If you’re moving to Tigard, Oregon in 2026, you’ve picked one of the Portland metro’s most underrated suburbs — and you’re reading this guide from the moving company that’s actually headquartered here. Cal’s Moving & Storage operates out of 12600 SW 72nd Ave, Suite 100, Tigard, OR 97223, just off Highway 217 between Bridgeport Village and Washington Square. We’ve helped hundreds of families and businesses settle into Tigard since 2018, and this guide pulls together everything we wish every newcomer knew before move-in day — neighborhoods, schools, commute realities, the cost of housing, and the small logistics quirks that are easy to miss until you’re standing in your new driveway with a 26-foot truck.

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Tigard sits about nine miles southwest of downtown Portland in Washington County, with roughly 56,000 residents and a footprint that runs from the WES commuter rail line in the east up the slope of Bull Mountain in the west. For people priced out of close-in Portland but unwilling to give up walkable amenities and a short commute, Tigard hits a sweet spot. The median home value sits around $525,000–$550,000 in 2026 — meaningfully more affordable than Portland’s west side, with newer construction, larger lots, and a much friendlier property-tax landscape thanks to the city’s Washington County address rather than Multnomah County’s local levies.

The two biggest reasons new residents tell our crews they chose Tigard: schools and access. The Tigard-Tualatin School District (TTSD) is one of the highest-performing in the state, and the city’s location at the intersection of I-5, Highway 217, and Pacific Highway 99W means you can be at Nike’s Beaverton campus, Intel’s Hillsboro fabs, OHSU on Marquam Hill, or downtown Portland inside 25 minutes outside of rush hour. Add in two regional malls (Washington Square and Bridgeport Village), the WES rail station, and the still-developing downtown along Main Street, and you have a suburb that doesn’t feel like a sleeper town.

The Tigard Neighborhoods Guide

Tigard is bigger than it looks on the map. Most newcomers settle into one of six distinct areas, and each has a personality our crews can spot from the truck cab.

Bull Mountain

The hillside on Tigard’s west side, climbing toward King City. Bull Mountain has the city’s largest, newest, and priciest homes — many built between 2000 and 2020 with three-car garages, primary suites on the main floor, and territorial views toward Mount Hood. If you’re moving in here, expect tight cul-de-sac turnarounds, sloped driveways that fight a 26-foot truck, and HOA rules that require crews to lay floor protection in foyers and stairs. We pre-walk every Bull Mountain move; it’s almost always a “park the big truck on the main road, shuttle with a smaller box truck” situation.

Metzger

The city’s most established neighborhood, just east of Highway 217 and tucked between the Washington Square mall and Garden Home. Metzger has older mid-century ranch homes, mature trees, and walking access to Greenburg Road and the WES line. Lots are flatter here, driveways are easier, and the trees give afternoon shade — pleasant in August. Metzger has a small-town feel that surprises people, and resale stays strong because schools and freeway access are both within five minutes.

Cook Park & Tigard Triangle

South-central Tigard, anchored by the 79-acre Cook Park along the Tualatin River. This area mixes 1980s subdivisions with newer townhomes and the still-evolving Tigard Triangle — the wedge between I-5, 217, and 99W that the city has rezoned for mixed-use density. Expect more apartments and townhomes coming online here over the next five years. Move-in days near Cook Park are easy logistically; the streets are wide and the neighborhood was built for cars.

Summerlake & Summerfield

Summerlake hugs Summer Lake Park and is one of the most walkable family neighborhoods in the city — Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, and the Murrayhill restaurants are all within a mile. Summerfield, just south, is Tigard’s 55+ active-adult community with a clubhouse, golf, and tighter HOA expectations. We move into Summerfield often; the residents there overwhelmingly choose hourly local moves with full pack-only or pack-and-load packages, and our crews are familiar with the gate codes, clubhouse parking rules, and the no-truck-overnight covenant.

