The U.S. Census dropped updated population data Thursday, showing that the country’s metropolitan areas are growing faster than previous years. The data delivered new information — both high and low — about Oregon cities.
Here’s what you need to know:
Multnomah County’s population is finally increasing after a pandemic-era dip.
After a decade of growth, Multnomah County saw an exodus of residents following the COVID-19 pandemic: a 3% decrease between 2020 and 2023. While the county still hasn’t returned to its 2020 population levels of over 816,000, the new data suggest that the tides are turning.
Between 2023 and 2024, the county saw its population grow by 0.2%. That’s a net increase of about 1,600 people to Oregon’s most populous county.
But Multnomah isn’t increasing at the same pace as its neighboring counties.
Multnomah is growing, but not as fast as the rest of the major counties in the broader Portland metro area. Between 2023 and 2024, Clackamas County grew 0.3%, Washington County grew 1%, and Clark County, Washington expanded by 1%. This echoes data shared last month by the Portland Metro Chamber, which pointed to decreasing jobs and high taxes in Multnomah County as reasons why residents may be moving to neighboring counties.
The county’s pace of growth is also slower than most other populous counties nationwide. According to Census data analysis by DHM Research’s John Horvick, Multnomah County ranks 94th in total percent population growth out of the one hundred largest counties.
Portland metro area is no longer one of the 25 largest metro regions in the country.
The Portland metro area — which includes Vancouver, Hillsboro and other suburbs — lost its position as the 25th largest U.S. metro last year to Austin, Texas. The Austin area has about 12,000 more residents than Portland, which now sits at 26th place.
(This ranking excludes the entire island of Puerto Rico, which is considered a metro region. If included, it would bump Portland to 27th place.)
Central Oregon remains the state’s fastest growing region.
In 2020, Central Oregon became a destination for high-income remote workers fleeing cities amid a global pandemic. The boom times have continued. Between 2023 and 2024, both Deschutes and Crook counties experienced the highest population growth in the state. Both counties grew by about 1% between 2023 and 2024.
Since 2020, Deschutes has seen a 6% population increase, while Crook witnessed a 10% spike in residents.
Altogether, the Bend-Redmond-Prineville metro area accounts for 265,000 people, ranking 191st in the nation’s largest metro areas.
Oregon is home to one of the fastest shrinking counties in the nation.
The Census ranked counties with populations over 20,000 by the fastest population decline, and Oregon’s Curry County came in fourth. Curry County is in the state’s southwestern corner, and home to Brookings, Gold Beach and Port Orford. According to the report, it experienced a 2% population drop between 2023 and 2024 — accounting for a net loss of about 500 people.
But it’s not the state’s fastest shrinking county. That label goes to rural Gilliam County along Interstate 84, whose population of 1,971 reflects a 3% decline from 2023.
