Portland / Independence
Independence has 10,199 residents (give or take 31) (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B01003, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B01003?g=160XX00US4136150, checked 2026-10-19), about 3,394 people per square mile.
Independence is about 54 miles from the Census center point for Portland in a straight line and covers 3.005 square miles of land (Census 2024 Gazetteer internal points and land area, https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2024_Gazetteer/, checked 2026-10-19).
3,394 people per square mile puts Independence in suburban density, where the outdoor unit usually sits in a side yard and the noise is not an issue for neighbors.
Of the 3,151 occupied homes in Independence, 30% heat with natural gas, 0% with heating oil, 65% with electricity and 3% with propane (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25040, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25040?g=160XX00US4136150, checked 2026-10-19).
Electricity already heats 65% of Independence homes, ahead of gas at 30%, and a home on electric baseboard sees the biggest bill change from a heat pump because it replaces resistance heat one for one.
Independence has about the Polk County oil share of 1% and 10 points more electric heat than the county's 55% (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25040, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25040?g=050XX00US41053, checked 2026-10-19).
Independence has 3,195 housing units, 5% built before 1940 and 34% before 1980, with 48% built in 2000 or later (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25034, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034?g=160XX00US4136150, checked 2026-10-19).
Independence has 15 points more homes built after 2000 than the county's 33% (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25034, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034?g=050XX00US41053, checked 2026-10-19).
The median Independence home was built in 1999 (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25035, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25035?g=160XX00US4136150, checked 2026-10-19) and the median home has 5.4 rooms (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25018, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25018?g=160XX00US4136150, checked 2026-10-19).
57% of Independence homes are single-family detached, 13% are in two- to four-unit buildings and 23% are in buildings of five or more units (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25024, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25024?g=160XX00US4136150, checked 2026-10-19).
45% of Independence homes are rented (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25003, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25003?g=160XX00US4136150, checked 2026-10-19), so beside the 57% detached houses there is a real share of jobs where the landlord, not the resident, signs the quote.
Independence has 10 points fewer detached houses than Polk County overall (67%) (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25024, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25024?g=050XX00US41053, checked 2026-10-19).
45% of Independence homes are rented (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25003, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25003?g=160XX00US4136150, checked 2026-10-19), so the market splits between resident-led jobs where the occupant picks the system and landlord-led jobs where they do not, and the rebate paperwork differs.
48% of Independence housing was built in 2000 or later (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25034, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034?g=160XX00US4136150, checked 2026-10-19), and homes that recent usually meet the insulation codes in place at the time, so a heat pump sized to the floor plan lands closer to the real load than it would in an older neighborhood.
No electric utility is on file for Independence on this door yet, so this page does not name one; the name on the bill decides which rebate path applies.
Energy Trust of Oregon heat pump incentives, run by Energy Trust of Oregon, is a live program for Oregon addresses and covers qualifying equipment at $1,000 per system (registry row 15 verified 2026-10-15, https://www.energytrust.org/incentives/residential-cooling-solutions/, checked 2026-10-16); confirm eligibility for the Independence address before counting it. With 65% of Independence homes already on electric heat and 33% on gas, oil or propane, the row that applies depends on the name on the electric bill and the fuel coming out.
Median household income in Independence is $85,375 (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B19013, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B19013?g=160XX00US4136150, checked 2026-10-19); many state and utility heat pump rebate programs set higher incentive tiers for income-qualifying households, so the household income on the application, not the town median, decides which level applies.
Heating design temperature: 22F. Source: ENERGY STAR Design Temperature Limit Reference Guide (2019 Edition), Polk County row, 99% heating, PDF pages 100 to 102 of 141 (Revised 11/11/2020), https://www.energystar.gov/sites/default/files/Design%20Temperature%20Limit%20Reference%20Guide%20(2019%20Ed)%20-%20ENERGY%20STAR%20Single-Family%20New%20Homes_Rev11.pdf, fetched 2026-10-19, 99%.
That 22F figure is the Polk County cold-day number a Independence heat pump is sized against, so ask the installer to show the system's heating output at 22F, not at the milder rating-label temperature.
Ask for the heat-loss calculation room by room; the median Independence home has 5.4 rooms and was built around 1999, and the count of heads and the tonnage follow the rooms and the insulation, not the square footage.
The form on this page is the follow-up for Independence. The public number is the number the contractor quotes from.
No local contractor is named on this door for Independence yet. A request from this page goes to the first licensed shop that takes the door.