The Portland metropolitan area is a

metro area A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually ...

in the U.S. states of

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idah ...

and

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

centered on the principal city of

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populou ...

. The U.S.

Office of Management and Budget The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is the largest office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP). OMB's most prominent function is to produce the president's budget, but it also examines agency programs, pol ...

(OMB) identifies it as the Portland–Vancouver–Hillsboro, OR–WA Metropolitan Statistical Area, a

metropolitan statistical area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally Incorporated town, incorporate ...

used by the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy An economy is an area of th ...

(USCB) and other entities. The OMB defines the area as comprising Clackamas,

Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region in ...

, Multnomah,

, and Yamhill Counties in Oregon, and

Clark Clark is an English language surname, ultimately derived from the Latin with historical links to England, Scotland, and Ireland ''clericus'' meaning "scribe", "secretary" or a scholar within a religious order, referring to someone who was educat ...

and Skamania Counties in Washington. The area's population is estimated at 2,753,168 in 2017. The Oregon portion of the metropolitan area is the state's largest urban center, while the Washington portion of the metropolitan area is the state's third-largest urban center after

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

and

Spokane Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Canada ...

(the Seattle Urban Area includes Tacoma and Everett). Portions of the Portland metro area (Clackamas, Multnomah, and Washington Counties) are under the jurisdiction of

Metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urban ...

, a directly elected regional government which, among other things, is responsible for

land-use planning Land use planning is the process of regulating the use of land by a central authority. Usually, this is done to promote more desirable social and environmental outcomes as well as a more efficient use of resources. More specifically, the goals ...

in the region.

Metropolitan statistical area

As of the 2010 census, there were 2,226,009 people, 867,794 households, and 551,008 families residing within the MSA. The racial makeup of the MSA were as follows: *

White White is the lightness, lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully diffuse reflection, reflect and scattering, scatter all the ...

: 76.3% * Hispanic or Latino (of any race): 10.9% (8.5%

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

, 0.4% Spanish or Spaniard, 0.3% Guatemalan, 0.3% Puerto Rican, 0.2% Cuban, 0.2%

Salvadoran Salvadorans ( Spanish: ''Salvadoreños''), also known as Salvadorians (alternate spelling: Salvadoreans), are citizens of El Salvador, a country in Central America. Most Salvadorans live in El Salvador, although there is also a significant Salvad ...

, 0.1%

Peruvian Peruvians ( es, peruanos) are the citizens of Peru. There were Andean and coastal ancient civilizations like Caral, which inhabited what is now Peruvian territory for several millennia before the Spanish conquest in the 16th century; Peruvian p ...

) * Asian: 5.7% (1.2% Chinese, 1.2% Vietnamese, 0.7% Indian, 0.6%

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

, 0.6%

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...

, 0.4%

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

) * Black or African American: 2.9% * American Indian and Alaskan Native: 0.9% *

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of Ocea ...

: 0.5% (0.1%

Native Hawaiian Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, First Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians) ( haw, kānaka, , , and ), are the indigenous ethnic group of Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawai ...

, 0.1% Guamanian or Chamorro, 0.1% Samoan) * Two or more races: 4.1% * Some other race: 4.9% In 2010 the median income for a household in the MSA was $53,078 and the median income for a family was $64,290. The per capita income was $27,451. The Portland–Vancouver–Hillsboro

Metropolitan Statistical Area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally Incorporated town, incorporate ...

(MSA), the 23rd largest in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

, has a population of 2,226,009 (2010 Census). Of them, 1,789,580 live in

(46.7% of the state's population) while the remaining 436,429 live in

(6.7% of state's population). It consists of Multnomah,

, Clackamas,

and Yamhill counties in Oregon, as well as

and Skamania counties in

. The area includes Portland and the neighboring cities of

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. Th ...

, Beaverton, Gresham, Hillsboro,

Milwaukie Milwaukie is a city mostly in Clackamas County, Oregon, United States; a very small portion of the city extends into Multnomah County. The population was 20,291 at the 2010 census. Founded in 1847 on the banks of the Willamette River, the city ...

, Lake Oswego, Oregon City, Fairview, Wood Village, Troutdale, Tualatin, Tigard,

West Linn West Linn is a city in Clackamas County, Oregon, United States. A southern suburb within the Portland metropolitan area, West Linn developed on the site of the former Linn City, which was named after U.S. Senator Lewis F. Linn of Ste. Geneviev ...

