West Linn, OR — Momentum Score, Home Values & Best-For

All states·Oregon·West Linn

Clackamas County · Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro · population 26,597

Shrinking
West Linn, OR
Image: Wikipedia · West Linn, Oregon
OverviewCost of livingMoving guide
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59
Stable
Momentum score · 0–100

Where West Linn stands

At or near all-time high. population shrinking 0.7% per year.

Median home $780,969
1-year +0.4%
5-yr CAGR +4.3%
vs 5-yr peak -0.3%
Population -0.7%/yr

Home value trajectory · last 10 years

Zillow ZHVI · monthly
peak 2026-02$781k$427k$556k$686k$815k201620182020202220242026

Lifestyle scores

🚶
Walkability
32/100
Very car-dependent
Estimated from population density. Higher = denser, more amenities within walking distance.
🚉
Public transit
15/100
Transit limited
Curated list of major US transit systems + population-based estimate. Higher = real subway/rail/bus options.
💻
Remote work fit
62/100
Workable for remote workers
Composite of city size, housing cost, state tax structure, and region's remote-work track record.

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 · monthly
$2,357/mo$1,718$2,129$2,541202220242026

Home value vs rent · indexed to 100

Both rebased at first month of ZORI data (~2015)
Home valueRent123129100120202220242026

Rent vs buy

Price-to-rent ratio: 27.6
Rent

At a 27.6 price-to-rent ratio, renting beats buying in West Linn for most shorter holds. The premium you pay to own would take many years of rent savings to recoup, and that's before maintenance, taxes, and opportunity cost on the down payment.

How the momentum score breaks down

methodology →
Home YoY
52 · w22%
Home 5-yr CAGR
61 · w22%
Distance from peak
88 · w18%
Population growth
34 · w16%
Rent YoY
50 · w12%
Home 10-yr CAGR
64 · w10%
Long thesis

West Linn has held up across the cycle: home values at $780,969 with +4.3% 5-year CAGR. The bull case is structural — population, location, employer base — and holds even if next year's print is soft.

Short thesis

West Linn's population is shrinking 0.7% per year. Housing demand has to come from somewhere — if people are leaving, the buyer pool is shrinking faster than the inventory. That eventually shows up in price.

About West Linn

West Linn is a city in Clackamas County, Oregon, with an estimated population of 26,597. It anchors the Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro metro area. The population has contracted 0.7% per year on average since 2020. The median home value in West Linn is $780,969 as of 2026-04, up 0.4% over the last 12 months. Over the last five years, home values have averaged +4.3% annual growth, with prices at or near the 5-year peak. Rents in West Linn average $2,357 per month, roughly flat year-over-year (+0.8%). The composite momentum score is 59 of 100 (Stable). Conditions are neither hot nor cold, so the local fit matters more than market timing.

▲ Bull case

●Held the highs: currently -0.3% from the 5-year peak — this market refused to give back gains.
○The data is the data: West Linn has at least 5 years of Zillow tracking, full Census identification, and is included in the 2-criteria momentum score on this page.

▼ Bear case

●Expensive AND not growing: median home $780,969 with only +0.4% YoY. You’re paying premium pricing for a flat trend.
●Flat or shrinking population: -0.7% per year. Housing demand has to come from somewhere — verify the source.

About West Linn (Wikipedia)

West Linn is a city in Clackamas County, Oregon, United States. A southern suburb within the Portland metropolitan area, West Linn developed on the site of the former Linn City, which was named after U.S. Senator Lewis F. Linn of Ste. Genevieve, Missouri, who had advocated the American occupation of the Oregon territory as a counterclaim to the British.

Source: Wikipedia · this summary is contributed and licensed under CC-BY-SA.

Playbook

Buyer

Lifestyle fit matters more than market timing in a Stable market. Take your time on the home and neighborhood; the macro trend isn't urgent. Negotiate normally.

Seller

Price competitively from day one or risk a 60+ day listing. Staging, photography, and presentation matter more in Stable markets than in Hot ones.

Investor

Stable cap rates, no big appreciation story to lean on. Underwrite this as a pure cash-flow play — the math has to work on rent alone.

Local safety & alerts

No active National Weather Service alerts for Clackamas County right now.

NWS active alerts (OR)Oregon Emergency ManagementHow to prepare (NWS)

Public-safety links are official .gov sources, not curated by us. Clackamas County routes NWS alerts; check the state EM portal for non-weather emergencies.

Neighborhoods of West Linn

6 tracked · ranked by median home value
1Savanna Oaks$959,798-0.4%
2Parker Crest$823,496+0.7%
3Marylhurst$812,530+1.8%
4Willamette$669,900+0.5%
5Sunset$619,554+0.0%
6Bolton$585,927+1.5%

Cities like West Linn

Lake Oswego, OR58 · StableCanby, OR59 · StableRoseburg, OR63 · RisingSilverton, OR60 · Stable

Run the numbers for West Linn

ToolCan I afford West Linn?Income → city shortlistToolROI on a West Linn rentalCap rate, cash-on-cash, DSCRToolCompare West Linn to anywhereSide-by-side up to 3 citiesToolWest Linn cost-of-livingEquivalent income elsewhere

Sources: Zillow ZHVI (home values), Zillow ZORI (rents), US Census ACS + place population. Updated when source agencies publish revisions.

Climate & natural-disaster risk

Winter (Jan)
47° / 35°
avg high / low
Summer (Jul)
82° / 53°
avg high / low
Sunny days/yr
178
~49% of year
Annual precip
28″ rain
12″ snow
Disaster risk (1=very low, 5=very high)
Hurricane
Very low
Tornado
Very low
Wildfire
High
Earthquake
High
Flood
Low

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

Loading current conditions…

7-day forecast on weather.gov →

Find rentals & listings

Open current West Linn listings on the major real-estate sites.

Links open the live search on the destination site — results are always current.

Local news & community

Updated 2026-05-21 from Google News + Reddit RSS. 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
75%
Very humid climate
Median household income
$80,400
Oregon state median
Top industries (state-level)
Tech (Intel)ManufacturingForestry

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.

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