Population gains in the Portland metro region, central Oregon and the Willamette Valley drove Oregon’s growth over the last decade, according to newly released 2020 census data.

Multnomah County’s population grew by 10.9% to 815,428, with the county adding more than 80,000 residents over the last decade, more than any other county in the state. However, both Washington and Clackamas counties grew at a faster rate than Oregon’s largest county. Washington County’s population grew by 13.3% to 600,372, while Clackamas County grew by about 12.1% to 421,401.

Counties along the Oregon Coast continued to experience modest growth over the last decade as well, with Clatsop County growing at the fastest rate among coastal counties. Its population in 2020 was 41,072, a 10.9% increase from 2010.

Josh Lehner, an economist for the Oregon Office of Economic Analysis, said the job market, quality of life and relative affordability in the Portland metro region as compared to other major cities on the West Coast, like San Francisco and Seattle, continue to make it the biggest draw for people looking to relocate to Oregon.

However, he said the population gains varied throughout the decade, with slow growth coming out of the Great Recession followed by six years of increasing migration to Oregon and the Portland metro region, specifically, before population gains slowed in the final three years of the decade. Oregon added fewer than 32,000 residents in 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic, the slowest growth in the last decade.

“We’ve had so many changes in the last 10 years,” Lehner said. “We started the decade coming out of the global financial crisis, and then we had an acceleration and a big relatively robust and healthy pickup in terms of migration, and then it slowed at the end of the decade.”

Biggest jump

Deschutes County, which includes tourism hub Bend, once again experienced the biggest jump in population of any county in the state as its population increased by 25.7% over the decade to 198,253.

Damon Runberg, the Oregon Employment Department’s regional economist for the east Cascades, said the livability, natural beauty and recreation options in central Oregon continue to be a draw for those looking to relocate. He said recent retirees and young professionals who prioritize quality of life over more career opportunities have long driven the population gains in central Oregon.

However, in the last decade, Runberg said more small professional firms relocated to Bend and an increasing number of 25- to 35-year-olds who work remotely moved to the Bend area, bringing their jobs with them. The pandemic only accelerated that remote working trend.

“The Bend economy has had these major transitions in its history, from being a timber town to transitioning to tourism to a lot of growth over the last decade of more professional-type jobs, becoming more representative of a traditional metropolitan economy,” Runberg said. “I think that trend is the one we’re going to see continue going forward.”

Population gains across the state were also driven by migration to the Willamette Valley. Polk County’s population increased by 16% to 87,433 over the last decade, while Benton County increased by 11.2% to 95,184, Linn County increased by 10.2% to 128,610 and Marion County increased by 9.7% to 345,920.

Polk County Commissioner Craig Pope said the county’s lower cost of living has made it an attractive option for government employees who work in Salem or commuters who need access to Interstate 5. However, he said land use restrictions could prevent construction from moving forward unabated in the coming years, which could slow population growth.

“We’ve become very popular over the last decade, at least, because we’ve had available building space,” Pope said. “A large portion of that growth has been in the west Salem area. Folks there are still able to be inside the urban growth boundary of Salem, so they can get services, but pay lower property taxes.”

Only one Oregon county saw population decline over the last decade, with Grant County losing 2.8% of residents. However, the population across Eastern Oregon remained relatively flat, with populations in Harney, Malheur and Wheeler counties increasing by 1% or less. That mirrored trends across the country, where the nation’s smallest counties were more likely to see population declines or minimal increases.

Oregon’s population grew by 10.6% from 2010 to 2020, reaching 4,237,256, according to data released in April. That’s up from 3.83 million a decade prior. Oregon remains the 27th most populous state in the nation.

Oregon was the 13th-fastest growing state over the last decade, but grew more slowly than six other Western states, including Utah, Idaho, Nevada and Washington.

However, the state’s rate of growth outpaced the United States as whole, which grew by only 7.4%, the slowest population growth since the Great Depression. Three states — West Virginia, Mississippi and Illinois — saw populations decline. More than half the counties across the nation experienced population declines.

Political boundaries

Lawmakers in Oregon and states across the country will use the numbers released Thursday to redraw political boundaries for elections. Oregon’s population growth means it qualifies for a sixth seat in the U.S. House.

Christian Kaylor, an economist for the Oregon Employment Department, said declining fertility rates, shrinking immigration and the rapidly aging baby boomer generation has led to a slowdown in population growth and migration. Deaths in Oregon outnumbered births for the first time ever in 2020.

He said he anticipates that areas where population remained stagnant or declined will see those trends continue in the coming decade.

“What happens is as people leave who are available to work, businesses shut down because they can’t find workers,” Kaylor said. “As businesses shut down because they can’t find workers, more people who are working age leave or simply don’t move to a community because there are no jobs available. I worry about that trend getting more locked in, particularly in rural communities in Oregon and the rest of the United States.”

Oregon is gaining a sixth congressional seat due to its population growth, the first new seat for the state since the 1980 census. That seat will also afford Oregon an additional Electoral College vote, giving the state eight electoral votes for the 2024 presidential election. The state will also receive several billion dollars more in federal aid.

Census officials said the information released Thursday met their “high data quality standards,” but concerns have remained over the accuracy of the 2020 census, which faced unprecedented hurdles.

The count was conducted during the coronavirus pandemic and impeded by the Trump administration’s failed attempt to add a citizenship question to the census and efforts to end the count early. The U.S. Census Bureau is not expected to release information about undercounts and overcounts until next year.