Why look at Forest Grove?
- Mid-tier housing market. Median home is $528k.
- Stable market. Home values -1.8% year-over-year — neither overheated nor falling.
- Higher tax state. Top marginal income tax rate around 9.9% — factor into salary comparisons.
Where Forest Grove stands
Steady, no major recent move.
Home value trajectory · last 10 years
Zillow ZHVI · monthlyLifestyle scores
Scores are heuristic estimates from population density, state, and known transit/walkable cities. Not based on a paid Walk Score / Transit Score API — see methodology for the formula.
Rent trajectory · last 5 years
Zillow ZORI · monthlyHome value vs rent · indexed to 100
Both rebased at first month of ZORI data (~2015)Rent vs buy
At a 26.2 price-to-rent ratio, renting beats buying in Forest Grove for most shorter stays. The premium you pay to own would take many years of saved rent to recover, and that's before maintenance, taxes, and what your down payment could earn elsewhere.
How the momentum score breaks down
methodology →About Forest Grove (Wikipedia)
Forest Grove is a city in Washington County, Oregon, United States, 25 miles (40 km) west of Portland, within the Tualatin Valley. Originally a small farm town, it is now primarily a commuter town in the Portland metro area. Settled in the 1840s, the town was platted in 1850, then incorporated in 1872, making it the first city in Washington County.
Source: Wikipedia · this summary is contributed and licensed under CC-BY-SA.
Local safety & alerts
No active National Weather Service alerts for Washington County right now.
Public-safety links are official .gov sources, not curated by us. Washington County routes NWS alerts; check the state EM portal for non-weather emergencies.
Run the numbers for Forest Grove
Oregon context
Schools
Forest Grove is served by 8 public schools enrolling about 5,027 students, with a student-teacher ratio of 18.7:1 — larger classes than the US average of ~15:1. Public-school facts are from the NCES Common Core of Data; check ratings and attendance boundaries by exact address below.
Ratings, districts & boundaries:
Sources: Zillow ZHVI (home values), Zillow ZORI (rents), US Census ACS + place population. Updated when source agencies publish revisions.
Climate & natural-disaster risk
State-level averages from NOAA Climate Normals (1991-2020) and FEMA National Risk Index. City-level conditions can vary significantly within a state.
Current weather
Find rentals & listings
Open current Forest Grove listings on the major real-estate sites.
Links open the live search on the destination site — results are always current.
Local news & community
Latest news in Forest Grove
7 from local press- District of Oregon | Six Charged With Drug Trafficking Following HSTF InvestigationLOCALDepartment of Justice (.gov)21h ago
- Forest Grove ‘drug dispatcher,’ 5 others charged with trafficking meth and cocaineLOCALKOIN.com19h ago
- OPINION: Doing nothing is a choice. Oregon can’t afford it.LOCALForest Grove News-Times1w ago
- 4 people displaced by fire in Forest Grove apartment buildingLOCALKPTV6d ago
- Forest Grove, Hillsboro residents charged in statewide drug trafficking caseLOCALYour Oregon News15h ago
- 6 people charged in Oregon meth and cocaine distribution ringLOCALKPTV21h ago
Updated 2026-05-28 from Google News + Reddit RSS. Filtered for Forest Grove-specific coverage. Headlines link to original sources.
Local sports teams
Major professional teams the Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro area cheers for. Detailed stats, schedules, and player pages on intherafters.com.
Local economy & environment
Humidity is annual average relative humidity (NOAA). Income is Census ACS 5-year estimate. Industries are largest employment sectors statewide (BLS); the local mix in a given city may vary.
Find more cities like Forest Grove
Open the matchmaker pre-filled to match Forest Grove’s price band, region, and size — refine to taste.
Find more like Forest Grove →Cities similar to Forest Grove
Explore other places with comparable momentum or affordability.
Cost-of-ownership at the median
Snapshot assumes a $150k single earner buying at the median home. Your real numbers depend on bracket, deductions, school district, and HOA. Use the affordability calculator and net-pay calculator for your specific case.
Schools & crime context
School quality is district-by-district and varies dramatically within a city. Check GreatSchools or your state DOE rankings for specific schools before deciding. City-level school data coming soon.
Oregon: 291 violent crimes per 100K residents (state avg, FBI UCR). Neighborhood-level rates can vary 10× within one city — research specific areas via CrimeGrade or local police data.
Compare to where you live now
Set your current city once and we’ll show the cost delta on every city profile.
Jobs & hiring
In Forest Grove, unemployment is low at 4.3%, and hiring momentum has been modest. The strongest local sectors are tech, skilled trades & manufacturing and hospitality & tourism.
Search current openings: