Portland Loses Population for Third Year as Exodus Continues

Once a magnet for newcomers, Portland lost population for a third straight year, even as large cities in the Northeast and Midwest rebounded from pandemic-era declines, the U.S. Census Bureau said.

Portland’s population totaled 630,498 on July 1, 2023, down 0.66% from 634,668 a year earlier.

Critics of tax policies undertaken by the city of Portland and by Multnomah County say high levies are prompting people to leave, especially given the rise in open-air drug use, graffiti, car theft and other forms of blight. The census data supports that, to a point.

The population in Gresham, the second-largest city in Multnomah County, fell 0.77% to 110,685, while Hillsboro, in Washington County, grew by 0.42% to 107,730. The population of Happy Valley, in Clackamas County, soared 7.5% to 28,409, the Census Bureau said.

But the population of Lake Oswego, a popular haven from Portland’s urban woes that lies mostly in Clackamas County, fell 0.46% to 39,924, a decline in line with Portland’s.

Residents of Clackamas and Washington counties don’t pay the Preschool for All tax passed in Multnomah County in 2020. Multnomah County residents filing alone pay the 1.5% pre-K tax on any income above $125,000. For joint filers, the threshold is $200,000. There’s an additional 1.5% levy on taxable income over $250,000 for individuals and $400,000 for joint filers.

Residents of Clackamas and Washington counties do, however, pay the Metro supportive housing services levy, another bête noire for anti-taxers. Metro, the regional government, collects 1% on all taxable income of more than $125,000 for individuals and $200,000 for couples filing jointly.

The fastest-growing town in Oregon was Boardman, on the Columbia River, where the population jumped almost 8% to 4,268, followed by Happy Valley and Woodburn.

Tiny Lexington, 34 miles south of Boardman, was the biggest loser with a decline of 4.6% to 226. Nearby (relatively) Heppner and Lonerock fell 4.4% and 4.2%, respectively.

Compared with many other large cities that suffered during the pandemic, Portland was a laggard. Seattle, for one, grew 0.8% to 755,078. More broadly, Western cities with at least 50,000 people grew an average of 0.2% in the year ending July 1, 2023.

Even the Northeast and the Rust Belt outperformed Stumptown. Cities in the Northeast grew an average of 0.2%, the Census Bureau said. Midwestern cities grew 0.1%. Cities in the South walloped all others, growing an average of 1%, figures show.