Wilsonville Spokesman Online

Wilsonville's population grows, just a little

Population inches over 18,000 despite economic slowdown

• By: Josh Kulla  
• Published: 1/26/2010 1:49:16 PM

Population changes
Wilsonville's official population grew by just about 80 people this past year. Events like National Night Out (pictured here) help make Wilsonville a livable community.

Despite economic hard times that have stripped the city of a significant number of jobs, Wilsonville’s population continues to creep onward and upward, according to Portland State University’s latest estimates.

It’s not a large jump, but Wilsonville now looks to have passed the 18,000 mark, with an estimated population as of July 1, 2009, of 18,020. It’s just 80 persons more than the 2008 estimate of 17,940, representing an increase of just 0.04 percent.

Meanwhile, Clackamas County as a whole increased its population over the same period from 376,660 to 379,845, a jump of 3,185, or 0.8 percent. Other nearby cities also saw slight population increases between 2008 and 2009, including Lake Oswego (34,275 to 36,755), county seat Oregon City (30,405 to 30,710) and Canby (15,165 to 15,230). West Linn experienced no population growth at all, according to the latest estimates, remaining at a population of 24,400.

Portland, the largest city in the state, saw its population rise from 573,592 to 582,130, while Eugene remained the second-largest city in Oregon with an estimated population of 157,100. Salem is right behind with an estimated population of 156,955, up from 154,110 the previous year. Gresham remains the state’s fourth largest population center, with an estimated 101,015 residents in 2009.

Over the past decade, Clackamas County has seen its population jump from 340,000 in 2000 to the current total of nearly 380,000. Over the same period, Wilsonville has seen its population grow from a 2000 figure of 14,365 to the current number of over 18,000.

For a complete look at PSU’s 2009 population estimates, visit www.pdx.edu/prc/annual-oregon-population-report.

Required by law
PSU’s Population Research Center produces annual population estimates for Oregon and its counties and cities, as well as the estimates by age and sex.

Oregon law (ORS 190.510 to 190.610) requires that the Population Research Center prepare these estimates.

The resulting figures are widely used by state and local government and various organizations and agencies for revenue sharing, funds allocation, and planning purposes.

The population estimates are made on July 1 of each year. Preliminary estimates are sent to the state,
counties, and cities in mid-November, with estimates being certified by Dec. 15.

The Oregon Annual Population Report is released each spring and presents the population estimates for Oregon and its counties and incorporated cities.

Numbers are derived from data from the U.S. Census Bureau, which produces population projections for each state population, by age and sex, and the Oregon Office of Economic Analysis, which produces county projections for the total population.

Population Growth in Oregon: 2000-2008
Oregon State’s population is estimated to have been 3,791,060 on July 1, 2008, an increase of 369,661 from the April 1, 2000 Census count, and 45,605 from the 2007 estimate. The average annual population growth rate from 2000 to 2008 in Oregon was 1.2 percent. After five years of increasing rates from 2000, the State’s growth from 2006 to 2007 began to stabilize, and from 2007 to 2008 decelerated to 1.2 percent. Although Oregon’s annual growth rate continually increased from 2001 to 2006, rates had not reached as high as seen in the early and mid 1990s. Typically, the rate of population growth in Oregon has corresponded to trends in the economy. In strong economic times, Oregon has experienced higher rates of growth, and during a recessive economy, growth rates tend to be lower. (See Figure 2 on page 26.) Between April 1, 2000 and July 1, 2008, net migration (people moving into Oregon minus people leaving) is estimated to be 237,481 and accounts for 64 percent of the total population growth. Between 1990 and 2000 that percentage was 73 percent, but in the early 2000s, it dropped to 56 percent. Migration is primarily driven by the state of the economy. When Oregon’s economy is strong, net migration increases as people move here to take advantage of employment opportunities. When the economy goes into recession, in-migration flows slow down. In the current decade, however, despite times of high unemployment rates experienced in Oregon, there still are positive inflows of migration (see Figure 3 on page 27). People whose primary motivations are not so economically oriented continue to move to Oregon; among them are college-educated outdoor minded young adults, retirees, and immigrants. Thirty-six percent of Oregon’s population growth from 2000 to 2008 was due to natural increase (births minus deaths). By comparison, natural increase contributed 27 percent of Oregon’s added population from 1990 to 2000.
During the past year, natural increase accounted for about 39 percent of the State’s population increase and reached the highest percentage in the past five years. The number
of births that occurred in the last year was 49,171; during the 1990s the number fluctuated between 41,000 and 45,000. Although slightly higher during the past year, the
number of deaths during the decade has remained fairly stable with a range of around 30,000 to just over 31,000 occurring each year.
In 2008, 78 percent of Oregon’s population resided in one of Oregon’s six metropolitan statistical areas (MSA) – a gain of one percentage point since 2000. Despite the small
change in the metropolitan share of Oregon’s population, all six of the MSAs experienced continual yearly increases during 2000 to 2008. Most of Oregon’s newcomers are either moving into, or close to, urbanized areas with large population centers (50,000 or more
persons). The amount of increase in each MSA during the eight year period varies between almost 8,000 (Corvallis MSA) and over one-quarter million persons (Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton MSA). Oregon’s newest metropolitan area, Bend, is growing at the
fastest rate and has seen the largest increase in the number of persons after Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton MSA. Since 2000, it has grown by 45 percent. All of the other MSAs increased by between seven and fourteen percent during the same time
period. Population change varies across Oregon’s 36 counties. Seven counties experienced 2000-2008 population growth at rates higher than Oregon (11 percent). Three of these counties are non-metropolitan and they are: Crook (40 percent), Jefferson (18 percent), and Morrow (14 percent) Counties. Although Multnomah County captures the largest county share of the State’s population (19.0 percent in 2008), Washington County added the highest number of persons during 2000-2008. Since 2000, 74,583
persons have been added to Washington County’s population. During the same period, Multnomah County increased by 57,395 persons and Deschutes County, which ranks third in the number of persons added, increased its population by 51,650. Two other
counties in Oregon experienced an increase of at least 30,000. Clackamas County increased by 33,271 persons, and Marion County added 30,032. Jackson and Lane Counties follow not too far behind with each adding 24,035 and 22,919 persons, respectively. Fifteen other Oregon counties added between 1,000-10,000 persons during the 8-year period. Five of Oregon’s counties, Grant, Baker, Wallowa, Sherman, and Gilliam, experienced a loss of population from 2000 to 2008. Each of these counties had fewer births than deaths occurring during the time period, but only three of them had fewer persons moving in than moving out (Grant, Sherman, and Wallowa). The rate
of population declines experienced by the five counties varies between -5 percent (in Grant and Sherman Counties) and -2 percent (in Baker, Wallowa, and Gilliam Counties); and the number of losses ranges from 31 (Gilliam County) to 407 persons (Grant
County).
The population of all of Oregon’s incorporated cities and towns is estimated to have reached 2,646,745 on July 1, 2008, accounting for 70 percent of Oregon’s total population. Experiencing a collective increase of 3 percentage points since 2000, there is a continuous slight upward trend for Oregon’s population to reside in incorporated cities and towns rather than in unincorporated or rural areas.

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