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Oregon

 

Summary Demographic State Data (and Source)
Population (2009 CB est.): 3,825,657
Population (2000 Census): 3,421,399
Foreign-Born Population (2009 CB est. ) 367,202
Foreign-Born Population (2000 Census): 289,702
Share Foreign-Born (2009): 8.5%
Share Foreign-Born (2000): 9.6%
Naturalized U.S. Citizens (2009 CB est.): 134,780
Share Naturalized (2009): 36.7%
Legal Immigrant Admission (DHS 2000- 2009): 90,437
Refugee Admission (HHS 2000-2009): 11,883
Illegal Alien Population (2010 FAIR): 170,000
Costs of Illegal Aliens (2010 FAIR): $704,900,000
Projected 2050 Population - (2006 FAIR): 6,015,000

 

Extended Data

STATE POPULATION

Using the American Community Survey (ACS), the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that in July 2009 Oregon’s population had increased to 3,825,657 residents, i.e., an increase of 404,268 residents since 2000. That is a rate of increase of about 1.2 percent per year. The comparable national annual rate of increase was 1.0 percent.

Oregon Population 1900-2009

 

The 2000 Census found 3,421,399 persons resident in Oregon. This was an increase of 579,078 persons above the 1990 Census. The annual average increase of 1.9 percent was higher than the national annual average of 1.2 percent population increase.

The 2000 population was about 25,000 more persons than the Census Bureau had expected to find in the state in 2000 when it issued its state population projections in 1996. The significance of this is that the Census Bureau concluded that much of the shortfall in their population estimates during the 1990s was due to an underestimation of the illegal alien population.

Between the 1980 and 1990 Censuses, the population of Oregon grew by 7.9 percent (from about 2,633,100 to about 2,842,320 residents). That was an annual rate of increase of 0.8 percent. The national rate of change was 1.0 percent.

FOREIGN-BORN POPULATION

Based on the American Community Survey (ACS), the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that the foreign-born population of Oregon was 358,414 persons in 2006. The ACS is a large-scale, continuous sampling process designed to replace the need for a long-form in the 2010 Census. However, because the ACS does not have the same follow-up procedures as the Census to include non-respondents, it may underestimate the foreign-born population.

 

NET INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION (NIM)

Based on the ACS) the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that the foreign-born population of Oregon was 367,202 persons in 2009. This meant a foreign-born population share of 9.6 percent.

 

Oregon Sources of Population Change 2000-08

 

FOREIGN-BORN CHANGE

The amount of change since the 2000 Census indicated in the ACS was an average annual rate of increase in the foreign-born population of about 8,335 people, which is nearly one-fifth (19.2%) of the state’s annual average population increase. Since 2000, the foreign-born population has increased by 26.8 percent compared to a 10.4 percent increase in the native-born population.

Immigration also contributes to population growth through the children born to immigrants in this country. Nationally the share of births to the foreign-born is about double their share of the population. A 19.4 percent share of the state’s current births is large enough to account for about 8,960 births a year. Combining the increase in the foreign-born population and estimated immigrant births suggests that immigration may account for nearly 17,290 persons added to the state’s population annually, i.e., nearly two-fifths (39.8%) of the state’s overall population increase.

The 2000 Census found that 50 percent of Oregon's foreign-born population had arrived in the state since 1990. This demonstrates the effects of the current mass immigration, and it is a much higher share than the national average (43.7%). The 2009 ACS estimate was that 35.5 percent of the foreign-born population had entered since 2000. This also is higher than the national share of new arrivals of 31.6 percent.

FOREIGN-BORN CHARACTERISTICS

An indicator of the change in Oregon's immigrant population may be seen in data on the share of the population over five years of age that speaks a language other than English at home. Between 1990 and 2000, the share of non-English speakers increased from 12.1 percent to 14.3 percent. More than one-third (37.3%) of those persons in 2000 also said they spoke English less than very well. In the 2009 ACS, the share had increased to 14.6 percent and of those 43.2 percent spoke English less than very well. Spanish speakers were 59.6 percent of those who spoke other than English at home, and 66 percent of those who spoke English less than very well.

