Income

In order to create a region where all people have the opportunity to thrive, we must assess whether there are disparities in the distribution of resources and opportunities that make it difficult for some populations to achieve their full potential. People living in poverty have historically been affected by a wide range of disparities that negatively affect their ability to meet their basic needs and advance their health and well-being. For this reason, understanding how the geographic distribution of incomes corresponds with the distribution of resources and opportunities is essential to our analysis of regional equity.

The maps in this series show the distribution of incomes throughout the region, with a particular focus on low-income populations. Comparing these maps with the Atlas’ other maps highlights the region’s patterns of inequity and can help to inform strategies to address disparities.

This map series includes maps showing (a) median income by census tract and (b) percent change in median income between 2000 and 2010. It also includes maps highlighting the distribution of low-income populations. These include maps showing (c) the percentage of households in each census tract who are below the federal poverty level, (d) the census tracts in the region with above the regional average percent of populations in poverty, (e) the census tracts in the region with below the regional median income, and (e) the percentage of students eligible for free or reduced price lunch mapped by school, which serves as a proxy for poverty.

What the Maps Tell Us: Initial Findings

The Median Income by Census Tract map indicates that census tracts with lower median incomes are located in older suburban areas on the east and north side of the region (including portions of outer northeast and southeast Portland and throughout Clark County) and in west Washington County. Specifically, census tracts with low incomes are found in north Portland, outer east Portland, Gresham, Fairview, Wood Village, Milwaukie, Forest Grove, Cornelius, Hillsboro, Beaverton, Canby and Vancouver. 

High income areas tend to be located near natural amenities (hills and lakes) and in a few older urban neighborhoods with historic character. Census tracts with the highest median income ($103,143- $154,466 per household) in Clackamas County include portions of Happy Valley, Lake Oswego, West Linn, and nearby unincorporated areas. In Washington County, high-income areas include portions of Tigard, Beaverton and the unincorporated area adjacent to these cities. In Multnomah County, high income census tracts are located in Portland’s west hills neighborhoods near and including Forest Park, as well as in the east side neighborhoods of Alameda, Irvington, Laurelhurst, and Eastmoreland. The high income census tracts in Clark County include a portion of Camas and an unincorporated area on the west side of the county. 

The Percent Households Below Poverty Level map shows that areas with the highest concentrations of people living in poverty are in west Vancouver and an adjacent unincorporated area of Clark County, in a few census tracts scattered throughout the east side of Portland and west Gresham, and in northeast Forest Grove and the adjacent unincorporated area of Washington County.

The Percent Students Eligible for Free or Reduced Price Lunch map —an indicator of childhood poverty—shows that areas in north Portland, outer east Portland, the cities of east Multnomah County, Hillsboro, Cornelius and west Vancouver have a higher share of this population.

Distant rural areas tend to have moderate incomes and relatively low poverty rates. 

According to the Percent Change in Median Income map, median incomes declined or remained the same in 63% of the region’s census tracts between the 2000 Census and the 2006-2010 American Community Survey estimate. Median income increased from 50% to nearly 200% in census tracts that include the neighborhoods of Cedar Hills/Cedar Mills and Bull Mountain in Washington County, Esther Short in Clark County, and the Pearl District and the northern part of the Eliot neighborhood in Multnomah County. Census tracts where median income decreased during the last decade are found in east Multnomah County, throughout most of the portion of Washington County inside the Urban Growth Boundary, and throughout much of Clackamas County and much of the City of Vancouver. 

Income maps are very important in exploring equity issues, as they provide foundational information about where households with fewer financial resources are located, where childhood poverty is concentrated, and the changing income distribution of the region. They can be used in their own right, to analyze policy questions related to issues such as service delivery and displacement. They can also be used in combination with other maps to explore how the distribution of resources and opportunities relates to the region’s income patterns.

About the Maps

The 2010 Census did not collect data on income levels. As a result, the Atlas’ income maps rely on American Community Survey (ACS) data. Because the ACS uses a sample survey, the margin of error can be high in tracts with a low sample population. The Equity Atlas metadata includes more information regarding margins of error and coefficients of variation for this data.

Median Income by Census Tract

This map displays the average (median) income for households in each census tract.

Data Source: American Community Survey S1903 (Median Income in the Past 12 Months in 2010 Inflation-Adjusted Dollars), American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates 2006-2010  

Percent Change in Median Income (2000 to 2006-2010 estimate)

This map shows the change in median income for households between the 2000 Census and the 2006-2010 American Community Survey estimate for each census tract, ranging from negative change (a decline in the median income) to positive change (a gain in median income). The rate of change was calculated by subtracting the 2000 median income from the 2010 median income for each census tract, and then dividing the answer by the 2000 median income to obtain the mapped rate.

The geometries of some census tracts in the greater Portland area changed from 2000 to 2010 (due to tract splits or, in a few cases, merges). The median income values for these census tracts were also split or merged prior to calculating the change over time based on a value proportion.

Data Source: American Community Survey, 2000 (P077 Median Family Income) and American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (2006-2010) (S1903 Median Income in the Past 12 Months for Households, Families, and Non-Families)

Percent Households Below Poverty Level

This map shows the percentage of households below the federal poverty level in each census tract.

The federal poverty level, originally developed in the early 1960s, is widely criticized for setting the poverty threshold at an unrealistically low level. The federal government calibrates the poverty level as a function of food costs. However, in contrast to the 1960s, a bigger share of a family's paycheck today goes to items such as housing, child care, transportation and health care compared with food. For this reason, critics argue that far more people are actually living in poverty than official data indicate.

Data Source: American Community Survey S1701 (Poverty Status in the Past 12 Months), American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (2006-2010)

Above Regional Average Percent Populations in Poverty

This map shows the census tracts where the percent of residents in poverty is the above regional average.

Data Source: American Community Survey S1701 (Poverty Status in the Past 12 Months), American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (2006-2010)

Below Regional Median Income

This map shows the census tracts where the median incomes are below the regional median income.

Data Source: American Community Survey S1903 (Median Income in the Past 12 Months in 2010 Inflation-Adjusted Dollars), American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (2006-2010)

Percent Students Eligible for Free or Reduced Price Lunch

This map shows the percentage of K-12 students eligible for the free or reduced price lunch program, by school, for the 2011-2012 academic year. This indicator is often used as a proxy for childhood poverty.

Data Source: OR Department of Education & WA Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, 2011-2012