The Portland region’s growth slowed last year, the Census Bureau said last week, but the Rose City and its metropolitan area continue to be among the fastest-growing areas of the country.
The Census Bureau estimated the Portland metro area had 2,314,554 residents in July 2013, a 25,516-person increase from July 2012. The Census-defined metropolitan area includes all of Clackamas, Columbia, Multnomah, Washington and Yamhill counties in Oregon and Clark and Skamania counties in Washington.
Portland growth slows
The Portland metropolitan area continued to grow in 2013, ranking 14th among the 50 largest cities in domestic migration. But the growth slowed from 2012 (numbers in parentheses).
Portland Metropolitan Area
2013 pop: 2,314,554 (2,289,038)
Domestic migration: 7,901 (11,767)
Int’l migration: 5,280 (5,109)
Natural growth: 11,607 (11,670)
Multnomah County
2013 population: 766,135 (758,932)
Domestic migration: 882 (4,552)
Int’l migration: 2,332 (2,251)
Natural growth: 3,965 (3,851)
Washington County
2013 population: 554,996 (547,543)
Domestic migration: 1,325 (2,154)
Int’l migration: 1,756 (1,715)
Natural growth: 4,112 (4,225)
Clark County
2013 population: 443,817 (437,871)
Domestic migration: 2,774 (1,946)
Int’l migration: 760 (742)
Natural growth: 2,336 (2,336)
Clackamas County
2013 population: 388,263 (383,628)
Domestic migration: 3,187 (2,649)
Int’l migration: 389 (364)
Natural growth: 769 (854)
Source: US Census Bureau 2013 population estimates
The region’s 1.1 percent annual growth rate from 2012 to 2013 ranked 20th in the U.S, and seventh among cities north of the Sun Belt.
Still, the estimates indicate the region’s growth has slowed from 2011 and 2012. The metropolitan area grew by 28,000-plus residents in each of those years, with growth tailing off in 2013. Domestic migration from other parts of the U.S. dropped from 10,576 in 2011 and 11,767 in 2012 to 7,901 in 2013, the Census Bureau said.
In 2012, 4,552 people were estimated to have moved to Multnomah County from elsewhere in the U.S. In 2013, that number was estimated at a meager 882.
But Risa Proehl, manager of the estimates program at the Portland State University Population Research Center, cautioned against putting too much stock in year-to-year population estimates.
"It's always safer to look at overall trends over a longer period of time," Proehl wrote in an e-mail.
She added that PSU's estimates show a continued increase in population growth in the Portland metropolitan area.
If growth is slowing, though, it could play a role in the Metro Council’s decisions on how to address its 2014 urban growth boundary review. Later this year, the council has to decide how much growth to expect in the region in the next 20 years, a key step in its decision on whether the region needs more land in the UGB to accommodate that growth.
If the council decides growth is slowing, it could opt to take a more conservative approach to its 2015 UGB decision. Or, it could decide the numbers represent an anomaly on a larger trend.
"Over the next 20 years, the region's population growth rate will be faster at some times than others," said Ted Reid, a planner at Metro, in an e-mail. "But, on the whole, we expect the region's population will continue to grow as people start families here and as the region's quality of life continues to attract people."
Of course, slowing growth is not a stoppage of growth. Among the 50 largest U.S. metro areas, Portland ranked 14th in domestic migration, the Census Bureau said, with 7,901 people moving to the area from elsewhere in the country or from one part of the metro to another.
Among cities outside the Sun Belt, only Indianapolis, Seattle and Denver had more domestic migration.
About 40 percent of those migrants moved to Clackamas County. In fact, both Clackamas and Clark counties saw increased growth in 2013, the Census Bureau said.
Nearly a third of the region’s new residents – including births and international immigrants – were in Washington County, the Census Bureau estimated. The westside gained 7,453 residents from 2012 to 2013, outpacing Multnomah County’s growth of 7,203 residents.