While there were some improvements in certain metrics in 2023, a recent annual survey conducted by the Portland Metro Chamber revealed that voters in the Portland area are increasingly worried about the future.
In Portland, advancements have been made in areas such as [crime] [ppp1], but recent polling indicates that a significant number of residents in the metropolitan region maintain a deeply negative outlook on their quality of life and its alignment with the cost of living.
The survey, commissioned by the Portland Metro Chamber, formerly known as the Portland Business Alliance, is an annual assessment of voter sentiments. The chamber collaborated with the local firm DHM Research to survey 500 voters in the tri-county area towards the end of the previous year, with half of the respondents being Portland residents.
More than half of the survey participants, 51%, expressed the belief that the Portland region is on the wrong path, while only 26% felt it was moving in the right direction. This sentiment was particularly strong in Multnomah County, where 69% believed the region was heading in the wrong direction. A striking 78% of respondents felt that the quality of life was deteriorating, a figure that has remained constant since the previous year.
When asked about their primary concern, 40% of respondents identified [homelessness] [ppp2] as the most pressing issue, marking a significant increase from 34% in 2022. Other notable concerns included the cost of living, crime, and affordable housing, with the order of priorities remaining consistent with recent years, albeit with the cost of living surpassing crime for the first time since 2020.
DHM’s survey highlighted a notable rise in the percentage of individuals reporting a decline in their financial status in 2023, with 49% indicating a worsened financial situation compared to 38% in 2022, particularly among residents residing outside of Portland. For the first time, a pessimistic outlook on economic opportunities in the region outweighed the positive outlook, although the two were closely balanced.
A majority of respondents stated that they had visited downtown Portland within the past month. However, older participants, Republicans, and residents from suburban areas were notably less likely to have visited downtown, with significant demographic overlaps.
Perceptions of safety in downtown Portland remained bleak, with 55% feeling unsafe during the day and 81% expressing feelings of insecurity at night. Nevertheless, these figures showed a slight improvement compared to the 2022 survey results.
The survey also indicated a growing anti-tax sentiment, particularly in Multnomah County, where voters traditionally supported new taxes. Overall, 69% of respondents believed that taxes were excessively high considering the services provided, representing an increase from 2022 driven primarily by voters in Multnomah and Clackamas counties.
Support for specific taxes like Metro’s Supportive Housing Services tax, Multnomah County’s Preschool for All tax, and Portland’s Clean Energy tax has declined, although each tax still garnered the support of a plurality of respondents. For instance, only 48% of respondents favored Metro’s homelessness tax, compared to 47% in opposition.
Trust in local elected officials continued to dwindle, with only 25% of respondents expressing trust in these leaders, a decline from 35% in 2022 and a substantial drop from the significantly higher trust levels recorded in 2019. The trust levels were at their lowest in 2021, matching the current figure of 25%.
Representatives from DHM Research and the Portland Metro Chamber acknowledged that public opinion may not always align with the ground reality, emphasizing the challenges in restoring sentiments that have declined drastically, as seen during the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.