Clark County residents work in:
• Clark County: 120,611.
• Multnomah County, Ore.: 44,756.
• Washington County, Ore.: 6,175
• Clackamas County, Ore.: 5,247.
• Cowlitz County: 3,389.
Clark County workers live in:
• Clark County: 120,611.
• Multnomah County, Ore.: 9,588.
• Cowlitz County: 3,267.
• Washington County, Ore.: 2,403.
• Clackamas County, Ore.: 2,204.
Note: Figures reflect five-year average from 2009-2013.
SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau
People tend to think of the daily migration from Clark County to greater Portland as a one-way street. Tens of thousands of Washington residents head to jobs in Oregon each morning, then return home in the evening.
New U.S. Census Bureau data released this week show more and more people making the trip in reverse: living in Oregon, but commuting to jobs in Clark County.
That trend has built slowly and steadily for years, said Scott Bailey, regional labor economist for the state Employment Security Department. And it shouldn’t come as a surprise, he said.
“I think that this is a typical pattern of suburban versus the core area, where at first it’s mostly one way,” Bailey said. “But it slowly evens out over time as that employment spreads.”