Happy Valley is a suburban city in the

Portland metropolitan area The Portland metropolitan area is a metropolitan area, metro area with its urban area, core in the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington (state), Washington. It has 5 principal cities, the largest being Portland, Oregon. The U.S. Office of Man ...

. Happy Valley is near the northwest edge of

Clackamas County Clackamas County ( ) is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 421,401, making it Oregon's third-most populous county. Its county seat is Oregon City. The county was named after the na ...

, Oregon, United States approximately 13 miles to the southeast of downtown

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

. The population was 23,733 at the 2020 census, According to 2023 census estimates, the city is estimated to have a population of 28,409.

History

Happy Valley was originally settled by Christian and Matilda Deardorff after receiving 640 acres from The Donation Land Claim Act of 1850 in Clackamas County between a cinder cone volcano later name Mt. Scott and a knoll later named Scouters' Mountain. The settled region become known as Deardorff Valley, Deardorff Settlement and most popularly Christilla Valley (name formed by combining "Chris" from Christian and "Tilla" from Matilda). The city was officially incorporated in 1965 and remained a small community until the late 1990s, when it became one of the fastest-growing cities in Oregon.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. It is a member of the

metropolitan area, bordering Portland, Clackamas,

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

, Pleasant Valley, and Sunnyside. Mount Scott, an extinct volcano that is part of the

Boring Lava Field The Boring Lava Field (also known as the Boring Volcanic Field) is a Plio-Pleistocene volcanic field of cinder cones, small shield volcanoes, and lava flows in the northern Willamette Valley of the U.S. state of Oregon and adjacent southwest ...

, is the highest point in Happy Valley at . Scouters Mountain is also a prominent feature.

Climate

Happy Valley experiences much rain in the Portland metro area, with a recorded annual rainfall average of 48 inches.

Demographics

As of the 2023

American Community Survey The American Community Survey (ACS) is an annual demographics survey program conducted by the United States Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the United States census, decennial census ...

, there are 8,701 estimated households in Happy Valley with an average of 2.93 persons per household. The city has a median household income of $120,324. Approximately 6.9% of the city's population lives at or below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

. Happy Valley has an estimated 67.4% employment rate, with 46.4% of the population holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 94.7% holding a high school diploma. The top five reported ancestries (people were allowed to report up to two ancestries, thus the figures will generally add to more than 100%) were English (79.6%), Spanish (4.2%), Indo-European (3.8%), Asian and Pacific Islander (11.2%), and Other (1.2%). The median age in the city was 39.7 years.

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 23,733 people, 7,813 households, and 6,233 families residing in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 8,081 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 66.62%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 1.81%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.40% Native American, 19.80% Asian, 0.26%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 2.11% from some other races and 9.02% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 6.61% of the population.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 13,903 people, 4,408 households, and 3,724 families living in the city. The

was . There were 4,708 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 76.17%

, 1.08%

, 0.49% Native American, 17.38% Asian, 0.15%

, 0.95% from some other races and 3.78% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 4.05% of the population. There were 4,408 households, of which 48.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 74.4% were married couples living together, 6.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.7% had a male householder with no wife present, and 15.5% were non-families. 11.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.15 and the average family size was 3.40. The median age in the city was 37 years. 30.2% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 27% were from 25 to 44; 27.9% were from 45 to 64; and 8.2% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.7% male and 50.3% female.

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, there were 4,519 people, 1,431 households, and 1,302 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 1,500 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 87.39%

, 0.77%

, 0.29% Native American, 8.85% Asian, 0.15%

, 0.44% from some other races and 2.10% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 1.88% of the population. There were 1,431 households, out of which 49.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 83.4% were married couples living together, 4.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 9.0% were non-families. 6.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 2.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.16 and the average family size was 3.28. In the city, the population was spread out, with 31.4% under the age of 18, 5.0% from 18 to 24, 30.1% from 25 to 44, 26.7% from 45 to 64, and 6.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.2 males. The median income for a household in the city was $93,131, and the median income for a family was $95,922. Males had a median income of $68,125 versus $43,667 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $36,665. About 0.6% of families and 1.2% of the population were below the

, including 1.2% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.

Government

The City of Happy Valley is governed by the Happy Valley City Council which comprises a mayor (currently Tom Ellis), city council president (currently David Emami), and three other city council members (currently Joshua Callahan, Brett Sherman, and David Golobay). Mayor and Council members are elected to four year terms that are staggered to ensure at least two members are experienced at all times. There is also a planning commission, as well as a Park Advisory/Urban Forestry Commission and Citizen Traffic and Public Safety Committee.

Education

Happy Valley is served by the

North Clackamas School District North Clackamas School District (NC12) serves more than 40 square miles and is located 7 miles from downtown Portland, Oregon, Portland. Included are the incorporated cities of Milwaukie, Oregon, Milwaukie, Happy Valley, Oregon, Happy Valley, a ...

. There are two high schools, two middle schools and eight elementary schools.

Notable people

* Lori Chavez-DeRemer, American politician and former mayor of this city *

Hailey Kilgore Hailey Frances Kilgore is an American actress and singer. Her breakthrough role was as Ti Moune in the Broadway revival of coming-of-age one-act stage musical '' Once on This Island'', a performance for which the 19-year-old was nominated for ...

, actress * Bill Sizemore, American politician *

Nigel Williams-Goss Nigel Williams-Goss (born September 16, 1994) is an American professional basketball player who last played for Olympiacos of the Greek Basketball League (GBL) and the EuroLeague. He was selected by the Utah Jazz, with the 55th overall pick in ...

, American professional basketball player

References

External links

Official website

Entry for Happy Valley
in the ''

Oregon Blue Book The ''Oregon Blue Book'' is the official directory and fact book for the U.S. state of Oregon prepared by the Oregon Secretary of State and published by the Office of the Secretary's Archives Division. The ''Blue Book'' comes in both print and o ...

''
Profile of Happy Valley
from the State of Oregon's Infrastructure Finance Authority {{authority control 1965 establishments in Oregon Cities in Clackamas County, Oregon Cities in Oregon Portland metropolitan area