13-02-2025
Study: Portland metro area generates more than half of Oregon's economic output
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – A new report shows how important Portland is to the rest of the state's economy.
The economic research firm — in partnership with Portland Metro Chamber, the City of Portland, and Multnomah County — found that the Portland metro area generates more than half of Oregon's total economic output.
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The Portland metro area, which also includes parts of Washington and Clackamas Counties, is home to nearly 43% of the state's residents. However, it also accounts for more than 57% of the state's economic output, or GDP, nearly half the state's employment, and more than half of state tax revenue.
Multnomah County in particular — with 19% of Oregon's population — contributes nearly 24% of the state's tax revenue.
On the flip side, the Portland metro area has also been slower to recover from the effects of the pandemic — and job losses — than the rest of the state.
'If the state is trying to understand from an economic development strategy, what does growth look like in different ways, we can talk about the Portland economy and understand that growing in the county and in the tri-county disproportionately benefits the rest of the state,' Mike Wilkerson of ECOnorthwest said.
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This report also comes amid an ongoing urban and rural divide in Oregon — as is the case in most states.
But Andrew Hoan said rural Oregon communities already concerned about the outsize influence of Portland also benefit from the tax revenues the tri-county region generates.
'This isn't an 'us versus them,' this is not 'we win, you lose' scenario,' Hoan said. 'This is, 'Everybody wins when Multnomah County and Portland is winning.''
He hopes to take that message to the Oregon legislature as they make decisions about where to invest in 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
