Race and Ethnic Diversity in Oregon’s Workforce
December 02, 2025Oregon’s population is less racially and ethnically diverse than the nation as a whole. According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020 Diversity Index, Oregon ranked 30th out of 51 states and Washington D.C. in racial and ethnic diversity. Black exclusion laws implemented in the mid-19th century have impacted Oregon’s current demographics. As The Oregon Encyclopedia notes, “these laws, all later rescinded, largely succeeded in their aim of discouraging free Blacks from settling in Oregon early on, ensuring that Oregon would develop as primarily white.” While the state has diversified considerably since its founding, there is only a 46.1% chance that two Oregon residents chosen at random will be from different race or ethnicity groups compared with 61.1% nationally.
With some exception, people of color in Oregon’s workforce face higher unemployment rates and earn lower wages than white workers and tend to work in lower-paying industries. People of color are broadly defined here as individuals who identify with a race other than white. This group includes Oregonians who are Black or African American, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, some other race, or two or more races.
Oregon is Increasingly Diverse
Though it is still predominantly white, Oregon’s population has become more racially diverse in recent years. According to the American Community Survey (ACS), people of color made up 23.4% of Oregon’s population on average between 2019 and 2023. Nationally, people of color accounted for 36.6% of the population, over 13 percentage points above Oregon’s share. Oregon’s share is up nearly 8 percentage points from the prior five-year average of 15.6%.
Oregonians who identified with two or more races made up the fastest growing racial group in 2023, increasing by 136.8%. The proportion of Oregonians who identified with some other race also grew considerably, increasing by 56.5%. Oregon also grew more ethnically diverse during the same period. The number of Hispanic or Latino Oregonians increased by 15.6% between the 2018 and 2023 averages.
| Group | Average 2014-2018 | Average 2019-2023 | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Population | 4,081,943 | 4,238,714 | 3.8% |
| Race | |||
| White Alone | 3,445,933 | 3,247,656 | -5.8% |
| Black or African American Alone | 77,789 | 81,642 | 5.0% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native Alone | 46,961 | 46,276 | -1.5% |
| Asian Alone | 174,510 | 188,624 | 8.1% |
| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander Alone | 16,006 | 16,973 | 6.0% |
| Some other race alone | 127,084 | 198,863 | 56.5% |
| Two or more races | 193,660 | 458,680 | 136.8% |
| Ethnicity | |||
| White Alone, not Hispanic or Latino | 3,103,557 | 3,065,611 | -1.2% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 523,956 | 605,467 | 15.6% |
Almost one out of 10 people living in Oregon (411,000) were foreign-born on average from 2019 to 2023, according to the ACS. The largest share of foreign-born people living in the state are Hispanic or Latino (41%). Nearly one-half (46%) of foreign-born residents were born in the Americas, and one-third (33%) were born in Asia, with the remainder being dispersed widely across different nations and global regions.
Roughly one out of four foreign-born Oregon residents “entered” the U.S. prior to 1990, with another quarter entering between 1990 and 2000, a third quarter entering between 2000 and 2010, and the final quarter of foreign-born residents entering after 2010.
Oregon’s Asian population has the highest proportion of foreign-born residents. Close to two-thirds (61%) of Oregon’s Asian residents were foreign-born. Other groups with relatively high proportions of foreign-born residents include Oregonians who identify with some other race (35%), who are Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander (30%), and who are Hispanic or Latino (28%).
Diversity Varies by County
The racial and ethnic diversity varied among Oregon’s counties. Jefferson County had the highest percentage of respondents identifying as people of color. More than one-third (37.3%) of respondents reported a race other than white. American Indian and Alaska Natives were the second highest racial category behind white in Jefferson County, making up 13.7% of the total population, the highest of any Oregon county.
Morrow County had the second highest percentage of people of color in Oregon at 35.7%. The second largest racial group besides white in Morrow County was those identifying as two or more races, who made up 18.9% of the total population. This was the highest concentration of residents identifying as two or more races in any county in Oregon. Washington County had the third highest percentage of people of color at 34.0%. Oregonians of two or more races was the second highest racial group in Washington County at 12.2%, and Asian Oregonians was the third highest group in Washington County at 11.2%. Other Oregon counties where people of color made up more than a quarter of the population included Marion (30.8%), Multnomah (30.0%), Umatilla (29.1%), Hood River (26.4%), and Malheur (26.4%).
The least diverse Oregon counties are becoming more diverse. Only one county still has fewer than one out of ten residents who are people of color. Baker County had the smallest share at 9.5%. The next four least diverse counties were Wallowa (10.0%), Grant (10.5%), Crook (10.7%), and Deschutes (11.5%).