Downtown Tigard & Main Street

Tigard’s old core, centered on Main Street between Pacific Highway and the WES tracks. The city has invested heavily in revitalizing downtown over the last decade — new mixed-use buildings, a redesigned plaza, breweries, and a farmers market on Sundays from May through October. If you’re renting an apartment in one of the new four-over-one buildings, plan for a move-in window with the property manager and confirm whether the elevator can be locked off. Parking on Main is metered.

King City

Technically its own incorporated city, but functionally part of greater Tigard and a major Cal’s service area. King City is built around a large 55+ community with golf, a clubhouse, and quiet streets — and the newer “King City North” expansion is adding family-oriented homes north of Beef Bend Road. We mention it here because King City moves are often Tigard moves in disguise.

Cost of Living in Tigard (2026 Reality Check)

The honest answer: Tigard is expensive by national standards but a relative deal in the Portland metro. The overall cost of living runs roughly 25–28% above the U.S. average, almost entirely driven by housing. Here’s how the numbers break out in 2026:

  • Median home value: ~$525,000–$550,000 (Bull Mountain runs higher; Metzger and Cook Park run lower)
  • One-bedroom apartment rent: ~$1,272–$1,650/month depending on neighborhood and building age
  • Four-bedroom house rent: ~$2,079–$2,800/month
  • Income to rent comfortably: ~$47,000/year
  • Income to buy comfortably: ~$81,000/year (assumes 20% down at current rates)
  • Property taxes: Washington County rates, generally lower than Multnomah County
  • State income tax: Oregon top bracket 9.9% — same as anywhere in the state
  • Sales tax: None (Oregon)

For a deeper, Portland-metro-specific cost breakdown, our Portland moving cost guide covers what to expect on the moving side specifically — rates in Tigard track Portland metro pricing closely.

Schools and Family Life

Tigard sits inside the Tigard-Tualatin School District (TTSD 23J), which serves Tigard, Tualatin, Durham, King City, and the unincorporated communities of Metzger and Bull Mountain. The district runs 19 schools — 12 elementary, 3 middle, 3 high schools, and one alternative — serving roughly 11,600 students. TTSD students consistently outperform the Oregon state average in reading, math, and science.

Within Tigard proper, families repeatedly tell us the standout elementary schools are Mary Woodward and Art Rutkin, both ranked among the top in the state. The district’s two main Tigard high schools — Tigard High and Tualatin High — feed strong AP, CTE, and athletic programs. If schools are driving your move, check the boundary maps before you sign a lease or close on a house: TTSD boundaries don’t match city limits perfectly, and a home a quarter mile from a school can still feed into a different one.

If you have a child currently in school in your old district, plan the move during winter break or summer if at all possible. Mid-year transfers are doable but harder, and Oregon’s school enrollment paperwork wants proof of residence, immunization records, and IEP/504 documents transferred from the prior district.

Top Employers and the Tigard Job Market

Tigard’s economy leans heavily on professional services, retail, and tech-adjacent manufacturing, with major employers either inside the city or within a 15-minute commute:

  • Lam Research — 58-acre Tualatin campus just south of Tigard, 700+ employees, semiconductor capital equipment
  • Costco corporate office — Tualatin (5 minutes south)
  • Nike World Headquarters — Beaverton, 15 minutes north on 217
  • Intel Ronler Acres & Jones Farm — Hillsboro, 20–25 minutes via 217 and US-26
  • Providence St. Vincent Medical Center — just over the Tigard line in Cedar Hills
  • Washington Square & Bridgeport Village — major retail employers within Tigard
  • Tualatin Industrial Area — Genentech, Owens-Illinois, and Boeing-related suppliers, 10 minutes south

For corporate relocations and office moves into Tigard’s commercial zones, see our Oregon office movers page or the city-specific Tigard office movers service. We do a meaningful share of the office-relocation work along Lower Boones Ferry and the Tigard Triangle.

