Oregon's Museums On Display

With summer in full swing, it's a great time to visit one of the many museums throughout Oregon. The Oregon Museums Association's website offers links to more than 150 member institutions, spread liberally throughout the state from Ontario to Klamath Falls to Astoria. Similarly, Oregon Employment Department records reveal that most of Oregon's 36 counties have at least one private-sector museum with some paid employment. 

At the end of the day, though, the reality is that the Portland metropolitan area is the epicenter of Oregon's museum employment. More than two out of every three museum jobs in Oregon are located in one of the five counties that comprise the Oregon portion of the Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Summer is also the time when employment peaks at Oregon's museums. For example, employment at Oregon's museums in 2012 peaked in July and that level was about 22 percent larger than the low for the year in January.

For more information on Oregon's museum employment, check out the full article by regional economist Jason Yohannan.