Portland is a very large city located in the state of Oregon. With a population of 635,067 people and 188 associated neighborhoods, Portland is the largest community in Oregon.
Portland home prices are not only among the most expensive in Oregon, but Portland real estate also consistently ranks among the most expensive in America.
Of important note, Portland is also a city of artists. Portland has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape Portland’s character.
Also of interest is that Portland has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.
A relatively large number of people in Portland telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 22.04% of the workforce works from home. While this may seem like a small number, as a fraction of the total workforce it ranks among the highest in the country. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.
One thing noticeable about Portland, is that it has a large population of people who are young, single, educated, and upwardly-mobile career starters. That’s because Portland is full of single people in their 20s and 30s and who have undergraduate or graduate degrees and are starting careers in professional occupations. This makes Portland a great place for young, educated career starters looking to find many people like themselves, with good opportunities for friendships, socializing, romance, and fun. In fact, Portland is one of the top larger cities in America for educated single professionals to flock.
Portland, like many big cities in America, has a public transportation system, but the citizens of Portland are lucky because theirs is one of the most extensive and widely used. Many commuters choose to leave their cars at home and instead use the bus to get to and from work. In fact, for some people it is feasible to forgo car ownership entirely, avoiding the cost and headache of driving in heavy traffic. The benefits include reduced air pollution and load on the road network.
If knowledge is power, Portland is a pretty powerful place. 52.55% of the adults in Portland have earned a 4-year college degree, masters degree, MD, law degree, or even PhD. Compare that to the national average of 21.84% for all cities and towns.
The per capita income in Portland in 2022 was $52,577, which is wealthy relative to Oregon and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $210,308 for a family of four. However, Portland contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.
Portland is a very ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Portland home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Portland residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Portland also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 10.27% of the city’s residents. Important ancestries of people in Portland include German, English, Irish, Italian, and European.
The most common language spoken in Portland is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Vietnamese.