Speakers of Foreign Languages
(at home in Oregon in the 2000 Census)
Spanish 214,605
German 18,400
Vietnamese 17,805
Russian 16,345
Chinese 12,950
French 11,770
Japanese 9,375
Korean 9,185
Tagalog 6,180
Romanian 4,735
(Source: Census Bureau report: Language Spoken at Home for the Population 5 Years and Over, April 2004)

The chart above shows the foreign-born population increasing by 26.8 percent since 2000 and the share of that population from Latin America and the Caribbean increasing by 36.4 percent. That region’s share of the state’s immigrant population grew from 44.6 percent to 48 percent in 2009.

NATURALIZATION

Data from the 2009 ACS indicate that 134,780 residents, or 36.7 percent, of the foreign-born population in Oregon were U.S. citizens, compared to 97,381 residents, or 33.6 percent, in 2000.

Nationally, 40.3 percent of the foreign-born were U.S. citizens in 2000, and 43.7 percent in 2009.

LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY STUDENTS

In Oregon overall enrollment in 2008 (565,586) was 4.2 percent above enrollment in 1999. LEP enrollment was 58 percent higher than a decade earlier.

FOREIGN STUDENTS

The 2009/2010 annual report of the Institute of International Education (IIE) lists the number of foreign students attending post-secondary school in Oregon as 7,506. Five schools in the state are listed as having a majority of these students:

  • U. of Oregon – 1,977
  • Portland State U. – 1,732
  • Oregon State U. – 1,365
  • Willamette U. – 270
  • Lewis and Clark Col. – 211

Those schools represented nearly four-fifths (74%) of the total foreign students in the state.

 

For information on foreign student issues see: Foreign Students in the United States.

ILLEGAL ALIENS

FAIR Estimate - FAIR estimated the state’s illegal alien population as of 2010 was as many as 170,000 persons. This is part of an overall estimate of the U.S. illegal alien population of about 12 million persons.

INS/DHS Estimate - The INS (now dissolved into the Dept. of Homeland Security) estimated that the resident illegal population in Oregon was 90,000 as of 2000. This was 67,000 higher than the INS' 1996 estimate.

Other Estimates - The Pew Hispanic Center estimated the illegal alien population of the state at 170,000 as of 2010.

COSTS OF ILLEGAL ALIENS

FAIR’s 2010 fiscal cost study, “The Fiscal Burden of Illegal Immigration on United States Taxpayers” estimated the following cost outlays and tax receipts:

Oregon Fiscal Costs In 2009
     Due to Illegal Aliens ($M)       (Pct.)
K-12 educ. $354.2   50.2%
LEP educ. $71.2 10.1%
Medicaid $60.7 8.6%
SCHIP $19.0 2.7%
Justice $110.8 15.7%
Welfare+ $31.9 4.5%
General $57.1 8.1%
Total $704.9  
Tax Receipts $17.7  
Net Cost $687.2  

Source: “The Fiscal Burden of Illegal Immigration on United States Taxpayers,” FAIR 2010.

POPULATION PROJECTION

We projected Oregon’s population in 2050 likely would be between 5.83 million and 6 million depending on what happens with immigration policy. See “Projecting the U.S. Population to 2050: Four Immigration Scenarios,” FAIR 2006.

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Immigrant Admissions

 

Oregon Immigrant Admissions
by Fiscal Year
2000 8,543
2001 9,638
2002 12,125
2003 6,968
2004 8,389
2005 9,623
2006 9,192
2007 7,905
2008 9,028
2009 9,026
Total 90,437

Recent immigrant admissions are at 509 percent of admissions just after adoption of the current immigration system in 1965. During the 1965-'69 period, annual admissions averaged about 1,760 immigrants. During the most recent five years, admissions averaged 8,955 persons.

The charts below show recent immigrant admissions and the cumulative immigrant admissions data since 1965. The number of annual admissions has ranged from 1,506 in FY'70 to 24,575 in FY’91. The cumulative total of admissions to Oregon between fiscal years 1965 and 2009 was about 244,530 immigrants.

 

 

INS DATA BY NATIONALITY: FY'93 - FY'02

The INS data below are furnished for nationals of the countries with the largest number of immigrants admitted or adjusted to legal residence each year since 1993. The absence of data means that the total number of admissions to the United States by nationals of that country was not enough to merit detailed reporting in that year.

