Oregon’s population was roughly flat last year, according to new census data issued last week, adding just 8,300 residents. That’s one of the slowest growth rates in the nation, 0.2%, and far below Oregon’s robust growth rate a decade ago.
Deaths have outnumbered births in Oregon since 2020 so the state’s population would be shrinking if not for one group of people still moving in — people from other countries.
The U.S. Census Bureau estimates Oregon’s net international migration at 9,600 last year. That compares to just 2,200 people who moved here from other parts of the U.S.
Oregon has added a net 56,736 residents from other countries over the past five years. Within the U.S., slightly more people moved out of Oregon than moved in this decade.
That’s a big contrast from the 2010s.
Interstate migration fueled the state’s boom in the years after the Great Recession, peaking at 51,000 net migrants from other parts of the U.S. in 2015. Domestic migration slowed sharply in the years after the pandemic amid a slowdown in the state’s economy —especially in the Portland area, where population and job growth has lagged the rest of the country.
About 113,000 people left Oregon for other states last year. Washington was, by far, the top destination, drawing 32,000 Oregonians (partially offset by 20,000 Washington residents who moved to Oregon).
International migration was down all over the U.S. in 2025, including Oregon, owing primarily to restrictions implemented by the Trump administration. But the drop wasn’t nearly as sharp here as in many other states.
The latest census data doesn’t tell us where people are coming from but older data does. Among those who moved to Oregon from other countries since 2010, about half came from Latin America. A third come from Asia, while Africa and Europe each provide about 8% of the state’s immigrants.
Oregon’s economy relies on a stable or growing population to fill jobs, pay taxes and help care for the state’s aging population. If strict immigration restrictions remain in place, Oregon’s population may shrink in the years ahead — unless the state resumes drawing residents from other parts of the U.S.
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