2008 greater portland prosperityjohnlscottsherwood.weebly.com/uploads/8/9/6/9/... · economy No. 6...

greater portlandprosperity

a regional outlook

2008

The Pacific mega-region

Greater Portland People

EconomyIndustry projectionsInnovation and green business

StrengthsDesignSoftware Environmental services Renewable energy

Place LifestyleTransit

Global transport Cost of business

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prosperity index�

Along the western edge of the U.S., greater Portland-Van-couver stands in a lineup of heavy hitters — Seattle to the north, the Bay Area and Los Angeles to the south.

Affordable and accessible relative to its bigger metro counterparts, and anointed with attributes urban and natural, greater Portland is proving a spirited rival, having grown into one of the most desirable places on the planet to live.

Now, the region’s trajectory of 8% population growth over the next five years makes it clear that greater Port-land’s secret is out, surely helped by its regular showing on “best of” lists of all types — best place to live, to launch a business, to bicycle, to have a baby, to retire.

What people find here is vitality and livability: great neighborhoods, schools and efficient means of getting around; a creative work environment; a backyard of mountains, rivers and forests.

This isn’t lost on business leaders, well aware that where there’s urban vitality there’s talent. The region’s

skilled workforce is drawing companies to Portland-Van-couver, where they’re adding new expertise and innova-tion to a diverse economic base.

Greater Portland is leading the way in green industry — solar and wind energy, environmental services, green building. Creative thinking has given rise to a vibrant de-sign cluster. Software is hot, too, with the region’s hive of open-source activity inspiring scrappy young companies to make their home here.

This book takes stock of these and other regional strengths, comparing them with those of nine competitive western metropolitan areas: Seattle, Denver, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Jose, Los Angeles, San Diego, Albu-querque and Austin.

With the book’s title, the Portland-Vancouver region is captured in a single word: “prosperity.” With a wealth of industry, opportunity and quality of life, greater Portland stands among the most prosperous of regions anywhere.

the greater portland

The Pacific mega-region | Paralleling the Pacific coastline from British Columbia

to the Bay area, against a spectacular backdrop, lies a corridor of talent, ideas and industry.

The mega-region of nearly 20 million people is dotted by five major metropolitan areas of

more than 1 million residents and nearly two dozen smaller ones that feed talent into the flow.

Greater Portland — affordable, accessible, rich with amenities — sits in its center.

This thousand-mile stretch of innovation has inspired some of the world’s most visionary

companies, among them, Microsoft, Google and amazon. apple, oracle, intel, eBay, Yahoo,

Starbucks, Costco and nordstrom grew up here, too, and a passion for the rugged outdoors and

a thousand miles of innovationextreme fitness planted seeds that became giants rEi, Columbia Sportswear and nike.

Thirty-nine Fortune 500 companies feed the Pacific mega-region’s economy.

The workforce of nearly 9 million is a highly educated crowd, with

nearly 205,000 workers holding doctoral degrees — a concentration

that’s 43% higher than the national average. More than a third of

the population hold at least a bachelor’s degree.

in this tech-savvy region, the workforce includes

more than 360,000 electronics services, software and iT

workers, a concentration that’s 25% greater than the

national average.

The Pacific mega-region is geared for trade. as the

U.S. economic sightlines have shifted westward, the

region hosts some of asia’s primary trading partners,

providing 12 ports and 10 international airports, linking

west and east and moving people and goods around the globe.

�a thousand miles of innovation

Westward, hoThe mega-region’s popula-tion is projected to grow 5.9% by 2013. The workforce is projected to grow at an even faster clip, 6.9%.

Diverse metrosThe mega-region is home to 1.8 million foreign-born residents.

Economy on the riseThe 2008 GrP of $1 trillion increased by 33% — more than six times the rate of population growth — since 2003. it’s projected to grow another 27% by 2013.

WealthDisposable personal income is $40,080, compared to the national average of $37,047.

Drawing talentFastest-growing talent pools are in professional services and financial services, with projected growth of 16% and 10.4%, respectively, by 2013.

Thought leadersSix of Business Week’s 25 Most innovative Companies in the World are headquartered in the Pacific mega-region.

San Francisco 4.2 Million

Sacramento 2.1 Million

San Jose 1.8 Million

Greater Portland 2.2 Million

Seattle 3.4 Million

los angeles 12.9 Million

San Diego 2.9 Million

Vancouver, B.C. 2.2 Million

No. 3 Best Place to Live in America / SPERLIng, May 2007

A culture of openness to people and ideasJust over 2.2 million residents live in greater Portland-Vancou-ver, the nation’s 23rd-largest metropolitan area. Continuing a trajectory of growth — projected 8% in the next five years — the region is being discovered by people of all stripes — “young creatives,” families, baby boom-ers and retirees.

More than 550,000 fami-lies live in Portland-Vancouver, with 50,000 more slated to come in the next five years, attracted by great neighbor-hoods, good schools and excep-tional recreation opportunities. Fit Pregnancy magazine in 2008 ranked Portland the Best City to Have a Baby.

Greater Portland’s sizable gay and lesbian population (among benchmark metros, it’s second only to San Fran-cisco’s) and community of artists underscore the region’s reputation for openness and acceptance of differences. And the region is becoming more diverse. The 5.4% increase in foreign-born residents last year was more than double that of the overall population.

Citing the region’s prolif-eration of tech startups, CNN Money ranked greater Portland the fourth Hottest Spot for Knowledge Workers in 2007. A third of metro-area residents — significantly more than

the national average — have at least a bachelor’s degree; 18,000 hold doctorates.

