The High Cost of Crime: Oregon County Loses $1 Billion as Residents Flee Lawless Portland

The latest figures, based on income tax returns filed in 2020 and 2021, show that Multnomah County lost a net 14,257 tax filers and their dependents. The county’s resulting net income loss topped $1 billion for the first time in the decade that the IRS has tracked moving data.

The pandemic appeared to prod relatively higher earners — more likely to hold jobs that can be done remotely — to relocate than in pre-pandemic years. The average income of Multnomah County residents who moved away in 2020, the most recent figure available, was 14% higher than of those who moved the year prior, according to The Oregonian/OregonLive’s analysis.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Census found almost three percent of Portland’s population decided to leave between 2020 and 2022, the Wall Street Journal reported in June.

“The drop of about 17,400 to 635,000 was the sixth largest decline among the 50 largest cities,” the article said, noting that local leaders are now desperate to keep people from moving out.

In addition, “Mayor Ted Wheeler, a Democrat, has come under increasing pressure to address rising violent crime and sprawling homeless encampments,” the Journal article stated.

Portland families were reportedly packing up and moving elsewhere because of rampant homelessness and crime plaguing the area, according to a report from August 2022, reported by Breitbart News.

“Portland experienced a massive spike in its homicide rate from 2019 to 2021, recording a 207 percent increase. During that same timeframe, frequent ANTIFA riots were also occurring in the downtown area,” the article said.

In May, KPTV said Portland was “one of the fastest-shrinking U.S. cities.” A reporter for the outlet noted people said data backs up the fact that “Portland just is not what it used to be now.”

One resident lamented, “It’s like Portland died. The tourists haven’t come back like they used to be, especially the Japanese, because they love this city.”