, Battle Ground, Camas and Washougal. Changes in house prices for the metro area are publicly tracked on a regular basis using the

Case–Shiller index The Standard & Poor's CoreLogic Case–Shiller Home Price Indices are repeat-sales house price indices for the United States. There are multiple Case–Shiller home price indices: A national home price index, a 20-city composite index, a 10- ...

; the statistic is published by

Standard & Poor's S&P Global Ratings (previously Standard & Poor's and informally known as S&P) is an American credit rating agency (CRA) and a division of S&P Global that publishes financial research and analysis on stocks, bonds, and commodities. S&P is co ...

and is also a component of S&P's 20-city composite index of the value of the U.S. residential real estate market.

Portland-Vancouver-Salem Combined Statistical Area

As of March 2020, the Portland–Vancouver–Salem, OR–WA

Combined Statistical Area Combined statistical area (CSA) is a United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB) term for a combination of adjacent metropolitan (MSA) and micropolitan statistical areas (µSA) across the 50 US states and the territory of Puerto Ric ...

(CSA) consists of five Metropolitan Statistical Areas, covering nine counties in Oregon and three counties in Washington: * Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA Metropolitan Statistical Area (five counties in Oregon - Multnomah,

, Clackamas, Yamhill,

; two counties in Washington State -

and Skamania); population 2,492,412 (2019 estimate) * Salem, OR Metropolitan Statistical Area ( Marion and

Polk Polk may refer to: People * James K. Polk, 11th president of the United States * Polk (name), other people with the name Places *Polk (CTA), a train station in Chicago, Illinois * Polk, Illinois, an unincorporated community * Polk, Missouri ...

counties); population 430,404 (2019 estimate) * Albany-Lebanon, OR Metropolitan Statistical Area ( Linn county); population 127,451 (2019 estimate) * Longview, WA Metropolitan Statistical Area (

Cowlitz Cowlitz may refer to: People * Cowlitz people, an indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest ** Cowlitz language, member of the Tsamosan branch of the Coast Salish family of Salishan languages * Cowlitz Indian Tribe, a federally recognized tribe o ...

county); population 108,752 (2019 estimate) * Corvallis, OR Metropolitan Statistical Area (

Benton Benton may refer to: Places Canada *Benton, a local service district south of Woodstock, New Brunswick *Benton, Newfoundland and Labrador United Kingdom * Benton, Devon, near Bratton Fleming * Benton, Tyne and Wear United States *Benton, Alabam ...

county); population 92,442 (2019 estimate) The 2019 population estimate is 3,259,710, ranked 18th largest in the United States (2,921,408 based on the 2010 Census). This area includes the Portland–Vancouver–Hillsboro, OR–WA Metropolitan Statistical Area; Salem, OR Metropolitan Statistical Area, and other surrounding areas.

Cities and other communities

Major cities in the region in addition to Portland include Beaverton, Gresham, Hillsboro in Oregon, and

in Washington. The area also includes the smaller cities of Corbett, Cornelius, Fairview, Forest Grove,

Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-con ...

, Happy Valley, King City, Lake Oswego,

, Oregon City, Sherwood, Tigard, Troutdale, Tualatin,

, Wilsonville, Wood Village in Oregon, as well as Battle Ground, Camas, Washougal, Ridgefield, La Center and Yacolt in Washington. It includes the unincorporated suburban communities in Oregon of

Aloha ''Aloha'' ( , ) is the Hawaiian word for love, affection, peace, compassion and mercy, that is commonly used as a simple greeting but has a deeper cultural and spiritual significance to native Hawaiians, for whom the term is used to define ...

, Beavercreek, Boring, Cedar Mill, Clackamas, Damascus, Dunthorpe, Garden Home,

Raleigh Hills Raleigh Hills is a census-designated place and neighborhood in Washington County, Oregon within the metropolitan area of Portland, Oregon, United States. It is located in the southwest hills in Washington County, Oregon, Washington County, with Be ...

, and West Slope, as well as Hazel Dell,

Minnehaha Minnehaha is a Native American woman documented in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's 1855 epic poem '' The Song of Hiawatha''. She is the lover of the titular protagonist Hiawatha and comes to a tragic end. The name, often said to mean "laughing wa ...