A network of higher ed institutions feeds the region’s workforce. Within a 110-mile radius, 175,000 students are enrolled at the top 25 colleges and universities, including Portland State University and Washington State-Vancouver, the University of Oregon and Oregon State University.

Among private institutions are nationally ranked Reed and Lewis & Clark colleges and Willamette University. Com-munity colleges and technical schools offer a dozen campuses in the region.

Projecting growthby 2013, greater Portland’s population is projected to reach 2.4 million.

Changing facesfrom 2000-2008, the minority population grew by 33.8%, to more than 101,000 residents. african-americans increased by 17.4%, and asians by 35.2%.The number of foreign-born residents more than tripled between 1990 and 2006, now totaling 265,000.

Gays, artists, entertainerswith 8,900 same-sex couples, the gay and lesbian population is nearly 60% greater than the national average. The artist population of 27,000 is 34% greater.

Great place to retireaaRP ranked Portland fifth in the u.S. in 2007. cnn Money rated Portland’s Pearl District as the no. 9 best neighborhood for Retirees.

Top-rated schools

greater Portland ranked third among large metros by Expansion Management for overall Quality of Public Schools, with 60 gold-rated schools in the region.

Six high schools offer international baccalaureate programs, more than San fran-cisco and San jose combined.

“this is the kind of lifestyle i want.” — Jill Bruhn, web developer at e-marketing firm eroi

greater

portlandBrain gainaTTRacTIon anD RETEnTIon of 18- To 34-yEaR-oLD TaLEnT

% ovER u.S. avERagE

Denver 78%

Seattle 47%

San Francisco 41%

Greater Portland 39%

San Jose 37%

austin 28%

San Diego 16%

albuquerque 3%

Sacramento 2%

l.a. 0%

SouRcE: u.S. cEnSuS, aMERIcan coMMunITy SuRvEy 2006

artists, entertainers PER 100K RESIDEnTS

San Francisco 1,630

l.a. 1,598

austin 1,423

Greater Portland 1,254

Seattle 1,240

Denver 1,058

San Diego 1,040

albuquerque 972

San Jose 954

Sacramento 764


Gays and lesbians SaME-SEx couPLE DEnSITy InDEx

naTIonaL avERagE = 1.0

San Francisco 2.10

Greater Portland 1.56

austin 1.41

Seattle 1.36

San Diego 1.36

Denver 1.25

albuquerque 1.21

Sacramento 1.19

l.a. 1.19

San Jose 1.01


B.a. or higher% of RESIDEnTS 25 oR oLDER

San Jose 43.4%

San Francisco 42.4%

austin 38.8%

Seattle 36.1%

Denver 35.6%

San Diego 33.3%

Greater Portland 31.9%

Sacramento 29.6%

albuquerque 29.3%

l.a. 29.3%


Population2008 In MILLIonS

l.a. 12.9

San Francisco 4.2

Seattle 3.4

San Diego 2.9

Denver 2.5

Greater Portland 2.2

Sacramento 2.1

San Jose 1.8

austin 1.6

albuquerque 0.8

SouRcE: gLobaL InSIghT 2008

Minority population growth 2000-2008

austin 37.8%

Sacramento 35.9%


Denver 28.1%

Seattle 27.8%

albuquerque 24%

San Jose 19.3%

San Diego 17.7%

l.a. 13.1%

San Francisco 11.8%

SouRcE: cLaRITaS 2008

first-graders at The International School, an immersion school where classes are taught in Spanish, chinese and japanese.

Gold-rated schools PEr Million rESiDEnTS, 2007

austin

Seattle

Greater Portland

San Francisco

San Jose

l.a.

albuquerque

Denver

Sacramento

San Diego

SoUrCE: ExPanSion ManaGEMEnT 2007

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economy

No. 6 Best Place to Live and Launch / MonEy 2008

A nicely distributed sector pieWhere timber once was king, greater Portland-Vancouver has had a successful three decades of diversifying its economy.

A specialized manufactur-ing sector has been joined by, among others, a vibrant high-tech community and a growing athletic wear cluster. The region is attracting renew-able energy — solar and wind — companies, and the Oregon Health & Science University is gaining prominence nationally as the region’s hub of biosci-ences activity.

As the demand of Asia’s markets grows, greater Port-land-Vancouver is capitalizing on opportunities for trade; top export markets include China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. And the global emphasis on the

environment is tapping into the region’s longtime leader-ship in sustainable business products and practices.

In manufacturing, Port-land-Vancouver is defying the national trend. While manu-facturing jobs are projected to continue a decline nationwide, Portland-Vancouver’s metals, machinery and transporta-tion equipment companies are projecting stable 2% growth through 2013.

