Portland, changed in the blink of an eye, What Happened?

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Portland, changed in the blink of an eye, What Happened? 


    Portland, Oregon is in a deep declining state, and it continues to get worse and worse. What once was a magnificent city that was a haven to many from other states, Portland was offered as a metaphorical gold rush to people of California looking for a way out of the busy LA lifestyle in search for a less crowded city. Though as time progresses, Portland seems to be transforming drastically as it becomes harder and harder to find a place to afford that is also safe to those renting there. Portland no longer seems to be that haven that people come from out of state to visit or move to anymore. Downtown used to be a grand expanse of shops and restaurants that sparkled in a magnificent charm of character that was known for its trendy nature. Portland no longer shines with that charm anymore, the restaurants and stores that brought people from all around now have boarded up windows, and the population is declining at a relatively fast rate since 2019(World Population Review).  


    It seems to have all happened so shortly, and still is happening as you read this blog. It makes you wonder how. What has happened to Portland to allow it to change so rapidly, my hypothesis is that it has become too hard to live here. When looking at the minimum  wage of Portland in 2011, the minimum wage was $8.40, when you compare that to 2024 it is around $15.90, or a 89% increase. Looking at the price of renting a one bedroom apartment in Portland, estimates on an average of $874 a month for rent in 2011, and in 2024 is $1769, which is roughly a 102% increase. On its own there is only a 13% difference between the minimum wage increase and the price of housing, but this is only the cost of renting and does not account for the other increases in costs that outgrow what people are making, like for the cost of a fresh loaf of white bread, the cost has increased 158%. Each of these things on their own does not exactly break the bank, but when you combine all the necessities that one might need, they all add up drastically for the consumer. This is the problem, the price of things is growing at a rate larger than the rate that we earn. (Oregon Fair Rent) (FRED)


    This problem of the rate of wages vs the cost of goods is what I believe to be a major aspect of the decline of Portland, this leads very rapidly into homelessness, as for the many people living paycheck to paycheck, all it could take is one costly emergency to happen to make someone not able to pay for rent, which leads them to homelessness. Additionally with all these extra costs to things, it damages a lot of Portland business as people do not have the extra funds to pay for fun activities. These two factors work very badly together, causing many people to go homeless, which means less people enjoy the fun activities that Portland has/had to offer, which causes those businesses to shut down from the lack of people going, which in turn makes less people want to move here.


    This is what I strongly believe to be one of the main reasons that have caused a decline in Portland, though I do want to make it clear, Portland is not all bad, its not terrible, I simply describe a trend of where I think its heading. Portland still has charm and its still can be fun to do activities. I post this because of the care and the fear of what it might become if things do not change.




Sources:

Oregon Fair Market Rent for 2010 Accurate Rental Price Data. 2010 Fair Market Rent in Oregon | RentData.org. (n.d.). https://www.rentdata.org/states/oregon/2010

State minimum wage rate for Oregon. FRED. (2025, January 1). https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/STTMINWGOR


    World Population review. Portland, Oregon population 2024. (n.d.). https://worldpopulationreview.com/us-cities/oregon/portland
Location: Portland, OR, USA

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