Portland ( PORT-lənd) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Located in the Pacific Northwest at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, it is the 28th-most populous city in the United States, sixth-most populous on the West Coast, and fourth-most populous in the Pacific Northwest (after Seattle, Washington; Vancouver, Canada; and Surrey, Canada), with a population of 652,503 at the 2020 census. The Portland metropolitan area, with over 2.54 million residents, is the 26th-largest metropolitan area in the nation. Almost half of Oregon's population resides within the Portland metro area. It is the seat of government of Multnomah County, the most populous in the state. The Portland area was shaped by massive ice-age floods. It was inhabited by the Chinookan peoples. European American settlers arrived in the 1840s. Following a coin toss, Portland was named after Portland, Maine, which was itself named after England's Isle of Portland. In the 19th century, Portland became a major port and lumber center and gained a reputation for saloons and crime. The 20th century saw population growth, World War II shipbuilding, Japanese-American internment, organized crime, and a hippie/counterculture movement. Since the 1990s, it has experienced growth in the technology sector and rising housing costs due to gentrification. Portland is located near volcanic features such as Mount Tabor and is also close to active faults. The city is divided into six addressing sectors and comprises diverse neighborhoods. The city's economy is driven by technology, athletic and outdoor brands, shipping, and craft industries. Social issues include homelessness and property crime, although recent trends indicate a low violent crime rate. The city prioritizes urban planning, sustainability, and diverse transportation options, while managing growth with an urban growth boundary. Portland also has numerous schools and universities, media outlets, healthcare facilities, and global sister-city connections. The city operates with a mayor–council government system, guided by a mayor and 12 city councilors, as well as Metro, the only directly elected metropolitan planning organization in the United States. Its climate is marked by warm, dry summers and cool, rainy winters. This climate is ideal for growing roses, and Portland has been called the "City of Roses" for more than a century. Portland is known for its vibrant music and performing arts scene, extensive parks including Forest Park, and professional sports teams such as the Trail Blazers, Timbers, and Thorns.
History
Before European settlement During the prehistoric period, the land that would become Portland was flooded after the collapse of glacial dams from Lake Missoula, in what would later become Montana. These massive floods occurred during the last ice age and filled the Willamette Valley with 300 to 400 feet (91 to 122 m) of water. Before American settlers began arriving in the 1800s, the land was inhabited for many centuries by two bands of indigenous Chinook people – the Multnomah and the Clackamas. The Chinook people occupying the land were first documented in 1805 by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. Before its European settlement, the Portland Basin of the lower Columbia River and Willamette River valleys had been one of the most densely populated regions on the Pacific Coast.
Establishment
Large numbers of pioneer settlers began arriving in the Willamette Valley in the 1840s via the Oregon Trail with many arriving in nearby Oregon City. A new settlement then emerged ten miles from the mouth of the Willamette River, roughly halfway between Oregon City and Hudson's Bay Company's Fort Vancouver. This community was initially referred to as "Stumptown" and "The Clearing" because of the many trees cut down to allow for its growth. In 1843, William Overton saw potential in the new settlement but lacked the funds to file an official land claim. For 25 cents, Overton agreed to share half of the 640-acre (2.6 km2) site with Asa Lovejoy of Boston. In 1844, Overton sold his remaining half of the claim to Francis W. Pettygrove of Portland, Maine. Both Pettygrove and Lovejoy wished to rename "The Clearing" after their respective hometowns. This controversy was settled with a coin toss that Pettygrove won in a series of two out of three tosses, thereby providing Portland with its namesake. The coin used for this decision, now known as the Portland Penny, is on display in the headquarters of the Oregon Historical Society. At the time of its incorporation on February 8, 1851, Portland had over 800 inhabitants, a steam sawmill, a log cabin hotel, and a newspaper, the Weekly Oregonian. A major fire swept through downtown in August 1873, destroying twenty blocks on the west side of the Willamette along Yamhill and Morrison Streets, and causing $1.3 million in damage, roughly equivalent to $34.9 million today. By 1879, the population had grown to 17,500 and by 1890 it had grown to 46,385. In 1888, the first steel bridge on the West Coast was opened in Portland, the predecessor of the 1912 namesake Steel Bridge that survives today. In 1889, Henry Pittock's wife, Georgiana, established the Portland Rose Society. The annual Portland Rose Festival is held here in June. The movement to make Portland a "Rose City" started as the city was preparing for the 1905 Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition. Portland's access to the Pacific Ocean via the Willamette and Columbia rivers, as well as its easy access to the agricultural Tualatin Valley via the "Great Plank Road" (the route of current-day U.S. Route 26), provided the pioneer city with an advantage over other nearby ports, and it grew very quickly. Portland remained the major port in the Pacific Northwest for much of the 19th century, until the 1890s, when Seattle's deepwater harbor was connected to the rest of the mainland by rail, affording an inland route without the treacherous navigation of the Columbia River. The lumber industry was also a prominent economic presence, due to the area's large population of Douglas fir, western hemlock, red cedar, and big leaf maple trees.