The nationalities may change each year, so the totals in some cases will not reflect all the immigrants of that nationality who have become legal immigrants in Wyoming during this period.

The Department of Homeland Security website has detailed data on immigrant admissions since FY’03 by year and by country. (See http://www.dhs.gov/ximgtn/statistics/data/dslpr.shtm).

Immigrant Admissions by Fiscal Year
Country FY'93 FY'94 FY'95 FY'96 FY'97 FY'98 FY'99 FY'00 FY'01 FY'02 Total
Bangladesh - - - 9 14 9 9 15 - 9 65
Canada 212 241 143 213 205 168 85 236 260 380 2,143
China * 810 524 463 498 565 484 502 740 615 947 6,148
Colombia 19 9 14 7 27 14 25 29 44 41 229
Cuba 5 3 1 27 133 81 43 112 123 251 779
Dom. Rep. 8 3 2 10 4 1 0 3 3 7 41
Ecuador 3 - 7 8 27 7 6 11 13 26 108
El Salvador 28 44 20 48 57 46 36 46 75 74 474
Germany 114 86 72 - 77 54 66 80 110 114 773
Guatemala 54 38 32 59 88 106 67 105 136 109 794
Guyana 4 0 1 4 3 0 5 0 - 5 22
Haiti 0 12 15 51 20 9 5 5 25 14 156
Honduras 11 - - - 31 27 7 21 - 14 111
India 161 161 188 207 169 239 125 345 611 523 2,729
Iran 97 73 93 97 88 72 61 107 113 106 907
Ireland 34 46 - - 8 10 2 18 - 33 151
Jamaica 8 8 8 28 10 8 7 11 5 12 105
Japan - 114 - - 107 100 88 142 178 202 931
Korea 199 230 166 233 188 202 155 193 216 216 1,998
Mexico 901 1,472 1,166 1,942 2,145 1,879 1,631 2,699 1,985 3,111 18,931
Nicaragua - - - - 5 3 9 24 36 15 92
Nigeria - - 16 20 15 22 13 14 - 33 133
Pakistan 20 34 15 26 19 20 47 27 55 26 289
Peru 35 38 29 30 22 31 24 29 55 73 366
Philippines 341 313 224 338 292 165 250 286 297 361 2,867
Poland 33 35 16 24 20 15 17 18 29 21 228
Sov. Un. * 1,527 1,262 313 785 949 558 465 1,105 1,268 2,369 10,601
Trin.& Tob. - 3 - - 1 5 5 6 - 9 29
U. Kingdom 128 176 136 135 121 1002 94 146 184 223 1,443
Vietnam 1,070 733 695 888 781 365131 334 511 704 651 6,732
Yugo. * - - 53 70 147 64 66 163 255 343 1,161
Other 1,428 1,126 1,035 1,797 1,361 1,045 984 1,296 2,243 1,807 14,122
Total 7,250 6,784 4,923 7,554 7,699 5,909 5,233 8,543 9,638 12,125 75,658

A dash (-) indicates that the data for that year were not published for that country in the INS Statistical Yearbook.
* China data include Hong Kong and Taiwan. Former USSR data continued since break-up (except FY'96-'97 and ‘01 include only Russia and Ukraine). Former Yugoslavia data continued since break-up.

The 31 nationalities above represent more than four-fifths (81.3%) of all immigrant settlement and adjustment in Oregon during this ten-year period. Immigrants from Mexico accounted for one-quarter of Oregon's new immigrants since 1990. When immigrants from the former Soviet Union, Vietnam and China are added to those from Mexico, they account for more than half (56%) of the immigrant admissions during this period. 

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Oregon : Poll Data

 

Rasmussen Poll: Arizona Law SB 1070
July 2010

Suppose the new Arizona immigration law was being considered for your state. Would you favor or oppose passage of that law in your state?

The U.S. Justice Department has decided to challenge the legality of Arizona’s new immigration law in federal court. Do you agree or disagree with the decision to challenge the legality of Arizona’s new immigration law?