Commuting From Tigard: 217, I-5, WES, and Reality

Tigard’s location is the biggest selling point for commuters and the most-asked question we get from new arrivals. Here are the honest numbers:

  • Tigard to downtown Portland: 9.4 miles on I-5; 16–25 minutes off-peak, 30–45 minutes in heavy rush hour
  • Tigard to Beaverton (Nike): 6 miles on Highway 217; 12–20 minutes off-peak, 25–40 in rush
  • Tigard to Hillsboro (Intel): 15 miles via 217 and US-26; 20–25 minutes off-peak, 35–50 in rush
  • Tigard to Wilsonville: 10 miles on I-5 south; 15–20 minutes typical
  • Tigard to PDX airport: 18 miles via I-5 and I-205; 25–35 minutes

The big change for 2026: ODOT’s $174 million Highway 217 widening project is now substantially complete, which has eased the worst of the southbound afternoon backups between 99W and I-5. It’s still slow at 5 PM — there’s no fixing rush hour — but the ramp-meter timing and auxiliary lanes have measurably reduced “incident pile-up” delays. Expect normal Portland metro traffic, not the previous worst-case scenario.

For non-driving options, the WES commuter rail runs from the Tigard Transit Center north to Beaverton (connecting to MAX Blue/Red lines) and south to Wilsonville. WES runs weekday peak hours only, but for a Beaverton or downtown Portland commuter, it’s a real alternative to traffic.

Things to Do in Tigard

Tigard isn’t Portland — and that’s a feature, not a bug, for most newcomers. The amenities most residents actually use:

  • Cook Park — 79 acres along the Tualatin River, with sports fields, kayak launch, and the connector trail to Tualatin Community Park
  • Fanno Creek Trail — paved multi-use trail running diagonally through Tigard from Beaverton to Tualatin, very popular with cyclists and walkers
  • Bull Mountain Park — hillside park with territorial views, smaller and less crowded than Cook Park
  • Washington Square Mall — the largest mall in Oregon outside of downtown Portland
  • Bridgeport Village — open-air shopping and dining on the Tigard/Tualatin/Lake Oswego border
  • Tigard Farmers Market — Sundays at the downtown plaza, May through October
  • Local breweries — Max’s Fanno Creek Brew Pub on Main Street is the local institution
  • Movie theaters — Regal Bridgeport Village 18 and the Cinépolis at Washington Square

Move-Day Logistics: What a Local Tigard Mover Knows

Cal’s Moving & Storage is headquartered in Tigard for a reason — most of our long-time crew lives within 20 minutes of the office. That means when you book a Tigard move, your crew didn’t drive an hour to get to the truck yard, they’re not racing the clock to get back across town, and they actually know the streets. A few things that consistently catch newcomers off-guard:

  • Bull Mountain driveways: Many slope steeply toward the garage. A loaded 26-foot truck can high-center on the lip if the angle is wrong. We almost always shuttle with a 16-foot box truck on the steepest streets — Sunrise Lane, Beef Bend Road north slope, Aspen Ridge.
  • Apartment move-in windows: Buildings on Main Street and in the Tigard Triangle increasingly require a reserved 2- or 4-hour move-in window booked through the property manager. Confirm yours before move day; if you don’t, an elevator may be locked or another resident may have the dock.
  • HOA floor protection: Summerfield and parts of Bull Mountain require ram-board or hardboard on tile/hardwood common areas. Tell us in advance — we bring the right materials.
  • Tigard Triangle parking: The new four-over-one buildings near 99W and 72nd Ave have very limited curb access. Loading zones must be requested 48 hours in advance from the property.
  • Heat in August: Summer move-day temperatures regularly hit the upper 90s. We move start times earlier, hydrate the crew aggressively, and recommend you have a cold case of water ready.

If you’re moving locally inside or into Tigard, our local movers service covers hourly moves up to 50 miles. If you’re moving from out of state — California is the #1 origin for new Tigard residents — see our long-distance moving company page for flat-rate, binding-quote options.

Need a few weeks of storage between closings or while you wait for a build to finish? Our residential storage service includes climate-controlled units in our Tigard facility — same building as the office, no separate handoffs.