, Salmon Creek, Walnut Grove and Orchards in Washington. ;Major: *

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

* Hillsboro * Gresham * Beaverton ;Other: *

Amity Amity may refer to: Places United States * Eagar, Arizona, a town, formerly named Amity * Amity (New Haven), Connecticut, a neighborhood * Amity, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Amity, Illinois (disambiguation) * Amity, Indiana, an uni ...

* Battle Ground * Banks * Barlow * Camas * Canby * Carlton *

Clatskanie Clatskanie is a city in Columbia County, Oregon, United States. It was named for the Tlatskanai Native American tribe, and the Clatskanie River which flows through the town and empties into the Columbia River about four miles to the north. The p ...

* Columbia City * Cornelius *

Dayton Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Da ...

* Dundee * Durham *

Estacada Estacada is a city in Clackamas County, Oregon, United States, about southeast of Portland. The 2020 population is estimated to be 3,700. According to the 2010 census, the population in 2010 was 2,695. It is the 89th largest city in Oregon and t ...

* Fairview * Forest Grove * Gaston *

* Happy Valley * Johnson City * King City * La Center * Lafayette * Lake Oswego * Maywood Park * McMinnville *

* Molalla * Newberg * North Bonneville * North Plains * Oregon City * Prescott *

Rainier Rainier may refer to the following: People *Rainier (name), a list of people with the given name or surname Places United States * Rainier, Oregon, a small city * Rainier, Washington, a small city * Rainier Beach, Seattle *Mount Rainier, a strato ...

* Ridgefield * Rivergrove * St. Helens * Sandy *

Scappoose Scappoose is a city in Columbia County, Oregon, United States. It was named for a nearby stream, which drains the southern part of the county. The name "Scappoose" is of Native American origin, and is said to mean "gravelly plain."

* Sheridan * Sherwood * Stevenson * Tigard * Troutdale * Tualatin *

Vernonia ''Vernonia'' is a genus of about 350 species of forbs and shrubs in the Daisy family Asteraceae. Some species are known as ironweed. Some species are edible and of economic value. They are known for having intense purple flowers. There have bee ...

* Washougal *

* Willamina * Wilsonville * Wood Village *

Woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the '' plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (see ...

* Yacolt * Yamhill

Transportation

Portland is where Interstate 84 starts at

Interstate 5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels through the states of Calif ...

, both major highways in the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...

. Other primary roads include Interstate 205, an eastern bypass of the urban core, U.S. Route 26, which heads west and southeast, U.S. Route 30, which follows the Oregon side of the Columbia River northwest and east, mirrored by

Washington State Route 14 State Route 14 (SR 14) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Washington. The highway travels east-west on the north side of the Columbia River, opposite Interstate 84 (I-84) to the south in Oregon. SR 14 forms a sectio ...

east from

, and

Oregon Route 217 Oregon Route 217 is an Oregon state highway which serves the western suburbs of Portland. OR 217 is a controlled-access highway which connects U.S. Route 26 with Interstate 5. OR 217 consists of the Beaverton-Tigard Highway 144 (see Orego ...

, which connects US 26 with I-5 in the south, travelling through Beaverton. Both US 26 and US 30 go to the

Oregon Coast The Oregon Coast is a coastal region of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to its west and the Oregon Coast Range to the east, and stretches approximately from the California state border in the south to the Columbia ...

. SR 500 runs from Interstate 5 to SR 503. Padden Parkway runs from NE 78th St and east to NE 162nd Ave. Transit service on the Oregon side is generally provided by

TriMet TriMet, formally known as the Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon, is a public agency that operates public transport, mass transit in a Transportation in Portland, Oregon, region that spans most of the Portland metropolit ...

. In addition,

Sandy Area Metro Sandy Area Metro (called SAM) is a public transit system operated by the city government of Sandy, Oregon. SAM was created after the city successfully petitioned to be removed from the TriMet district in the late 1990s.Briggs, Kara (December 29, 1 ...

serves Sandy,

South Clackamas Transportation District The South Clackamas Transportation District (SCTD) is a bus service that provides public transportation in Molalla, Oregon, connecting that city to Clackamas Community College (and TriMet, which formerly provided the service) in Oregon City, a ...

serves nearby Molalla, Canby Area Transit serves Canby and

South Metro Area Regional Transit South Metro Area Regional Transit (SMART) is a public transit system operated by the city government of Wilsonville, Oregon, United States. The system currently consists of seven routes and is funded by local businesses. It was created when Wilson ...

