NATURAL NEWS

Oregon county lost $1 billion in 2020 as residents fled crime, homelessness: ‘It’s like Portland died’ Multnomah County, where Portland, Oregon, is located, reportedly lost more than $1 billion in income between 2020 and 2021 as a result of residents fleeing the state amid surging crime, homelessness and safety concerns. Data analysis conducted by Oregon Live showed that 14,257 tax filers and their dependents left Multnomah County during the first year of the pandemic in 2020 and took a record $1 billion of income with them. The data showed that higher earners were more likely to leave since their jobs could be done remotely during coronavirus shutdowns, and the average income of people leaving was 14% higher than people who left the year before.

Portland is one of the fastest-shrinking US cities Census data shows Portland lost the sixth-most people in the U.S. in the last year After 15 straight years of growth, Portland’s population began declining in 2020. Amanda Ghest has lived in Portland for about 15 years. She says she enjoys it and is troubled to hear many are packing up and leaving. “I know it’s been really tough for a lot of people through the pandemic,” Ghest said. “It’s been hard to see Portland at the forefront of some of those tensions.” The data shows Portland lost 8,308 people from July 1, 2021 to July 1, 2022…

The Portland Business Alliance said these trends are concerning in its 2023 State of the Economy report. It says there are high and rising vacancy rates in downtown offices and increased crime. Addressing the city’s population it says, “People and businesses vote with their feet, and they are not voting for Portland, the city or the region, in the way they have in the recent past.”