Cornelius is a city in Washington County, Oregon, United States. Located in the Portland metropolitan area. The population was 12,694 at the 2020 census, and was estimated at 15,369 in 2024.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land.
|align-fn=center
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<br>2020 Census
As of the 2024 American Community Survey, there are 4,843 estimated households in Cornelius with an average of 2.91 persons per household. The city has a median household income of $96,273. Approximately 9.1% of the city's population lives at or below the poverty line. Cornelius has an estimated 67.3% employment rate, with 18.9% of the population holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 77.1% holding a high school diploma. There were 4,949 housing units at an average density of .
The top five reported languages (people were allowed to report up to two languages, thus the figures will generally add to more than 100%) were English (52.3%), Spanish (44.2%), Indo-European (1.7%), Asian and Pacific Islander (1.1%), and Other (0.7%).
The median age in the city was 35.1 years.
{| class="wikitable"
|+<big>Cornelius, Oregon – racial and ethnic composition</big><br><small></small>
! Race / ethnicity <small>(NH = non-Hispanic)</small>
! Pop. 1980
! Pop. 1990
! Pop. 2000
! Pop. 2010
!
! % 1980
! % 1990
! % 2000
! % 2010
!
|-
| White alone (NH)
| 4,007
| 5,020
| 5,617
| 5,267
| style='background: #ffffe6; |4,744
| 89.80%
| 81.65%
| 58.20%
| 44.38%
| style='background: #ffffe6; |37.37%
|-
| Black or African American alone (NH)
| 13
| 18
| 64
| 80
| style='background: #ffffe6; |119
| 0.29%
| 0.29%
| 0.66%
| 0.67%
| style='background: #ffffe6; |0.94%
|-
| Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)
| 39
| 55
| 82
| 71
| style='background: #ffffe6; |71
| 0.87%
| 0.89%
| 0.85%
| 0.60%
| style='background: #ffffe6; |0.56%
|-
| Asian alone (NH)
| 24
| 89
| 92
| 256
| style='background: #ffffe6; |238
| 0.54%
| 1.45%
| 0.95%
| 2.16%
| style='background: #ffffe6; |1.87%
|-
| Pacific Islander alone (NH)
| —
| —
| 23
| 9
| style='background: #ffffe6; |47
| —
| —
| 0.24%
| 0.08%
| style='background: #ffffe6; |0.37%
|-
| Other race alone (NH)
| 8
| 6
| 6
| 7
| style='background: #ffffe6; |47
| 0.18%
| 0.10%
| 0.06%
| 0.06%
| style='background: #ffffe6; |0.37%
|-
| Mixed race or multiracial (NH)
| —
| —
| 159
| 231
| style='background: #ffffe6; |435
| —
| —
| 1.65%
| 1.95%
| style='background: #ffffe6; |3.43%
|-
| Hispanic or Latino (any race)
| 371
| 960
| 3,609
| 5,948
| style='background: #ffffe6; |6,993
| 8.31%
| 15.61%
| 37.39%
| 50.11%
| style='background: #ffffe6; |55.09%
|-
|Total
|4,462
|6,148
|9,652
|11,869
|style='background: #ffffe6; |12,694
|100.00%
|100.00%
|100.00%
|100.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%
|}
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, there were 12,694 people, 3,633 households, and 2,910 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 3,684 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 45.3% White, 1.1% African American, 2.7% Native American, 2.2% Asian, 0.4% Pacific Islander, 28.8% from some other races and 19.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 55.09% of the population.
The median age was 33.5 years; 28.2% of residents were under the age of 18 and 10.3% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 106.2 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 102.6 males age 18 and over.
99.7% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.3% lived in rural areas.
There were 3,633 households in Cornelius, of which 46.8% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 56.9% were married-couple households, 14.6% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 19.9% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 13.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
Politics
{| class="wikitable" style="float:right; font-size:95%;"
|+ Presidential election results
|- style="background:lightgrey;"
! Year
! DEM
! GOP
! Others
|-
| align="center" |2020
| align="center" |58.9% 2,982
| align="center" |37.7% 1,909
| align="center" |3.3% 168
|-
| align="center" |2016
| align="center" |52.0% 2,081
| align="center" |36.0% 1,440
| align="center" |12.0% 478
|-
| align="center" |2012
| align="center" |54.9% 1,791
| align="center" |41.1% 1,342
| align="center" |4.0% 131
|-
| align="center" |2008
| align="center" |56.3% 1,787
| align="center" |40.2% 1,276
| align="center" |3.4% 109
|-
| align="center" |2004
| align="center" |46.4% 1,420
| align="center" |51.9% 1,589
| align="center" |1.7% 51
|-
| align="center" |2000
| align="center" |47.2% 1,175
| align="center" |47.1% 1,173
| align="center" |5.7% 142
|}
Since 2008, Cornelius has favored the Democratic Party, in line with Washington County as a whole. Previously, it was more competitive; in 2000, Democrat Al Gore won the city by just two votes and in 2004 it voted for Republican President George W. Bush. Since Barack Obama's 2008 victory, Democrats have consistently won Cornelius by double digits.
Education
In 1851, the Cornelius Elementary School District 2 was founded. The Cornelius district was dissolved in 1960, with the western parts of the enrollment area going to the Forest Grove district and the eastern part going to the Hillsboro districts.
There are few private schools in the Cornelius area. Swallowtail School moved from Hillsboro in July 2016, occupying the former Emmaus Christian School building.
Transportation
Cornelius is within the TriMet district, and public transit service is provided by TriMet's bus line 57-TV Highway, which operates seven days a week. Line 57 connects the city with Forest Grove, to the west, and with Hillsboro and Beaverton to the east, via the Tualatin Valley Highway (known by locals as "TV Highway"). It also links Cornelius with the Portland region's light rail system (MAX) in Hillsboro.
The airport serving Cornelius is Skyport Airport.
See also
- Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center
References
External links
- Entry for Cornelius in the Oregon Blue Book