Market report · Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA
The State of Outbound Sales in Portland, OR, 2026
How outbound selling looks across the Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA metro right now: who the buyers are, which trades have room, what is being built, what a rep costs to hire here. Then a 4-tool kit to work the market this month.
- 6,273business sites with 20+ people across the categories trades sell to, #23 of our 100 metros
- 128buyer sites per commercial roofing contractor, #5 of 89 markets: the best rank of any trade here
Sites: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023; rank among the 100 metros on our market pages. Room: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023 sites per contractor in U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, private ownership, 2026 Q1, among markets with at least 10 contractors.
Executive summary Read this if nothing else
5 things to know about outbound sales in Portland
Biggest buyer pool
Restaurants: 1,678 sites
with 20 or more people, the largest buyer category in Portland-Vancouver, ahead of retail stores (1,231).
Where the metro leans
Churches and religious organizations: 5.22x the U.S. mix
Also over-represented: senior living and nursing (2.72x) and apartment and residential property managers (1.84x). Trades that serve these buyers have more of them here than the national average suggests.
Most room
Commercial Roofing: #5 of 89 markets
128 buyer sites with 20+ people for each of 31 local commercial roofing contractors. The most crowded is commercial cleaning & janitorial, #73 of 100.
Biggest reason to call
OHSU Vista Pavilion (OHSU Hospital Expansion Project), $650 million
Opened 2026. One of 4 named, sourced projects in this report.
Hiring locally
$124,700 for an in-house SDR's first year (illustrative)
At a $55,000 base salary, once commission, payroll taxes and benefits, tools, recruiting and training, turnover and manager time are added, before ramp time.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, private ownership, 2026 Q1; project sources as of 2026-09; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Full list at the end.
Chapter 01 The market
Who buys in Portland-Vancouver
6,273 business sites in Portland-Vancouver have 20 or more people on site in the categories commercial trades sell to. That ranks #23 of the 100 metros we publish. Here is what those buyers are and where they sit.
The largest buyer categories
Sites with 20 or more people are the ones worth an SDR's time: big enough to have a facility lead, a service budget and a contract that comes up for renewal. The "vs. U.S. mix" column compares each category's share of local employment with its national share (1.00x is the U.S. average).
| Category | Sites with 20+ | All sites | vs. U.S. mix | 1-yr change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RestaurantsLargest pool | 1,678 | 6,499 | 1.15x | -43 |
| Retail stores | 1,231 | 7,036 | 0.83x | -183 |
| Manufacturing plants | 917 | 3,084 | 1.26x | -102 |
| Medical, dental and outpatient offices | 628 | 5,590 | 0.95x | +51 |
| Wholesale distributors | 589 | 3,245 | 1.16x | -184 |
| Senior living and nursing | 352 | 1,764 | 2.72x | +29 |
| Grocery stores | 252 | 1,150 | 0.95x | -4 |
| Hotels | 161 | 344 | 0.78x | +4 |
| Trucking companies | 141 | 1,334 | 0.70x | -79 |
| Bank and credit union offices | 136 | 1,190 | 0.88x | -60 |
Portland-Vancouver leans toward churches and religious organizations (5.22x), senior living and nursing (2.72x) and apartment and residential property managers (1.84x). A trade that already sells to those buyers elsewhere has a deeper pool here than the national numbers suggest, and a case study from one of them travels well on the phone.
It is thinner than the U.S. mix in hospitals (0.51x) and golf courses and country clubs (0.61x). A program built around those buyers runs out of fresh accounts sooner here.
Growing fastest over the past year, by establishment count: medical, dental and outpatient offices (+51), senior living and nursing (+29) and private K-12 schools (+5). New sites have no incumbent vendor yet.
The metro
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA: 6 counties in this report's counts.
Multnomah County, Washington County and Clackamas County hold 78% of the larger business sites, so most programs start there.
Where the sites are
| County | Sites with 20+ | Share of metro |
|---|---|---|
| Multnomah CountyStart here | 2,351 | 37% |
| Washington County | 1,542 | 25% |
| Clackamas County | 1,021 | 16% |
| Clark County, Washington | 960 | 15% |
| Yamhill County | 196 | 3% |
| Columbia County | 56 | 1% |
Chapter 02 The competition
Which trades have the most room in Portland
Buyer sites per contractor is a rough read on how crowded a trade is: more sites for each local competitor means more doors nobody else is knocking on. Each trade's Portland figure is ranked against the other markets we track.
| Trade | Rank among markets | Sites per contractor | Contractors | 1-yr change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commercial RoofingMost room | #5 of 89 | 128 | 31 | -2 |
| Commercial Painting & Coatings | #6 of 86 | 100 | 42 | -2 |
| Commercial HVAC & Mechanical | #17 of 100 | 13 | 183 | -3 |
| Commercial Electrical | #18 of 100 | 13 | 232 | -8 |
| Commercial Flooring | #15 of 68 | 86 | 31 | +2 |
| Fire Protection | #29 of 96 | 51 | 87 | -3 |
| Commercial Construction | #35 of 100 | 5.5 | 398 | -9 |
| Commercial Landscaping | #41 of 100 | 4.0 | 987 | -27 |
| Paving & Asphalt | #60 of 94 | 37 | 100 | -6 |
| Managed Service Providers | #67 of 100 | 2.3 | 1,714 | -19 |
| Commercial Cleaning & Janitorial | #73 of 100 | 3.2 | 839 | -46 |
Commercial roofing (#5), commercial painting & coatings (#6) and commercial HVAC & mechanical (#17) rank best in Portland. For those trades a program can work longer before it calls the same building twice, and fewer competitors have already pitched each owner.
Commercial cleaning & janitorial is the most crowded trade here, #73 of 100: 3.2 buyer sites for each of 839 local commercial cleaning companies. Winning there takes a sharper reason to switch than a lower price.
Commercial cleaning & janitorial (-46) and commercial landscaping (-27) lost contractor establishments over the past year, so the same buildings are split among fewer firms than a year ago. Commercial flooring (+2) added them.
Open programs
Our availability workbook does not cover Portland yet. We take one client per trade per territory, so ask before you plan around it.
Chapter 03 The projects
What is being built, and who owns the buildings
4 named, sourced projects and 7 anchor owners in Portland-Vancouver. Each one is a reason to call that has nothing to do with your company and everything to do with the buyer's building.
The projects
- 01 · $650 million OHSU Vista Pavilion (OHSU Hospital Expansion Project) Opened 2026 A 14-story, 530,000 sq ft inpatient tower on OHSU's Marquam Hill campus in Portland that added 128 beds for Knight Cancer Institute patients and opened April 7, 2026. With cancer care moved into the new tower, OHSU plans to repurpose existing hospital space for cardiovascular, neurological and other specialty care, which points to interior renovation work in the older buildings. A new tower this size also needs healthcare-grade cleaning and mechanical service contracts. OHSU News, 2026-04
- 02 · $466 million Jefferson High School rebuild Under construction, opening fall 2029 Portland Public Schools broke ground May 29, 2026 on an all-electric, multi-story replacement for Jefferson High School on the north end of its 14-acre campus facing North Killingsworth Street in north Portland. An all-electric school puts more of the budget into heat pump systems and electrical service, with structure and envelope work through 2027 and interiors through 2029. It is one of three high school rebuilds in the district's bond program, along with Cleveland and Ida B. Wells. KPTV, 2026-05-29
- 03 · 358,000 sq ft (Hillsboro 5); 350,000 sq ft (Hillsboro 6) Flexential Hillsboro 5 and Hillsboro 6 data centers Hillsboro 5 under construction for 2026; Hillsboro 6 planned Flexential's fifth Hillsboro data center (36 megawatts) is under construction, and a sixth (27 megawatts) is planned at 3935 N.E. Aloclek Place in Hillsboro, Washington County. Back-to-back data center buildings keep mechanical cooling, electrical distribution and fire suppression crews busy as one finishes and the next starts. Operating halls also need specialized cleaning on an ongoing basis. Hillsboro News-Times, 2025-10-01
- 04 Block 67 mixed-use development Sitework summer to fall 2026, opening spring/summer 2028 A two-building development by Koz Development in downtown Hillsboro with 338 apartments for older adults and working families, ground-floor retail and an anchor grocery store. Vertical construction runs from fall 2026 into 2028, so roofing, mechanical, electrical and fire sprinkler work follows the sitework. The grocery and retail spaces add commercial tenant finish work near the end. Hillsboro News-Times, 2026-04-17
Projects current as of 2026-09; each source is linked on its card. Values are as reported by the source.
The anchor owners
Health systems, campuses, large employers and industrial parks hold the biggest concentrations of commercial buildings in Portland-Vancouver. One relationship with a facilities team here can cover many buildings.
Health system · Portland, Multnomah County
OHSU Hospital and OHSU Doernbecher Children's Hospital
OHSU's 2025 Fact Book lists 704 licensed beds for the 2026 calendar year and 22,501 employees through fiscal year 2025.
OHSU Hospital, Doernbecher, OHSU Health Hillsboro Medical Center and clinics in Portland and Beaverton need mechanical, life-safety, cleaning and interior work.
Oregon Health & Science UniversityHealth system · Unincorporated Washington County
Providence St. Vincent Medical Center
Wikipedia says Providence St. Vincent is licensed for 523 beds and has over 3,500 employees.
An acute care teaching campus with a 13-story tower and parking needs HVAC, cleaning, life-safety and pavement work.
WikipediaCampus · Portland, Multnomah County
Portland State University
Portland State reports total enrollment of 19,687 for Fall 2025, including 15,426 undergraduates.
A downtown campus of classroom, lab and residence buildings needs HVAC service, cleaning, roofing and flooring work.
Portland State UniversityAirport · Portland, Multnomah County
Portland International Airport (PDX)
Wikipedia lists 18,563,132 passengers at PDX in 2025 and says the airport covers 3,000 acres of land.
The terminal, parking garages, cargo buildings and airfield support facilities need cleaning, HVAC service, electrical work and pavement upkeep.
WikipediaMajor employer · Hillsboro, Washington County
Intel Corporation (Hillsboro campuses)
Wikipedia, citing the City of Hillsboro's 2022 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, lists Intel as the city's largest employer with 20,000 employees.
Semiconductor fabs, offices and support buildings run heavy electrical, mechanical, fire protection and cleanroom-adjacent cleaning programs.
WikipediaMajor employer · near Beaverton, Washington County
Nike World Headquarters
Wikipedia says the Nike campus has more than 75 buildings on 286 acres, as of 2018, with a citation.
A corporate campus with offices, athletic facilities, a child development center and landscaped grounds needs janitorial, HVAC, landscape and flooring service.
WikipediaLogistics hub · Vancouver, Clark County, Washington
Port of Vancouver USA
The Port of Vancouver USA reports 7.49M metric tons of cargo in 2024 and 20,000 supported regional jobs.
Marine terminals, warehouses and the port's industrial park need paving, roofing, electrical and fire protection work.
Port of Vancouver USAAnchor facts checked 2026-10; each source is linked on its card.
Which trades the work touches
| Trade | Projects and owners |
|---|---|
| Commercial HVAC & Mechanical | 10 |
| Commercial Cleaning & Janitorial | 8 |
| Commercial Electrical | 7 |
| Fire Protection | 6 |
| Commercial Flooring | 5 |
| Commercial Roofing | 4 |
| Commercial Construction | 3 |
| Paving & Asphalt | 3 |
| Commercial Painting & Coatings | 2 |
| Commercial Landscaping | 1 |
Chapter 04 The calendar
The Portland selling calendar
Outbound runs every month, but the weather changes what a buyer wants to hear. These are the NOAA records for the Portland-Vancouver metro's counties, month by month.
| Measure | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail and damaging wind reportstotal, 2015 to 2024 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Cooling degree daysaverage month | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 74 | 77 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Heating degree daysaverage month | 814 | 691 | 666 | 526 | 347 | 208 | 76 | 69 | 160 | 430 | 664 | 842 |
| Average high (°F)average month | 44 | 47 | 52 | 57 | 64 | 69 | 77 | 78 | 72 | 60 | 49 | 43 |
NOAA logged 4 hail reports of 1 inch or larger and 5 damaging wind reports across the metro's counties from 2015 to 2024: #89 of 100 markets for hail and #91 for wind. January, April and May carried 67% of the reports. Storms are not the main driver here, so roof age, leaks and budget timing carry the roofing conversation.
The metro averages 193 cooling degree days a year (#96 of 97 markets) and 5,492 heating degree days (#35 of 97). Cooling load peaks in July and August; heating in January, February, March, April, October, November and December. Peak months are when HVAC calls lead with service and response times; the rest of the year they lead with planned work and budgets.
5 months average a high of 60°F or more (May, June, July, August and September). That is when exterior painting, paving and landscaping crews are busiest, so in-season calls catch owners while they can see the work that needs doing. The contracts themselves are bid on each property's own dates, so the selling runs all year.
Trades with no weather season
Cleaning, construction, electrical, flooring and fire protection sell on contract end dates, budgets and inspection cycles. Learn each account's date on the first call and come back before it.
Chapter 05 The numbers
What one meeting takes, trade by trade
What booking a meeting has taken on our own calling floor for the trades we run in Portland, next to the records we can prospect here. The sales center figures are national; it does not break them out by city yet.
| Trade | Dials per appointment | Reached proposal | Proposals won | Dials for 10 meetings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fire ProtectionFastest to book | 78 | 21.6% | 13.2% | about 780 |
| Paving & Asphalt | 86 | 32.2% | 7.4% | about 860 |
| Commercial Landscaping | 88 | 18.8% | 12.7% | about 880 |
| Commercial Electrical | 96 | 14.6% | 21.1% | about 960 |
| Commercial HVAC & Mechanical | 98 | 16.6% | 24.9% | about 980 |
| Commercial Painting & Coatings | 115 | 31.2% | 14.4% | about 1,150 |
| Commercial Flooring | 122 | 30.8% | 9.8% | about 1,220 |
| Commercial Roofing | 140 | 25.9% | 16.1% | about 1,400 |
| Commercial Cleaning & Janitorial | 142 | 23.9% | 21.7% | about 1,420 |
| Managed Service Providers | 162 | 10.0% | 20.5% | about 1,620 |
All of these trades together: 122 dials per appointment
The records behind a Portland program
Before a program starts we size the list: the decision-maker records Abstrakt can prospect for each trade in the Portland-Vancouver-Salem territory.
- 7,859Commercial Roofing
- 7,859Commercial Construction
- 3,004Commercial HVAC & Mechanical
- 2,327Commercial Cleaning & Janitorial
Source: Abstrakt territory record counts, as of October 2026: estimated decision-maker records Abstrakt can prospect for each program in the territory. Shown for the programs the count covers.
Read it this way
Divide the records by the dials one meeting takes and you see how long a list lasts before it repeats. A thin list means a program has to work every record well, not just call more.
Chapter 06 Build or buy
What an in-house SDR costs in Portland
Before you hire a sales development rep in Portland, price the whole job, not just the salary.
The salary is the smallest part of the decision. About 7,530 people hold the role in the Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA metro, and every one of their employers is competing for the same hires.
| Cost | Year one |
|---|---|
| Base salary | $55,000 |
| Commission and bonus | $15,000 |
| Payroll taxes and benefits (25% of pay) | $17,500 |
| Tools and data ($550 a month) | $6,600 |
| Recruiting and training | $7,000 |
| Turnover (35% a year, rehiring) | $2,450 |
| Manager and QA time (5 hours a week) and admin (4 hours a month) | $21,150 |
| Total, before ramp time | $124,700 |
Headcount: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Sales representatives of services, except advertising, insurance, financial services and travel (SOC 41-3091). The cost lines are the starting values of our SDR cost calculator: $15,000 commission, 25% payroll taxes and benefits, $550 a month in tools, $7,000 recruiting and training, 35% yearly turnover, and manager, QA and admin time. Change any of them there.
$124,700
for one in-house SDR's first year at a $55,000 base salary.
That buys one rep. It does not buy the list, the manager's coaching system or cover when the rep leaves.
Part two Apply this
The Portland, OR market toolkit
4 working tools built from the chapters above. Tick the boxes as you go (they stay ticked in this browser), copy the scripts into your CRM, or save the whole guide as a PDF and print this part as a worksheet.
Tool 01
Account scorecard
Before an account goes on the call list, check every line that fits. Call the accounts with the most ticks first, and leave the ones with none for later.
Tool 02
Discovery question bank
Ask fewer, better questions. Pick three or four for the call and save the rest for the meeting. Each one comes with the reason it earns its place.
Restaurants: 1,678 sites here
From our fire protection talk track. Staying open and passing inspection. Multi-unit operators are worth more than single locations.
- When was your hood suppression system last inspected, and when is the next one due?Due dates tell you when to call and what to offer.
- Have you had a failed inspection or a citation recently?Failed inspections threaten the ability to stay open and create urgency.
- How many locations do you operate, and does each one use a different vendor?Multi-unit operators are more valuable and often want one vendor across locations.
Retail stores: 1,231 sites here
From our roofing talk track. Leaks in front of customers. Qualify early whether the store or the landlord owns the roof.
- Does the store or the landlord own the roof under your lease?This is the first qualifying question, since many retail roofs are the landlord's responsibility.
- Where have leaks hit, the sales floor, the stockroom or around rooftop units?Leak location shows how much they affect customers and inventory, which drives urgency.
- Is a remodel or refresh scheduled for this location?Remodels are when replacement or major repair gets funded and scheduled.
Manufacturing plants: 917 sites here
From our roofing talk track. Downtime and work around production. Phased work and night or weekend scheduling matter here.
- Where are the leaks showing up, and are any over production lines or electrical equipment?Leaks over production raise the stakes and move a repair from nice to have to urgent.
- How much equipment is on the roof, and has anything been added recently?Rooftop equipment and new penetrations are where roofs fail and where a maintenance program pays off.
- How old is the roof, and has anyone given you a condition report on it?A missing condition report is an opening for an inspection the plant engineer can take to management.
Any first meeting
Plain practice that works in every market.
- How are you handling this today, and what would you change about it?The gap between today and what they want is the whole reason to meet.
- What happens if nothing changes this year?Tells you whether there is a cost to waiting, or only curiosity.
- Who else would need to agree before anything moves?Names the people who can stall the deal, while you can still invite them.
- When does the current contract or budget come up for review?Gives you the date to plan around, even when the answer today is no.
- What would make a first meeting worth your time?Lets the buyer set the agenda, which is the agenda they will show up for.
Tool 03
Trigger watchlist
Each of these changes gives a buyer a reason to take the call this month instead of next year. Tick the ones you will track, and set a news alert or CRM field for each so you hear about it first.
Tool 04
30-day action plan
4 weeks, 15 steps, nothing you need to buy. Tick each one off as you finish it; your progress stays in this browser.
Week 1Draw the territory
Week 2Check the rules, then write the talk track
Week 3Make the calls
Week 4Measure and decide
Sources and notes
- U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023: business sites by category, size and county, Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, private ownership, 2026 Q1: contractor establishments, one-year change and concentration (location quotient).
- Projects: named public sources linked on each card, current as of 2026-09.
- Anchor owners: sources linked on each card, checked 2026-10.
- NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, 2015 to 2024: hail and damaging wind reports by month across the metro's counties.
- NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county monthly series, 1991-2020 averages: degree days and average highs by month.
- Abstrakt sales center, Performance Intelligence, national, as of October 2026: dials, appointments, proposals and wins by trade. Method.
- Abstrakt territory record counts, as of October 2026: decision-maker records per program in the Portland-Vancouver-Salem territory.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025: Sales representatives of services, except advertising, insurance, financial services and travel (SOC 41-3091).
- The toolkit's discovery questions come from our trade talk tracks; the plan and checklists are sales practice, not data.
