Census-designated place · Clackamas County, Oregon

Damascus, Oregon

Damascus is a census-designated place in Clackamas County, Oregon, part of the Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA metro area. It has 11,437 residents. Damascus, Oregon has a quality-of-life score of 77 out of 100 (high), ranking #3,664 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Oregon it ranks #43 of 227 cities and towns. It ranks best on poverty rate (low), child poverty rate (low) and median Air Quality Index (low). It ranks worst on depression (high), pharmacies (low) and students per teacher (high).

77High

Quality-of-life score: #3,664 of 15,651 cities and towns
Oregon: #43 of 227 in OR
Population: 11,437 (2020-2024)
Land area: 17 mi²
Density: 658.7 /mi²
FIPS code: 4117800

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 72 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety60#6,184/15,637
Economy88#1,809/15,631
Housing21#11,837/14,977
Health68#5,041/15,609
Healthcare81#2,901/15,650
Environment27#11,229/15,453
Education63#5,729/15,649
Infrastructure92#1,211/15,650
Community84#2,479/15,651
Leisure & amenities67#5,157/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Damascus, Oregon ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Clackamas County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Poverty rate · low3.2%
93/100Oregon 11.7%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Child poverty rate · low4.1%
93/100Oregon 13.0%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001High uncertainty
Median Air Quality Index · low31
92/100Oregon 352025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyClackamas County value
Voter turnout · high77.3%
92/100Oregon 70.7%United States 65.2%2024U.S. Election Assistance CommissionClackamas County value
Mental health care shortage · low0.0
91/100Oregon 12.5United States 9.9Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationClackamas County value
Median household income · high$122,500
89/100Oregon $84,897United States $81,6042020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19013

Weaknesses

Depression · high29.4%
5/100Oregon 27.9%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Pharmacies · low0.9 /10k
10/100Oregon 0.9 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsClackamas County value
Students per teacher · high18.6×
11/100Oregon 17.8×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsClackamas County value
High ozone days · high5 days
15/100Oregon 1 daysUnited States 7 days2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyClackamas County value
Home price to income ratio · high5.3×
16/100Oregon 5.8×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · high8.9 µg/m³
16/100Oregon 8.4 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyClackamas County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
26.4% (2015-2019) → 45.9% (2020-2024)
+20 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
87.1% (2015-2019) → 95.0% (2020-2024)
+7.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$93,963 (2015-2019) → $122,500 (2020-2024)
+30%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
28.9% (2015-2019) → 33.6% (2020-2024)
+4.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Average commute timeImproving
34.4 min (2015-2019) → 27.7 min (2020-2024)
−19%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min
Home price to income ratioWorsening
4.6× (2015-2019) → 5.3× (2020-2024)
+15%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Damascus, Oregon improved on 2 of 12 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 8 moved within the margin of error and 1 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved2

Household income+30%$93,963 → $122,500
Broadband+7.9 points87.1% → 95.0%

Declined1

Price / income+0.7×4.6× → 5.3×

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Damascus, Oregon between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	34.4 min2015-2019	27.7 min2020-2024	−6.6 min	Within the margin of error	94%
Bachelor's degree or higher	28.9%2015-2019	33.6%2020-2024	+4.7 points	Within the margin of error	65%
Broadband subscriptions	87.1%2015-2019	95.0%2020-2024	+7.9 points	Improved	49%
Effective property tax rate	0.98%2015-2019	0.76%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Little change	63%
High school diploma or higher	96.2%2015-2019	95.7%2020-2024	−0.5 points	Within the margin of error	27%
Home price to income ratio	4.6×2015-2019	5.3×2020-2024	+0.7×	Declined	35%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3922015-2019	0.3992020-2024	+0.007	Within the margin of error	44%
Median household income	$93,9632015-2019	$122,5002020-2024	+30%	Improved	56%
Poverty rate	4.5%2015-2019	3.2%2020-2024	−1.3 points	Within the margin of error	56%
Rent as share of income	26.4%2015-2019	29.2%2020-2024	+2.8 points	Within the margin of error	34%
Unemployment rate	5.8%2015-2019	3.6%2020-2024	−2.2 points	Within the margin of error	84%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	7.4%2015-2019	4.9%2020-2024	−2.5 points	Within the margin of error	73%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Damascus, Oregon five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Damascus, Oregon in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Damascus, Oregon itself moved +0.8 points in standing on average over the same 9 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

11,437 residents (±1,159)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79
60–69

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

3,802 households (±318)

Damascus, Oregon
Oregon share

Under $25k5.7%†217
$25k–50k9.9%†377
$50k–75k

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

3,802 households (±318)

Damascus, Oregon
Oregon share

Own90%3,439
Rent9.5%†363

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

5,453 workers (±813)

Damascus, Oregon
Oregon share

Drive alone72%3,902
Carpool12%†663
Public transit0.6%†34

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Clackamas County, the county holding most of Damascus's residents.

Clackamas County has 12,862 employer establishments, 303 for every 10,000 residents (1.22× the US rate of 248; 1.05× Oregon's), with 158,159 paid employees at an average annual pay of $64,941. The Census Bureau also counts 36,261 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 12,862; 36,261 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 303; US 248 · Oregon 288
Paid employees: 158,159
Average annual pay: $64,941; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Clackamas County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Specialty trade contractors	1,155	27.2	1.76×More than typical	11,098	$73,013	1,493
Ambulatory health care services	958	22.6	1.08×About typical	9,831	$84,427	1,741
Restaurants and other eating places	799	18.8	1.03×About typical	12,961	$26,339	128
Lessors of real estate	773	18.2	1.48×More than typical	2,568	$61,627	4,459
Construction of buildings	747	17.6	2.33×More than typical	3,208	$67,397	1,102
Management, scientific and technical consulting	425	10	1.49×More than typical	2,374	$91,235	1,807
Building finishing contractors	366	8.6	2.27×More than typical	2,892	$62,844	484
Real estate agents and brokers	366	8.6	1.77×More than typical	621	$73,845	1,296
Services to buildings and dwellings	366	8.6	1.28×More than typical	3,340	$45,619	1,319
Full-service restaurants	360	8.5	1.11×About typical	5,813	$29,047	36
Building equipment contractors	347	8.2	1.36×More than typical	4,359	$84,847	219
Offices of other health practitioners	344	8.1	1.34×More than typical	1,804	$49,471	1,019

Rank places for an industry Open Clackamas County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 424,076 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $0 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Damascus, Oregon: $0 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $0
Per resident: $0; US $1,994
Sole-source: —; US 30%
Single offer: —; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

40KFY2022

What was bought

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Damascus, Oregon, so they do not add up across cities.

Damascus, Oregon's figures are part of those of Clackamas County, OR ($290M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Damascus is mostly in Clackamas County.

See federal money in Clackamas County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Damascus, Oregon is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Clackamas County79100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA80

Other cities and towns in Clackamas County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/4117800

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends