slides: How Portland has Changed in 10 Years

Friday, July 24, 2015

Kirsten Nicolaisen, GoLocalPDX Content Director

Portland is rapidly growing and changing, and more people from all over the world are moving here each year. In fact, more Americans moved to Oregon than any other state in 2013 and 2014. In the past 10 years not only has population and cost of living soared, but Portland has been recognized globally as a great place to live- especially for millenials. Business Insider named Portland the 5th most popular city in the U.S. for college graduates, and the number of educated individuals ages 25-34 in the metro area has grown by 36 percent between 2000 and 2012.

See Slideshow Below: How Portland Has Changed in 10 Years

From being named the most livable U.S. city by Monocle Magazine, to the appeal of Portland's quirky nature highlighted by the hit sketch comedy show Portlandia, Portland is proving itself to be a hot destination. But while greater numbers of people move to Portland each year, the rising cost of living is pushing some residents out.

In an article titled "Will Growth Kill Portland" published in March by GoLocalPDX, 10-year resident of Portland, Eric Tillman, said his time in the city might be over soon due to sky-high rent costs.

“My roommate and I were paying $725 in rent when we moved in,” says Tillman, 38, who lives one block from SE Burnside and works downtown at a hotel chain.

“It’s going to be $1,050, come June. It’s ridiculous. [Everything] they’re putting up here is raising the property value," said Tillman. "The people that could afford to live here three years ago can’t live here anymore.”

Over the past 10-15 years, Portland's population has increased by over 15 percent. Nearly 10,000 people moved to Portland between 2013 and 2014 alone, according to the Population Research Center at Portland State University. With this influx of people comes a dramatic increase in cost of living. Only five years ago a one-bedroom apartment in Portland that rented for $808 a month now costs $1,146. But while some residents like Tillman are getting pushed out of the city, more jobs are coming in.

A study published by City Observatory found that employment in Portland's city center is growing faster than in surrounding neighborhoods and suburbs. The study shows that in Portland, from 2007 - 2011 the number of jobs located in the city core grew .8 percent while jobs in periphery areas dropped by .5 percent. Not long ago, peripheral areas were growing much faster. From 2002 - 2007 the number of city center jobs also grew .8 percent, but jobs in outlying areas grew by 2.2 percent.

“People are moving back to the centers of American cities like Portland, and jobs are coming with them,” said Joe Cortright, economist and founding director of City Observatory. “Our analysis revealed tangible evidence that the 50-year tide of employment decentralization, which had been flowing outwards from city centers, has ebbed, and may now be reversing.” The number of jobs in Portland's city center in 2002 was 187,714 and rose to 201,915 by 2011.

Ten years is a short time for a city to change as drastically as Portland has. Employment in the city is growing, attracting young educated individuals, while many long time residents of the city are feeling the strain of rising living expenses. Portland is gentrifying faster than any other U.S. city with “58 percent of Portland’s lower-priced neighborhoods gentrified since 2000,” according to Governing Magazine.

See the slideshow below for how Portland has changed in 10 years.

Related Slideshow: How Portland Has Changed in 10 years

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Population

Ten years ago in 2005 Portland's population was just over 534,000. Today Portland's population is over 610,000. Since 2000 Portland's population has increased over 15 percent. In comparison, peer cities like Seattle and San Diego grew at 8% and 10% over the same time period.

Nearly 10,000 people moved to Portland between 2013 and 2014 alone, according to the Population Research Center at Portland State University. In five years the population of the city could reach 650,000 — a 23% in 30 years.

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Housing

The median sale price of a home in Portland in May of 2015 was $331,000, in June of 2005 it was $215,000, according to Zillow.com. Portland home values have gone up 6.9% over the past year and Zillow predicts they will rise 5.6% within the next year. The median rent price in Portland is $1,425.

Oregon Economic Analysis identifies that between 2006 and 2014, Portland was under-built by 20,000 housing units. This failure to develop housing stock in the city during the great recession and post period will continue to put strain on housing prices.

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Crime

Despite Portland's growing population, crime has decreased over the past 10 years. The only crime that has seen a significant increase is bike theft, which increased from about 1,500 thefts in 2003 to nearly 2,500 in 2013. All other crimes have gone down including gun crimes, robbery, non-domestic assaults, domestic violence, home break-ins, and vandalism.

The number of gun related crimes has seen the greatest decline of any of the other tracked crime sectors.

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Young People

The number of young, well-educated adults in the Portland Metro area is growing, according to data released by the City Observatory. Portland ranked high among cities attracting the most educated young adults between the years 2000 to 2010. The number of degree holders aged 25-34 living within three miles of the central Portland, Vancouver and Beaverton grew 36 percent, or 6,563 individuals, between 2000 and 2010.

In 2010, 37 percent of 25-34 year olds living in the area had obtained college degrees, up from 30 percent in 2000.

In 2000, 4.8 percent of all adults in the Portland Metro area were 25-34 year olds with four-year college degrees. In 2012 , that number jumped to 5.6 percent.

Portland was also named the 5th most popular city for college graduates by Business Insider.

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Gentrification

Earlier this year many Portlanders caught wind of a study released by Governing Magazine: Portland is the fastest gentrifying city in America, with “58 percent of Portland’s lower-priced neighborhoods gentrified since 2000,” it reported. Portland gentrification over the past 10 years has been primarily concentrated in the North/Northeast region.

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City Center Jobs

In recent years the number of jobs in Portland has surpassed that of neighborhoods and suburban areas further from the city. A report by City Observatory shows that in Portland, from 2007 - 2011 the number of jobs located in the city core grew .8 percent while jobs in periphery areas dropped by .5 percent.

Not long ago, peripheral areas were growing much faster. In Portland, from 2002 - 2007 the number of city center jobs also grew .8 percent, but jobs in outlying areas grew by 2.2 percent.

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Commuting

Portland was named the #1 most bike-friendly city in the U.S. this May by BetterDoctor.com. So it makes sense that Portland has seen a large increase in bike commuters over recent years. In 2000 the number of Portlanders who commuted by bicycle was just shy of 2% of the commuting population, but by 2012 nearly 6% of commuters traveled by bike, according to 2013 Census estimates. Overall, the percentage of Portlanders who drive to work alone has decreased. In 2000, 63.8% of commuters were solo drivers, but by 2013 only 57.4% of commuters drove to work alone. The use of public transit and carpooling decreased over this same time period, but biking and walking greatly increased.