Portland developed a reputation early in its history as a hard-edged and gritty port town. Some historians have described the city's early establishment as being a "scion of New England; an ends-of-the-earth home for the exiled spawn of the eastern established elite." In 1889, The Oregonian called Portland "the most filthy city in the Northern States", due to the unsanitary sewers and gutters, and, at the turn of the 20th century, it was considered one of the most dangerous port cities in the world. The city housed a large number of saloons, bordellos, gambling dens, and boarding houses which were populated with miners after the California gold rush, as well as the multitude of sailors passing through the port. By the early 20th century, the city had lost its reputation as a "sober frontier city" and garnered a reputation for being violent and dangerous.
20th-century development Between 1900 and 1930, the city's population tripled from nearly 100,000 to 301,815. Portland enjoyed an economic and industrial surge during World War II. Ship builder Henry J. Kaiser had been awarded contracts to build Liberty ships and escort carriers, and chose sites in Portland and Vancouver, Washington, for shipyards. During this time, Portland's population rose by over 150,000, largely attributed to recruited laborers. The wartime shipbuilding boom in Portland also drew a large influx of African American migrants. This migration significantly expanded the city's Black population and laid the foundation for new community institutions, even as workers often faced discrimination in hiring and job assignments. The most decorated ship for a single action in US naval history, the USS Liberty, was constructed in Portland during the boom. Her keel was laid down on February 23, 1945, under a Maritime Commission contract at Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation. During World War II, Portland also housed an "assembly center" from which up to 3,676 people of Japanese descent were dispatched to internment camps in the heartland. It was the first American city to have residents report thus, and the Pacific International Livestock Exposition operated from May through September 10, 1942, processing people from the city, northern Oregon, and central Washington. General John DeWitt called the city the first "Jap-free city on the West Coast". At the same time, Portland became a notorious hub for underground criminal activity and organized crime in the 1940s and 1950s. A 1957 Life magazine article focusing on crime boss Jim Elkins became the basis of a fictionalized film titled Portland Exposé (1957). During the 1960s, an influx of hippie subculture began to take root in the city in the wake of San Francisco's burgeoning countercultural scene. The city's Crystal Ballroom became a hub for the city's psychedelic culture, while food cooperatives and listener-funded media and radio stations were established. A large social activist presence evolved during this time as well, specifically concerning Native American rights, environmentalist causes, and gay rights. By the 1970s, Portland had well established itself as a progressive city, and experienced an economic boom for the majority of the decade; however, the slowing of the housing market in 1979 caused demand for the city and state timber industries to drop significantly.
Since 1990
In the 1990s, the technology industry began to emerge in Portland, specifically with the establishment of companies such as Intel, which brought more than US$10 billion in investments in 1995 alone. In the late 1990s, the Portland area was rated the fourth-least affordable place in the United States to purchase a new home. After 2000, Portland experienced significant growth, with a population rise of over 90,000 between 2000 and 2014. The city's increasing reputation for culture established it as a popular city for young people, and it was second only to Louisville, Kentucky, as one of the cities to attract and retain the highest number of college-educated people in the United States. Between 2001 and 2012, Portland's gross domestic product per person grew by fifty percent, more than any other city in the country. The city acquired a diverse range of nicknames throughout its history, though it is most often called "Rose City" or "The City of Roses" (unofficial nickname since 1888, official since 2003). Another widely used nickname by local residents in everyday speech is "PDX", the airport code for Portland International Airport. Other nicknames include Bridgetown, Stumptown, Rip City, Soccer City, P-Town, Portlandia, and the more antiquated Little Beirut.
