Multnomah County is one of the 36 counties in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 815,428. Multnomah County is part of the

Portland metropolitan area The Portland metropolitan area is a metropolitan area, metro area with its urban area, core in the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington (state), Washington. It has 5 principal cities, the largest being Portland, Oregon. The U.S. Office of Man ...

. The state's smallest and most populous county, its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

, Portland, is the state's most populous city. Multnomah County

History

The area of the lower

Willamette River The Willamette River ( ) is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The Willamette's main stem is long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States. Flowing northward ...

has been inhabited for thousands of years, including by the Multnomah band of

Chinookan peoples Chinookan peoples include several groups of Indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest in the United States who speak the Chinookan languages. Since at least 11,500 BCE, Chinookan peoples and their ancestors have resided along the upper and ...

long before European contact, as evidenced by the nearby Cathlapotle village, just downstream. Multnomah County (the 13th in

Oregon Territory The Territory of Oregon was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 14, 1848, until February 14, 1859, when the southwestern portion of the territory was admitted to the United States, Union as the Oreg ...

) was created on December 22, 1854, formed out of two other Oregon counties – the eastern part of Washington County and the northern part of

Clackamas County Clackamas County ( ) is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 421,401, making it Oregon's third-most populous county. Its county seat is Oregon City. The county was named after the na ...

. Its creation was a result of a petition earlier that year by businessmen in Portland complaining of the inconvenient location of the Washington County seat in Hillsboro and of the share of Portland

tax revenue Tax revenue is the income that is collected by governments through taxation. Taxation is the primary source of government revenue. Revenue may be extracted from sources such as individuals, public enterprises, trade, royalties on natural reso ...

s leaving the city to support Washington County farmers. County commissioners met for the first time on January 17, 1855. The county is named after the

Chinookan The Chinookan languages are a small family of extinct languages spoken in Oregon and Washington along the Columbia River by Chinook peoples. Although the last known native speaker of any Chinookan language died in 2012, the 2009-2013 American C ...

word for the "lower river", ''multnomah'', ''matlnomaq'', or ''máɬnumax̣'' being interpretive English spellings of the same word. In Chinook jargon, ''Ne-matlnomaq'', means the "place of matlnomaq" or the (singular) ''Ne-matlnomag'', "the lower river", from the Oregon City Falls toward the Columbia River. Alternatively, Chinookan ''máɬnumax̣'' (also'' nímaɬnumax̣'') "those toward water" (or "toward the Columbia River", known in Chinookan as ''ímaɬ'' or ''wímaɬ'', "the great water"). Explorer

William Clark William Clark (August 1, 1770 – September 1, 1838) was an American explorer, soldier, Indian agent, and territorial governor. A native of Virginia, he grew up in pre-statehood Kentucky before later settling in what became the state of Misso ...

wrote in his journal: "I entered this river...called Multnomah...from a nation who reside on Wappato Island, a little below the enterence" (quoted from ''Willamette Landings'' by H.M. Corning).(see:Portland Basin Chinookan Villages in the early 1800s, Boyd and Zenk,) Although Clark refers to the Willamette River as Multnomah, he may not have understood the meaning. Simply put, ''Multnomah'' ("down river" or "toward the great water") is the shortened form of ''nematlnomaq/nímaɬnumax̣''. In 1924, the county's three commissioners were indicted and recalled by voters "in response to 'gross irregularities' in the award of contracts for construction of the Burnside and

Ross Island Ross Island is an island in Antarctica lying on the east side of McMurdo Sound and extending from Cape Bird in the north to Cape Armitage in the south, and a similar distance from Cape Royds in the west to Cape Crozier in the east. The isl ...

bridges"; since all three had been supported by the

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to KKK or Klan, is an American Protestant-led Christian terrorism, Christian extremist, white supremacist, Right-wing terrorism, far-right hate group. It was founded in 1865 during Reconstruction era, ...