This will be helped by regional initiatives to protect those family-wage jobs. Indus-try and government leaders launched the Manufacturing 21 Coalition in 2005, to increase the trained labor pool and support the sector.

trade, transportation & utilities20%

government

professional & Business services

educational & health services

leisure & hospitality

financial activities

construction & mining

other services

information

13.7%

13.2%

manufacturing12.3%

12.2%

9.3%

6.8%

6.6%

3.5%2.4%

Greater Portland employment by industry, 2007


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GrP to reach $144 billion gRP grew 36.6% from 2003 to 2008, and is projected to grow by another 29% in the next five years — the second-highest growth rate of the benchmark metros. austin’s gRP is expected to grow faster.

adding jobs The region added 88,000 jobs from 2002 to 2007 — more than in San francisco, San jose and Denver combined — and is projected to add another 100,000, in the next five.

of the jobs added since 2002…

17% were in professional services

17% in education and health services

17% in construction and natural resources

4% in manufacturing

adidas america

Bank of america

Boeing

Bonneville power administration

columBia sportswear

con-way

esco

freightliner llc

the greenBrier cos.

hewlett-packard

iBm

intel

merix

nautilus group

nike

northwest pipe

oregon health & science university

oregon steel mills

oregonian puBlishing

portland general electric

portland state university

precision castparts

reser’s fine foods

seh america

stancorp financial

tektronix (danaher)

ups

us Bank

wafertech

wells fargo

xerox

Majoremployers

Gross regional product forecast 2008-2013

austin 35.0%


San Jose 28.6%

Sacramento 28.1%

San Diego 27.7%

albuquerque 27.5%

Denver 27.2%

Seattle 27.1%

San Francisco 26.6%

los angeles 25.2%


greater portland’s grp has grown �6.6% since 200�

GrPIn bILLIonS, 2008

los angeles $724.2

San Francisco $308.8

Seattle $219.1

San Diego $166.6

Denver $154.1

San Jose $145.8

Greater Portland $111.4

Sacramento $97.5

austin $80.6

albuquerque $38.0

5-year job growth2002-2007

los angeles 227,859

Seattle 155,004

austin 90,711


Sacramento 81,795

San Diego 79,916

Denver 62,279

albuquerque 35,828

San Francisco 13,767

San Jose -6,327

PhoTo couRTESy of oREgon hEaLTh & ScIEncE unIvERSITy PhoTo couRTESy of PoRT of PoRTLanD


Jobs projected 2008-2013

San Diego 14.9%

San Jose 12.7%


Sacramento 12.2%

San Francisco 10.5%

austin 9.9%

l.a. 9.2%

Denver 8.0%

albuquerque 6.1%

Seattle 6.1%


5th Best Retirement Neighborhood / MonEy 2007

economy / projections

Jobs projected2008-2013

austin 29.7%

Sacramento 23.9%


Seattle 17.7%

San Jose 16.1%

San Diego 15.3%

Denver 12.5%

l.a. 12.3%

12.2%

albuquerque 9.3%


Professional servicesgreater Portland’s profes-sional and business services sector is projected to add 32,000 new jobs over the next five years. The 23.3% growth, third to that of austin and Sacramento, will bring the region’s total to 170,300 workers by 2013.

Even in the midst of a downturn in the national economy, the metro region’s professional services sector is projected to add 2,000 jobs between 2007 and 2008.

The sector grew 12% from 2002 to 2007, adding 14,600 jobs.

Professional services employers include advertising and P.R. firms and companies specializing in computer systems design, employment services, and scientific and technical consulting.

Financial servicesThe financial services sector in greater Portland will increase 12.2% by 2013, outpacing benchmark regions except San Diego and San jose. The additional 8,500 jobs will bring the total to 78,300, comprising 7% of the region’s workforce.

The growth continues a trajectory; from 2002 to 2007, the sector increased by 7.4%, adding 4,900 jobs. Though financial services jobs are likely to see a slight decline (700 jobs) in the next year, the sector is expected to rebound in 2009.

Employers in the financial services sector include banks, insurance companies, securities and commodities firms and other investment companies.

Four to watch

San Francisco

InTEL’S RonLER acRES, couRTESy of PoRT of PoRTLanD

information servicesgreater Portland’s informa-tion industry will grow by 7.7% between now and 2013, adding an estimated 2,000 jobs. The growth rate is second only to Seattle’s.

from 2002 to 2007, the sector grew 2.5%, while austin, Sacramento, L.a., albuquerque, Denver and San francisco all lost jobs in information services. only San jose’s and Seattle’s sectors saw greater growth than Portland’s. In the next year, the sector will add 700 new jobs.

jobs are with companies that distribute information, data or communication, such as software publishing, tradi-tional publishing, motion pictures, broadcasting and web search portals.

Construction, natural resourcesgreater Portland’s construc-tion and natural resources sector will grow by 7.2%, bringing the number of workers to 128,700. The growth rate, second only to that of Sacramento, is three times faster than that of Seattle.

The projected growth is a continuation from 2002 to 2007, when Portland-vancouver’s construction and natural resources sector grew by 27.6% percent, the fourth-highest of benchmark metros. from 2007 to 2008, the sector is projected to lose about 2,700 jobs but rebound in 2009.

companies in this sector specialize in agriculture, construction, mining and utilities.


Seattle 9.3%


austin 6.7%

albuquerque 5.7%

l.a. 4.6%

San Diego 4.3%

4.1%

San Francisco 3.8%

San Jose 3.8%


Denver -4.7%


Sacramento 10.4%


austin 6.7%

albuquerque 5.7%

Denver 4.2%

Seattle 2.1%

San Diego 1.1%

San Francisco 0.7%

San Jose -0.2%

l.a. -2.6%


Trade, transportation

and utilities jobS PRojEcTED

2008-2013

austin 11.2%


San Diego 7.0%

San Jose 5.2%

Seattle 4.9%

Sacramento 4.7%

Denver 4.4%

San Francisco 4.2%

l.a. 4.0%

albuquerque 3.2%

SoUrCE: GloBal inSiGhT 2008

11

Sacramento

America’s Greenest City / PoPuLaR ScIEncE, fEbRuaRy 2008

economy / innovation

“we’re attracting companies that provide a boost to our economy while producing products that are right for the future of the planet.” — hillsboro mayor Tom hughes

Thinking big, thinking greenMore patents per capita were issued to inventors in greater Portland than in San Francisco or Seattle and Denver com-bined. Open-source software, under the leadership of Linus Torvalds, cut its teeth here. The Oregon Entrepreneurs Network, providing support and educational programs for companies and investors, is spurring a rise in funding for early-stage firms.