serves Wilsonville. Service in Clark County is provided by C-Tran. In Columbia County, the ''Columbia County Rider'' provides transit service on weekdays connecting St. Helens with downtown Portland and connecting

and St. Helens with certain points in urban Washington County, including the

PCC Rock Creek Portland Community College (PCC) is a public community college in Portland, Oregon. It is the largest post-secondary institution in the state and serves residents in the five-county area of Multnomah, Washington, Yamhill, Clackamas, and Colu ...

campus, Tanasbourne and the Willow Creek

MAX light rail The Metropolitan Area Express (MAX) is a light rail system serving the Portland metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Oregon. Owned and operated by TriMet, it consists of five color-designated lines that altogether connect the six sectio ...

station.

Green Line train at Southwest 5th & Oak, June 2020

Major airports

Portland International Airport Portland International Airport is a joint civil–military airport and the largest airport in the U.S. state of Oregon, accounting for 90% of the state's passenger air travel and more than 95% of its air cargo. It is within Portland's city li ...

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

* Salem Municipal Airport * Portland-Troutdale Airport

Passenger rail

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...

trains serve

Portland Union Station Portland Union Station is a train station in Portland, Oregon, United States, situated near the western shore of the Willamette River in Old Town Chinatown. It serves as an intermediate stop for Amtrak's '' Cascades'' and '' Coast Starlight'' ...

. The ''

Coast Starlight The ''Coast Starlight'' is a passenger train operated by Amtrak on the West Coast of the United States between Seattle and Los Angeles via Portland and the San Francisco Bay Area. The train, which has operated continuously since Amtrak's formati ...

'' runs from

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

to Seattle while '' Cascades'' connects

Eugene Eugene may refer to: People and fictional characters * Eugene (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Eugene (actress) (born 1981), Kim Yoo-jin, South Korean actress and former member of the sin ...

Vancouver, BC Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. Th ...

. The ''

Empire Builder The ''Empire Builder'' is an Amtrak long-distance passenger train that operates daily between Chicago and either Seattle or Portland via two sections west of Spokane. Introduced in 1929, it was the flagship passenger train of the Great Norther ...

'' heads east to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

Major highways

State highways, numbered as

Interstate The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. T ...

, U.S. and

Oregon Route The state highway system of the U.S. state of Oregon is a network of highways that are owned and maintained by the Highway Division of the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT). Highways and routes The state highway system consists of abo ...

s, in the metropolitan area include: *

* Interstate 84 * Interstate 205 * Interstate 405 * US 26

U.S. Route 26 * US 30

U.S. Route 30 ** U.S. Route 30 Business * * * * * * * * * * * * * State Route 14 * State Route 500 * State Route 503 Notable highways never built, or removed altogether, include

Mount Hood Freeway The Mount Hood Freeway is a partially constructed but never to be completed freeway alignment of U.S. Route 26 and Interstate 80N (now Interstate 84), which would have run through southeast Portland, Oregon. Related projects would have contin ...

, Interstate 505, and Harbor Drive.

Sports

The Portland MSA is home to a number of professional and semi-professional sports teams, including the NBA's

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...

, the

Portland Timbers The Portland Timbers are an American professional men's soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The Timbers have played their home games at ...

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Cana ...

, the

Portland Thorns FC The Portland Thorns FC is an American professional women's soccer team based in Portland, Oregon. Established in 2012, the team began play in 2013 in the then-eight-team National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), which receives support from the Uni ...

of the

National Women's Soccer League The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a professional women's soccer league at the top of the United States league system. It is owned by the teams and, until 2020, was under a management contract with the United States Soccer Federati ...

and the

Portland Loggers The Portland Loggers were a professional American football team based in Portland, Oregon. They were members of the Continental Football League and only lasted one year. Featuring much of the roster of the defunct Orange County Ramblers, the team ...

of the North American Rugby League. Other teams include the Portland Pickles and the Hillsboro Hops. Portland is also home to two NCAA Division 1 universities, the Portland State Vikings and the

Portland Pilots The Portland Pilots is the nickname for athletics at the University of Portland. The Pilots compete in the West Coast Conference (WCC) at the NCAA Division I level. History The Pilots started to gain attention when Clive Charles began coach ...

. The Portland MSA also hosts a number of amateur sports, including college and high school sports. The high school rugby championships are held annually in the Portland MSA, and draw crowds of 8,000 to 10,000 supporters.