, their recall also helped reduce that organization's influence in the city. Vanport, built north of Portland in 1943 to house workers for

Kaiser Shipyards The Kaiser Shipyards were seven major shipbuilding yards located on the West Coast of the United States, United States west coast during World War II. Kaiser ranked 20th among U.S. corporations in the value of wartime production contracts. The ...

, was destroyed by a flood five years later. In 1968, the

Oregon Legislative Assembly The Oregon Legislative Assembly is the State legislature (United States), state legislature for the U.S. state of Oregon. The Legislative Assembly is bicameral, consisting of an upper house, upper and lower chamber: the Oregon State Senate, Sena ...

referred a bill, Ballot Measure 5, to voters that would amend the state constitution to allow for

consolidated city-county In local government in the United States, United States local government, a consolidated city-county (#Terminology, see below for alternative terms) is formed when one or more city, cities and their surrounding County (United States), county (Lis ...

governments when their populations are over 300,000. The 1968 voters' pamphlet noted that Multnomah County would be the only county in Oregon affected by the measure and voters approved the referendum in the 1968 general election. Since the approval of Measure 5 in 1968, an

initiative Popular initiative A popular initiative (also citizens' initiative) is a form of direct democracy by which a petition meeting certain hurdles can force a legal procedure on a proposition. In direct initiative, the proposition is put direct ...

to merge the county with Portland has been considered and placed on the county ballot several times.

Since 2000

In the 2000 presidential election, Multnomah county played a decisive role in determining the winner of the state's

electoral votes An electoral college is a body whose task is to elect a candidate to a particular office. It is mostly used in the political context for a constitutional body that appoints the head of state or government, and sometimes the upper parliamenta ...

Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American former politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. He previously served as ...

carried the county by 104,764 votes, enough to offset the 97,999 vote advantage that

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

had earned among Oregon's 35 other counties. The Democratic tilt was repeated in 2004, when John Kerry won by 161,146 votes, and in 2008, when Barack Obama won by 204,525 votes. In February 2001, the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners unanimously accepted the recommendation of the Library Advisory Board and authorized the library to enter into a lawsuit to stop the

Children's Internet Protection Act The Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) is one of a number of bills that the United States Congress proposed to limit children's exposure to pornography and explicit content online, along others such as preventing minors from hacking other ...

. The

US Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all Federal tribunals in the United States, U.S. federal court cases, and over Stat ...

ultimately decided in 2003 that the law was constitutional in US v. ALA. However, the library chose to turn down $104,000 per year of federal funding under CIPA to be able to continue to offer unfiltered Internet access. Faced with decreasing government revenues due to a recession in the local economy, voters approved a three-year local income tax (Measure 26–48) on May 20, 2003, to prevent further cuts in schools, police protection, and social services. After that, though, Linn and the three commissioners developed a public feud, with the latter becoming known as the "mean girls". The county government has also faced significant budget issues, including not being able to open the Wapato Corrections Facility since it was built in 2003.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the county has a total area of , of which (7.4%) are covered by water. It is the smallest county in Oregon by area. It is located along the south side of the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook language, Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin language, Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river headwater ...

. The county includes a number of extinct volcanoes in the Boring Lava Field. The Oregon side of the

Columbia River Gorge The Columbia River Gorge is a canyon of the Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Up to deep, the canyon stretches for over as the river winds westward through the Cascade Range, forming the boundary between the state ...

forms the eastern portion of the county's northern border.

Major highways

* * * * * * * * (decommissioned) * * * *

Adjacent counties

* Columbia County – northwest *

Clark County, Washington Clark County is the southernmost county in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, the population was 503,311, making it Washington's fifth-most populous county. Its county seat and largest city is Vancouver. It was the first ...

– north *

Skamania County, Washington Skamania County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, the population was 12,036. The county seat and largest incorporated city is Stevenson, although the Carson River Valley CDP is more populous. S ...

