Tigard ( ) is a city in
Washington County, Oregon
Washington County is one of Oregon counties, 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon and part of the Portland metropolitan area. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded the population as 600,372, making it the second most populous c ...
, United States. The population was 54,539 at the
2020 census, making it the
12th most populous city in
Oregon
Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...
. Incorporated in 1961, the city is located south of
Beaverton and north of
Tualatin, and is part of 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 ...
.
Interstate 5
Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels thro ...
and
Oregon Route 217 are the main freeways in the city, with
Oregon Route 99W and
Oregon Route 210 serving as other major highways. Public transit service is provided by
TriMet
The Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (TriMet) is a Transit district, transit agency that serves most of the Oregon part of the Portland metropolitan area. Created in 1969 by the Oregon Legislative Assembly, Oregon legi ...
, via several bus routes and the
WES Commuter Rail
The Westside Express Service (WES) is a commuter rail line serving parts of the Portland metropolitan area's Washington County, Oregon, Washington and Clackamas County, Oregon, Clackamas counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. Owned by TriMet and ...
line.
History
Before colonization by European settlers, the
Atfalati inhabited the
Tualatin Valley in several hunter-gatherer villages including Chachimahiyuk ("Place of aromatic herbs"), near present-day Tigard. Primary food stuffs included deer,
camas root, fish, berries, elk, and various nuts. To encourage the growth of the camas plant and maintain a habitat beneficial to deer and elk, the group regularly burned the valley floor to discourage the growth of forests, a common practice among the
Kalapuya.
The Atfalati spoke the
Tualatin-Yamhill (Northern Kalapuya) language, which was one of the three
Kalapuyan languages. Prior to contact with white explorers, traders, and missionaries, the Kalapuya population is believed to have numbered as many as 15,000 people.
Euro-Americans began arriving in the Atfalati's homeland in the early 19th century, and settlers in the 1840s.
As with the other Kalapuyan peoples, the arrival of Euro-Americans led to dramatic social disruptions.
By the 1830s, diseases had decimated the Atfalati.
The tribe had already experienced population decreased from
smallpox epidemics in 1782 and 1783.
It is estimated that the band was reduced to a population of around 600 in 1842, and had shrunk to only 60 in 1848. These upheavals diminished the Atfalati's ability to challenge white encroachment.
Under the terms of a treaty of April 19, 1851, the Atfalatis ceded their lands in return for a small reservation at Wapato Lake as well as "money, clothing, blankets, tools, a few rifles, and a horse for each of their headmen--Kaicut, La Medicine, and Knolah."
At the time of the treaty, there were 65 Atfalatis.
The treaty resulted in the loss of much of the Atfalati's lands, but was preferable to removal east of the Cascade Mountains, which the government initially had demanded.
This treaty, however, was never ratified.
Under continuing pressure, the government and Kalapuya renegotiated a treaty with
Oregon Superintendent of Indian Affairs Joel Palmer.
This treaty, the
Treaty with the Kalapuya, etc. (also known as the Willamette Valley Treaty or Dayton Treaty) was signed January 4, 1855, and ratified by Congress, on March 3, 1855 (10 Stat. 1143).
Under the terms of the treaty, the indigenous peoples of the Willamette Valley agreed to remove to a reservation later designated by the federal government as the
Grand Ronde reservation in the western part of the Willamette Valley at the foothills of the
Oregon Coast Range
The Oregon Coast Range, often called simply the Coast Range and sometimes the Pacific Coast Range, is a mountain range, in the Pacific Coast Ranges Physiographic regions of the world, physiographic region, in the United States, U.S. state of Or ...
, sixty miles south of their original homeland.

The
Donation Land Claim Act of 1850 promoted
homestead settlement in the
Oregon territory
The Territory of Oregon was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 14, 1848, until February 14, 1859, when the southwestern portion of the territory was admitted to the United States, Union as the Oreg ...
and encouraged thousands of white settlers to come to the area. Like many towns in the
Willamette Valley
The Willamette Valley ( ) is a valley in Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The Willamette River flows the entire length of the valley and is surrounded by mountains on three sides: the Cascade Range to the east, the ...
, Tigard was
settled
A settler or a colonist is a person who establishes or joins a permanent presence that is separate to existing communities. The entity that a settler establishes is a settlement. A settler is called a pioneer if they are among the first settli ...
by several families. The most noteworthy was the Tigard family, headed by Wilson M. Tigard. Arriving in the area known as "East Butte" in 1852, the family settled and became involved in organizing and building the East Butte School, a general store (which, starting in 1886, also housed the area's post office) and a meeting hall, and renamed East Butte to "Tigardville" in 1886.
The Evangelical organization built the Emanuel Evangelical Church at the foot of Bull Mountain, south of the Tigard store in 1886. A blacksmith shop was opened in the 1890s by John Gaarde across from the Tigard Store, and in 1896 a new E. Butte school was opened to handle the growth the community was experiencing from an incoming wave of German settlers.