All this speaks to the region’s independent spirit and innovative thinking.

Much creative thought

these days is focused on the need to lessen our environmen-tal footprint. Greater Portland, a longtime leader in green thinking, is home to firms such as Collins Pine, whose new particleboard earned it a Top Green Building Product award by the U.S. Green Building Council in 2007, and newcomer GreenPrint, which saves tons of paper each year by reducing pages printed from the web.

The region is a hub of green building activity. It is home to 58 LEED-certified buildings — 14 of them educational fa-

cilities — and another 127 are in the process of earning LEED status. Portland-Vancouver has more LEED-certified build-ings per capita than any other benchmark metro.

Though “innovation” brings to mind new products, the word also applies to the less tangible side of business. Three regional companies — David Evans and Associates, Umpqua Bank and Nike — rank among Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For, which recognizes innovative thinking in human resource practices.

The greenestPopular Science named greater Portland america’s greenest city in 2008. SustainLane ranked it the no. 1 forward thinker in environmental awareness and resource conservation in 2006.

not just mengreater Portland has 4,200 top women executives and more women-owned businesses per capita than Seattle, austin or San jose.

independent thinkersThe number of freelance and self-employed workers in the region grew by 22% to 143,000, from 2000 to 2007.

Startup climateIn 2008, Money named Portland the no. 6 best u.S. city to Live and Launch.

Fast-growing companiesof the 80 greater Portland- vancouver companies on the Inc. 5000 list, 10 placed in the top 500, with angelvision Tech-nologies earning the highest rank, at 120.

ad agency accoladesadweek named greater Port-land-based wieden+Kennedy global agency of the year 2008.

red Dot awardsIn 2008, regional hard-drive manufacturer Lacie took home four Red Dots in the annual worldwide technology and design competition.

lEED-certified buildings

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Best Organized Marathon in the Country / RunnERS 2008

inc. 5000 companiesPER METRo2007

los angeles 260

San Francisco 169

Denver 86

Seattle 84

Greater Portland 80

San Diego 75

austin 47

San Jose 46

albuquerque 16

Sacramento 12

SouRcE: Inc. 2007

Top female executives PER 100K RESIDEnTS

San Francisco 261

Denver 248

San Jose 227

Greater Portland 194

los angeles 190

austin 184

Seattle 184

Sacramento 170

San Diego 154

albuquerque 127


inventor patents PER MILLIon

RESIDEnTS, 2007

San Jose 13,801

austin 7,540

San Diego 3,432


San Francisco 2,075

Seattle 1,880

albuquerque 1,835

Denver 430

los angeles 329

Sacramento 310

SouRcE: SwIDER, MEDEIRoS, havER LLP 2008

Fortune 1000 companies2008 RanK

no. 60 intel*

no. 153nike

no. 444 Precision Castparts

no. 727 StanCorp Financial

no. 757 Schnitzer Steel industries

no. 962 Portland General Electric

* headquarted in Santa clara, ca

SouRcE: foRTunE 2008

PhoToS couRTESy of PIca. LEfT: Donna uchIzono coMPany, aRTIST; KEnnETh aaRon, PhoTogRaPhER. RIghT: RInDE EcKERT, aRTIST; SaLLy gaRRIDo SPEncER, PhoTogRaPhER.

“Portland put our green foot forward to proudly prove that sustainable living is a way of life, not just a movement. Fashion never looked better.” — becky Moore on Portland fashion week, livepdx.com

How Nike got its start (in a waffle iron in Eugene, Oregon) is legend. Four decades later, the athletic wear giant (aka Fortune 500 company no. 153), with 6,000 employees in the region, and its counterpart Columbia Sportswear, 2,700 employees, anchor a cluster of apparel design firms.

Women’s sportswear maker lucy was born here and has been joined by Keen Foot-wear, Icebreaker and others. Icebreaker was recognized by Outside magazine as a Green Gear All Star in 2008.

Apparel design is not just about athletes. The annual Portland Fashion Week features high-fashion designers such as Michelle DeCourcy, Souchi and Anna Cohen. This year’s PFW showcased fibers including bamboo, hemp, soy, organic cotton, recycled poly and fair trade silk.

Global award-winner Ziba Design, growing at 20% each year since 2003, is con-structing a 70,000-square-foot headquarters in Portland’s Pearl District, aiming for LEED gold. Other leaders include Gerding Edlen Development, renowned for building sus-tainable buildings, Allied Works Architecture and Zimmer Gunsul Frasca.

Two major art institutes, the Pacific Northwest College of Art and the Art Insti-tute of Portland, feed this cluster, turning out talented graphic artists, web designers, clothing designers and photographers. The University of Oregon offers a school of architecture.

architecture, graphicsDesign: apparel, the region’s strong suits

Talent cluster45% larger than national aver-age for same-size metros, with 10% annual growth since 2001

Firms215 athletic apparel/active outdoor and 1,900 creative service companies in 2006, as well as 525 freelance architect consultants

Major employersnike, columbia Sportswear, adidas america, ankrom Moison associated architects, IDc architects

Workforce6,600, not including self-employed

average salary$45,820

outlookgreater Portland is on the cut-ting edge, with a growing com-munity of companies that are leaders in green thinking.

