/NE address prefixes.

Burnside Street and the Willamette River provide general orientation but are not a complete rule for every address — North and South Portland in particular require attention to the actual sector boundaries. Always verify a specific address with PortlandMaps.

Portland neighborhoods by sector

95 Portland neighborhood guides, grouped by address sector. Click any neighborhood for the full real estate guide including housing stock, era, pricing context, and local specifics.

Northeast Portland22 neighborhoods

North of Burnside and east of the Willamette — Alameda, Irvington, Hollywood, Rose City Park, Beaumont-Wilshire, Laurelhurst, Grant Park, Cully. The city's largest sector by neighborhood count, with the deepest stock of character homes.

North Portland14 neighborhoods

The peninsula between the Willamette and Columbia rivers — St. Johns, Kenton, Overlook, Cathedral Park, Portsmouth, University Park. Working-river heritage, bridges, and some of the city's most distinctive address prefixes.

Northwest Portland9 neighborhoods

The west side of the Willamette River north of Burnside — Pearl District, Northwest District, Forest Park, Linnton, and the Forest Heights hills. Dense urban living on one side, forest-adjacent on the other.

Southeast Portland18 neighborhoods

South of Burnside and east of the Willamette — Sellwood-Moreland, Mt. Tabor, Hawthorne-adjacent blocks (Richmond, Sunnyside, Buckman), Division-adjacent blocks (Hosford-Abernethy, Brooklyn), and the Lents and Powellhurst-Gilbert outer east.

South Portland1 neighborhoods

The city's newest address sector, created in May 2020 — South Waterfront and other S-prefix locations between downtown and the Lake Oswego border. Dense riverfront redevelopment on one end, hillside blocks on the other.

South Portland

Southwest Portland19 neighborhoods

West of the Willamette and south of Burnside — Downtown, Goose Hollow, Hillsdale, Multnomah Village, the Southwest Hills, Arlington Heights, Bridlemile, and other hill-and-valley neighborhoods with the city's steepest grades.

East Portland12 neighborhoods

The far-east neighborhoods — Centennial, Hazelwood, Mill Park, Parkrose, Glenfair, Powellhurst-Gilbert — annexed through the 1980s and 1990s and anchored by larger lots, newer post-war housing, and SE/NE address prefixes.

What should buyers compare across Portland neighborhoods?

Six axes change meaningfully from one Portland neighborhood to the next. The sector tells you something about each, but two homes on the same block can differ, so verify each for your specific candidate addresses.

Axis	What to look for
Housing stock and era	Pre-1930 character homes concentrate in the inner-east and parts of Northwest; post-war ranches dominate outer-southeast and east Portland; South Waterfront is almost entirely 2000s and newer. Era drives maintenance expectations and insurance quotes.
Price point	Pricing varies by neighborhood, era, lot, and view. Use neighborhood-level comparables from the individual guides and verify with the actual tax account on PortlandMaps for the specific property.
Commute and transit	Test actual door-to-door trips at the time you’ll use them. TriMet covers MAX, bus, and WES; Portland Streetcar handles the central city. Bridge choice and time-of-day matter more than straight-line distance.
Schools and services	School boundaries do not match neighborhood boundaries. Confirm the exact address with the responsible district rather than inferring from the neighborhood name.
Topography and drainage	Southwest and Northwest hills bring grade changes, stormwater considerations, and in some blocks landslide-hazard overlays. Inner-east is mostly flatter with established drainage. The hills reward careful inspection.
Neighborhood association and policy	The City of Portland’s Office of Community & Civic Life maintains neighborhood association records. Local policy (parking, overlay zoning, historic designation) can affect what you can and can’t do with a property.

Which Portland suburbs do buyers also consider?

Beaverton, Hillsboro, Tigard, Tualatin, Lake Oswego, West Linn, Milwaukie, Happy Valley, and Cedar Mill are separate communities, each with their own schools, services, and property-tax authority. If your destinations sit on that side of the river or outside the city line, start the comparison from the destination rather than from downtown Portland.

