Official Federal Data
Multnomah County, Oregon
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA · Population 801,477
10 Sources
Updated September 10, 2026
$88,766 up from the baseline named below
Median Income (nominal) vs 2019
$80,734 national
5.1% up from the baseline named below
Unemployment vs 2024
4.3% national
$90.6B up from the baseline named below
GDP (nominal) real change vs 2023
48.9% up from the baseline named below
Bachelor's+ vs 2019
35.7% national
Demographics & Population
Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 · 5-Year Estimates
Household Income
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median Household (nominal)
$88,766 up from 2019 vs 2019
Per Capita
$53,996 up from 2019 vs 2019
Mean Household
$122,099 up from 2019 vs 2019
Median Household (cost-of-living adjusted)
$84,218 metro RPP 105.4
Poverty Rate
12.6% down from 2019 vs 2019
Median Income Comparison
Multnomah County$88,766
Oregon$83,011
National$80,734
Cost-of-living adjustment uses the BEA all-items regional price parity for Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA, 105.4 against a national average of 100 (2024). BEA publishes regional price parity at state and metropolitan level only; there is no county figure, so the metro index stands in for Multnomah County and the adjusted median is an approximation. Per capita and mean household income above are nominal and carry no adjustment.
Population Profile
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Table B01001, B02001, B03003
CohortsShare of total population
Under 18 · 17.6%
18-34 · 25.7%
35-54 · 30.9%
55-64 · 11%
65+ · 14.8%
Race & Ethnicity
Hispanic or Latino is an ethnic category and overlaps with the race categories above.
Educational Attainment
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · Population 25+
92.5%
High School+
National: 89.6%
up from national +2.9 pts vs national
48.9%
Bachelor's+
National: 35.7%
up from national +13.2 pts vs national
19.6%
Graduate+
National: 14.1%
up from national +5.5 pts vs national
Employment Overview
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
801,477
Population
471,313
Labor Force
Employed
444,385
Unemployment Rate BLS LAUS 2025 annual
5.1% up from 2024 +0.9 pts vs 2024
Mean Commute 2 min below national avg
24.4 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
26.1%
Labor Force and Employed are ACS 5-Year survey estimates; the Unemployment Rate above comes from BLS LAUS, a separate monthly survey with its own methodology. The two won't reconcile by subtracting one from the other.
Key Takeaways
- Income premium: Households earn well above the national median, supporting strong retail and housing markets.
- Cost of living erodes income: Local prices run 5.4% above the national average, so the nominal median of $88,766 is worth $84,218 at national average prices. BEA publishes price parity at metro level, not county level.
- Talent advantage: Bachelor's-or-higher attainment exceeds the national average by 13.2 pts, supports knowledge-economy and tech attraction.
Economy & Industry
Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW · Bureau of Economic Analysis
$90.6B up from 2023 +0.5% vs 2023
Gross Domestic Product · 2024
+0.5% real (inflation-adjusted)
·
+3.7% nominal
· 2023 to 2024
Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis · level and nominal change from CAGDP2 (current dollars); real change from CAGDP9 (chained 2017 dollars), both all-industry total. The two series agree in 2017, the chain reference year, and diverge by the amount of price change since.
105.4
Cost of Living · metro · Above Avg
Key Takeaways
- Largest private-sector industry: Health Care and Social Assistance employs 75,064 workers (21.9% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $73,905. Every industry figure on this page is private sector; government employs a further 78,648 and is counted separately.
- Economic scale: Regional GDP of $90.6B (2024).
- Wage stratification: Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services averages $126,524 while Accommodation and Food Services averages $35,191, a 3.6x spread in the same local economy, with implications for workforce development and talent strategy.
Source: BLS QCEW + BEA Regional GDP.
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Industry Concentration
Location Quotient measures regional specialization vs. national average. LQ > 1.0 = concentrated.
Cluster Depth
Source: BLS QCEW · Sub-sectors with LQ ≥ 1.5 indicate genuine cluster concentration
Concentrated Sub-Sectors
8 sub-sectors at LQ ≥ 1.5
Largest grouping among them is Transportation & Warehousing Cluster at 33.2% of the employment across all of them, which signals supply-chain fit for site selectors
51,893
Employment in the sub-sectors listed
2.35x
Peak sub-sector LQ
Sub-Sector Detail
Air Transportation
2.35x 4,202
Couriers and Messengers
2.28x 7,990
Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional Orgs
2.06x 9,205
Performing Arts, Spectator Sports, and Related
2.04x 3,683
Support Activities for Transportation
1.96x 5,011
Management of Companies and Enterprises
1.92x 15,591
Publishing Industries and Telecommunications
1.91x 5,342
Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar
1.55x 869
Attraction Opportunities
LQ < 0.5 with ≥ 50 employed, screened against local siting constraints. Source: BLS QCEW
0.12x
Support Activities for Agriculture and Forestry
146 employed
0.25x
Chemical Manufacturing
701 employed
0.32x
Telecommunications
600 employed
0.33x
Machinery Manufacturing
1,126 employed
0.35x
Plastics and Rubber Products Manufacturing
770 employed
0.38x
Wood Product Manufacturing
472 employed
Screened on industrial power cost, rail-truck intermodal access, land base.
Industrial electricity in Oregon costs 8.28¢/kWh against 8.62¢/kWh nationally (2025).
Oregon has 4 rail-truck intermodal terminals, the nearest 12 miles from the county.
Land area 431 sq mi, larger than 27% of US counties.
Sources: EIA, BTS NTAD, Census Gazetteer.
Key Takeaways
- Top specialization: Air Transportation concentrates at 2.35x the national norm.
- Cluster depth: 8 sub-sectors register LQ ≥ 1.5, and no single source of demand accounts for more than 30% of the employment across them, the largest being business and professional services. Demand reaches this base from more than one market rather than from a single one.
