A mural of the iconic animated sitcom, "The Simpsons," is a welcome nod to the city of Springfield. Despite there being about 34 places around the country with the same ubiquitous name, the creator of the show, Matt Groening, admitted that its fictional town is based on one not far from his birthplace, Portland.
The city of about 61,000 is across Interstate 5 from the University of Oregon and its standout football and track and field teams. Springfield lies between two rivers in the Willamette Valley, surrounded by expansive natural areas and home to a vibrant downtown with a thriving arts scene. “It’s an out-and-about kind of town. You don’t get partiers, but people visit, walk down Main Street and peruse the shops,” says Ashley Force, a real estate agent with Keller Williams Realty of Eugene and Springfield. “My favorite restaurant, PublicHouse, is an old church turned into a beer hall with a really upscale food court.”
Springfield was settled in 1848 by Elias and Mary Briggs.
Springfield, Oregon is home to the official Simpsons mural.
Autzen Stadium is an icon of the Harlow neighborhood.
Public House is a collection of food vendors in the Washburne District of Springfield, OR.
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Visual and performing arts along Springfield’s Main Street
Springfield’s Washburne District is lined with trendy breweries, local eateries, antique stores and gift shops, many adorned with vibrant exterior murals. However, the city’s most famous canvas may be the “Official Simpsons Mural,” which was approved and donated by the creator of the sitcom himself, Groening. The creator and writer is one of two with a connection to the city—Ken Kesey, the author of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” grew up in Springfield as well and studied at the nearby University of Oregon, and he’s now memorialized on the side of a downtown building, leaning on a bookcase.
Despite its modest population size, Springfield is bursting with visual and performing art. The Downtown Springfield 2nd Friday Art Walk consists of stops along Main Street featuring local artists, organized by the Emerald Art Center. The art center offers a monthly rotating gallery and classes in a variety of mediums, from oil painting to creative block painting. Less than two blocks away, live performances, from chamber music concerts to comedy shows, draw an audience at the Richard E. Wildish Community Theater, which claims to have no bad seat in the house due to its stadium seating design. The theater’s innovative hearing loop system enables guests with hearing aids and cochlear implants to enjoy a richer auditory experience.
Large retailers are concentrated in the Gateway neighborhood north of downtown, where there are fast-casual food chains, big box stores and a Cinemark movie theater. Grocery stores are scattered throughout the city, from the Walmart Neighborhood Market along Interstate 5 to an Albertsons on the far east side of Springfield.
The streets of the Washburne District are full of local restaurants and businesses.
Lovely Cafe offers healthy organic food in the Washburne District.
Emerald Art Center is located in one of the many historic buildings in downtown Springfield.
Residents of North Springfield can catch the latest movies at nearby Cinemark theater.
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The Springfield healthcare industry thrives with two hospitals
Healthcare is one of the largest industries in the city, and PeaceHealth is one of its most significant players. The medical network supports more than 2,700 jobs in Springfield—many of which are concentrated at the Sacred Heart Medical Center at Riverbend Hospital—and contributes around $1.4 billion in overall economic output to surrounding Lane County. McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center is another pillar of Springfield’s healthcare industry, and Pacific Source Health Plans, a medical insurance provider, has one of Lane County’s largest industrial campuses. Royal Caribbean International has customer service and leadership teams in the city, and the nearby University of Oregon is another major employment center.
PeaceHealth provides healthcare for residents of Springfield.
McKenzie Willamette Medical Center is in the middle of Midtown Springfield.
Sacred Heart Medical Center is located in Springfield, Oregon.
Healthcare is a major industry in Springfield, Oregon.
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Ranch-style 70s houses and historic homes near downtown
Real estate market trends in Springfield echo nationwide averages. The median home sales price in the city is roughly $430,000, comparable to the national median of $407,200. Springfield home values have grown steadily since 2012. Data shows a 2% yearly increase in median home sales prices in the city—that is just below the nationwide yearly median growth rate of almost 3%.
