2000-2008 Suburbanization of Poverty Report Includes Portland Metro Profile.

Brookings report page is HERE.

Download PDF of report HERE.

Metro profiles HERE will open to Portland metro profile.
From Portland profile:

• In 2008, 102,059 people in the primary city lived below of the poverty level ($21,834 for a family of four), compared to 143,672 poor in the surrounding suburbs. This represents a significant increase for the city compared to 2000, and a significant increase for the suburbs.
• The poverty rate—the share of the total population living below the poverty line—showed a significant increase in the city and a significant increase in the suburbs over this time period. In 2008, the suburban poverty rate was 9.8 percent compared to a primary city poverty rate of 14.3 percent.
• In 2008, 41.5 percent of poor individuals across the metro area lived in the primary city compared to 58.5 percent in the suburbs. Compared to 2000, this is not a significant increase in the suburban share of the metro area’s poor.
• Using a broader definition of “low-income,” 227,538 individuals in the primary city—or 32.0 percent of the population—fell below 200 percent of the federal poverty level in 2008, compared to 358,454 (24.4 percent) in the suburbs.
• Based on increases in unemployment throughout 2009, we project that the Portland-Vancouver, OR-WA metro area may experience an increase in its poverty rate of approximately 2.9 percentage points

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.