Oregon Population Grew Modestly in the Year Ended July 1, Early Numbers From PSU Show

Growth of 0.53%, once considered anemic, is a relief in post-COVID Oregon.

NEW OREGONIAN: A child samples wares at the Portland Bagel-Off. (Michael Raines)
By Anthony Effinger

Oregon’s population grew by 22,627, or 0.53%, to 4,290,225 in the year ended July 1, according to preliminary numbers from Portland State University’s Population Research Center.

Though down from the go-go growth rates of the 1990s and 2000s, the figure is a relief in a state that has been plagued by population declines in Portland, the economic center of the state.

Metro Portland logged growth, too. Multnomah and Clackamas counties both grew 0.56%, while Washington County grew 0.93%.

The figure is a turnaround for Multnomah County, where the population had fallen for three years in a row, most recently losing 2,321 people in the year ended July 1, 2022.

“Given everything that happened during the pandemic, this is good news,” said Oregon state economist Josh Lehner.

Lehner and others in the state keep an eye on both PSU’s figures and on those from the U.S. Census Bureau, which are due out next month.

The report wasn’t all roses. PSU revised downward its July 2022 estimate, going from previously published growth of 0.43% to just 0.09%, a downward revision of 14,000.

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