The self-employed in Oregon and the U.S.

An article in the Portland Business Journal shows that Portland has a higher rate of self-employed workers than the U.S. in 2010, but ranks in the middle of the pack for all the cities studied nationwide, and near the bottom of all Oregon areas.

According to an On Numbers analysis of 2010 Census Bureau data, about 7.4 percent of Portland's workers were self-employed. While that outpaces the 6.5 percent self-employment rate in the nation's workforce, Portland ranked 353rd among the 942 cities and metro areas examined. Rockland, Maine topped the national rankings, with an 18.7 percent rate of self-employment. The major market with the smallest share of self-employed workers was Virginia Beach-Norfolk (4.4%).

Within Oregon, Grants Pass and Brookings posted the highest rates of self-employed workers (13.8% each). Although Salem (6.9%) and Corvallis (6.8%) had relatively low shares of self-employed workers, these (and all) areas in Oregon exceeded the national rate.



You can find the full list of Oregon cities studied and their rates of self-employment in 2010 on the Portland Business Journal site.