State
Land Area
133.4 sq mi
Density
4,965.90/sq mi
2020 Growth Rate
0.59%
Growth Since 2010
13.49%
Rank in State
Rank in Country
Metro Population
2,530,540
Portland is a city located in Oregon. With a 2020 population of 662,549, it is the largest city in Oregon and the 27th largest city in the United States. Portland is currently growing at a rate of 0.59% annually and its population has increased by 13.49% since the most recent census, which recorded a population of 583,776 in 2010. Portland reached it's highest population of 662,549 in 2021. Spanning over 145 miles, Portland has a population density of 4,966 people per square mile.
The average household income in Portland is $95,998 with a poverty rate of 13.72%. The median rental costs in recent years comes to $1,248 per month, and the median house value is $412,000. The median age in Portland is 37.1 years, 37 years for males, and 37.1 years for females. For every 100 females there are 98.3 males.
Portland is the most populous city in the state of Oregon and the third most populous city in the Pacific Northwest, after Seattle and Vancouver. With its many rose gardens, Portland is known as the City of Roses, and it has been incorporated since 1851.
Portland is currently the 26th largest city in the US, just a few spots behind Seattle, the largest city in the Northwest. When the entire metro area of Portland (five counties in Oregon, and two counties in Washington) is tallied, and the total is nearly 2.4 million. There are about 4,375 Portlanders per square mile.
The African American population of Portland was just 2,000 in 1940, comprised mostly of railroad employees, many of whom were drawn to the area during the wartime ship construction boom. Many black people who came to the city settled in certain neighborhoods, including Vanport and Abina. Today, the African American population of Portland (6.3%) is more than three times the Oregon average, with more than two-thirds of all African American residents of Oregon living in the city.
Vietnamese Americans makeup 2.2% of the city's total population and represent the largest Asian ethnic group, followed by Chinese (1.7%), Filipino (0.6%), Korean (0.4%), Laotian (0.4%), Hmong (0.2%) and Cambodian (0.1%). There are two Chinatowns in Portland. About 12,000 Vietnamese people live in the city, which is one of the largest Vietnamese populations in the country.
Portland does remain a predominantly white city, although the percentage has dropped over the last fifty years. In 1940, 98% of the population was white. In 2009, Portland still had the 5th highest percentage of white residents among the 40 largest metropolitan areas in the country, while a study in 2007 found that Portland's urban area has the highest rate of white people in the United States.
The most significant influx of minorities into Portland occurred during World War II when the African American population grew more than ten times. After the war, a flood in Vanport displaced many. Issues like police hostility, mortgage discrimination, and job discrimination led to half of the black population leaving Portland after the war.
's population grew more than 10% from 2000 and 2010, and population growth in the Portland metro area has outpaced the national average for the last decade. This trend is expected to continue for the next five decades. Since the 2010 census, the population has grown an additional 8.3%.
A recent Forbes article found that Portland is the 10th fastest growing metropolitan area in the United States with a stable growth rate of 1.8% per year. Portland also leads Oregon's population growth, with numbers declining in many rural and eastern areas in favor of the city.
In October 2015, Oregon Metro released its urban growth report, which contains their population projections for the next twenty years. Metro is projecting continued growth until 2040, albeit at a slower rate than in previous forecasts. The metro area is anticipated to cross 3 million residents by 2040.
Oregon's population growth temporarily declined during the recession, which hit the region harder than most areas of the country, but it has already started to pick up with home values rising and job opportunities improving. The state still has higher-than-average unemployment and underemployment.
The area that is now Portland was occupied for centuries by two different bands of Upper Chinook Indians, who fished and traded along the river. The Tualatin Plains eventually became a settlement of Portland. In 1843, a man named William Overton saw commercial potential but lacked the money for a land claim. He made a deal with his partner, Asa Lovejoy, and Boston, for $0.25 to share the claim of 640 acres of land.
Overton eventually sold his half to Francis Pettygrove of Portland, Maine. Pettygrove and Lovejoy both wanted to name the new city after their home towns. This was settled in 1845 by a coin toss, which Pettygrove of Portland, Maine won.
When it was incorporated in 1851, Portland had more than 800 inhabitants, which grew to 17,500 by 1879.
According to the most recent ACS, the racial composition of Portland was:
2019 and 2020 population is estimated by projecting the raw 2018 numbers.