 

 

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Oregon : Immigration Impact

 

Population Profile

Oregon's battle against sprawl is well known, particularly in the Portland area. But with a 28 percent increase in Portland's population during the 1990s, growth has led to traffic congestion, longer commutes, and inflated home prices (which increased 44 percent in the 1990s).1

Environmental and Quality of Life Profile

Water: Between 2000 and 2006, Oregon's population rose by 8.2 percent, including a nearly one-fourth (24.2%) net increase in the immigrant population.2 By 2050, Oregon's population is projected to top 6 million, a 62.5 percent increase from its population in 2006.3 Oregon has a per-capita, water demand of 165 gallons each day.4 This means that by 2050 the public may demand up to 381.8 million gallons more per day than in 2006. Shrinking resources due to global warming, exacerbated by this increase in population may pose dire circumstances in the years ahead.

Particularly in areas such as the Rogue Basin, climate change threatens the current state of the water resources. Current projections suggest that temperatures may climb 15 degrees by 2080. In turn, this temperature elevation would mean diminishing mountain snowpacks and less water to sustain river and stream flows. Making matters worse, runoff will occur more rapidly and earlier in the year as snows melt, causing increased threat of floods. Followed later in the year by increased periods of drought and declining surface water levels.5

Water shortages may come to some areas of Oregon sooner than others. New analysis reveals that most towns in Yamhill County, a rapidly growing area, could face shortages by 2010. All water rights in the basin of Yamhill county's rivers and tributaries are fully appropriated during low flow periods, and groundwater has been steadily declining. Clearly, the water resources cannot keep pace with the area's growth. Already, several towns have faced mandatory water restrictions during dry spells.6

Traffic: Highway traffic in Oregon increased by 23 percent between 1990 and 2008. Nearly three in seven (42%) of the state's major urban highways are considered congested.7 As population growth put more traffic on the roads, the average commute for Oregon residents increased since the 1990s, from 20 minutes in 1990 to 21.9 minutes in 2005.8

The typical Portland commuter sat through about 37 hours of delays due to congestion in 2007, burning 26 extra gallons of gas and causing a total time and fuel loss of $712 million. Eugene commuters lost 11 hours and a total of $30 million in time and fuel. Drivers in the state's urban areas spent more than twice as much time in traffic delays in 2001 as they did in 1991.9 About 12 percent of Oregon commuters had a commute of 45 minutes or longer in 2008.10

Nearly one in five (19%) of the state's major roads are in poor or mediocre condition, and 23 percent of its bridges are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete. Overdue road repairs cost the typical Oregon driver $173 per year in additional repairs and operating costs. 11

Disappearing open space: The amount of developed land in Oregon increased by 421,700 acres from 1982 to 2007, growing at a pace of 14,860 acres per year over the last ten years of that period.12 In December 2002, the Portland area's regional government voted to allow development on 18,600 acres of rural land in and around its suburbs.13

Portland, once a model for limiting urban growth, has been forced by a growing population to repeatedly expand its urban boundary, most recently urbanizing 200 acres in nearby Hillsboro, 370 acres in West Lynn, 520 acres bordering Forest Park, and 720 acres in Bethany (which is about half of its farmland).14 About eight acres in Portland were paved for development each day during the 1990s.15 Portland's population increase has forced more and more development of the area within the growth boundary, crowding current residents and eating up any pastoral areas.16

Crowded housing: An estimated 37,811 of Oregon's housing units were classified as crowded in 2008, defined as units with more than one occupant per room. This amounted to 2.6 percent of the state's housing units. In addition, 9,300 were severely crowded, with at least 1.5 occupants per room.17 Nationwide, children in immigrant families were three times as likely to live in crowded conditions as children in native families (27 percent to 9 percent). In the state, 29 percent of children in immigrant families live in crowded housing, compared to just 10 percent of children with native-born parents.18

In areas with migrant farm workers, overcrowding housing is common, such as Woodburn, where eleven percent of the population live in crowded housing, and Gervais, where it's 16 percent. In Prescot, on the Columbia River west of Portland, 15 percent of residents live with one or more people to a room.19 They are followed by residents of Boardman in northeastern Oregon, where eleven percent of people double up.20