2020 George Floyd protests
From May 28, 2020, until spring 2021, there were daily protests about the murder of George Floyd by police, and racial injustice. There were instances of looting, vandalism, and police actions causing injuries. One protestor was killed by an opposing one. Local businesses reported losses totaling millions of dollars as the result of vandalism and looting. Some protests caused injury to protesters and police. In July, federal officers were deployed to safeguard federal property; their presence and tactics were criticized by Oregon officials, who demanded they leave, while lawsuits were filed against local and federal law enforcement alleging wrongful actions by them. On May 25, 2021, a protest to commemorate the one-year anniversary of Floyd's murder caused property damage, and was followed by a number of arrests.
Geography
Geology
Portland lies on top of a dormant volcanic field known as the Boring Lava Field, named after the nearby bedroom community of Boring. The Boring Lava Field has at least 32 cinder cones such as Mount Tabor, and its center lies in southeast Portland. Mount St. Helens, a highly active volcano 50 miles (80 km) northeast of the city in Washington state, is easily visible on clear days and is close enough to have dusted the city with volcanic ash after its eruption on May 18, 1980. The rocks of the Portland area range in age from late Eocene to more recent eras. Multiple shallow, active faults traverse the Portland metropolitan area. Among them are the Portland Hills Fault on the city's west side, and the East Bank Fault on the east side. According to a 2017 survey, several of these faults were characterized as "probably more of a hazard" than the Cascadia subduction zone due to their proximities to population centers, with the potential of producing magnitude 7 earthquakes. Notable earthquakes that have impacted the Portland area in recent history include the 6.8-magnitude Nisqually earthquake in 2001, and a 5.6-magnitude earthquake that struck on March 25, 1993. Per a 2014 report, over 7,000 locations within the Portland area are at high risk for landslides and soil liquefaction in the event of a major earthquake, including much of the city's west side (such as Washington Park) and sections of Clackamas County.
Topography Portland is 60 miles (97 km) east of the Pacific Ocean at the northern end of Oregon's most populated region, the Willamette Valley. Downtown Portland straddles the banks of the Willamette River, which flows north through the city center and separates the city's east and west neighborhoods. Less than 10 miles (16 km) from downtown, the Willamette River flows into the Columbia River, the fourth-largest river in the United States, which divides Oregon from Washington state. Portland is approximately 100 miles (160 km) upriver from the Pacific Ocean on the Columbia. Though much of downtown Portland is relatively flat, the foothills of the Tualatin Mountains, more commonly referred to locally as the "West Hills", pierce through the northwest and southwest reaches of the city. Council Crest Park at 1,073 feet (327 m) is often quoted as the highest point in Portland; however, the highest point in Portland is on a section of NW Skyline Blvd just north of Willamette Stone Heritage site. The highest point east of the river is Mount Tabor, an extinct volcanic cinder cone, which rises to 636 feet (194 m). Nearby Powell Butte and Rocky Butte rise to 614 feet (187 m) and 612 feet (187 m), respectively. To the west of the Tualatin Mountains lies the Oregon Coast Range, and to the east lies the actively volcanic Cascade Range. On clear days, Mt. Hood and Mt. St. Helens dominate the horizon, while Mt. Adams and Mt. Rainier can also be seen in the distance. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 145.09 square miles (375.78 km2), of which 133.43 square miles (345.58 km2) is land and 11.66 square miles (30.20 km2) is water. Although almost all of Portland is within Multnomah County, small portions of the city are within Clackamas and Washington counties.
