OR · Multnomah County · 652,503 (2020) · 25th-largest US city · Pacific time
Portland, Oregon
Portland lies where the Willamette River meets the Columbia in northwest Oregon, with Washington State across the Columbia. It is the largest city in Oregon and the twenty-fifth in the United States.
- State
- Oregon
- County
- Multnomah County (parts in Washington and Clackamas)
- Population (2020)
- 652,503
- Rank
- 25th in the US
- Coordinates
- 45.52°N, 122.68°W
- Time zone
- Pacific
- Metro area
- about 2.5 million
- State capital
- No – Salem
Where Portland is
Portland is at 45.52°N, 122.68°W in Multnomah County, of which it is the county seat, with fringes in Washington and Clackamas counties. The city covers about 145 square miles at the north end of the Willamette Valley, roughly 50 feet above sea level along the rivers. The Willamette splits it into east and west halves joined by a dozen bridges; the Columbia River, a mile wide here, forms the northern city limit and the state line with Washington. The West Hills (Tualatin Mountains) rise to about 1,000 feet behind downtown. Salem, the state capital, is 45 miles south, and Seattle 175 miles north on Interstate 5. The Pacific coast is 75 miles west.
Population and rank
The 2020 Census counted 652,503 residents, ranking Portland 25th in the US and first in Oregon by a factor of almost four — Salem, the second-largest city, has about 175,000. The Portland–Vancouver–Hillsboro metropolitan area straddles the Columbia into Washington and has about 2.5 million people, the 25th-largest metro in the country and home to well over half of all Oregonians. Portland grew by about 12 percent between 2010 and 2020 but has lost population since.
Geography
- Willamette River — flows north through the city to join the Columbia; Willamette Falls, 12 miles upstream at Oregon City, marks the head of navigation.
- Columbia River — the largest river on the Pacific coast of North America, reaching the ocean 100 miles downstream at Astoria. See the Columbia River map.
- Mount Hood — 11,249 ft, Oregon's highest peak and the nearest volcano of the Cascade Range, 50 miles east; Mount St. Helens is visible to the northeast.
- Forest Park — 5,200 acres of forested West Hills inside the city, one of the largest urban forests in the US; Council Crest (1,073 ft) is the highest point in the city.
Nearest large cities
Seattle is three hours north; every other city on this list is more than seven hours away. Distances are approximate road miles from downtown.
| City | State | Road distance (mi) | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seattle | WA | 175 | N |
| Boise | ID | 430 | E |
| Sacramento | CA | 580 | S |
| San Francisco | CA | 635 | S |
| Salt Lake City | UT | 765 | SE |
Is Portland the state capital?
No. Oregon's capital is Salem, 45 miles south in the Willamette Valley; it has held the role since 1851 apart from a brief period at Corvallis, and was confirmed by vote in 1864. Portland is the seat of Multnomah County and the largest city in the state. Oregon is one of twelve states split between time zones, but Portland and the whole Willamette Valley are on Pacific time — only Malheur County in the far east uses Mountain.
Related maps
- Oregon map — the state with its 36 counties.
- Salem — the state capital, 45 miles south.
- US cities map.
- Columbia River and Cascade Range maps.
- Nearby: Seattle, Boise, Washington.
- Pacific Northwest · Pacific Time Zone.