When Tektronix launched the tech sector in greater Portland 60 years ago, it spawned a tradition of innovation in hardware and software. Intel arrived in the ’80s.

Beyond the gates of the chip giant’s campus, a feisty and vibrant software cluster has grown up here. True to the region’s independent streak, the software industry here defies categorization, but if it had one hallmark it would be open source.

Greater Portland is home to Linus Torvalds, the father of the Linux Operating System, and the region hosts each year the O’Reilly Open Source Conference (OSCON).

Other emerging software technologies including Drupal and Ruby on Rails have a strong foothold. Up and coming firms include collaboration wizards Jive Software and wiki experts About Us.

The Software Association of Oregon,

with 400 members, sponsors the annual In-notech conference, which this year featured a track on clean technology, among others. Grassroots organizations such as The Legion of Tech and Portland Open Source Software Entrepreneurs (POSSE) are an integral part of the software scene.

Greater Portland is a lure for talent, offering a great lifestyle without the cost or congestion of Seattle or the Bay Area. The region’s freelance community includes 2,900 software consultants — significantly higher than the national per capita average (136, compared to 94). People here are tech savvy; the rate of blogging and twittering is among the highest in the country.

The region’s high-tech GDP is 81% higher than the national average, according to the Milken Institute.

Computer software

1�

“Portland put our green foot forward to proudly prove that sustainable living is a way of life, not just a movement. Fashion never looked better.” — becky Moore on Portland fashion week, livepdx.com

No. 15 Most Wired City / foRbES 2006

Talent cluster20% larger than national average

GrowthProjecting 28% in software and 25% in IT services by 2016

Firms856 in 2006

Major employersMentor graphics, IbM, Saber corporation, Sage, webTrends

Workforce13,420 software and 12,420 IT service workers


outlookThe region is attracting a steady flow of firms looking to tap into a rich pool of software workers, many of whom just won’t live anywhere else.

LEfT: nIKE, couRTESy of PoRT of PoRTLanD. abovE: PRE1 SofTwaRE

The worldwide emphasis on sustainability puts the region’s environmental services firms in the spotlight. Greater Portland’s longstanding leadership on issues such as land use, water quality, transportation and energy has nurtured a growing cluster of companies committed to conscientious use of the planet’s resources.

The metro area’s more than 500 employ-ers offer specialities in a range of fields, from sustainable development to brownfields to wildlife migration. The cluster’s per capita employment is greater than that of Seattle, San Francisco, San Jose or Los Angeles.

Of the top five employers here, three are homegrown and headquartered in greater Portland: GeoDesign, David Evans and Associates and PBS Engineering and

Environment. Global CH2M Hill employs 700 people in the region.

Greater Portland’s environmental focus is supported by public sector organizations, including the Office of Sustainable Develop-ment, the first of its kind in the country, creating policy and programs to improve the region’s environmental, social and economic health. The office honors forward-thinking companies with the annual BEST (Business for Environmentally Sustainable Tomorrow) awards.

Higher ed programs support the cluster as well, including the University of Oregon’s top-ranked environmental design program. Community colleges provide programs in recycling technology and environmental engineering technology.

and recycling technologyEnvironmental services

Talent cluster43% larger than national average for same-size metros

Growth15% annual since 2001

Firms550 in 2006

Major employersch2M hill, David Evans and associates, uRS corp., PbS Engineering and Environmental, geoDesign Inc.

Workforce4,240


outlookThe talent cluster is projected to grow 14% here, and with the global emphasis on preserving resources and living sustainably, greater Portland companies’ expertise will be in demand.

Electronics

1�

manufacturing and alternative energyIt was a big year for solar. And for greater Portland.

Capitalizing on a talent pool seasoned by the electronics industry, solar panel manufacturers SolarWorld, Solaicx and XsunX announced plans to build major manufacturing plants in greater Portland. Oregon’s aggressive tax incentives for green-energy firms helped clinch the deals.

The SolarWorld move was named by Site Selection magazine as one of the top 10 site-se-lection deals in North America in 2007.

Portland was one of the federal govern-ment’s first Solar America Cities, a program that now includes 25 cities, providing funding for infrastructure and encouraging adoption of solar technology.

Leading on the wind side is Vestas, the global

provider of wind-power systems, which employs more than 900 in the region. Portfolio 21, which invests in sustainable companies worldwide, recognized Vestas as the Top Green Financial Performer for posting a 131% return in 2006.

Providing young talent, the Oregon Insti-tute of Technology’s renewable-energy program — the first four-year degree program in the U.S. — prepares grads with coursework in generators, thermodynamics, photovoltaics, wind, biomass, hydropower and geothermal energy development.

The new solar energy cluster will also continue to be well supplied with workers by the region’s substantial hardware and electronics sector, which includes greater Portland’s largest employer — with 15,000 regional workers — Intel.

PhoToS couRTESy of PoRT of PoRTLanD

Talent cluster84% greater than the national average for same-size metros

Growth4.6% annually since 2001

Electronics firms285 in 2006

renewable energy firms35 in 2006

Electronics employersIntel, Tektronix, xerox corp., Merix, waferTech, SEh america

renewable energy employersvestas, Solarworld, Solaicx, xsunx

Workforce15,450

average salary for electronics workers$37,410

outlookThe region’s solar cluster is emerging quickly. Solarworld projects phase one employment of 900, xsunx of 500, and Solaicx of 100.

