Portland metropolitan area

This article is about the metropolitan area in Oregon and Washington. For the metropolitan area in Maine, see Portland, Maine metropolitan area.

Portland metropolitan area

Common name: Portland metropolitan area
Largest city	Portland, Oregon (583,776)
Other cities	Vancouver (161,791) Gresham (105,594) Hillsboro (91,611)
Population	Ranked 23rd in the U.S.
– Total	2,289,800
– Density	333/sq. mi.  129/km2
Area	6,684 sq. mi. 17,310 km2
Country	United States
State(s)	Oregon Washington
Elevation
– Highest point	N/A feet (N/A m)
– Lowest point	N/A feet (N/A m)

The Portland metropolitan area or Greater Portland is a metropolitan area in the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington centered around the principal city of Portland, Oregon. The U.S. Office of Management and Budget identifies it as the Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA Metropolitan Statistical Area, a metropolitan statistical area used by the United States Census Bureau and other entities. The OMB defines the area as comprising Clackamas, Columbia, Multnomah, Washington, and Yamhill Counties in Oregon, and Clark and Skamania Counties in Washington. The area's population is estimated at 2,289,800 in 2012.

The Oregon portion of the metropolitan area is the state's largest urban center, while the Washington portion of the metropolitan area is the state's second largest urban center after Seattle. Portions of this are under the jurisdiction of Metro, a directly elected regional government which, among other things, is responsible for land use planning in the region.

Metropolitan statistical area

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1960	881,961		—
1970	1,083,977		22.9%
1980	1,341,491		23.8%
1990	1,523,741		13.6%
2000	1,927,881		26.5%
2010	2,226,009		15.5%
Est. 2012	2,289,800		2.9%
U.S. Decennial Census 2012 estimate

As of the 2010 census, there were 2,226,009 people, 867,794 households, and 551,008 families residing within the MSA. The racial makeup of the MSA were as followed:

• White: 81.0% (Non-Hispanic White 76.3%)
• Black or African American: 2.9%
• American Indian and Alaskan Native: 0.9%
• Asian: 5.7% (1.2% Chinese, 1.2% Vietnamese, 0.7% Indian, 0.6% Filipino, 0.6% Korean, 0.4% Japanese)
• Pacific Islander: 0.5% (0.1% Native Hawaiian, 0.1% Guamanian or Chamorro, 0.1% Samoan)
• Two or more races: 4.1%
• Some other race: 4.9%
• Hispanic or Latino (of any race): 10.9% (8.5% Mexican, 0.4% Spanish or Spaniard, 0.3% Guatemalan, 0.3% Puerto Rican, 0.2% Cuban, 0.2% Salvadoran, 0.1% Peruvian

In 2010 the median income for a household in the MSA was $53,078 and the median income for a family was $64,290. The per capita income was $27,451.

The Portland–Vancouver–Hillsboro Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), the 23rd largest in the United States, has a population of 2,226,009 (2010 Census). Of them, 1,789,580 live in Oregon (46.7% of the state's population) while the remaining 436,429 live in Washington (6.7% of state's population). It consists of Multnomah, Washington, Clackamas, Columbia and Yamhill counties in Oregon, as well as Clark and Skamania counties in Washington. The area includes Portland and the neighboring cities of Beaverton, Gresham, Hillsboro, Milwaukie, Lake Oswego, Oregon City, Fairview, Wood Village, Troutdale, Tualatin, Tigard, West Linn, Vancouver, Camas and Washougal.

Before the 2003–2004 redefinition of metropolitan boundaries, the Portland Consolidated Metropolitan Area included the Salem Metropolitan Statistical Area. If still considered a part of the metropolitan area the population would be 2,637,944 (2009 estimate). Combined population close connected Portland, Salem and Longview metropolitan areas is 2,739,910 (2009 estimate).

Changes in house prices for the metro area are publicly tracked on a regular basis using the Case–Shiller index; the statistic is published by Standard & Poor's and is also a component of S&P's 20-city composite index of the value of the U.S. residential real estate market.

Cities and other communities

Major cities in the region in addition to Portland include Beaverton, Gresham, Hillsboro in Oregon, and Vancouver in Washington. The area also includes the smaller cities of Cornelius, Damascus, Fairview, Forest Grove, Gladstone, King City, Lake Oswego, Milwaukie, Oregon City, Sherwood, Tigard, Troutdale, Tualatin, West Linn, Wilsonville, Wood Village in Oregon, as well as Battle Ground, Camas, and Washougal in Washington.

It includes the unincorporated suburban communities in Oregon of Aloha, Beavercreek, Cedar Mill, Clackamas, Dunthorpe, Garden Home, Raleigh Hills, and West Slope.

Transportation

Portland is where Interstate 84 ends at Interstate 5, both major highways in the Pacific Northwest. Other primary roads include Interstate 205, an eastern bypass of the urban core, U.S. Route 26, which heads west and southeast, U.S. Route 30, which goes to the northwest, and Oregon Route 217, which connects US 26 with I-5 in the south, travelling through Beaverton. Both US 26 and US 30 go to the Oregon Coast. Also, Washington State Route 14 travels along the northern banks of the Columbia River from downtown Vancouver east to Camas and Washougal. SR 500 runs from Interstate 5 to SR 503. Padden Parkway runs from NE 78th St and east to NE 162nd Ave.

Transit service on the Oregon side is generally provided by TriMet. In addition, Sandy Area Metro serves Sandy, South Clackamas Transportation District serves nearby Molalla, Canby Area Transit serves Canby and South Metro Area Regional Transit serves Wilsonville. Service in Clark County is provided by C-TRAN. In Columbia County, the Columbia County Rider provides transit service on weekdays connecting St. Helens with downtown Portland and connecting Scappoose and St. Helens with certain points in urban Washington County, including the PCC Rock Creek campus, Tanasbourne and the Willow Creek MAX light rail station.

External links

• Metro government website
• Portland MSA 2010 Census numbers from the Population Resource Center
• pdx.edu/media/p/r/PRC_2007_Population_Report2_rev.pdf of key urban planning documents on the Portland Metropolitan area, at Portland State University