Clackamas County, Oregon

Clackamas County is a county in Oregon, United States, on the south side of the Portland metropolitan area, stretching from the Willamette Valley floor up to the western slopes of Mount Hood. It had a population of 421,401 at the 2020 census and covers 1,870 square miles (4,800 km2) of land, centred near 45°11′N 122°13′W.

Oregon City is the county seat; its postal code is 97045. The county contains 16 incorporated cities and dozens of unincorporated communities and census-designated places, and sits in the Pacific time zone (UTC−8, UTC−7 with daylight saving). Its FIPS code is 41005.

Towns & Villages in Clackamas County

Clackamas County has 16 incorporated cities — all chartered under Oregon law as “cities” regardless of size, so the state has no separate “town” designation — plus a long list of census-designated places (CDP) and unincorporated communities, many dating to 19th-century farm and mill settlement. Population figures below are 2020 census counts where verified; unincorporated places without an official count are marked —.

Two names are easy to confuse: Clackamas (the unincorporated community and Clackamas Town Center shopping district near I-205) is not the same place as Clackamas County itself, and Oak Grove is a distinct Portland-suburb community, not to be confused with the many other “Oak Grove” place names elsewhere in Oregon. Damascus operated as an incorporated city from 2004 until Oregon voters approved its 2016 disincorporation vote; it is now unincorporated again and is treated as such here.

ZIP Codes

• 97045 — Oregon City (county seat)
• 97034 / 97035 — Lake Oswego (also serves Rivergrove)
• 97222 / 97267 — Milwaukie (also serves Oak Grove, Jennings Lodge, Johnson City)
• 97086 — Happy Valley
• 97068 — West Linn
• 97070 — Wilsonville (also serves Charbonneau)
• 97013 — Canby (also serves Barlow)
• 97062 — Tualatin
• 97027 — Gladstone
• 97038 — Molalla
• 97055 — Sandy
• 97023 — Estacada
• 97015 — Clackamas
• 97042 — Mulino
• 97009 — Boring
• 97004 — Beavercreek
• 97022 — Eagle Creek
• 97017 — Colton
• 97028 — Government Camp
• 97067 — Welches, Wemme and Mount Hood Village
• 97049 — Zigzag and Rhododendron
• 97089 — Damascus
• 97011 — Brightwood

Most of the smaller farm hamlets and mountain crossroads listed above share a nearby town’s ZIP code rather than having their own.

Geography

Clackamas County spans an unusually wide range of terrain: flat, fertile Willamette Valley farmland in the north and west, rolling foothills through the middle, and the forested western slopes of the Cascade Range rising to Mount Hood (11,240 feet) in the east, where the county’s border runs partly along the crest of the range. The Clackamas and Molalla rivers, both tributaries of the Willamette, drain the county’s western half, and the Willamette River itself forms part of the northwest boundary near Oregon City’s falls. Of the county’s total area, 1,870 square miles is land and about 13 square miles is water.

Clackamas County borders Multnomah County to the north, Hood River County to the northeast, Wasco County to the east, Marion County to the south, Yamhill County to the west, and Washington County to the northwest. The county’s Marion County border runs along the Willamette Valley farmland south of Molalla and Canby.

Demographics

Clackamas County had 421,401 residents at the 2020 census, making it Oregon’s third most populous county after Multnomah and Washington. Its largest communities are Lake Oswego and Oregon City, followed by Milwaukie and Happy Valley. Density works out to roughly 225 people per square mile of land. Household income in the county runs above the Oregon median of $80,160, reflecting its position within the Portland metro commuter belt alongside a large agricultural base in its southern and western townships.

Economy & Local Life

The county’s economy blends Portland-metro suburban employment with agriculture and outdoor recreation. Nurseries, berry and hazelnut farms, and Christmas tree operations remain major land uses in the valley portion around Canby, Molalla and Boring, while Oregon City and Milwaukie host manufacturing, health care and retail employers serving the southeast metro area. Mount Hood’s Timberline Lodge and the Mount Hood ski areas around Government Camp draw year-round recreation traffic, and the Willamette Falls at Oregon City — the second-largest waterfall by volume in the country — anchors a redevelopment of the historic paper-mill site along the riverfront.

History

Clackamas County was one of four original Oregon Country districts created by the provisional government on July 5, 1843, before Oregon Territory formally organized it as a county in 1845. It takes its name from the Clackamas people, a Chinookan-speaking group whose villages stood along the lower Clackamas River. Oregon City, the county seat, was the terminus of the Oregon Trail and served as the first capital of Oregon Territory. In 2016, Damascus became the only Oregon city ever to vote itself out of existence, reverting to unincorporated county land after a decade-long dispute over growth planning.

Getting There

Interstate 205 and U.S. Route 26 are the county’s main arteries, with U.S. 26 climbing east over Mount Hood toward Central Oregon and Interstate 5 clipping the county’s western edge near Wilsonville and Tualatin.

• Portland — adjoining, on the county’s northern boundary
• Salem — about 25 miles south via I-5
• Government Camp — about 55 miles east of Oregon City via U.S. 26
• Mount Hood summit — roughly 60 miles east of Oregon City

The nearest commercial airport is Portland International Airport (PDX), just north of the county line in Multnomah County.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Clackamas County, Oregon?
It sits directly south of Portland, running from the Willamette Valley floor east to the crest of the Cascade Range at Mount Hood.

What is the population of Clackamas County?
421,401 people at the 2020 census, Oregon’s third-largest county.

How big is Clackamas County?
1,870 square miles (4,800 km2) of land, plus about 13 square miles of water.

What is the county seat of Clackamas County?
Oregon City is the county seat.

How many towns are in Clackamas County?
16 incorporated cities, plus roughly a dozen census-designated places and dozens more unincorporated communities.

What ZIP codes are in Clackamas County?
Major ones include 97045 (Oregon City), 97034/97035 (Lake Oswego), 97222/97267 (Milwaukie), 97086 (Happy Valley) and 97070 (Wilsonville); see the ZIP Codes section above for the full list.

What is Clackamas County named after?
The Clackamas people, a Chinookan-speaking group who lived along the lower Clackamas River before European settlement.

More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Oregon.