Sprawl: Oregon mayors have been fighting a state requirement that communities periodically plan for population growth in the next 20 years by designating new land for development, which they say facilitates population-driven sprawl.21 Due to that requirement, Portland's regional government agreed in December 2002 to the largest expansion of allowable development in its history—18,600 acres—simply to accommodate population growth anticipated over the next 20 years.22 Residents of Portland suburb Damascus fought unsuccessfully the proposal, which will urbanize over 10,000 acres in their area.23 In other communities, like Wilsonville, sprawl and its associated effects have become residents' principal complaints.24

A study of urban sprawl between 1970 and 1990 that calculated the impact of population increase and per capita land use found that 121.2 square miles of additional land were consumed by urban sprawl in the Portland land area, which crosses over into Vancouver, Washington, and 93.8 percent of that sprawl was attributable to population increase.25

Air pollution: As population increases, pollution usually rises along with it. Heavily populated Portland got a "D" in air quality on a Sierra Club evaluation of urban livability.26 The EPA says that, due to pollution from population-related sources like car exhaust, every resident of Oregon is exposed to elevated levels of air toxic pollutants.27 The counties surrounding Portland are now in the top five percent of U.S. counties with residents most likely to develop cancer linked to air toxins.28

Poverty: Oregon's immigrants are more likely to be poor than their native-born counterparts. In 2007, 17.3 percent of foreign-born households were below the poverty line, compared to 12.4 percent of native households. An additional 16.1 percent of the foreign-born and 8.7 percent of native households were not in poverty but had incomes less than 1.5 times the poverty level.29 30.4 percent of children in immigrant families were poor in 2006, compared to 14.7 percent of native children. 30

Education: Between 2000 and 2005 Oregon's K-12 student enrollment increased by over 7,000 students, and is projected to increase by an additional 23,000 students by the year 2015.31 Oregon's student-teacher ratio of 19.5 ranks 48th in the United States.32

In some school districts, like Portland's David Douglas district, two out of three new students are immigrants.33 In the Portland suburbs, some schools have been operating at as much as 114 percent of their capacity.34 Population growth forced Oregon City into a $67 million bond issue to fund the construction of a new high school and four new elementary schools.35 In Hillsboro where the district grew by 14 percent (2,200 students) in just five years, parents complain of children taught in stuffed schools, where classes are held on noisy stages, in makeshift library classrooms, and in cramped portables; physical education and music classes have dwindled to 20-minute periods, and where children begin eating lunch as early as 10:30 a.m. to fit in all the necessary lunch periods.36

Solid Waste: Oregon generates 1.16 tons of solid waste per capita each year.37 If this number does not decrease, population growth between 2006 and 2050 is projected to increase the state's solid waste generation by nearly 3 million tons per year.

Illegal Residents: In a month-long investigation of Portland's service industry in 2001, immigration agents reviewed paperwork for 3,306 employees and discovered that 25 percent were illegal aliens.38 Raids by federal government officials found hundreds of illegal aliens working in Oregon's service and tourist industries39 and involved in ID fraud,40 as well as immigrants charged with working to support terrorism here and abroad.41

Endnotes:

