LIVING IN HILLSBORO
POPULATION: 106,447
Located just west of the city of Portland, Hillsboro, Oregon offers residents a seamless blend of quiet suburban charm, cutting-edge innovation, and the beautiful nature that the state of Oregon is so well-known for. Hillsboro is the perfect destination for families looking to settle in a community-driven, yet exciting area, as well as for young professionals looking to secure their spot at the center of new technology.
Hillsboro has a rich history. The area was home to the Atfalati tribe of the Kalapuya people for thousands of years. Because of the PNW climate, the region was an agricultural heaven. European settlers founded the early community of Hillsboro in 1851. The area grew slowly but steadily in the following decades with the introduction of the Oregon and California railroad to the region in the 1870s. In fact, the population grew from 2,000 residents in 1910 to about 5,000 in 1950. The area continues to grow to this day, and is now home to some of the country’s biggest and brightest tech companies, including Intel. In fact, Hillsboro and the surrounding area are often referred to as the “Silicon Forest.”
Hillsboro also offers residents the natural landscapes that the PNW is so famous for. With sprawling, lush greenery, the area is located just a few hours from the Oregon coast to the west and Mt. Hood to the east, making it the perfect location for nature lovers who enjoy taking the occasional day trip. The community is also just 30 minutes away from the City of Portland, which you can easily access by the city’s light rail system.
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Unlike some cities, Hillsboro isn’t mainly white- or blue-collar. Instead, the most prevalent occupations for people in Hillsboro are a mix of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, Hillsboro is a city of professionals, sales and office workers, and managers. There are especially a lot of people living in Hillsboro who work in office and administrative support (10.58%), architecture and engineering (10.27%), and management occupations (10.06%).
Also of interest is that Hillsboro has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.
One thing that you will notice about Hillsboro is that there is a good-sized population of people who are young, single, educated, and upwardly-mobile career starters. Many singles consider Hillsboro a good place to live without being in a really big city, with opportunities for friendships and fun with others like themselves.
Although the majority of commuting trips in the city are by private automobile, Hillsboro is somewhat unusual for a city of its size for having a substantial number of people who use public transportation. For a lot of people, the bus helps to get to and from their jobs every morning, which benefits everyone in the Hillsboro area by reducing both traffic and air pollution.
The citizens of Hillsboro are among the most well-educated in the nation: 41.40% of adults in Hillsboro have a bachelor's degree or even advanced degree, whereas the average US city has 21.84% holding at least a bachelor's degree.
The per capita income in Hillsboro in 2018 was $38,162, which is wealthy relative to Oregon, and upper middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $152,648 for a family of four. However, Hillsboro contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.
Hillsboro is an extremely ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Hillsboro home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Hillsboro residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Hillsboro also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 24.38% of the city’s residents. Important ancestries of people in Hillsboro include German, English, Irish, Italian, and Norwegian.
Foreign born people are also an important part of Hillsboro's cultural character, accounting for 20.49% of the city’s population.
The most common language spoken in Hillsboro is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Langs. of India.