– northeast * Hood River County – east *

– south * Washington County – west

National protected areas

* Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area (part) *

Mount Hood National Forest The Mount Hood National Forest is a U.S. National Forest in the U.S. state of Oregon, located east of the city of Portland and the northern Willamette River The Willamette River ( ) is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting fo ...

(part)

Demographics

Racial and ethnic composition since 1960

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 815,428 people, 341,507 households, and 180,512 families residing in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 363,996 housing units. The racial makeup of the county was 65.7% White, 5.4% Black or African American, 0.7% Native American, 7.5% Asian, 0.7% Pacific Islander, and 6.8% from two or more races. About 12.7% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race. The median income for a household in the county was $83,668 and the per-capita income was $49,713. 12.1% of the population lived below the poverty line.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 735,334 people, 304,540 households, and 163,539 families resided in the county. The population density was . There were 324,832 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 76.5% White, 6.5% Asian, 5.6% Black or African American, 1.1% American Indian, 0.5% Pacific Islander, 5.1% from other races, and 4.6% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 10.9% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 19.4% were

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, 12.2% were Irish, 11.4% were English, and 4.2% were American. Of the 304,540 households, 27.0% had children under 18 living with them, 38.6% were married couples living together, 10.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 46.3% were not families, and 32.6% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 3.03. The median age was 35.7 years. The median income for a household in the county was $49,618 and for a family was $62,956. Males had a median income of $45,152 versus $38,211 for females. The per capita income for the county was $28,883. About 11.3% of families and 16.0% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 21.1% of those under age 18 and 12.1% of those age 65 or over.

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, there were 660,486 people, 272,098 households, and 152,102 families in the county. The

was . There were 288,561 housing units had an average density of 663.sq mi (256/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 79.16% White, 5.70% Asian, 5.67% Black or African American, 1.03% Native American, 0.35% Pacific Islander, 4.03% from other races, and 4.07% from two or more races. About 7.51% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos of any race; 16.0% were of German, 9.0% English, 8.8% Irish, and 5.1% American ancestry; 83.5% spoke English, 6.3% Spanish, 1.7% Vietnamese, and 1.3% Russian as their first language. Of the 272,098 households, 26.5% had children under 18 living with them, 40.9% were married couples living together, 10.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 44.1% were not families. About 32.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.6% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.37, and the average family size was 3.03. In the county, the age distribution was 22.3% under 18, 10.3% from 18 to 24, 33.8% from 25 to 44, 22.5% from 45 to 64, and 11.1% who were 65 or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.00 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 96.10 males. The median income for a household in the county was $41,278, and for a family was $51,118. Males had a median income of $36,036 versus $29,337 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the county was $22,606. 12.70% of the population and 8.20% of families were below the

. Out of the total population, 15.40% of those under the age of 18 and 9.80% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

Law and government

Lobby of new Multnomah County Central Courthouse from 2nd floor Oct 2020

Multnomah County was a strongly Republican county for much of the first half of the 20th century. Since 1964, it has been the strongest Democratic bastion in Oregon, even in the Republican landslides of

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...

and

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

. As Multnomah County is by far the most populous county in Oregon, Democratic majorities in the county are often enough to swing the results in statewide elections. In 2008, Democratic challenger

Jeff Merkley Jeffrey Alan Merkley (born October 24, 1956) is an American politician who is the junior United States senator from Oregon. He was first elected to the Senate in 2008. A member of the Democratic Party, he served from 1999 to 2009 as the repres ...

unseated incumbent two-term Senator Gordon Smith, though Smith carried 28 of Oregon's 36 counties. Merkley carried Multnomah County by over 142,000 votes, however, enough to allow him to defeat Smith by 59,100 votes. The county courthouse is located in

downtown Portland Downtown Portland is the central business district of Portland, Oregon, United States. It is on the west bank of the Willamette River in the northeastern corner of the southwest section of the city and where most of the city's high-rise buildi ...