How Much Does It Cost to Move to Tigard?

Local Tigard moves are billed hourly with a two-mover minimum. Typical 2026 rates from a licensed Oregon moving company:

  • 2 movers + truck: $145–$175/hour (small apartments, partial loads)
  • 3 movers + truck: $175–$215/hour (most 2- and 3-bedroom homes)
  • 4 movers + truck: $215–$265/hour (4-bedroom homes, dense furniture, stairs)

Most local Tigard moves run between 4 and 8 hours depending on home size, stair count, and how much packing the crew is doing on top of loading. Long-distance and out-of-state moves into Tigard are billed flat-rate based on weight, distance, and the crew/truck size needed — generally $3,500–$8,500 for a 2–3 bedroom home from California, Washington, Idaho, or Nevada.

Always confirm the mover is licensed: in Oregon, that means a current ODOT number (Cal’s is ODOT #239715) and, for interstate moves, an active USDOT number (Cal’s is USDOT #3311673). Oregon’s 2026 enforcement of SB 839 tripled penalties for unlicensed movers — a real protection for consumers, and an easy thing to verify before you book. See our writeup on the 2026 Oregon moving laws for what changed and how to check a license.

Frequently Asked Questions: Moving to Tigard, Oregon

Is Tigard a good place to live in 2026?

Yes — by most measurable standards. Tigard offers strong schools (Tigard-Tualatin SD), low crime relative to the Portland metro average, easy freeway and rail access, two regional malls, and home prices roughly 15–20% below comparable close-in Portland neighborhoods. The trade-off is that it is unmistakably suburban — if you want walkable urban density, Portland’s Pearl District or Northwest neighborhoods will feel like a better fit.

How much does it cost to hire movers in Tigard, Oregon?

Local hourly moves in Tigard typically run $145–$265 per hour depending on crew size, with most 2–3 bedroom homes finishing in 5–7 hours. Long-distance moves into Tigard are flat-rate, generally $3,500–$8,500 for a similar home from a neighboring state. Cal’s Moving & Storage offers free, no-obligation in-home or virtual estimates — call (503) 746-7319.

Is Cal’s Moving really based in Tigard?

Yes. Our headquarters is at 12600 SW 72nd Avenue, Suite 100, Tigard, OR 97223, just off Highway 217 between Bridgeport Village and Washington Square. The trucks load out of Tigard each morning, our office staff works onsite, and most of our long-tenured crew lives in Tigard, Tualatin, or Beaverton.

What’s the best time of year to move to Tigard?

September through April is calmer and easier to schedule — summer is the busy season for every Portland metro mover, and weekends in June and July book out 4–6 weeks in advance. Early October is genuinely the best window: the kids are settled into school, the heat is gone, the rains haven’t started, and rates and availability are both better than peak summer.

Which Tigard neighborhood is best for families with school-age kids?

Bull Mountain, Summerlake, and Cook Park are the three families ask about most. All three are zoned to highly-rated TTSD elementary schools, all three have safe walkable streets and parks within a half-mile, and all three have strong neighborhood resale. Bull Mountain runs the most expensive; Cook Park is the most affordable of the three; Summerlake is the most walkable to retail and groceries.

Ready to Move to Tigard? Talk to Your Local Tigard Movers

Whether you’re driving down from Seattle, flying up from the Bay Area, or just shifting from Portland’s east side to a quieter Tigard cul-de-sac, Cal’s Moving & Storage handles the move from our Tigard headquarters with a real local crew, real licensing, and real accountability. We offer free, fast quotes and honest answers to the awkward questions — including the ones about pricing.

Compare us to the Portland-metro options if you’re shopping around — our city hub pages cover Portland movers, Beaverton movers, Hillsboro movers, and Tigard movers in detail.

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Cal’s Moving & Storage is a locally owned Oregon moving company founded in 2018 at Oregon State University. We serve Portland, Beaverton, Hillsboro, Salem, Corvallis, and the surrounding Willamette Valley.