No. 4 Hottest Spot for Knowledge Workers / cnn MonEy 2007

place

No. 2 city in which to eat smart, be fit and live well / cooKIng LIghT, fEbRuaRy 2008

“portland is its own piece of performance art, and the price of admission is negligble. it’s lifestyle as theater.” — Stephanie Shapiro, Baltimore Sun

Ocean to the west, skiing to the eastGreater Portland has few peers when it comes to quality of place. Part of that is by design, part by the grace of nature.

Green and wooded parks dot the region; rivers offer kayaking, dragon boating and waterskiing; miles of trails lure hikers, mountain bikers and runners. A short drive finds snowsports (year ’round), world-class windsurfing, wilderness backpacking, and miles of beachcombing on Oregon’s all-public coast.

Greater Portland, too, is foodie heaven, with 40 farmer’s markets dispensing local fare, including fresh seafood. The region’s chefs, restaurants and cuisine regularly draw accolades in the national press,

including the New York Times, which referred in 2007 to greater Portland’s “Golden Age of Dining.”

A temperate growing climate has spawned some 150 wineries and award-winning pinot noirs. Portland-Vancouver loves its beer as well, offering 49 pubs and breweries — more per capita than any other U.S. metro. And there’s coffee, lots of coffee.

With 290 bookstores — including Powell’s, the big-gest independent bookstore in the nation — greater Portland is for readers. And the metro is wired — more than half of the 1,325 wi-fi spots are free. The indie music scene is hot (Slate called it America’s indie

rock mecca); a national-draw jazz festival cheers the city in winter and a blues fest over the Fourth of July. Portland Fashion Week showcases dis-tinctively local talent.

The quirkier side of the metro offers up the weekly Saturday Market of crafts, food and street music; the annual Urban Assault bike scavenger hunt; election time’s irreverent Candidates Gone Wild talent show; the holiday season’s Tuba Christmas and Santa pub crawl; and the Vancouver Sausage Festival, a 35-year-old tradition.

It’s not surprising that Sperling named greater Port-land the third Best Place to Live in America in 2007.

Eat herePortland-vancouver is home to 23 organic and 1,000 ethnic restaurants. goveg.com named the region the Most vegetarian friendly in north america in 2007.

World champion beers greater Portland breweries claimed nine medals — more than those of any other city in the world at the 2008 world beer cup.

Top shapewith 370 gyms, health clubs, spas and yoga studios for the fitness-minded, Portland was named the no. 5 fittest city by Men’s fitness in 2008. Runners magazine rated the Portland marathon the best organized Marathon in the u.S.

on filmMovieMaker magazine named greater Portland the no. 8 metro for indie filmmaking in 2008, its fifth year among the top 10.

living wellcooking Light ranked the metro the no. 2 city in america to “eat smart, be fit and live well” in 2006.

Dog friendlyPortland offers more dog parks — 31 of them — than any other city in america.

Pnca PhoTo by EMILy woLfER

1�

Bookstores PER MILLIon RESIDEnTS

Greater Portland 135

austin 134

San Diego 124

albuquerque 121

Denver 119

Seattle 116

San Jose 97

Sacramento 94

l.a. 85

San Francisco 78

SouRcE: D & b zaPDaTa 2008

WineriesPER MILLIon RESIDEnTS

Greater Portland 69

San Francisco 45

Sacramento 43

Seattle 42

San Jose 39

Denver 34

austin 29

San Diego 28

21

l.a. 17

SouRcE: D & b zaPDaTa 2008

No. 8 city for independent filmmakers / MovIEMaKER MagazInE 2008

Public wi-fi spacesPER 100K RESIDEnTS

San Jose 224

San Francisco 97

Greater Portland 62

Seattle 59

austin 46

Sacramento 38

Denver 33

San Diego 33

albuquerque 32

l.a. 25

SouRcE: jIwIRE 2008

BrewpubsPER MILLIon RESIDEnTS

Greater Portland 23

Seattle 16

San Diego 16

Denver 14

9

Sacramento 9

austin 9

albuquerque 9

San Jose 7

l.a. 5

SouRcE: bREwERS aSSocIaTIon 2008

San Francisco

PIonEER SQuaRE couRTESy of PoRT of PoRTLanD haySTacK RocK couRTESy of PoRT of PoRTLanD PhoTo couRTESy of MT. hooD MEaDowS

albuquerque

No. 1 Biking City in America / u.S. cEnSuS buREau 2006

place / transit

for the 6�,000 residents who work from home, the only traffic congestion may be a two-dog pileup in the hallway.

Portland likes to bikeGreater Portland’s unofficial motto might be: There’s more than one way to get there from here.

There’s the car — which in this region is likely to mean “hybrid,” as greater Portland has the most per capita hybrid car purchases in the nation. An alternative to your own vehicle is Zipcar, whose cars parked all over the metro area can be rented for $9 an hour, gas included.

A more efficient idea

might be to join the thousands who commute by way of the region’s user-friendly mass transit — TriMet and C-Tran buses; MAX’s 44-mile light rail system; and m&m-colored streetcars that make an eight-mile loop through downtown Portland, with 46 stops and nearly as many cafes lining the route.

The latest addition to the transit lineup is “the tram,” a silver bean-shaped bubble that can carry 78 passengers

per trip from Portland’s waterfront to and from the Oregon Health & Science University. Tram ridership has far exceeded expectations — 125,000 people rode it in February 2008.

For your health and the health of the planet, the best transportation option is to use your own engine — that is, bicycle or walk to work. Some 50,000 Portlanders do it daily.

Bike maniaThe League of american cyclists blessed greater Portland in 2008 with a platinum rating as a bicycle friendly community — the first large u.S. metro to gain that distinction.

Most bicycle commutersgreater Portland leads the benchmark cities in bicycle commuters, with nearly 2% of the workforce pedaling to work.

Commuting options11% of the region’s workforce walks, bicycles or rides mass transit to work.

Work from homeMany don’t commute at all — 6% of the workforce make their offices at home.

Shorter commutesgreater Portland’s commute time is 25 minutes, less than the national average.

foREST PaRK, TRaM, waTERfRonT PaRK, couRTESy of PoRT of PoRTLanD

21

residents using alternative transportation

San Francisco 29.5%

Seattle 23.0%


l.a. 21.2%

Sacramento 18.2%

austin 17.6%

Denver 17.4%

San Jose 17.2%

San Diego 17.2%

albuquerque 15.7%


annual hours of traffic delay PER TRavELER

albuquerque 33

Greater Portland 38

Sacramento 41

Seattle 45

austin 49

Denver 50

San Jose 54

San Diego 57

San Francisco 60

l.a. 72

SouRcE: TExaS TRanSPoRTaTIon InSTITuTE, uRban MobILITy STuDy 2007

Best City to Have a Baby / fIT PREgnancy, januaRy 2008

TriMet, you’ll like it

fareless Square gives passengers a free ride all hours, all days, throughout the heart of inner Portland.

Max light rail provides a quick and inexpensive trip to downtown Portland from PDx airport. compare its $1.75 ticket price to cabfare of around $35.

TriMet ridership means 200,000 fewer car trips and 4.2 fewer tons of pollutants in the air each day.

Portland International Airport takes the sting out of a flight delay. The No. 1 airport in the U.S. for business travelers (Conde Nast Traveler, 2006 and 2007), PDX offers 19 res-taurants and 15 shops in which to pass time, among them the locally grown Nike Store and Powell’s Books.

PDX also offers wi-fi — and it’s free.

The airport’s 544 daily flights include 45 to domestic markets and six to cities in Mexico, Canada and Europe. Air freight carriers make non-stop trips to Asia.

Smaller airports serve the region as well, with the Hillsboro airport a home base for Intel, Nike and others’ corporate and private jets.

Like other regional busi-nesses, the airports are getting greener, with Portland Inter-national recycling 24% of its waste. Food vendors and others collect consumer food waste for composting. Used grease is turned into biofuel. Lufthansa’s German-language magazines get a second life in greater Port-

land schools and colleges.The Port of Portland and

the Port of Vancouver, WA, serve the region’s maritime commerce on the Columbia and Willamette rivers. Two transcontinental railroads, Burlington Northern Santa Fe and Union Pacific, handle goods by rail.

importing carsThe ports of Portland and vancouver, wa, make up the third-largest auto import gateway in the u.S., with honda, hyundai, Toyota and Subaru routing their cars through the region.

By shipIn 2007, 1,400 international cargo vessels called at the Portland harbor, and the harbor handled nearly 18 million tons of cargo, an increase of nearly 15% from 2006.

Connecting greater Portland with the world

transportation

Container cargofive carriers provide direct shipment to asia, Europe and South america.

PassengersPDx served 14.6 million passengers in 2007, a 4.3% increase over 2006, and 18.2% over 2003. International passengers more than doubled from 2003 to 2007, to 575,000.

2�

No. 4 Best City in America / PLacES RaTED aLManac 2007

PDx directamong the major metros with nonstop service from Portland International are:

atlantaBostonChicagoDallas-Ft. WorthDenverhonoluluhoustonlos angelesnew YorkPhiladelphiaPhoenixSan FranciscoSeattleWashington, D.C.

amsterdamFrankfurtGuadalajaraMexico CityPuerto VallartaTokyoVancouver, B.C.

for a complete list of nonstop flights, log onto www.flypdx.com.

2�

cost of Business

Top Place to Live and Retire / aaRP MagazInE

Location, location, priceGreater Portland-Vancouver’s real estate picture is compel-ling.

On the housing side, though the region hasn’t been immune to the mortgage crisis, it has fared better than most. In 2007, the metro area saw 5,834 foreclosures in 2007, or .06% of all homes, while Den-ver saw 49,519 foreclosures, affecting 2.6% of all homes.

On the commercial side, greater Portland’s story rela-tive to its counterparts is, in a word: affordable. The metro

area’s Class A space is the least expensive of West Coast metros. Compare the region’s $25.30 per square foot to Los Angeles’ $63.70.

Portland-Vancouver also offers the second-most-afford-able total industrial space of benchmark cities, at $6.34 per square foot. Only Denver’s is lower, while total industrial cost in San Jose, San Francisco or San Diego is twice the price.

Greater Portland’s cost of goods, services and housing, though 21% higher than the

national average, is the least expensive of major West Coast metros.

The median household in-come for the region is $55,267, which reflects an increase of 17% since 2000, but ranks the region second-lowest among benchmark metros. However, both median household and per capita income grew faster than those of Austin, Denver and San Jose.

Commercial real estate

Flexflex space is less expensive in greater Portland than in any other west coast city and, at $11.14 per square foot, is just higher than austin’s $10.23, and Denver’s $9.52. warehouse space is $5.52 per square foot, a rate better than all but Denver’s $5.28.

