Skip to main content
On March 24, the U.S. Census Bureau released new population estimates that fueled the ominous mood surrounding Portland’s future as a desirable place to live. For the first time in a decade, the population in the metro area declined in 2021 by 0.2%, driven by a 1.5% decrease in Multnomah County. The population decrease reported on reported on wweek.com arrives amid deep voter dissatisfaction with the city’s direction, and reflects more people leaving than arriving in the past year. But it’s actually a less dramatic exodus than what was recorded in many major U.S. cities (such as San Francisco, where the population dropped 6.3%). Experts tie the decline to a tight housing market, which has driven Americans to flee the nation’s most expensive cities. Here’s what our readers had to say:
Pandemic_Style, via Reddit: “And yet, the price of homes continues to skyrocket.”
boonwatthrly, via wweek.com: “Yeah, it’s a national issue for blue cities because of the absolute shitholes they have become. I know at least 30 people who have moved from Portland in the last three years, not due to a national trend of people wanting to seek a rural lifestyle, but because of the absolute precipitous drop in Portland’s livability. You gotta love how these leftist journalists always blame Portland’s issues on national trends, when one can easily find policy problems for our city’s growing problems.”
Andy Zucker, via Twitter: “It’s a national trend and it makes sense. With more companies going permanently to working remote, you no longer have to live in a major city. Zero-point-two percent is nothing compared to most big cities.”
frazzled cats, via Reddit: “I mean escalating crime, dirty city, homeless explosion, increase sense of unease and lack of safety, closure of so much stuff, relentless hypochondria (neurotic populace isn’t any fun to be around), escalating cost of living…not shocking. It’s also become an inhospitable city to be a parent. It’s telling that Portland Public Schools lost 20% in K-5 enrollment; between the complete lack of child care and endless COVID school closures (some of the longest in the country), lots of families hightailed it out of here.”
Graham Hackett, via wweek.com: “This is good. Portlanders moving to Idaho might help to fix both places. Population loss or not, cities will bounce back. Asking ‘Will it ever be the same again?’ every time something goes wrong is humanity’s favorite pastime.”
Jordan Papé, via Twitter: “Portland has crossed a threshold where the tax rates are higher than many will tolerate and the quality of city services is lower than many will tolerate. In a progressive tax system, you have to pay attention to who’s paying and what they are telling you.”
Scrappymutt, via wweek.com: “Reminds me of one of my favorite local standup bits. Portland is the only city where people get upset when you move here and then get upset again when you move away.”
LETTERS to the editor must include the author’s street address and phone number for verification. Letters must be 250 or fewer words. Submit to: PO Box 10770, Portland, OR 97296 Email: mzusman@wweek.com