BeavertonBuying and selling in Beaverton, one of the largest cities in the Portland metro and a major employment hub.View Beaverton Guide →Cedar MillBuying and selling in Cedar Mill, a well-established unincorporated community between Beaverton and Portland.View Cedar Mill Guide →Happy ValleyBuying and selling in Happy Valley, where property condition, route, public records, and comparable sales merit review.View Happy Valley Guide →HillsboroBuying and selling in Hillsboro, where property condition, public records, transportation, and comparable sales merit review.View Hillsboro Guide →Lake OswegoCompare Lake Oswego property options using objective search criteria and address-specific diligence.View Lake Oswego Guide →MilwaukieCompare Milwaukie homes using the applicable municipal records, condition, routes, flood information, and current sales.View Milwaukie Guide →PortlandA buyer-focused framework for comparing Portland locations, homes, ownership costs, and property records.View Portland Guide →TigardBuying and selling guidance for Tigard with property-specific access and comparable-sale diligence.View Tigard Guide →TualatinBuying and selling guidance for Tualatin with property-specific access and comparable-sale diligence.View Tualatin Guide →West LinnCompare West Linn homes through an address-specific records, condition, cost, and transaction workflow.View West Linn Guide →

Common questions about Portland neighborhoods

How many neighborhoods does Portland, Oregon have?: Own It Northwest publishes neighborhood real estate guides for 95 named Portland neighborhoods. The City of Portland's Office of Community & Civic Life recognizes roughly 95 neighborhood associations citywide, grouped by seven coalition districts; precise counts shift as associations merge or form, so verify against the city's current directory for the exact present-day list.
What are the six address sectors in Portland?: Portland uses NW, SW, N, NE, SE, and S address prefixes. The city added South Portland (S) in May 2020, making six sectors total — the City of Portland's own notice calls these "sextants" rather than quadrants. Burnside Street and the Willamette River provide general orientation, but the actual sector boundaries control; always verify a specific address with PortlandMaps rather than inferring the prefix from the river or Burnside.
Which Portland neighborhoods are most popular with home buyers?: Buyer interest varies by budget and life stage, so there is no single answer. In the inner-east neighborhoods Alameda, Irvington, Laurelhurst, Grant Park, Rose City Park, Mt. Tabor, Sellwood-Moreland, Richmond, and Ladd's Addition consistently attract buyers wanting walkable blocks and character homes. On the west side, the Pearl District, Northwest District, Hillsdale, Multnomah Village, and Forest Heights draw different buyer profiles. North Portland neighborhoods St. Johns and Kenton remain active for buyers wanting more land and a distinct identity. Use the individual neighborhood guides linked below to compare the specific blocks you are considering.
What are the safest neighborhoods in Portland?: Crime statistics vary year to year and differ meaningfully by block within the same neighborhood, so a single ranked list rarely holds up. The city publishes neighborhood-level data through the Portland Police Bureau's open-data dashboard; buyers typically compare their specific candidate addresses against that data rather than relying on a published list. Our Portland neighborhoods to consider when safety is a priority will be covered in a separate guide planned for later this week.
How do Portland neighborhoods differ in home style?: The inner-east neighborhoods and parts of Northwest Portland hold the largest concentration of pre-1930 character homes — Craftsman bungalows, Old Portland foursquares, English Tudors, and Colonial Revivals, often on smaller streetcar-era lots. Outer-southeast and east Portland lean toward post-war ranches and mid-century homes on larger lots. South Waterfront is almost entirely 2000s and newer condos and towers. North Portland mixes older bungalows in St. Johns and Kenton with newer infill. The sector tells you something about likely era and style, but two homes on the same block can differ by 50 years of construction — always verify era, condition, and lot specifics for the exact address.
What's the difference between a Portland neighborhood and an address sector?: An address sector (NW, SW, N, NE, SE, S) is the direction prefix used in the city's grid-based addressing system. A neighborhood is a named community area recognized by the City of Portland's Office of Community & Civic Life and typically governed by a neighborhood association. The two overlap but are not the same — a single sector contains many neighborhoods, and some neighborhoods have been reassigned sectors over time (notably when South Portland was created in 2020). An address sector also does not equal a school district, a county, or a municipal boundary; verify each separately for a specific address.
Should I pick a Portland neighborhood before looking at homes?: No — pick your daily destinations first. Put work, regular appointments, schools, and activities on a map, then identify the sectors or suburbs that connect those destinations efficiently. From there, narrow to a handful of candidate neighborhoods and compare individual addresses within them. Choosing a neighborhood first often locks the search into the wrong geography for the commute or the family's actual pattern of use. Our complete Portland relocation guide explains the sequence in detail.

Not sure which Portland neighborhood fits?

Tell the Own It Northwest team your destinations, budget, timing, and property requirements. We’ll match you to the specific Portland neighborhoods that fit, and work the shortlist block by block.

Talk With the Team