Ranch-style homes with construction years that straddle the late 1960s and 1970s are common throughout most of the city, though homes near downtown Springfield were largely built in the first half of the 20th century. “There’s a couple of really cute neighborhoods, Washburne, that have older historic homes,” Force says. New traditional homes with Craftsman touches from the twenty-first century fill more recent subdivisions in North Springfield and West Springfield .
Lot sizes in Midtown Springfield very greatly.
Take a bike ride down the residential streets of Thurston.
Homes built along the McKenzie River offer beautiful views in Springfield.
Many parts of Midtown Springfield have wide sidewalks perfect for a walk in the neighborhood.
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Track and field champions at University of Oregon
Springfield Public Schools earn a C-plus overall grade from Niche. Students from across the district can apply for its Spanish dual immersion program, which begins with kindergarten at Guy Lee Elementary School and continues through ninth grade. The district also offers more than 100 career and technical education courses across 21 different pathways, including those geared toward programming and software development, industrial engineering and fine studio art, among others, in its four high schools.
The University of Oregon is just west of Springfield, with more than 120 programs of study. However, the Oregon Ducks may be best known for their track and field team. Notable team members include more than 100 Olympians and Phil Knight, the co-founder of Nike. The team has also snagged more than 30 national championships, and its training grounds—Hayward Field—host the United States Olympic team trials.
Students are the top priority at Guy Lee Elementary School in Springfield.
Hamlin Middle School in Springfield features a new modern campus.
A sprawling view of the Springfield High School campus seen from the air.
The Eugene Marathon starts and finishes at legendary Hayward Field in South University.
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Fast Forest at the country’s oldest hazelnut farm
Situated between the Willamette and McKenzie rivers, Springfield’s riverfront parks buzz with pedestrians and kayakers during the warmer months. In the Thurston neighborhood on the city's east side, the namesake Thurston Hills Natural Area stretches across 665 acres with miles of trails. Two of those trails are dedicated to downhill mountain biking, and a bicycle cleaning and repair station sits at one of the park’s trailheads.
Midtown South Springfield is home to the Dorris Ranch Living History Farm, the country’s oldest commercial filbert—or hazelnut—farm, and more than half of the commercial trees in the country come from the Springfield nursery. In addition to groves of hazelnut trees, the green space includes Fast Forest, which consists of trees planted in recognition of track-and-field athletes who have completed a mile in under four and a half minutes.
Outdoor adventurers in Springfield enjoy a moderate, though rainy, climate. The city receives an average of 46 inches of annual rainfall, along with winter lows around freezing and summer highs that hover in the low 80s.
An aerial view of the Willamette River seen from the West Springfield neighborhood.
Jasper Road Trailhead connects to the Middle Fork Path in East Springfield.
Dorris Ranch is a public park and historical site in Springfield, Oregon.
Residents of Midtown South Springfield enjoy Dorris Ranch rain or shine.
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Volunteers in Police Services program launches in 2024
According to FBI data, crime trends in Springfield tend to echo those across the state. Property crime in the city decreased by almost 5% between 2020 and 2023. Similarly, the state saw a roughly 3% drop in property crime during the same period. Overall crime in Springfield trended down by more than 6% over the last four years. At the beginning of 2024, the local police department introduced its Volunteers in Police Services (VIPS) program, where participants act as a point of contact for local businesses and community members in need.
Easy to get around the Willamette Valley
Several major highways make it easy for residents to get around western Oregon. Oregon state Route 126 runs east to west through the city. Interstate 5 runs north to south, taking residents about 65 miles north to Salem or roughly 110 miles north to Portland. The Eugene Airport is less than 14 miles northwest of Springfield and offers nonstop service to several major cities, including Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Within the city, residents can use the Lane Transit District bus service to get around. The system has a station in Glenwood , and it has several routes on the main roads in the city.
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