  1. Tara Burghart, "Urban Planning, Oregon-Style, Gets Strong Support, Criticism," Associated Press, May 31, 2001.
  2. U.S. Census Bureau 2006.
  3. Jack Martin and Stanley Fogel, "Projecting the U.S. Population to 2050," FAIR, March 2006
  4. U.S. Geological Survey 2000.
  5. Paul Fattig, "The bad news? Climate change will bring floods, fires, droughts," Mail Tribune, June 29, 2008.
  6. U.S. Water News Online, "Towns in Oregon wine country area may face water shortages," April 2008
  7. The Road Information Project (TRIP), “Key Facts about Oregon's Surface Transportation System and Federal Funding,” May 2010.
  8. "Table DP-1-4, Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 1990 and 2000," Census 2000, U.S. Census Bureau. Selected Economic Characteris9tics: 2005 Data Set - 2005 American Community Survey, American Fact Finder, U.S. Census Bureau.
  9. Jeff Mapes, "Oregon Makes Gains but Problems Persist, Report Says," The Oregonian, March 16, 2003.
  10. American Community Survey, 2008 Estimates, Custom Data Table.
  11. The Road Information Project (TRIP), “Key Facts about Oregon's Surface Transportation System and Federal Funding,” May 2010.
  12. USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, “Summary Report: 2007 National Resources Inventory.”
  13. Laura Oppenheimer, "Damascus Waits to See How Growth will Proceed," The Oregonian, March 31, 2003.
  14. Laura Oppenheimer, "Growth Boundary Move Draws Critics in Portland, Ore.," The Oregonian, February 19, 2003.
  15. Elizabeth Murtaugh, "Northwest Gets Mixed Reviews in Report on Regional Well-being," Associated Press, March 18, 2002.
  16. Laura Oppenheimer, "Housing Density Debate Hinges on Quality of Life Issues," The Oregonian, April 14, 2002. Steve Amick, "Growth in Canby Pushes the Last Horse Out of Town," The Oregonian, January 3, 2002.
  17. American Community Survey, Three-Year Estimates 2006-2008. Data retrieved using ACS Custom Table tool.
  18. Kids Count Data Center, Kids Count Data Center, 2008 American Community Survey Data.
  19. "Details of Oregon Life Seen in Census 2000 Data," Associated Press, May 14, 2002.
  20. Ibid
  21. Dana Tims, "West Linn Mayor Wants to Lead Statewide Reform of Growth Law," The Oregonian, December 12, 2002.
  22. Laura Oppenheimer, "Damascus Waits to See How Growth will Proceed," The Oregonian, March 31, 2003.
  23. Laura Oppenheimer, "Metro Hears Damascus Area Residents' Resistance," The Oregonian, October 11, 2002.
  24. Dana Tims, "Urban Growth Spurs Talk, No Consensus," The Oregonian, January 11, 2002.
  25. Beck, Roy and Leon Kolankiewicz, "Weighing Sprawl Factors in Large U.S. Cities," NumbersUSA, March 2001.
  26. William McCall, "Sierra Club Gives Portland 'D' for Air, Public Transit Efforts," Associated Press, November 16, 2001.
  27. Andy Dworkin, "National Study Finds 'Air Toxics' in Northwest," The Oregonian, June 4, 2002.
  28. Ibid.
  29. Migration Information Source State Data (Migration Policy Institute)
  30. Urban Institute, Children of Immigrants Data Tool.
  31. "Overview of Public Elementary and Secondary Schools and Districts: School Year 1999-2000," National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education. "Public Elementary and Secondary School Student Enrollment, High School Completions, and Staff From the Common Core of Data: School Year 2005-06', National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, June 2007. “Projections of Education Statistics to 2015,” National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education.
  32. "Public Elementary and Secondary School Student Enrollment, High School Completions, and Staff From the Common Core of Data: School Year 2005-06', National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, June 2007.
  33. Tracy Jan, "As Enrollment at Oregon Schools Declines, Local Districts Buck Trend," The Oregonian, October 31, 2002.
  34. "This Week's Question: How Crowded Is Too Crowded in a Classroom?," The Oregonian, October 27, 2001.
  35. Noelle Crombie, "New High School, Classrooms Come Off Drawing Board," The Oregonian, April 10, 2001
  36. Paige Parker, "Half of the Elementary Schools in the Sprawling Hillsboro School District Post Poor Performances," The Oregonian, April 17, 2001.
  37. Report Card for America's Infrastructure 2005," American Society of Civil Engineers
  38. Gillian Flaccus, "INS Audit Removes About 800 From Local Workforce," Associated Press, September 10, 2001.
  39. Ibid. Mike Cronin, "Mexican Workers Face INS, Uncertainty," Bend Bulletin, September 13, 2001.
  40. "Portland Man Arrested in Green Card Scam," Associated Press, February 28, 2003 "State Says Fire Crews Hired Improperly," Associated Press, March 17, 2002. "INS Breaks Up Fake Document Business," Associated Press, December 6, 2002
  41. Andrew Kramer, "FBI Arrests Four - Three in Portland - on Charges of Aiding al Qaeda," Associated Press, October 4, 2002.

 

Other Resources  

State Local Reform Organizations

State Representatives Voting Record

 

Updated December 2011


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