Oregon’s 2020 Natural Population Increase Was the Lowest on Record

In 2020, Oregon’s population increased by 31,655 to 4,268,055. This marked growth of 0.7% over the year and growth of 11.4% since the 2010 Census. Portland State University’s Population Research Center recently released more detailed information on why this population growth has occurred.

Two things lead to population change. First, an area increases in population if more births than deaths occur in a given year. Second, population can increase or decrease through net migration. That is, over the year, people either move into or out of an area. A positive value of net migration means more people moving into an area than leaving it, while a negative value of net migration indicates more people leaving an area than moving in.

In 2020, 90% of Oregon's population increase was due to net migration. Natural increase contributed just 3,100 to population growth, which was the lowest since comparable records began in 1960. The low natural increase is caused by an increase in the number of deaths (37,800), which was the highest total since 1960. In 2018 and 2019, there were 36,600 deaths in Oregon each year. Since 2011, Oregon had a relatively low natural increase compared with the prior four decades.

While Oregon continued to attract migrants in 2020, net migration was 20% lower at 28,600 than it was in 2019. The number of net migrants has been dropping steadily over the past few years since 2017, likely driven by a slower growing economy towards the end of the last economic expansion and housing availability and affordability. The current economic crisis driven by public health restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to continued declines in net migration in 2020.

To learn more, read Economist Sarah Cunningham's full article here.