Multnomah County

Multnomah County, Oregon — key demographics

Population size

• 803,000 (2023 ACS 1-year estimate); 815,428 (2020 Census)

Age

• Median age: ~37.3 years
• Under 18: ~18.6%
• 18–24: ~9%
• 25–44: ~37%
• 45–64: ~22%
• 65+: ~13–14%

Gender

• Female: ~50.4%
• Male: ~49.6%

Racial/ethnic composition (mutually exclusive; Hispanic is an ethnicity)

• White (non-Hispanic): ~63–64%
• Hispanic/Latino (any race): ~12–13%
• Asian (non-Hispanic): ~8–9%
• Black/African American (non-Hispanic): ~5–6%
• Two or more races (non-Hispanic): ~7%
• American Indian/Alaska Native (non-Hispanic): ~1%
• Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander (non-Hispanic): ~0.5–0.6%

Households

• Households: ~334,000 (2023 ACS)
• Average household size: ~2.2
• Family households: ~50% of all households
• Married-couple families: ~35% of households
• Households with children under 18: ~23%
• Nonfamily households: ~50%; living alone: ~37% (about 10% age 65+ living alone)

Insights

• Large young-adult share (25–44) and relatively low median age for the state
• Racial/ethnic diversity driven by Hispanic/Latino, Asian, and multiracial populations
• High share of single-person and nonfamily households

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 American Community Survey (1-year) and 2020 Decennial Census.

Multnomah County, OR email usage (2025 snapshot)

• Estimated email users: ~630,000 adults. Basis: ~675,000 adults (18+) in a county population near 800,000, with ≈93–95% of adults using email.
• Age distribution of email users (approximate):
  • 18–34: 34%
  • 35–54: 32%
  • 55–64: 16%
  • 65+: 18%
• Gender split among email users: ~51% women, ~49% men (mirrors county’s slight female majority; adoption is near‑universal across genders).
• Digital access trends:
  • Computer access: ~95% of households have a computer device.
  • Home broadband: ~93–95% of households subscribe to broadband; smartphone‑only internet households ~15–18%.
  • Public access: Multnomah County Library’s 19 branches provide free Wi‑Fi and computers, supporting lower‑income and unhoused residents.
  • Work/school reliance: High telework and higher‑education presence sustain heavy email reliance for scheduling, services, and healthcare portals.
• Local density/connectivity facts:
  • 2020 population 815,428; land area ~431 sq mi; density ~1,892 residents/sq mi; roughly three‑quarters live in Portland.
  • Urban infrastructure with multiple ISPs offering gigabit cable/fiber across most neighborhoods supports near‑ubiquitous email access and high daily use.

Mobile phone usage in Multnomah County, Oregon (latest available data 2023–2024)

User and household adoption (ACS 2023 1-year estimates)

• Households with a smartphone: Multnomah County ~93% vs Oregon ~90%.
• Households with a cellular data plan (for a phone or computer): Multnomah ~74% vs Oregon ~66%.
• Mobile-only internet households (cellular data plan with no wired home broadband): Multnomah ~13% vs Oregon ~10%.
• Households with no internet subscription: Multnomah ~7% vs Oregon ~9%. What this means: Compared with the state overall, Multnomah is more mobile-saturated, more likely to rely on cellular service as the primary home connection, and less likely to be entirely offline.

Demographic breakdown (patterns from ACS S2802; Multnomah shares exceed Oregon’s in each category unless noted)

• Income: Mobile-only reliance is highest among lower-income households.
  • Under $25k: roughly upper-20s% in Multnomah (several points higher than Oregon’s low-20s%).
  • $25k–$74,999: mid-teens% in Multnomah (a few points higher than state).
  • $75k+: low-single-digits in both, slightly higher in Multnomah due to renter mix.
• Age of householder: Younger-led households are far more mobile-dependent.
  • Under 35: around one in five are mobile-only in Multnomah, a few points above Oregon.
  • 65+: under 10% in both; Multnomah is slightly lower offline than state peers due to better coverage/support.
• Tenure: Renters are markedly more mobile-only than owners in Multnomah (roughly 3× the owner rate), reflecting housing mix and affordability.
• Race/ethnicity: Mobile-only rates are elevated among Black and Hispanic households relative to White non-Hispanic households, with the gap wider in Multnomah than statewide due to the county’s more urban, renter-heavy profile.

Digital infrastructure and market characteristics (2024)

• 5G availability: All three national carriers (T‑Mobile, Verizon, AT&T) provide countywide 5G. Mid-band 5G (2.5 GHz on T‑Mobile; C‑band on Verizon/AT&T) is broadly deployed across Portland and near suburbs; mmWave is present as dense hotspots in parts of downtown and major venues.
• Network performance: Portland/Multnomah median 5G download speeds are typically higher than Oregon’s statewide median (roughly 20–40% faster), driven by denser mid-band deployments and extensive small-cell infill.
• Site density: Highest concentration of macro sites and small cells in Oregon, with notable pole-mounted nodes along downtown corridors and high-traffic arterials to improve capacity and indoor coverage.
• Backhaul/fixed competition: Robust urban backhaul with multiple providers. Comcast/Xfinity covers nearly all neighborhoods; Lumen/Quantum Fiber serves sizable pockets (especially MDUs); Astound has selective coverage; municipal/agency dark fiber (e.g., IRNE) improves core connectivity. The strong fixed footprint lowers “no-internet” rates but does not eliminate mobile-only choices among renters and lower-income households.
• Venues and transit: PDX airport, sports/entertainment venues, and dense commercial districts use enhanced in-building systems/DAS, improving reliability for high-traffic events relative to statewide norms.
• Public safety and accessibility: E911/BOEC support for wireless location and multilingual access is mature; device-based hybrid location improves emergency responsiveness in dense urban environments.

