Oregon city guide
Moving From California to Hillsboro, OR
The center of Oregon's Silicon Forest, anchored by Intel, offering the closest thing to a direct Bay Area tech relocation in the state.
Housing comparison
California versus Hillsboro, side by side
- Median home value
- $725,800
- $521,100
- Median annual property tax
- $5,114
- $4,275
- Median monthly cost, owners with a mortgage
- $2,844
- $2,227
- Population
- 39.0 million (state)
- 108,231
Figures are US Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020 to 2024 5-Year Estimates for the city place. Property tax and monthly cost rows cover owner-occupied units with a mortgage, so they describe what current owners pay, not what a new buyer would pay at today's prices. California column is the statewide baseline used across this site.
Why Californians look at Hillsboro
Hillsboro sits on the west side of the Portland metro in Washington County, and it is the anchor of what locals call the Silicon Forest. Intel operates four area campuses here, including its primary technology development center, and the surrounding cluster of semiconductor and technology employers gives Hillsboro a job market unlike anywhere else in Oregon.
For a California tech worker, that is the practical appeal: an actual industry match rather than a lifestyle move funded entirely by remote income. Genentech, Qorvo, NTT Global, Tokyo Electron, and Nvidia all maintain a presence in the area alongside Intel, Oregon's largest private employer.
The city has grown from about 5,000 residents in 1950 to well over 100,000 today, and it now functions as a full-service suburb with its own downtown, light rail connection to Portland, and one of the more diverse populations in the state.
Hillsboro fits you if
- You work in semiconductors, hardware, or tech manufacturing and want a real local industry match rather than relying entirely on remote work.
- You want a light rail connection into downtown Portland without living in the city itself.
- You want new and recently built housing stock, since much of Hillsboro's growth is from the 1990s onward.
- You want a diverse, family-oriented suburb with a walkable historic downtown core.
Look elsewhere if
- Your career has nothing to do with the Silicon Forest's core industries and you need a broader private-sector market.
- You want a small-town feel. Hillsboro is Oregon's fifth largest city and growing.
- You are sensitive to the boom-and-cycle nature of the semiconductor industry, which can affect local hiring and housing demand.
- You want warm, dry summers. Hillsboro shares the Willamette Valley's wet winter pattern.
Housing in Hillsboro
Hillsboro's housing stock is largely newer than Portland's core, with substantial subdivision construction from the 1990s through today spreading north and south of the historic downtown grid. Townhomes and higher-density infill have grown along the light rail corridor.
The ACS median home value is $521,100, with a median annual real estate tax bill of $4,275 for mortgaged owners and a median monthly owner cost of $2,227. That price point sits below Lake Oswego and Bend but above the statewide Oregon median, reflecting steady demand tied to the tech job base.
New construction has kept pace with demand better here than in many Oregon cities, which has moderated price growth relative to the tighter markets closer to central Portland.
Work and the local economy
Intel is the dominant employer, with four campuses in the Hillsboro area including its main technology development site, and it drives a large share of the region's high-wage jobs. The company's local hiring and capital investment cycles have an outsized effect on the area's economy.
Beyond Intel, the Silicon Forest includes Genentech, Qorvo, Jireh Semiconductor, NTT Global, Tokyo Electron, and Nvidia, along with a supporting base of contractors, suppliers, and professional services firms.
Outside the semiconductor and tech sector, the local economy includes healthcare through OHSU Health Hillsboro Medical Center, the school district, and retail and logistics tied to the broader Washington County corridor.
Climate and setting
Hillsboro sits in the Tualatin Valley on the west side of the Portland metro, sharing the Willamette Valley's marine climate: mild, wet winters with frequent low cloud and drizzle, and warm, dry summers with comfortable evenings.
Snow is uncommon and rarely accumulates for long. Summer heat has increased in recent years, with occasional multi-day heat events, and some smoke-affected days during regional wildfire season.
The valley setting is flat to gently rolling, at a low elevation, without the hills that define Portland's west side neighborhoods or Lake Oswego.
Getting around, care, and schools
- Commercial air
- Portland International Airport (PDX), about 20 miles east, with full domestic and some international service. Hillsboro Airport (HIO) handles general aviation and business jets.
- Highways
- US 26 (Sunset Highway) and Oregon Route 8 connect Hillsboro to Portland and the coast range.
- Hospital
- OHSU Health Hillsboro Medical Center, a community hospital and OHSU partner.
- Public schools
- Hillsboro School District, with parts of the area in Forest Grove School District.
- Higher education
- Portland Community College's Rock Creek campus and Pacific University in nearby Forest Grove.
- Elevation
- About 194 feet.
The trade-offs
- The local economy is heavily weighted toward Intel and the semiconductor industry, which brings real cyclical risk.
- Winters are wet and gray for months at a time, a significant adjustment from most of California.
- The city has grown quickly, and traffic on the main commuter corridors into Portland can be heavy.
- Beyond the tech sector, the local job market is not especially deep.
Other Oregon towns people compare
Bend
A high desert city on the dry side of the Cascades, built around outdoor recreation, with home prices well above the Oregon norm.
Lake Oswego
An affluent Portland suburb on its namesake lake, known for its schools and a short commute into downtown Portland, with the highest home prices on Oregon's list.
Medford
Southern Oregon's regional hub in the Rogue Valley, the cheapest real market on this list, warmer and drier than the rest of the state and close to the California line.
Corvallis
A Willamette Valley university town built around Oregon State, with steady housing demand and a genuinely walkable center.
Newberg
A small city in the heart of Willamette Valley wine country, roughly forty minutes from Portland, priced well below comparable California wine regions.
Statewide figures, tax detail, and the full Oregon picture are on the Oregon page. Compare property, income, and sales tax across all 49 destination states on Taxes, and see where Californians are actually moving on Stats.
Sources
- US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020 to 2024 5-Year Estimates, table B25077 (median home value), retrieved via Census Reporter, September 3, 2026.
- US Census Bureau, ACS 2020 to 2024 5-Year Estimates, table B25103 (median real estate taxes paid, owner-occupied units with a mortgage), retrieved September 3, 2026.
- US Census Bureau, ACS 2020 to 2024 5-Year Estimates, table B25088 (median selected monthly owner costs, owner-occupied units with a mortgage), retrieved September 3, 2026.
- US Census Bureau, ACS 2020 to 2024 5-Year Estimates, table B01003 (total population), retrieved September 3, 2026.
- City of Hillsboro, demographic and economic data, hillsboro-oregon.gov.
- Greater Portland Inc., Hillsboro community profile, greaterportlandinc.com.
- OHSU Health Hillsboro Medical Center, tuality.org and ohsu.edu.
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