Oregon county, home to Portland, loses $1B+ as thousands flee during pandemic.
An Oregon County Loses Over $1 Billion in Income as Residents Flee Amid Homelessness and Crime Concerns
Multnomah County, home to Portland, has experienced a significant loss of income, surpassing $1 billion, as a result of a mass exodus of residents who are fed up with rampant homelessness and crime.
According to IRS data analyzed by The Oregonian/Oregon Live, from 2020 to 2021, a net total of 14,257 tax filers and their dependents left the county. Most of these departing residents, who had higher incomes, left in the aftermath of the pandemic.
“The real question is to what extent the pandemic era changes were temporary, or if they are permanent,”
said state economist Josh Lehner. “Unfortunately, that can’t be answered until we get the 2023 and 2024 data.”
The data reveals that over one fifth of those who left Multnomah County relocated to the suburbs of Portland in nearby Clackamas County. Others chose to move to states like Texas, South Carolina, or Washington.
Portland residents have expressed their concerns about the escalating homelessness and crime rates, which have increased by 50% from 2019 to 2022. As a result, the city’s population has been steadily declining, making Portland one of the fastest shrinking cities in America.
“I want to cry,”
said Christina Hartnett, a local resident.
“I just want my house back. My lawn is now becoming a public bathroom.”
Larry May, a longtime resident, lamented the decline of tourism in Portland, stating,
“It’s like Portland died. The tourists haven’t come back like they used to be.”
May also attributed the rise in crime to funding cuts for the police department, expressing hope for its restoration:
“I hope they get it back up again because the crime is really bad, shootings. It’s not the Portland I knew.”
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In 2020, during violent protests against the police, Portland’s city council made the decision to cut the police department’s budget by $15 million. Although the city has attempted to reinstate funding, the results have been minimal.
Consequently, the Portland police department has experienced a significant loss of officers. While the city has hired more police since September, when it was short 100 cops, the department is still down approximately 80 officers.
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