Climate
Portland has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen Csb), falling just short of a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen Csa) with cool and rainy winters, and warm and dry summers. This climate is characterized by having overcast, wet, and changing weather conditions in fall, winter, and spring, as Portland lies in the direct path of the stormy westerly flow, and warm, dry summers when the North Pacific High reaches its northernmost point in mid-summer. Portland's USDA Plant Hardiness Zone is 8b, with parts of the Downtown area falling into zone 9a. Winters are cool, cloudy, and rainy. The coldest month is December with an average daily high temperature of 46.9 °F (8.3 °C), although overnight lows usually remain above freezing by a few degrees. Evening temperatures fall to or below freezing 32 nights per year on average, but very rarely below 18 °F (−8 °C). There are only 2.1 days per year where the daytime high temperature fails to rise above freezing; the mean for the lowest high is at the exact freezing point of 32 °F (0 °C). The lowest overnight temperature ever recorded was −3 °F (−19 °C), on February 2, 1950, while the lowest daytime high temperature ever recorded was 9 °F (−13 °C) on January 15, 1888. The average window in which freezing temperatures may occur is between November 15 and March 19, allowing a growing season of 240 days. Annual snowfall in Portland is 4.3 inches (10.9 cm), which usually falls between December and March. The city of Portland avoids snow more frequently than its suburbs, due in part to its low elevation and the urban heat island effect. Neighborhoods outside of the downtown core, especially in slightly higher elevations near the West Hills and Mount Tabor, can experience a dusting of snow while downtown receives no accumulation at all. The city has experienced a few major snow and ice storms in its past, with extreme totals having reached 44.5 in (113 cm) at the airport in 1949–50 and 60.9 in (155 cm) at downtown in 1892–93.
Summers in Portland are warm, dry, and sunny, though the sunny warm weather is short-lived, from mid-June to early September. June, July, August and September account for a combined 4.19 inches (106 mm) of total rainfall – only 11% of the 36.91 in (938 mm) of annual precipitation. The warmest month is August, with an average high temperature of 82.3 °F (27.9 °C). Because of its inland location 62 miles (100 km) from the coast, as well as the protective nature of the Oregon Coast Range to its west, Portland summers are less susceptible to the moderating influence of the nearby Pacific Ocean. Consequently, Portland occasionally experiences heat waves, with temperatures rising above 90 °F (32 °C) for a few days. However, on average, temperatures reach or exceed 80 °F (27 °C) on only 61 days per year, of which 15 days will reach 90 °F (32 °C) and only 1.3 days will reach 100 °F (38 °C). In 2018 more 90-degree days were recorded than ever before. On June 28, 2021, Portland recorded its all-time record high temperature of 116 °F (47 °C) and its warmest daily low temperature of 75 °F (24 °C) during a major regional heat wave. The record had been broken for three consecutive days with daytime highs of 108 °F (42 °C) on June 26 and 112 °F (44 °C) on June 27; the previous record of 107 °F (42 °C) was set on July 30, 1965, and matched on August 8 & 10, 1981. A temperature of 100 °F (38 °C) has been recorded in all five months from May through September. The warmest night of the year averages 68 °F (20 °C). Spring and fall can bring variable weather including high-pressure ridging that sends temperatures surging above 80 °F (27 °C) and cold fronts that plunge daytime temperatures into the 40s °F (4–9 °C). However, lengthy stretches of overcast days beginning in mid-fall and continuing into mid-spring are most common. Rain often falls as a light drizzle for several consecutive days at a time, contributing to 157 days on average with measurable (≥0.01 in or 0.25 mm) precipitation annually. Temperatures have reached 90 °F (32 °C) as early as April 20 and as late as October 5, while 80 °F (27 °C) has been reached as early as March 16 and as late as October 21. Thunderstorms are uncommon and tornadoes are very rare, although they do occur.
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Cityscape
Portland's cityscape derives much of its character from the many bridges that span the Willamette River downtown, several of which are historic landmarks, and Portland has been nicknamed "Bridgetown" for many decades as a result. Three of downtown's most heavily used bridges are more than 100 years old and are designated historic landmarks: Hawthorne Bridge (1910), Steel Bridge (1912), and Broadway Bridge (1913). Portland's newest bridge in the downtown area, Tilikum Crossing, opened in 2015 and is the first new bridge to span the Willamette in Portland since the 1973 opening of the double-decker Fremont Bridge. Other bridges that span the Willamette River in the downtown area include the Burnside Bridge, the Ross Island Bridge (both built 1926), and the double-decker Marquam Bridge (built 1966). Other bridges outside the downtown area include the Sellwood Bridge (built 2016) to the south; and the St. Johns Bridge, a Gothic revival suspension bridge built in 1931, to the north. The Glenn L. Jackson Memorial Bridge and the Interstate Bridge provide access from Portland across the Columbia River into Washington state.
Addressing sections
The Willamette River, which flows north through downtown, serves as the natural boundary between East and West Portland. The denser and earlier-developed west side extends into the lap of the West Hills, while the flatter east side extends for roughly 180 blocks until it meets the suburb of Gresham. In 1891 the cities of Portland, Albina, and East Portland were consolidated, creating inconsistent patterns of street names and addresses. It was not unusual for a street name to be duplicated in disparate areas. The "Great Renumbering" on September 2, 1931, standardized street naming patterns and divided Portland into five "general districts", North, Northwest, Northeast, Southeast, and Southwest (which includes downtown Portland). House numbers were also changed from 20 per block to 100 per block and adopted a single street name on a grid. For example, the 200 block north of Burnside is either NW Davis Street or NE Davis Street throughout the entire city. With the recent addition of South Portland, Portland now has six addressing sections. All addresses and streets within the city are prefixed by N, NW, NE, S, SW or SE with the exception of Burnside Street, which is prefixed with W or E. The Willamette River divides the city into east and west while Burnside, which traverses the entire city lengthwise, divides the north and south. Northeast, Southeast, Southwest, and Northwest Portland are respectively north or south of Burnside, and east or west of the Willamette. North Portland is a triangular peninsula bounded on the north by the Columbia River, on the east by N Williams Avenue, and on the west by the Willamette River as it bends to the northwest. South Portland was established on May 1, 2020, from a former part of Southwest Portland where the Willamette bends east of the nominal North-South meridian. House numbers on east–west streets in this area formerly had a leading zero, which was dropped as the street prefix (including north–south streets) was changed from Southwest to South. For example, the current address of 246 S California St. was formerly 0246 SW California St. and the current address of 4310 S Macadam Ave. was formerly 4310 SW Macadam Ave. The new South Portland addressing section was approved by the Portland City Council on June 6, 2018 and is bounded by SW Naito Parkway, SW View Point Terrace and the Tryon Creek State Natural Area to the west, SW Clay Street to the north, the Willamette River to the east, and city limits to the south. In 2018, the city's Bureau of Transportation finalized a plan to transition this part of Portland into South Portland, beginning on May 1, 2020, to reduce confusion by 9-1-1 dispatchers and delivery services. With the addition of South Portland, all six addressing sectors (N, NE, NW, S, SE and SW) are now officially known as sextants.
Neighborhoods
The five previous addressing sections of Portland, which were colloquially known as quadrants despite there being five, have developed distinctive identities, with mild cultural differences and friendly rivalries between their residents, especially between those who live east of the Willamette River versus west of the river. The Pearl District in Northwest Portland, which was largely occupied by warehouses, light industry and railroad classification yards in the early to mid-20th century, now houses upscale art galleries, restaurants, and retail stores, and is one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the city. Areas further west of the Pearl District include neighborhoods known as Uptown and Nob Hill, as well as the Alphabet District and NW 23rd Ave., a major shopping street lined with clothing boutiques and other upscale retail, mixed with cafes and restaurants.
Northeast Portland is home to the Lloyd District, Alberta Arts District, and the Hollywood District. North Portland is largely residential and industrial. It contains Kelley Point Park, the northernmost point of the city. It also contains the St. Johns neighborhood, which is historically one of the most ethnically diverse and poorest neighborhoods in the city. Old Town Chinatown is next to the Pearl District in Northwest Portland. In 1890 it was the second largest Chinese community in the United States. In 2017, the crime rate was several times above the city average. This neighborhood has been called Portland's skid row.
Southwest Portland is largely residential. Downtown district, made up of commercial businesses, museums, skyscrapers, and public landmarks represents a small area within the southwest address section. Portland's South Waterfront area has been developing into a dense neighborhood of shops, condominiums, and apartments starting in the mid-2000s. Development in this area is ongoing. The area is served by the Portland Streetcar, the MAX Orange Line and four TriMet bus lines. This former industrial area sat as a brownfield prior to development in the mid-2000s. Southeast Portland is largely residential, and consists of several neighborhoods, including Hawthorne District, Belmont, Brooklyn, and Mount Tabor. Reed College, a private liberal arts college that was founded in 1908, is located within the confines of Southeast Portland as is Mount Tabor, a volcanic landform. South Portland includes the Lair Hill, Johns Landing and South Waterfront districts and Lewis & Clark College as well as the Riverdale area of unincorporated Multnomah County south of the Portland city limits.
Demographics
Racial and ethnic composition
In 1940, Portland's African-American population was approximately 2,000 and largely consisted of railroad employees and their families. During the wartime Liberty Ship construction boom, the need for workers drew many Black people to the city. The new influx of Black people settled in specific neighborhoods, such as the Albina district and Vanport. The May 1948 flood, which destroyed Vanport, eliminated the only integrated neighborhood, and an influx of blacks into the northeast quadrant of the city continued. Portland's longshoremen racial mix was described as being "lily-white" in the 1960s when the local International Longshore and Warehouse Union declined to represent grain handlers since some were black.
Portland residents identifying solely as Asian Americans account for 7.1% of the population; an additional 1.8% is partially of Asian heritage. Vietnamese Americans make up 2.2% of Portland's population, and make up the largest Asian ethnic group in the city, followed by Chinese (1.7%), Filipinos (0.6%), Japanese (0.5%), Koreans (0.4%), Laotians (0.4%), Hmong (0.2%), and Cambodians (0.1%). A small population of Iu Mien live in Portland. Portland has two Chinatowns, with New Chinatown in the 'Jade District' along SE 82nd Avenue with Chinese supermarkets, Hong Kong-style noodle houses, dim sum, and Vietnamese phở restaurants. With about 12,000 Vietnamese residing in the city proper, Portland has one of the largest Vietnamese populations in America per capita. According to statistics, there are over 4,500 Pacific Islanders in Portland, making up 0.7% of the city's population. There is a Tongan community in Portland, who arrived in the area in the 1970s, and Tongans and Pacific Islanders as a whole are one of the fastest-growing ethnic groups in the Portland area. Portland's population has been and remains predominantly White. In 1940, Whites were over 98% of the city's population. In 2009, Portland had the fifth-highest percentage of White residents among the 40 largest U.S. metropolitan areas. A 2007 survey of the 40 largest cities in the U.S. concluded Portland's urban core has the highest percentage of White residents. Some scholars have noted the Pacific Northwest as a whole is "one of the last Caucasian bastions of the United States". While Portland's diversity was historically comparable to metro Seattle and Salt Lake City, those areas grew more diverse in the late 1990s and 2000s. Portland not only remains White, but migration to Portland is disproportionately White. The Oregon Territory banned African-American settlement in 1849. In the 19th century, certain laws allowed the immigration of Chinese laborers but prohibited them from owning property or bringing their families. The early 1920s saw the rapid growth of the Ku Klux Klan, which became very influential in Oregon politics, culminating in the election of Walter M. Pierce as governor. The largest influxes of populations of color occurred during World War II, as the city’s African-American population grew by a factor of ten for wartime work. After the war, the Vanport flood in 1948 displaced many African Americans. As they resettled, redlining directed the displaced workers from the wartime settlement to neighboring Albina. There and elsewhere in Portland, they experienced police hostility, lack of employment, and mortgage discrimination, leading to half the black population leaving after the war. In the 1980s and 1990s, radical skinhead groups flourished in Portland. In 1988, Mulugeta Seraw, an Ethiopian immigrant, was killed by three skinheads. The response to his murder involved a community-driven series of rallies, campaigns, nonprofits, and events designed to address Portland's racial history, leading to a city considered significantly more tolerant than in 1988 at Seraw's death. 76% of Latinos in Portland are of Mexican heritage. Italians and Russian Jews had a very visible presence in Portland. Portland also has a historic Roma population.
2020 census As of the 2020 census, Portland had a population of 652,503. The median age was 37.6 years. 17.0% of residents were under the age of 18, and 13.9% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 97.8 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 96.4 males age 18 and over. Whites not of Hispanic origin made up 66.4% of the total population. 99.8% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.2% lived in rural areas. There were 282,110 households in Portland, of which 22.5% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 35.9% were married-couple households, 23.2% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 29.5% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 34.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. There were 302,034 housing units, of which 6.6% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 49.8% were owner-occupied, and 50.2% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.3%, and the rental vacancy rate was 6.5%.
2010 census The 2010 census reported the city as 76.1% White (444,254 people), 7.1% Asian (41,448), 6.3% Black or African American (36,778), 1.0% Native American (5,838), 0.5% Pacific Islander (2,919), 4.7% belonging to two or more racial groups (24,437) and 5.0% from other races (28,987). 9.4% were Hispanic or Latino, of any race (54,840). Whites not of Hispanic origin made up 72.2% of the total population.
Households As of the 2010 census, there were 583,776 people living in the city, organized into 235,508 households. The population density was 4,375.2 people per square mile. There were 265,439 housing units at an average density of 1,989.4 per square mile (768.1/km2). Population growth in Portland increased 10.3% between 2000 and 2010. Population growth in the Portland metropolitan area has outpaced the national average during the last decade, and this is expected to continue over the next 50 years. Out of 223,737 households, 24.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.1% were married couples living together, 10.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 47.1% were non-families. 34.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.3, and the average family size was 3. The age distribution was 21.1% under the age of 18, 10.3% from 18 to 24, 34.7% from 25 to 44, 22.4% from 45 to 64, and 11.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.9 males. The median income for a household in the city was $40,146, and the median income for a family was $50,271. Males had a reported median income of $35,279 versus $29,344 reported for females. The per capita income for the city was $22,643. 13.1% of the population and 8.5% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 15.7% of those under the age of 18 and 10.4% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line. Figures delineating the income levels based on race are not available at this time. According to the Modern Language Association, in 2010, 80.9% (539,885) of Multnomah County residents ages 5 and over spoke English as their primary language at home. 8.1% of the population spoke Spanish (54,036), with Vietnamese speakers making up 1.9%, and Russian 1.5%.
Sexual orientation and gender identity The Portland metropolitan area has historically had a significant LGBT population throughout the late 20th and early 21st century. In 2015, the city metro had the second highest percentage of LGBT residents in the United States with 5.4% of residents identifying as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender, second only to San Francisco. In 2006, it was reported to have the seventh highest LGB population in the country, with 8.8% of residents identifying as gay, lesbian, or bisexual, and the metro ranking fourth in the nation at 6.1%. The city held its first pride festival in 1975 on the Portland State University campus.
Religion
Portland has been cited as the least religious city in the United States with over 42% of residents identifying as religiously "unaffiliated", according to the nonpartisan and nonprofit Public Religion Research Institute's American Values Atlas.
