FILE - Portland, Ore., as seen from Pittock Mansion on June 8, 2021.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
Portland’s population decline appears to be reversing.
Estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau and Portland State University show the city’s population increased last year. It comes after shedding more than 10,000 people in the years immediately following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Portland added 1,435 people between July 2023 and July 2024, for an estimated population of nearly 635,750, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. However, the city is still about 17,000 people short of where it was in July 2020.
Census Bureau numbers help guide federal funding for certain programs and determine a state’s number of congressional seats. Oregon policymakers refer to numbers from the Population Research Center at Portland State University when drafting legislation or as a foundation for other official state business.
Related: Top 5 Oregon takeaways from latest US Census data
For the same time period, PSU researchers also estimate Portland’s population increased to a total of 639,448, a bump of just over 800 from 2023.
The census data shows Salem and Eugene in a battle for second-most populous city in the state. Until 2023 Eugene had around 2,000 more residents than the capital, but estimates show Salem now at 180,406 to Eugene’s 178,786. PSU’s data has Salem at 177,567 and Eugene at 177,155.
Overall, Oregon’s population ticked up slightly last year, according to separate estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau and from Portland State University.
Census data shows Oregon’s population grew by a modest 18,718 to 4.27 million people from July 2023 to July 2024. Researchers at Portland State had similar findings but estimated the population only grew by 13,358. Both figures represent an increase of less than 0.5%.