Oregon county lost $1 billion in 2020 as residents fled crime, homelessness: ‘It’s like Portland died’

Multnomah County, where Portland, Oregon, is located, reportedly lost more than $1 billion in income between 2020 and 2021 as a result of residents fleeing the state amid surging crime, homelessness and safety concerns.

Data analysis conducted by Oregon Live showed that 14,257 tax filers and their dependents left Multnomah County during the first year of the pandemic in 2020 and took a record $1 billion of income with them.

The data showed that higher earners were more likely to leave since their jobs could be done remotely during coronavirus shutdowns and the average income of people leaving was 14% higher than people who left the year before. 

Before 2020, Portland had experienced 15 consecutive years of growth, Fox 12 Oregon reported.

CRIME TURNED PORTLAND INTO ‘HOLLOWED OUT SHELL.’ ITS NEIGHBORS ARE TRYING TO KEEP IT FROM HAPPENING TO THEM

The 2020 exodus came at the same time that crime in Portland began spiking and the city broke its homicide record in 2021 and then again in 2022. 

In addition, the homeless crisis in Portland has continued to spiral out of control and several Portland business owners have sounded the alarm about the issue and the crime associated with it.

“Our city is in peril,” Portland business owner Katherine Sealy told Fox News Digital in December. “Small businesses [and large] cannot sustain doing business in our city’s current state. We have no protection or recourse against the criminal behavior that goes unpunished.”

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Mayor Ted Wheeler’s office reported a 50% increase in homelessness from 2019 to 2022.

The flood of residents leaving Portland appears to have continued since the pandemic as Portland lost 8,308 people from July 2021 to July 2022. Census data shows that Portland lost the sixth-most residents in the country over the past year, Fox 12 Oregon reported.

“It’s like Portland died,” longtime Portland resident Larry May told Fox 12 Oregon in May.

Wheeler’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.