. The Multnomah County Central Courthouse opened in 2020, replacing a century-old building nearby that was in need of

seismic retrofit Seismology (; from Ancient Greek σεισμός (''seismós'') meaning "earthquake" and -λογία (''-logía'') meaning "study of") is the scientific study of earthquakes (or generally, quakes) and the generation and propagation of elastic ...

ting.

Elected officials

County Commission

County officials

Appointed officials

* Elections: Tim Scott * Finance: Mark Campbell * Surveyor: James Clayton

State legislators

Map of Multnomah Count
Senate-Representative District Maps

Joint Office of Homeless Services

The Joint Office of Homeless Services is an agency run by

Multnomah County Multnomah County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 815,428. Multnomah County is part of the Portland metropolitan area. The state's smallest and most populous county, it ...

to provide services and care to those experiencing homelessness. The City of Portland contributes 9 percent of its budget. In 2024, city councilors considered withdrawing from this partnership, but left it in place after the election of mayor Keith Wilson who ran on a platform of ending unshelterd homelessness. Earlier in 2024 it was reported that the JOHS increased people it was able to put into housing by 28 percent compared to 2023. In February 2025, the JOHS reported a budget gap of $104 million, saying it would not be able to meet its commitments this year.

Economy

The principal industries of Multnomah County are

manufacturing Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of the secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer ...

transportation Transport (in British English) or transportation (in American English) is the intentional Motion, movement of humans, animals, and cargo, goods from one location to another. Mode of transport, Modes of transport include aviation, air, land tr ...

wholesale Wholesaling or distributing is the sale of goods or merchandise to retailers; to industrial, commercial, institutional or other professional business users; or to other wholesalers (wholesale businesses) and related subordinated services. In ...

and

retail Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is the sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholes ...

trade, and

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

. Since Oregon does not have a

sales tax A sales tax is a tax paid to a governing body for the sales of certain goods and services. Usually laws allow the seller to collect funds for the tax from the consumer at the point of purchase. When a tax on goods or services is paid to a govern ...

, it attracts shoppers from southwest Washington. The Port of Portland, established in 1891 and combined with the City of Portland's Commission of Public Docks in 1971, ranks third in total waterborne commerce on the West Coast, and 31st in the nation for total tonnage according to the 2009

American Association of Port Authorities The American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) is a Industry trade group, trade association founded in 1912 that represents 150 port authority, port authorities in the Western Hemisphere, including the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, an ...

' ''Port Industries Statistics''. Portland is one of the five largest auto import ports in the nation and is the West Coast's leading exporter of grain and lumber. The Port of Portland is also responsible for Portland International Airport (PDX) in the northeast section of Portland, the Troutdale Airport a few miles east of PDX in Multnomah County, the

Hillsboro Airport Hillsboro Airport , also known as Portland–Hillsboro Airport, is a corporate, general aviation and flight-training airport serving the city of Hillsboro, Oregon, Hillsboro, in Washington County, Oregon, Washington County, Oregon, United States ...

to the west in Washington County, and Mulino State Airport to the south in Clackamas County. Out of the 199 cities and counties located in the five West Coast states, Multnomah County ranked 198th in

private sector The private sector is the part of the economy which is owned by private groups, usually as a means of establishment for profit or non profit, rather than being owned by the government. Employment The private sector employs most of the workfo ...

job creation from 1997 to 2009.

Tourism

The county is home to a number of Portland-area attractions and venues, including

Oregon Museum of Science and Industry The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI, ) is a science and technology museum in Portland, Oregon, United States. It contains three auditoriums, including a large-screen theatre, planetarium, and exhibition halls with a variety of hands- ...

, Portland Art Museum, Memorial Coliseum, Oregon Convention Center,

Moda Center Moda Center, formerly known as the Rose Garden, is the primary indoor sports arena in Portland, Oregon, United States. It is used for basketball, rodeos, circuses, conventions, ice shows, concerts, and dramatic productions. The arena has a capa ...

