Hillsboro

Hillsboro is the seat of Washington County and Oregon’s fifth-largest city, located approximately 17 miles west of Portland in the Tualatin Valley.1 Hillsboro added more than 1,000 residents to reach a population of 112,035 according to the most recent Portland State University estimates.2 Since 1950, it has grown from 5,000 to over 110,000 due to diverse industries and job growth that consistently outperforms the region and the U.S.3 Known as the heart of Oregon’s “Silicon Forest,” Intel Corporation leads as the largest employer, anchoring Hillsboro’s technology sector alongside companies like Genentech and Salesforce.4 The city has a median household income of $106,409 and a poverty rate of 8.47%.5

Housing Statistics#

Metric Value
Median home sale price $520,000 (Dec 2025)6
Average home value $520,2447
Average apartment rent $1,820/mo8
Median rent (all types) $2,245 (Feb 2026)9
Homeownership rate ~51%8
Rental vacancy rate ~2%10
Total housing units ~41,3008

In December 2025, Hillsboro home prices were down 5.2% compared to last year, selling for a median price of $520K.6 The average rent for an apartment in Hillsboro is $1,820, a 4.58% decrease compared to the previous year, when the average rent was $1,907.8 49% of the households in Hillsboro, OR are renter-occupied while 20,889 or 51% are owner-occupied.8 Single family homes comprise the majority of Hillsboro’s housing stock, with a median price of $565,000.4 Townhomes throughout Hillsboro have a median price of $429,500, and condos range from $290,000 for one bedroom units to $395,000 for two bedrooms.4

About 52% of Hillsboro residents own the home they live in, compared to the national average of 64%. Hillsboro has a tight rental market, with vacancy rates between 2-3%.11

Zoning and Land Use#

Hillsboro updated its Community Development Code to comply with HB 2001 (2019), which requires cities in the Metro region to allow middle housing types in residential zones. Housing Hillsboro reduced regulatory barriers, encouraged middle housing development, and brought the City’s regulations and procedures into compliance with House Bill 2001 — the statewide law that required cities to allow middle housing such as duplexes, triplexes, and cottage clusters to be built in areas traditionally zoned for single-family homes. Hillsboro City Council adopted the draft amendments at their May 17, 2022 meeting with minor changes. Adopted amendments are incorporated in Subchapter 12 of the City of Hillsboro Development Code and went into effect June 30, 2022.12

Nearly every single-family zone in the City allows some form of middle housing. The City’s regulations aim to maintain the look, feel, and scale of the surrounding neighborhood while allowing for a variety of housing options.12

However, implementation has been slow. The city’s delays in adjusting its Systems Development Charges (SDCs) based on the size and impact of middle housing units have ensured that important middle housing is not showing up in Hillsboro.13 To date, Hillsboro has produced almost no middle housing compared to peer cities like Tigard and Newberg, which have seen stronger middle housing production per capita.13

The city’s development code includes multiple residential zones — SFR zones (SFR-4.5 through SFR-10) for single-family and middle housing, MR zones (MR-1, MR-2, MR-3) for multi-dwelling residential, and various mixed-use and urban center zones.14 Duplexes are permitted in the SFR-4.5, SCR-LD, SCR-DNC, and Multi-Family residential zones, depending on density and minimum lot size requirements, and in many Mixed-Use zones. Duplexes may also be constructed in limited cases in large subdivisions in the SFR-10, SFR-8.5, SFR-7, and SFR-6 zones.12

Buildable Land#

The Housing Needs Analysis looked at the amount of buildable land available for housing and forecasts the need for additional housing units over the next 20 years.15 There will be a need for significant housing units beyond what’s already planned, and a need for additional land.15

Key land areas for future development include:

  • South Hillsboro: The city has spent more than two decades master planning 1,400 acres for residential development. An estimated 8,000 homes of diverse types, architectural types, and price ranges will provide housing options for nearly 20,000 community members.16

  • Witch Hazel Village South: The 150-acre area was brought into the Urban Growth Boundary in 2018 to add additional housing. The WHVS Community Plan was adopted by Council in 2022 followed by Code Amendments. Around 125 acres of land was annexed in 2024 and received Planned Unit Development approval. The development will include 922 dwelling units with a variety of housing types including 145 attached townhomes, 557 detached dwelling units, and 220 multi-dwelling units.17

The Housing Needs Analysis 2023 updated the city’s previously adopted 2016 analysis, refreshing the inventory of buildable land and providing new demographic and economic forecasts.15 The Housing Production Strategy identified the need for residential land urban growth boundary expansion as one of the key issues, along with greater specificity in implementation timelines.18

Recent Housing Developments#

  • Reed’s Crossing (South Hillsboro): At 465 acres, Reed’s Crossing is Oregon’s largest mixed-use master-planned community. This multiphase development will eventually include 2,000 single-family homes, ranging from 1,700-square-foot townhomes to 6,000-square-foot detached single-family lots.19 The development will also include over 1,600 multifamily units in several separate apartment complexes, a commercial Town Center, Providence Wellness Center, a retirement community, two schools, and two neighborhood parks.19 All homes are required to incorporate solar and EV station hookups, as well as meet a minimum of an Earth Advantage solar certificate — a green standard unmatched by any other large-scale development in the state.20

  • Nueva Esperanza: The $54 million development opened in May 2024 with 150 affordable apartments.21 The project was built by Bienestar and Housing Development Center on 6 acres of city-donated land, benefiting from low-income housing tax credits and funding from Oregon Housing and Community Services along with $17 million from the Metro Affordable Housing Bond.21