How Multnomah differs from the state

• More mobile-centric: Higher smartphone adoption and a larger share of mobile-only households than Oregon overall, particularly among renters and lower-income households.
• Better coverage and speeds: Denser 5G mid-band buildouts and more small cells yield faster median speeds and better indoor performance than statewide averages.
• Smaller offline gap: Fewer households without internet subscriptions compared with the state, reflecting urban infrastructure and outreach, though digital equity gaps persist by income and tenure.

Operational implications

• Services designed mobile-first will reach most households; ensure low-bandwidth and Android-optimized experiences for mobile-only users.
• Digital equity efforts that bundle affordable 5G plans/devices with skills support will outperform wireline-only approaches in renter- and low-income-heavy neighborhoods.
• Capacity planning should anticipate event-driven surges downtown and at major venues, where mmWave and DAS materially improve user experience.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2023 (Tables S2801, S2802); FCC 5G maps and carrier disclosures (2024); independent performance benchmarking in the Portland metro (2024).

Social media usage snapshot: Multnomah County, OR

Baseline population

• Total residents: 815,428 (2020 Census)
• Adults (18+): approximately 660,000 (based on Census age share)

Most-used platforms (adults), with national usage rates applied to the county’s adult population to estimate local reach

• YouTube: 83% of adults ≈ 548,000 users
• Facebook: 68% ≈ 449,000
• Instagram: 47% ≈ 310,000
• Pinterest: 35% ≈ 231,000
• TikTok: 33% ≈ 217,000
• WhatsApp: 29% ≈ 192,000
• LinkedIn: 30% ≈ 198,000
• Snapchat: 27% ≈ 178,000
• X (Twitter): 22% ≈ 145,000
• Reddit: 22% ≈ 145,000
• Nextdoor: 20% ≈ 132,000 Source benchmarks: Pew Research Center platform adoption among U.S. adults (2024). Figures above scale those percentages to the county’s 18+ population to provide concrete local estimates.

Age-group breakdown (share using each platform; Pew 2024 national benchmarks)

• Ages 18–29: YouTube ~95%; Instagram ~78%; Snapchat ~67%; TikTok ~62%; Facebook ~33%; Reddit ~36%; X ~29%
• Ages 30–49: YouTube ~92%; Facebook ~77%; Instagram ~55%; TikTok ~39%; LinkedIn ~45%; WhatsApp ~34%; Snapchat ~29%; Reddit ~25%
• Ages 50–64: YouTube ~83%; Facebook ~73%; Instagram ~29%; TikTok ~24%; Pinterest ~35%
• Ages 65+: Facebook ~58%; YouTube ~50%; Nextdoor ~20%+; Instagram ~15%; TikTok ~10–12%

Gender breakdown (platform adoption differentials; Pew 2024)

• Women: higher on Facebook (74%), Instagram (54%), Pinterest (50%), Snapchat (32%), TikTok (35%), Nextdoor (23%)
• Men: higher on YouTube (86%), Reddit (36%), X/Twitter (28%), LinkedIn (34%), WhatsApp (~31%)

Behavioral trends observed in large, urban counties like Multnomah (consistent with local usage patterns and platform analytics norms)

• Mobile-first, video-forward consumption: Reels/Shorts dominate discovery; 18–34s drive Instagram and TikTok engagement for food, events, music, and outdoor content.
• Community and civic coordination: Facebook Groups and Nextdoor see strong participation for neighborhood updates, local services, safety, and mutual aid; rapid mobilization around transit, housing, and environmental issues.
• Local news and services: Declining reliance on X for news is offset by higher Instagram, Facebook Group, and Reddit engagement for breaking updates, weather/air-quality, and city services.
• Professional networking: LinkedIn usage is material among 25–49s tied to the region’s creative, tech, and healthcare sectors; event promotion and hiring posts perform well.
• Creator and small-business marketing: Restaurants, venues, and makers lean on Instagram/TikTok for discovery; user-generated content, geotagging, and Stories drive foot traffic and ticket sales.
• Time-of-day patterns: Peaks in early morning commute, lunch, and late evening; weekend spikes for events, dining, and outdoor activities; weekday daytime uplift on LinkedIn.

Key takeaways

• YouTube and Facebook deliver the broadest countywide reach among adults; Instagram is the leading visual platform for under-40s; TikTok is now a mass channel for 18–39s.
• Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook are particularly effective for reaching women; Reddit, YouTube, and X skew male.
• For hyperlocal engagement, combine Facebook Groups and Nextdoor; for youth and young professionals, prioritize Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube; use LinkedIn for recruitment and B2B visibility.