About Beaverton

Beaverton was founded in 1868 and takes its name from the beaver dams that once dotted the area; it was officially incorporated in 1893 with a population of about 400. Early settlers included the Hall family, who arrived from Kentucky in 1847, and Thomas Denney, who came the following year. Located in Washington County within the Tualatin Valley, the city covers about 19.7 square miles, bordered by Portland to the east, Hillsboro to the west, and Tigard to the south. At the 2020 census, Beaverton had a population of 97,494, making it the second-largest city in Washington County and the seventh-largest in Oregon. Beaverton is a central part of Oregon's "Silicon Forest," anchored by Nike's world headquarters, which alone employs more than 6,000 people. Other major employers include the Beaverton School District, Analog Devices, Fred Meyer, and Reser's Fine Foods, which has been headquartered in the city since 1960. The Beaverton School District operates six public high schools — Aloha, Beaverton, Mountainside, Southridge, Sunset, and Westview — and Portland Community College maintains a campus in the city as well. Residents get around via TriMet, which serves Beaverton with seven MAX Light Rail stations and the WES commuter rail line, along with U.S. Route 26 and Oregon Route 217. For recreation, the city is home to Tualatin Hills Nature Park, Cooper Mountain Nature Park, the Patricia Reser Center for the Arts (opened in 2022), and The Round, a mixed-use development near the MAX line. Beaverton City Park's fountain plaza is a popular gathering spot in the heart of downtown. The city operates under a council-manager government with a mayor and six council members elected at-large. Beaverton also maintains sister-city relationships with six cities around the world, including Gotemba, Japan; Hsinchu, Taiwan; and Cheonan, South Korea — ties that date back to the late 1980s.