  • The Dolores: The Dolores development in the Tanasbourne neighborhood will provide 67 new affordable apartments for community members earning 60% of the Area Median Income (AMI) and below.22 The $41.3 million development broke ground in November 2024.23

  • Willow Creek Affordable Housing: The Hillsboro City Council approved a proposal to bring a new affordable housing project near the Willow Creek Park & Ride, featuring 117 affordable apartments plus one on-site manager’s unit, with 75% of units having 2 or more bedrooms and 18 Permanent Supportive Housing units.24 The City has reserved $15.5 million from Hillsboro’s Metro Affordable Housing Bond allocation to support this project.24

  • Witch Hazel Village South: 922 dwelling units with a variety of housing types approved in 2024.17

  • Year-Round Homeless Shelter: The City of Hillsboro and Washington County are preparing to open a 75-bed year-round shelter for adults experiencing homelessness. Construction continues and the shelter is expected to open in 2025.17

Key Housing Challenges#

  • Intel layoffs and economic disruption: Intel’s massive workforce reduction represents the largest private-sector layoff in Oregon history. Since August 2024, 5,400 Oregon-based positions have been eliminated — including 2,392 in July 2025 alone.25 With an average Intel salary of $186,000, the layoffs remove over $1 billion in annual income from the local economy.25 This has contributed to declining home prices and rents in the area.

  • Renter cost burden: About 45% of renters in Hillsboro are cost-burdened — spending more than one third of their monthly income on housing.22

  • Poverty and affordable housing shortage: Nearly 11% of Hillsboro residents live in poverty. Hillsboro has more than 2,700 regulated affordable units and is still in need of many more.22

  • Homelessness: Addressing affordable housing and homelessness is an ongoing City Council priority.22 The city is investing in shelters, a homeless access center, and permanent supportive housing units.26

  • Middle housing production gap: Despite adopting HB 2001 code amendments in 2022, delays in adjusting Systems Development Charges have hindered construction of duplexes, triplexes, and cottage clusters.13

  • Housing Production Strategy remand: In December 2024, the Hillsboro City Council adopted the Housing Production Strategy. In April 2025, the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) issued a remand, requiring revisions before state approval.18

Local Housing Policies#

Housing Production Strategy: Beginning in early 2024, the City conducted a holistic analysis to support housing production of a variety of housing types. The resulting Housing Production Strategy, finalized in December 2024, is a strategic and flexible tool to assess policies, plans of approach, programs, funding tools, equity, partnerships and more.18 Key strategic actions include:15

  • Increasing housing development in multi-dwelling and residential mixed-use zones, and along the TV Highway corridor’s future bus rapid transit line
  • Ensuring Hillsboro has enough land to support a variety of housing types and choices
  • Increasing affordable housing in established and new residential areas to foster mixed income neighborhoods
  • Supporting homeownership opportunities for homebuyers, including low-income and first-time buyers
  • Increasing rental housing development for large households

Metro Affordable Housing Bond: In 2018, voters approved the $652.8 million Metro Affordable Housing Bond to increase the region’s supply of affordable homes.22 The City has access to up to $40.6 million of the total bond to produce an estimated 284 affordable units.22

Supportive Housing Services Measure: Voters passed the new Supportive Housing Services in May 2020 to provide historic levels of funding to address homelessness in the Portland Metro region. Funding through this measure is administered through Washington County.26

Council Priorities: In the areas of Housing and Homelessness, the City will make investments to provide long-term support to unhoused community members, work on strategic housing development, partner regionally to address homelessness, implement House Bill 2001 to support housing choices, and continue implementing the Metro Affordable Housing Bond.27

Sources#

  1. Hillsboro, Oregon - Wikipedia ↩︎

  2. OPB: Portland’s suburbs grew the most as Oregon’s population grew modestly in 2025 ↩︎

  3. City of Hillsboro: Demographic & Economic Data ↩︎

  4. Homes.com: Hillsboro, OR ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

  5. World Population Review: Hillsboro, Oregon ↩︎

  6. Redfin: Hillsboro Housing Market ↩︎ ↩︎

  7. Zillow: Hillsboro, OR Housing Market ↩︎

  8. RentCafe: Average Rent in Hillsboro, OR ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

  9. Zumper: Average Rent in Hillsboro, OR ↩︎

  10. Affordable Housing Online: Hillsboro, OR ↩︎

  11. Portland Homes for Sale: 5 Things You Didn’t Know About Hillsboro ↩︎

  12. City of Hillsboro: Code Amendment Projects ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

  13. Hillsboro Herald: Unintended Bias and Inequity Revealed In Hillsboro Housing Policies ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

  14. City of Hillsboro Community Development Code ↩︎

  15. City of Hillsboro: Housing Needs Analysis ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

  16. City of Hillsboro: South Hillsboro ↩︎

  17. City of Hillsboro: Major Projects ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

  18. City of Hillsboro: Housing Production Strategy ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

  19. AKS Engineering: Reed’s Crossing ↩︎ ↩︎

  20. Gramor Development: Reed’s Crossing Town Center ↩︎

  21. HUD USER: Developing Affordable Housing for a Diverse Population in Hillsboro, Oregon ↩︎ ↩︎

  22. City of Hillsboro: Affordable Housing ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

  23. Hillsboro News Times: Dolores Breaks Ground in Tanasbourne ↩︎

  24. City of Hillsboro: New Willow Creek Affordable Housing Project ↩︎ ↩︎

  25. Christensen Group: Intel Layoffs Impact on Hillsboro and Beaverton Rental Markets ↩︎ ↩︎

  26. City of Hillsboro: Homelessness Initiatives ↩︎ ↩︎

  27. City of Hillsboro: Council Priorities - Housing & Homelessness ↩︎

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