Homelessness
A 2019 survey by the city's budget office showed that homelessness is perceived as the top challenge facing Portland, and was cited as a reason people move and do not participate in park programs. Calls to 911 concerning "unwanted persons" have significantly increased between 2013 and 2018, and the police are increasingly dealing with homeless and mentally ill. Homelessness has taken a toll on the sense of safety among visitors, and residents and business owners are adversely impacted. Even though homeless services and shelter beds have increased, as of 2020 homelessness is considered an intractable problem in Portland. When encampments were being cleared in the Springwater Corridor in 2016, a community member from the nearby Lents neighborhood raised concerns that those campers were moving to their neighborhood. An aide, Lucas Hillier, from then-mayor Charlie Hales's office publicly mocked the citizen on a Facebook post that it's nothing compared to the Springwater Corridor camp, referencing a KPTV story, writing "You think that one is bad, check out this douchebag." While the aide issued an apology, the citizen commented that the mayor's office was very disconnected from issues faced by their constituents. As of 2020, Lucas Hillier manages the campsite cleanup program for the city. The proposed budget for 2022–23 includes $5.8MM to buy land for affordable housing, and $36MM to equip and operate "safe rest villages". A 2022 initiative approved by the Portland city council makes homeless camping illegal, eventually requiring homeless individuals to move into mass shelters. Portland voters passed the Supportive Housing Services tax in 2020. In 2019, the reported number of homeless people was around 4,000. That number rose to over 10,000, though some of that increase was due to a change in counting methods in 2022.
Crime According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Uniform Crime Report in 2009, Portland ranked 53rd in violent crime out of the top 75 U.S. cities with a population greater than 250,000. The murder rate in Portland in 2013 averaged 2.3 murders per 100,000 people per year, which was lower than the national average. In 2011, 72% of arrested male subjects tested positive for illegal drugs, and the city was dubbed the "deadliest drug market in the Pacific Northwest" due to drug-related deaths. In the Portland Metropolitan statistical area, which includes Clackamas, Columbia, Multnomah, Washington, and Yamhill Counties, OR, and Clark and Skamania Counties, WA, for 2017, the murder rate was 2.6, and violent crime was 283.2 per 100,000 people per year. In 2017, the population within the city of Portland was 649,408, and there were 24 murders and 3,349 violent crimes. In the years following the COVID pandemic, the city saw an increase in crime, with car theft rates in Portland reaching the fifth-highest of any US metropolitan area in 2023. More than 11,000 vehicles were stolen in 2022, up from 6,500 in 2019. Similarly, an increase in violent crime peaked in 2022 with a record 101 homicides. In 2021, Portland recorded 90 homicides, compared with 20 in 2016, and 27 in 2017. As of 2025, violent crime in the city saw a marked decline, representing the highest drop of any city covered by the Major City Chiefs Mid-Year Report at a 51% decrease from 2024. However, Portland has the second highest property crime per 100,000 population in the United States. The city saw just 17 homicides in the period from January 1, 2025, to June 30 as opposed to 35 during the same time frame in the previous year. Car theft also saw a significant decrease starting in 2024, with the city seeing the lowest number of cars stolen since recording began in 2015.
Economy Portland's location is beneficial for several industries. Relatively low energy cost, accessible resources, north–south and east–west Interstates, international air terminals, large marine shipping facilities, and both West Coast intercontinental railroads are all economic advantages. The city's marine terminals alone handle over 13 million tons of cargo per year, and the port is home to one of the largest commercial dry docks in the country. The Port of Portland is the third-largest export tonnage port on the west coast of the U.S., and being about 80 miles (130 km) upriver, it is the largest freshwater port. The scrap steel industry's history in Portland predates World War II. Radius Recycling (formerly Schnitzer Steel), a major scrap recycler is headquartered in the KOIN Tower in Portland. Other heavy industry companies in Portland include ESCO Group, and Evraz Oregon Steel Mills. Technology is a major component of the city's economy, with more than 1,200 technology companies existing within the metro. This high density of technology companies has led to the nickname Silicon Forest being used to describe the Portland area, a reference to the abundance of trees in the region and to the Silicon Valley region in Northern California. The area also hosts facilities for software companies and online startup companies, some supported by local seed funding organizations and business incubators. Providence Health & Services became the largest employer in the Portland Metro area in 2023 with the second largest being Intel. The Portland metro area has become a business cluster for athletic/outdoor gear and footwear manufacturer's headquarters. The area is home to the global, North American or U.S. headquarters of Nike (the only Fortune 500 company headquartered in Oregon), Adidas, Columbia Sportswear, LaCrosse Footwear, Dr. Martens, Li-Ning, Keen, Hi