While the Portland area continues to lose residents, Clark County’s population is growing

While the Portland metropolitan area’s population continues to decrease, Clark County’s population has steadily increased since 2020, according to Census data released Thursday.

The metro area as a whole, which includes Vancouver, Portland and Hillsboro, Ore., lost about 2 percent of its population, or about 4,700 people, between 2020 and July 2023. However, the loss has slowed, with a net loss of less than 1,000 people in 2023.

However, Clark County’s population is rising. Although Vancouver’s 2023 population has not been released yet, the population increased by almost 2 percent between 2020 and 2022.

Experts attribute Clark County’s population growth to people moving from Multnomah, Clackamas and Washington counties in Oregon to Clark County. Meanwhile, about 5,400 people moved from Clark County to Oregon between 2016 and 2020, according to Census data.

A 2024 report by the Portland Metro Chamber said Clark County’s growth has been aided by land availability and the widely praised redevelopment of the Vancouver waterfront. That report also showed that Clark County’s job growth has surpassed pre-pandemic levels. In fact, Clark has added more jobs than Clackamas, Multnomah or Washington counties.

U.N. Umesh, a marketing professor at Washington State University Vancouver who studies economic trends, said he believes more at-home work is contributing to Clark County’s population increase. On average, Clark County homes are larger and cheaper than Portland homes.

“Home prices continue to be lower in Clark County. You get more space at a lower price,” he said.

The median home price in Clark County is about $15,000 less than homes in Portland, according to recent RMLS reports.

And, on average, homes in Clark County are 56 percent larger than homes in Portland, according to the listing site RentCafe. Apartments in Clark County are 22 percent larger.

“If you’re going to work from home, you need a bigger place. It’s easier to have a bigger place in Clark County. You can have a home office and all kinds of things,” Umesh said.

Portland is now full of empty office buildings because of this issue, he said.

In February, lenders foreclosed on one of Portland’s most well-known office buildings, Montgomery Park. For many, it signified the downfall of Portland’s office market.

Another factor, Umesh theorized, is that Portland has faced bad press in recent years.

Since 2020, national coverage of Portland has largely focused on its homelessness, drug, crime and affordability problems — although overall crime in Portland has gone down, according to the Portland Police Bureau.

The coverage, whether exaggerated or not, has resulted in a bad reputation for Portland, Umesh said.

“There are plenty of nice neighborhoods, but once the image problem is there, people look at Clark County,” he said.

Likely the most prominent reason for more people moving to Clark County than Portland is Washington has no state income tax, saving most households thousands of dollars each year.

Although Oregon has no sales tax, its income tax ranges from 4.75 percent to 8.75 percent, according to Forbes. Multnomah County also levies a 1.5 percent income tax on people with incomes of more than $125,000.

“People might say it’s not going to make us move,” Umesh said. “But in the long run, it adds up. You add the federal, state, local tax — people can do math.”