Space availableThe metro area’s vacancy rate for class a space is 10.8%, for warehouse space 7.0%, and for flex space 9.4%. The total indus-trial vacancy rate, with more than 11 million square feet available, is 7.3%.

Construction under waybuildings with 943,000 square feet of industrial space were completed in the first quarter of 2008, and 27 more buildings with another 1.2 million square feet are under construction.

housing

affordable to buyThe median housing price rose from $244,900 in 2005 to $295,200 in greater Portland, still the third-most-affordable of benchmark metros.

Benchmark metrosSan jose’s and San francisco’s median housing prices of $836,800 and $805,400, respec-tively, are three times higher than Portland-vancouver’s. Sac-ramento’s is 18% and Seattle’s 24% higher than Portland’s.

rentalsThe average monthly rental for a one-bedroom apartment is $875. In San francisco, expect to pay $2,031, and in Seattle $905. Denver’s one-bedroom rentals go for $797.

“Businesses here find a comfortable and sustainable lifestyle, and economic development resources that allow them to thrive.” — Business xpansion Journal

2�cost of BusinessClass a office price PER SQ. fT.2007

l.a. $63.70


San Jose $43.90

Seattle $38.50

San Diego $37.40

Sacramento $29.80

Denver $25.80


albuquerque $22.40

austin $19.80

SouRcE: cb RIchaRD ELLIS Q4 2007

Total industrial space cost PER SQ. fT.2008

San Jose $14.69


San Diego $12.11

l.a. $8.77

Seattle $8.07

austin $7.57

Sacramento $6.80


Denver $6.28

albuquerque n/a

SouRcE: coSTaR InDuSTRIaL REPoRT QI 2008

Cost of living% ovER naTIonaL avERagE2007

San Francisco 68.5%

San Jose 54.2%

l.a. 44.6%

San Diego 39.5%

Sacramento 24.7%

Seattle 21%


Denver 3.4%

albuquerque -1.7% austin -5.5%

SouRcE: accRa coST of LIvIng InDEx Q4 2007

Median housing price2008

San Jose $836,800

San Francisco $805,400

l.a. $589,200

San Diego $588,700

Seattle $386,900

Sacramento $342,700

Greater Portland $295,200

Denver $245,200

albuquerque $198,500

austin $183,700

SouRcE: naTIonaL aSSocIaTIon of REaLToRS 2007

average one-bedroom apartment rent2007

San Francisco $2,031 San Diego $1,569

l.a. $1,564

Seattle $1,434

San Jose $1,262

Sacramento $1,071

austin $946

Greater Portland $875

Denver $797

albuquerque $777

SouRcE: accRa coST of LIvIng InDEx Q4 2007

Median household income2008

San Jose $84,996

San Francisco $73,159

San Diego $62,061

Seattle $61,341

Denver $59,465

Sacramento $59,450

l.a. $57,241

austin $55,779

Greater Portland $55,267

albuquerque $46,945

SouRcE: cLaRITaS 2008

PhoTo of waTERfRonT PaRK, couRTESy of PoRT of PoRTLanD

2�

S k a M a n i a

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C o l U M B i a

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W a S h i n G T o n

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Beavertonhillsboro Portland

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the greater portland-vancouver region

More about the region

Travel: travelportland.com, traveloregon.com, experiencewa.com

Business news: bizjournals.com/portland, vbjusa.com

Daily news: oregonlive.com, columbian.com

Credits

Intern Eric Schmitt contributed to this report

Design and production by Katherine Topaz, topazdesign.com

Illustrations by jason walton, waltonportfolio.com

What is Greenlight?Greenlight Greater Portland is a consortium of private-sector

leaders dedicated to growing a sustainable and vibrant economic

future for the seven-county Portland-Vancouver metropolitan

area. The group has come together to tell the world that

the region is open for business, offering a dynamic home for

forward-thinking leaders and their innovative companies.

President and CEo Tim Priest

Vice president Gillian Floren

Vice president Steven Pedigo

1211 S.W. Fifth ave., Suite 560

Portland, oregon 97204

503.445.8065

www.greenlightgreaterportland.com

BoarD anD inVESTorS

Founding sponsors

Mark ganz, The Regence group, greenlight board chairman

Malia wasson, uS bank

Platinum sponsors

Eric Parsons, The Standard, greenlight treasurer

Pat Reiten, Pacific Power

Peggy fowler, Portland general Electric

Steve Stadum, ohSu

Gold sponsors

Roger hinshaw, bank of america

Scott campbell, The columbian

bill Stoller, Express Personnel Services

bob jesenik, aequitas capital Management

wes Lawrence, Key bank

jim Mark, Melvin Mark companies

Dennis Rawlinson, Miller nash LLP

Randy Miller, The Moore company

harvey Platt, Platt Electric

Keith Leavitt, Port of Portland

Lindsay Desrochers, Portland State university

john bradley, R&h construction

wally van valkenburg, Stoel Rives LLP

Don Krahmer, Schwabe, williamson & wyatt

alan johnson, wells fargo

CEo advisory council

jay haladay, coaxis

Ryan buchanan, eRoI

Mark Edlen, gerding Edlen

greg Kantor, nw natural

gary Reynolds, Perkins & company

jeffrey Reaves, group Mackenzie

investors

john willis, ch2M hill

greg goodman, city center Parking

Tom hochstettler, Lewis & clark college

Robert Stutte, norris & Stevens

Marvin Revoal, Pacific benefit Planners

greg Specht, Specht companies

josiah whitman, whitman Partners

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