Year | Total Population | Growth | Annual Growth Rate |
---|---|---|---|
2021 | 2,530,540 | 19,070 | 0.75% |
2020 | 2,511,470 | 19,060 | 0.76% |
2019 | 2,492,410 | 19,060 | 0.76% |
2018 | 2,473,350 | 18,530 | 0.75% |
2017 | 2,454,820 | 28,240 | 1.15% |
2016 | 2,426,580 | 44,920 | 1.85% |
2015 | 2,381,660 | 37,670 | 1.58% |
2014 | 2,343,990 | 32,970 | 1.41% |
2013 | 2,311,020 | 22,560 | 0.98% |
2012 | 2,288,460 | 25,630 | 1.12% |
2011 | 2,262,830 | 30,650 | 1.35% |
2010 | 2,232,180 | 0.00% |
Race | Population | Percentage |
---|---|---|
White | 499,301 | 77.38% |
Asian | 52,754 | 8.18% |
Black or African American | 37,456 | 5.80% |
Two or More Races | 34,477 | 5.34% |
Some Other Race | 12,207 | 1.89% |
American Indian and Alaska Native | 5,175 | 0.80% |
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander | 3,921 | 0.61% |
Type | Count | Average Size | Owned |
---|---|---|---|
All | 268,718 | 2.34 | 53.4 |
Non Family | 131,085 | 1.48 | 36.7 |
Married | 103,342 | 3.1 | 76.3 |
Female | 24,730 | 3.32 | 46.1 |
Male | 9,561 | 3.31 | 53.1 |
3.02
Average Family Size
2.34
Average Household Size
Education Attained | Count | Percentage |
---|---|---|
Less Than 9th Grade | 16,110 | 3.36% |
9th to 12th Grade | 20,127 | 4.20% |
High School Graduate | 72,480 | 15.13% |
Some College | 97,003 | 20.25% |
Associates Degree | 31,654 | 6.61% |
Bachelors Degree | 144,129 | 30.09% |
Graduate Degree | 97,488 | 20.35% |
Name | Total | High School | Bachelors |
---|---|---|---|
White | 358,932 | 345,423 | 200,999 |
Asian | 38,394 | 29,518 | 15,805 |
Hispanic | 37,028 | 28,189 | 11,489 |
Black | 24,706 | 21,216 | 5,904 |
Multiple Races | 17,465 | 16,458 | 7,772 |
Other Race | 7,401 | 5,574 | 1,951 |
Native American | 3,476 | 2,848 | 684 |
Islander | 2,346 | 1,989 | 314 |
The highest rate of high school graduation is among white people with a rate of 96.24%.
The highest rate of bachelors degrees is among white people with a rate of 56.00%.
$43,408
Average Earnings
$47,431
Average Male
$40,085
Average Female
81.11% of Portland residents speak only English, while 18.89% speak other languages. The non-English language spoken by the largest group is Spanish, which is spoken by 6.75% of the population.
Name | Total | In Poverty | Poverty Rate |
---|---|---|---|
White | 446,783 | 48,083 | 10.76% |
Hispanic | 61,131 | 12,724 | 20.81% |
Black | 36,712 | 10,676 | 29.08% |
Asian | 51,872 | 9,400 | 18.12% |
Multiple | 33,565 | 5,136 | 15.30% |
Other | 11,828 | 2,495 | 21.09% |
Native | 4,929 | 944 | 19.15% |
Islander | 3,845 | 863 | 22.44% |
13.72%
Overall Poverty Rate
13.07%
Male Poverty Rate
14.36%
Female Poverty Rate
The race most likely to be in poverty in Portland is Black, with 29.08% below the poverty level.
The race least likely to be in poverty in Portland is White, with 10.76% below the poverty level.
The poverty rate among those that worked full-time for the past 12 months was 2.23%. Among those working part-time, it was 19.45%, and for those that did not work, the poverty rate was 26.76%.
40.9%
Overall Marriage Rate
41.4%
Male Marriage Rate
40.4%
Female Marriage Rate
The age group where males are most likely to be married is Over 65, while the female age group most likely to be married is 45-54.
Name | Veterans | % of Total |
---|---|---|
White | 24,326 | 5.80% |
Black | 1,758 | 6.24% |
Hispanic | 1,363 | 3.04% |
2 or More | 1,236 | 5.77% |
Asian | 839 | 1.88% |
Other | 223 | 2.42% |
Indian | 205 | 5.18% |
Hawaiian | 74 | 2.53% |
9.07%
Veteran Poverty Rate
29.71%
Veteran Disability Rate
70.3%
Labor Force Participation
66.9%
Employment Rate
4.8%
Unemployment Rate
Non citizens include legal permanent residents (green card holders), international students, temporary workers, humanitarian migrants, and illegal immigrants.
86.51%
Native Born
13.49%
Foreign Born
6.62%
Non Citizen
6.87%
Naturalized
86.51% of Portland residents were born in the United States, with 38.25% having been born in Oregon. 6.62% of residents are not US citizens. Of those not born in the United States, the largest percentage are from Asia.
Year | Population | Growth | Annual Growth Rate |
---|---|---|---|
2021 | 662,549 | 3,904 | 0.59% |
2020 | 658,645 | 3,904 | 0.60% |
2019 | 654,741 | 3,904 | 0.60% |
2018 | 650,837 | 2,913 | 0.45% |
2017 | 647,924 | 5,204 | 0.81% |
2016 | 642,720 | 11,354 | 1.80% |
2015 | 631,366 | 10,856 | 1.75% |
2014 | 620,510 | 10,620 | 1.74% |
2013 | 609,890 | 5,626 | 0.93% |
2012 | 604,264 | 8,813 | 1.48% |
2011 | 595,451 | 10,022 | 1.71% |
2010 | 585,429 | 56,308 | 1.02% |
2000 | 529,121 | 91,802 | 1.92% |
1990 | 437,319 | 69,171 | 1.74% |
1980 | 368,148 | -11,819 | -0.32% |
1970 | 379,967 | 7,291 | 0.19% |
1960 | 372,676 | -952 | -0.03% |
1950 | 373,628 | 68,234 | 2.04% |
1940 | 305,394 | 3,579 | 0.12% |
1930 | 301,815 | 43,527 | 1.57% |
1920 | 258,288 | 51,074 | 2.23% |
1910 | 207,214 | 116,788 | 8.65% |
1900 | 90,426 | 44,041 | 6.90% |
1890 | 46,385 | 28,808 | 10.19% |
1880 | 17,577 | 9,284 | 7.80% |
1870 | 8,293 | 5,419 | 11.18% |
1860 | 2,874 | 0.00% |