Oregon Immigration

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Oregon’s population increased by 20 percent

580,000 people, between 1990 and 2000, bringing its population to over 3.4 million people. Between 1990 and 2000, Deschutes County was the fastest growing county in the state, increasing by 54 percent. Morrow County followed increasing by 44 percent during the 1990s. Washington County was the third fastest growing county in the state, increasing 43 percent. In some towns, like Wilsonville, the population doubled during the 1990s.3

According to Barry Edmonston of Portland University’s Population Research Center, Oregon’s population continues to grow despite a faltering economy in part because of the impact of immigration.4 As the population increases, Oregon’s overburdened budget can no longer provide services to all residents. In 2003, the state cut dental care, mental health, and drug treatment programs for low-income residents, and about 1,800 elderly people lost state funding for home health care.5

Foreign Born Population Oregon’s immigrant population more than doubled during the 1990s, increasing 108 percent during the 1990s. Between 1990 and 2000, Oregon gained 150,000 immigrants, bringing the total number of foreign-born residents in the state to 290,000.

Demonstrating the impact of recent policies of mass immigration, 50 percent of Oregon’s immigrant population has arrived in the state since 1990. For example, in Mattawa, where immigrants have been drawn to local jobs in agriculture, the population nearly tripled between 1990 and 2000.6

The increase in the foreign-born population during the 1990s accounted for 15 percent of the state’s overall population increase during the decade.

About 615,000 people in Oregon are immigrants or the children of immigrants, 18 percent of the state’s population.7

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