Water hardness
Portland, OR water hardness
Portland's tap water measures 9 ppm, which is soft. The number comes from Portland Water Bureau's 2025 published data, measured at the tap.
9 ppm
Soft
Portland shower water
Hardness bands per the U.S. Geological Survey.
9
Source: Portland Water Bureau, 2025.
For comparison, New York, NY sits in the same range at 25 ppm.
What Portland water means for your hair and skin
Below 60 ppm there is nothing to fix. If your water bothers you at this level, the cause is likely chlorine, which is a filter's job, and a different topic than hardness.
Water hardness in nearby and regional cities
- San Jose, CA 155 to 545 ppm
- Sacramento, CA 83 ppm
- San Diego, CA 276 ppm
- Fresno, CA 129 ppm
Check your own zip code
Check the number for your exact address with the free zip lookup, or read the utility's own report linked above.