Providence Park Providence Park (formerly Jeld-Wen Field; PGE Park; Civic Stadium; originally Multnomah Stadium; and from 1893 until the stadium was built, Multnomah Field) is an outdoor soccer venue located in the Goose Hollow neighborhood of Portland, Oregon ...

, Washington Park,

Oregon Zoo The Oregon Zoo, originally the Portland Zoo and later the Washington Park Zoo, is a zoo in Portland, Oregon, United States. It is located in Washington Park, approximately southwest of downtown Portland. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest zoo ...

, International Rose Test Garden, Lan Su Chinese Garden, Portland Japanese Garden, Hoyt Arboretum and Pittock Mansion. It is also home to the Historic Columbia River Highway,

Multnomah Falls Multnomah Falls is a waterfall located on Multnomah Creek in the Columbia River Gorge, east of Troutdale, Oregon, Troutdale, between Corbett, Oregon, Corbett and Dodson, Oregon, Dodson, Oregon, United States. The waterfall is accessible from the ...

, and Oxbow Regional Park.

Communities

Cities

* Albina (former) * Fairview * Gresham *

Lake Oswego Lake Oswego ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon, primarily in Clackamas County, Oregon, Clackamas County, with small portions extending into neighboring Multnomah County, Oregon, Multnomah and Washington County, Oregon, Washington counties ...

(small portion) * Maywood Park * Milwaukie (small portion) * Portland (county seat) * St. Johns (former) * Troutdale * Wood Village

Census-designated places

* Cedar Mill (part) *

Centennial A centennial, or centenary in British English, is a 100th anniversary or otherwise relates to a century. Notable events Notable centennial events at a national or world-level include: * Centennial Exhibition, 1876, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ...

(former) *

Cully Cully may refer to: Places *Cully, Calvados, a former commune in the Allier department, France *Cully, Switzerland, a municipality in the canton of Vaud *Cully, Portland, Oregon, United States, a neighborhood in northeast Portland People Given na ...

(former) * Dunthorpe * Hazelwood (former) *

Orient The Orient is a term referring to the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of the term ''Occident'', which refers to the Western world. In English, it is largely a meto ...

* West Haven-Sylvan (part)

Unincorporated communities

* Bonneville * Burlington * Corbett * Dodson * Dunthorpe * Holbrook * Interlachen * Latourell *

* Riverwood * Springdale * Warrendale

Former communities

* Vanport * Bridal Veil

Education

School districts include: * Beaverton School District 48J * Centennial School District 28J * Corbett School District 39 * David Douglas School District 40 * Gresham-Barlow School District 1J * Hillsboro School District 1J * Lake Oswego School District 7J * Parkrose School District 3 * Portland School District 1J * Rainier School District 13 * Reynolds School District 7 * Riverdale School District 51J *

Scappoose School District 1J Scappoose School District (SSD 1J) is a public school district in Scappoose, Oregon, United States. It covers the cities of Scappoose, Warren, and Sauvie Island, and is mostly in Columbia County, but a small portion is in Multnomah County, ...

Portland Community College serves western portions of the county and

Mt. Hood Community College Mt. Hood Community College (MHCC) is a public community college in Gresham, Oregon, United States, named after Mount Hood. Opened in 1966, MHCC enrolls around 30,000 students each year and offers classes at the main campus in Gresham, as well as ...

serves eastern portions.

References

External links

Multnomah CountyMultnomah County History
from the

Oregon State Archives The Archives Division of the Office of the Secretary of State of Oregon, or the Oregon State Archives, is an agency of the Oregon Secretary of State charged with preserving and providing access to government records. The Oregon State Archives is ...

Historical Map of Multnomah County, Oregon
Library of Congress Map Date: January 1889 (hires) {{Coord, 45.54, -122.41, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-OR_source:UScensus1990 1854 establishments in Oregon Territory Populated places established in 1854 Oregon placenames of Native American origin Columbia River Gorge Portland metropolitan area counties