- Attraction whitespace: 6 sub-sectors register LQ < 0.5 with at least 50 employed, candidates for diversification or recruitment depending on labor-market fit.
Source: BLS QCEW sub-sector Location Quotients.
Housing & Affordability
Census ACS · HUD Fair Market Rents FY2026
Housing Overview
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates · Tables B25001, B25077, B25064, B25004
$552,700 up from the baseline named below
Median Home Value vs 2019
$1,646 up from the baseline named below
Rent/Mo vs 2019
53.4% down from the baseline named below
Owner-Occ vs 2019
5.8% down from the baseline named below
Vacancy vs 2019
2.8% available
for rent or sale
for rent or sale
6.2x
Home Value to Income Ratio - Stretched
vs. ~4.1x national average
HUD Fair Market Rents
HUD publishes these by FMR area, which may cover more than one county · Source: HUD · Fair Market Rents FY2026 · Affordability threshold and renter cost burden from Census ACS B25119, B25070
Studio
$1,570/mo
1 Bedroom
$1,677/mo
2 Bedroom
$1,922/mo
3 Bedroom
$2,619/mo
4 Bedroom
$3,109/mo
30% of monthly median renter household income (~$1,475/mo, from a renter median of $59,000) · rents above this line are typically considered cost-burdened.
Measured: 50.7% of renter households already pay 30% or more of income on rent, and 25.7% pay 50% or more.
Key Takeaways
- Stretched market: Home value to income ratio of 6.2x is well above the ~4.1x national average; attainable workforce housing may be a recruitment friction.
- Rent affordability gap: None of the 5 HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom sizes sit below what a household on the median renter income of $59,000 can pay without cost burden (~$1,475/mo), and 50.7% of renter households are already cost-burdened, 25.7% severely so; workforce housing cost burden warrants attention.
Source: Census ACS housing tables + HUD Fair Market Rents.
Workforce Pipeline
Labor force readiness, commuting, and workforce composition
Labor Market Overview
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B23001, B23025, B08303, B08301
542,118 down from the baseline named below
Working Age (18-64) vs 2019
Mean Commute 2 min below national avg
24.4 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
26.1%
Prime-Age Employed (25-54)
84.5%
of prime-age population
Prime-age rate numerator is civilian employed (B23001); the denominator is total population aged 25-54 (B01001), which also includes armed forces.
of population age 16 and over (677,313)
unchanged from 2019 vs 2019
Education & Talent Pipeline
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · College Scorecard
Bachelor's+
48.9% up from 2019 vs 2019
HS Diploma+
92.5% up from 2019 vs 2019
Institutions in Multnomah County
Largest 6 of 19 by credentials awarded, in Multnomah County
Credentials awarded in Multnomah County
16,891/yr
7,148/yr
4,737/yr
1,754/yr
1,342/yr
1,030/yr
880/yr
Aging Workforce
Source: Census Bureau ACS · Derived from age & employment tables
16.2%
55-64 of working-age population (18-64)
Same cohort is 11% of total population, the basis used in the Demographics cohort chart.
Workforce by Occupation
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table C24010 · Civilian employed population 16+
Management / Professional
51.4%
Service
14.8%
Sales & Office
17.5%
Construction / Maint.
5.4%
Production / Transport
10.9%
Bars are drawn on a 0% to 60% axis, so bar length is proportional to actual share. Labels give each group's share of 444,385 employed workers.
Key Takeaways
- Healthy participation: 69.6% labor force participation reflects a steady, available local workforce.
- Talent pipeline: the 6 largest of 19 institutions in Multnomah County award 16,891 credentials a year. Employers drawing from a wider labor shed should read this alongside institutions outside the county, which this page does not aggregate.
Source: ACS workforce data and College Scorecard.
AI Insights
Sample output. Pulse AI analysis draws on 10 federal data sources.
Sample AI Insight
Multnomah County shows emerging potential for air transportation attraction, with a 2.35x concentration and 4,202 jobs in this sub-sector.
The concentrated base spans air transportation, couriers and messengers, and religious, grantmaking, civic, professional orgs, and no single source of demand accounts for more than 30% of the employment across them, the largest being business and professional services. Supply-chain recruitment has more than one demand base to work from.
Industry Shift Analysis
Manufacturing Automation Risk
High
Healthcare Growth Forecast
+4.2% CAGR
Remote Work Migration
67/100
Prospect Match Scores
Advanced Manufacturing
92/100
Life Sciences
84/100
Data Centers
71/100
Illustrative example
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Data Sources
Updated from official federal government data.
Census ACS 5-Year2024
BLS QCEW2025 annual
BLS LAUS2025 annual
BEA Regional GDP2024
BEA Regional Price Parity2024
Census CBP2023
HUD Fair Market RentsFY2026
FCC Broadband Map2024
USAspending.govFY2026
College ScorecardAY 2022-23
American Community Survey figures on this page are 2020-2024 five-year averages rather than single-year counts. A five-year estimate pools 60 months of survey responses, so each value describes the period as a whole.
Frequently Asked Questions
Key economic and demographic figures for Multnomah County, Oregon, from federal data sources.
What is the population of Multnomah County, Oregon?
801,477 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the median household income in Multnomah County, Oregon?
$88,766 in nominal dollars (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates). Adjusted for local prices using the BEA all-items regional price parity for Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA (105.4 against a national average of 100), that is $84,218 at national average prices. BEA publishes regional price parity at metro level; there is no county-level figure.
What is the unemployment rate in Multnomah County, Oregon?
5.1% (2025 annual average, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS).
What is the GDP of Multnomah County, Oregon?
$90.6B (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CAGDP2).
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