The period between 1907 and 1910 marked a rapid acceleration in growth as Main Street blossomed with the construction of several new commercial buildings, Germania Hall (a two-story building featuring a restaurant, grocery store, dance hall, and rooms to rent), a shop/post office, and a livery stable. Limited telephone service began in 1908.
In 1910, the arrival of the
Oregon Electric Railway triggered the development of Main Street and pushed Tigardville from being merely a small farming community into a period of growth which would lead to its incorporation as a city in 1961. The town was renamed Tigard in 1907 by the railroad to greater distinguish it from the nearby
Wilsonville,
and the focus of the town reoriented northeast towards the new rail stop as growth accelerated.
1911 marked the introduction of electricity, as the Tualatin Valley Electric company joined Tigard to a service grid with
Sherwood and
Tualatin. William Ariss built a blacksmith shop on Main Street in 1912 that eventually evolved into a modern service station. In the 1930s the streets and walks of Main Street were finally paved, and another school established to accommodate growth.
The city was the
respondent
A respondent is a person who is called upon to issue a response to a communication made by another. The term is used in legal contexts, in survey methodology, and in psychological conditioning.
Legal usage
In legal usage, this term specificall ...
in (and eventual loser of) the
landmark
A landmark is a recognizable natural or artificial feature used for navigation, a feature that stands out from its near environment and is often visible from long distances.
In modern-day use, the term can also be applied to smaller structures ...
property rights case, ''
Dolan v. City of Tigard'', decided by the
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all Federal tribunals in the United States, U.S. federal court cases, and over Stat ...
in 1994. The case established the "rough proportionality" test that is now applied throughout the United States when a local government evaluates a land use application and determines the exactions to require of the recipient of a land use approval.
In the 2004 general elections, the city of Tigard won approval from its voters to annex the unincorporated suburbs on
Bull Mountain, a hill to the west of Tigard. However, residents in that area have rejected annexation and are currently fighting in court various moves by the city.
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 , all land.
Demographics
North of McDonald Street, Tigard, along with
Metzger and some of the unincorporated Bull Mountain area, uses the 97223
ZIP code for incoming mail, while the southern half of the city uses 97224, as do the nearby city of
King City and the community of
Durham. All mail for both ZIP codes is processed in Portland. The Tigard Post Office on Main Street has a ZIP code of 97281, which is used only for post office boxes. Local phone numbers may be within the 503 or 971
area code
A telephone numbering plan is a type of numbering scheme used in telecommunication to assign telephone numbers to subscriber telephones or other telephony endpoints. Telephone numbers are the addresses of participants in a telephone network, rea ...
s.
2010 census
As of the
census
A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
of 2010, there were 48,035 people, 19,157 households, and 12,470 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 20,068 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 79.6%
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 ...
, 1.8%
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 ...
, 0.7%
Native American, 7.2%
Asian, 0.9%
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 ...
, 5.9% from
other races, and 4.0% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or
Latino of any race were 12.7% of the population.
There were 19,157 households, of which 33.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.4% were
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 34.9% were non-families. 26.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 3.04.
The median age in the city was 37.4 years. 24.1% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 29.2% were from 25 to 44; 27.4% were from 45 to 64; and 11.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.0% male and 51.0% female.
2000 census
As of the
census
A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
of 2000, there were 41,223 people, 16,507 households, and 10,746 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 17,369 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 85.38%
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 ...
, 5.57%
Asian, 1.14%
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 ...
, 0.61%
Native American, 0.53%
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 ...
, 3.76% from
other races, and 3.00% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or
Latino of any race were 8.94% of the population. There were 16,507 households, out of which 33.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.0% were
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
living together, 9.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.9% were non-families. 26.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.03.
In the city, the population dispersal was 25.5% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 34.1% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 10.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.8 males. The median income for a household in the city was $51,581, and the median income for a family was $61,656. Males had a median income of $44,597 versus $31,351 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 $25,110. About 5.0% of families and 6.6% of the population were 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 ...
, including 7.8% of those under age 18 and 3.6% of those age 65 or over.
Economy

Companies based in Tigard include
Consumer Cellular,
Gerber Legendary Blades,
LaCie,
NuScale Power, and
Stash Tea Company, among others. The city is also home to the
Washington Square mall, one of the largest in Oregon, and the northern part of
Bridgeport Village. Medical Teams International is also based in Tigard.
Arts and culture
The
John Tigard House, constructed by the son of Wilson M. Tigard in 1880 at the corner of SW Pacific Hwy. and SW Gaarde St., remains, having been saved from demolition in the 1970s by the Tigard Area Historical and Preservation Association. It was added to the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
in 1979, and now stands at the corner of SW Canterbury Lane and SW 103rd St.
During the
Portland Rose Festival every summer, the Tigard Festival of Balloons is held at Cook Park near
Tigard High School. The tallest building in both the city and county is a 12-story building at
Lincoln Center
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5  ...
.
Broadway Rose Theatre Company is a professional musical theatre company based in Tigard. The company performs at their home theatre, The New Stage (located just west of downtown Tigard) and at Tigard High School during the summer months. It was founded in 1991 by Dan Murphy, Sharon Maroney and Tigard native Joseph Morkys. What began as a small summer stock theatre has grown into a large, nonprofit organization, and has received many regional theatre awards including several Drammys, Portland Area Musical Theatre Awards and BroadwayWorld Portland Awards.
The
Joy Cinema and Pub is a local independent theater that specializes in
repertory screenings and
cult film
A cult film, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a cult following. Cult films are known for their dedicated, passionate fanbase, which forms an elaborate subculture, members of which engage in repeated ...
s.
Government

Fire protection and EMS services are provided through
Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue.
Past mayors
These people have served as mayor of the city.
*1974–1984: Wilbur Bishop
*1984: Ken Scheckla
*1984–1986: John E. Cook
*1987–1988:
Tom Brian
*1989–1994: Gerald Edwards
*1994: Jack Schwab
*1994–2000: Jim Nicoli
*2001–2003: Jim Griffith
*2003–2012:
Craig Dirksen
*2013–2018: John L. Cook
*2019–2022: Jason Snider
*2023-: Heidi Lueb
Appointed to fill out term
Died in office
Mayor Pro tem
Education

The city of Tigard falls mostly under the jurisdiction of the
Tigard-Tualatin School District; however, some of the northwesternmost part of the city falls under the jurisdiction of the
Beaverton School District. The Tigard-Tualatin School District contains ten elementary schools, three middle schools and two high schools. Tigard is home to
Tigard High School, Fowler Middle School, Twality Middle School, Alberta Rider Elementary, CF Tigard Elementary, Durham Elementary, Mary Woodward Elementary, Deer Creek Elementary, Metzger Elementary, and Templeton Elementary. The district also operates the alternative school
Creekside Community High School.
Private schools include Gaarde Christian School,
Oregon Islamic Academy and
Westside Christian High School. Higher education includes a branch of
Everest Institute, a branch of the
University of Phoenix
University of Phoenix (UoPX) is a Private university, private For-profit higher education in the United States, for-profit university headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. Founded in 1976, the university confers certificates and degrees at the Ac ...
, and a branch of
National American University. The closest traditional four-year college is
Lewis & Clark College in Portland. The city operates the
Tigard Public Library, which started in 1963.
From the 1980s until 1992 the
Portland Japanese School, a
weekend Japanese educational program for Japanese citizens and
Japanese Americans
are Americans of Japanese ancestry. Japanese Americans were among the three largest Asian Americans, Asian American ethnic communities during the 20th century; but, according to the 2000 United States census, 2000 census, they have declined in ...
, was held at Twality Middle School.
[Florip, Eric.]
Every weekend, Tualatin's Hazelbrook Middle School becomes Portland Japanese School, where it's all math and language
''The Oregonian
''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the West Coast of the United States, U.S. West Coast, founded as a weekly by Tho ...
''. June 2, 2011. Retrieved on April 9, 2015.
Transportation
Interstate 5
Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels thro ...
passes along the eastern edge of the city, with
Oregon Route 217's southern terminus at I-5 at Tigard. Other major roads are
Oregon Route 99W, Boones Ferry Road, and Hall Boulevard (Boones Ferry and Hall, along with a small portion of Durham Road, are the components of
Oregon Route 141).
Oregon Route 210 is located along the northern boundary, separating Tigard from Beaverton. Public transportation is provided by
TriMet
The Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (TriMet) is a Transit district, transit agency that serves most of the Oregon part of the Portland metropolitan area. Created in 1969 by the Oregon Legislative Assembly, Oregon legi ...
, with service via the 12, 43, 45, 62, 64, 76, 78, and 94 bus lines and the
Westside Express Service (WES), a commuter rail line connecting to Wilsonville and Beaverton. WES has a stop at
Tigard Transit Center, with
Washington Square Transit Center as the only other TriMet transit center in the city. A proposed new
light rail
Light rail (or light rail transit, abbreviated to LRT) is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology National Conference of the Transportation Research Board while also having some features from ...
line, the
Southwest Corridor light rail project, would have connected Tigard Transit Center to the
MAX Green Line by 2027 had voters in November 2020 approved a measure to provide the region's share of the funding, but the measure did not pass.
Notable people
*
Margaret Bechard, writer
*
Sammy Carlson, professional freestyle skier
*
Kevin Duckworth, NBA professional basketball player
*
Katherine Dunn, writer
*
Mike Erickson, businessman and politician
*
Johnny Frederick, professional baseball player
*
Larry Galizio, politician
*
Mike Kinkade, professional baseball player
*
Kevin Kunnert, NBA professional basketball player, University of Iowa basketball player
*
Owen Marecic, football player at Stanford University
*
Kaitlin Olson, actress
*
Pat Whiting, politician
See also
*
Shaver–Bilyeu House
References
External links
Entry for Tigardin the ''
Oregon Blue Book''
*
A More Extensive History of Tigard
{{Authority control
Cities in Oregon
Cities in Washington County, Oregon
Portland metropolitan area
Populated places established in 1852
1852 establishments in Oregon Territory
1961 establishments in Oregon