Employment Status Varies by Race and Ethnicity
People of color collectively have higher labor force participation rates than white residents in Oregon. According to 2023 ACS five-year estimates, people of color had a labor force participation rate of 68.7%, over 8 percentage points higher than the white working-age population. Those surveyed that identified as some other race had the highest labor force participation rate at 72.0%, followed by Asian at 67.9%. White Oregonians had the lowest labor force participation rate at 60.6%.
| Group | Oregon Total | Labor Force Participation Rate | Unemployment Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population 16 years and over | 3,483,666 | 62.3% | 5.4% |
| Race | |||
| White alone | 2,738,774 | 60.6% | 5.3% |
| Black or African American alone | 64,386 | 65.2% | 7.7% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native alone | 37,362 | 63.4% | 7.5% |
| Asian alone | 160,067 | 67.9% | 4.1% |
| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone | 13,324 | 66.4% | 4.3% |
| Some other race alone | 146,873 | 72.0% | 5.4% |
| Two or more races | 322,880 | 69.1% | 6.1% |
| Ethnicity | |||
| Hispanic or Latino origin (of any race) | 426,791 | 73.0% | 5.7% |
| White alone, not Hispanic or Latino | 2,614,488 | 60.0% | 5.3% |
Labor force participation rates also varied substantially by ethnicity. Hispanic or Latino Oregonians had a much higher participation rate (73.0%) than non-Hispanic whites (60.0%). One possible explanation for this difference is the difference in median age between ethnic groups. Non-Hispanic whites tend to be older than Hispanics. According to the 2021 ACS five-year estimates, Hispanics or Latinos in Oregon had a median age of just under 27. During the same period, non-Hispanic whites had a median age of about 44.
Unemployment also varies by race and ethnicity. People of color had a higher average unemployment rate than the white labor force in the 2023 estimates at 5.7% compared with 5.3%. This may be due in part to higher rates of labor force participation. Higher labor force participation can be correlated with a higher unemployment rate because more job entrants and fewer discouraged workers can increase temporary frictional unemployment.
Yet different labor force participation rates cannot fully explain variation in unemployment rates by group. Asian Oregonians had a labor force participation rate of 67.9% and the lowest unemployment rate at 4.1%. Black Oregonians had the highest unemployment rate at 7.7% with a similar labor force participation rate of 65.2%.
Earnings, Industry of Employment, and Education Follow Similar Trends
During the five-year period from 2019 to 2023, Oregon’s Asian residents had the highest earnings among full-time, year-round workers, with a median annual income of $74,600, followed by white workers with median earnings of $64,000. Median annual earnings for workers of all other racial and ethnic groups ranged between $44,900 and $54,200 – 15% to 30% below white workers and 27% to 40% below Asian workers.
Differences in other major industries of employment could explain income variation between other racial groups. The second most common industry of employment for people of color is retail trade, which had annual median wages during the same period of $33,600. People of color worked in the lowest paid industry – accommodation and food services – more often than white people. Twelve percent of people of color work in this sector, compared with 8% of white people. Accommodation and food services paid an annual median wage of $22,400 on average between 2019 and 2023. The second most common industry of employment for white workers was also retail trade, followed by manufacturing.
Educational attainment could also contribute to earning disparities. According to the 2023 five-year estimates, 56% of Asians over age 25 have a bachelor’s degree or higher, the greatest percentage of any racial group. White Oregonians had the second highest rate of higher education at 37%, followed by 33% of Black or African American Oregonians, and 30% of Oregonians who are two or more races.
For all other racial groups, no more than one-fifth of adults age 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. One out of five Native Hawaiians or other Pacific Islanders, 18% of American Indian or Alaska Natives, and 16% of those who are some other race have a bachelor’s degree or higher. Hispanics are also less likely than non-Hispanic whites to hold a bachelor’s degree. Twenty percent of Hispanics or Latinos have a higher education degree compared with 38% of non-Hispanic whites.
Typically, those with higher education qualify for higher-paying jobs, which also factors into the higher annual average wages for Asian and non-Hispanic white workers. Oregon employers can fill high-skill, high-wage jobs by recruiting highly educated workers from abroad. This brings many foreign-born Asians with advanced training into these roles, contributing to higher earnings for the group.
Industry and Education Cannot Fully Explain Income Disparity
It’s important to note that even when controlling for educational attainment, some groups still earn lower wages than their equally educated peers. Black or African American people in Oregon and the U.S. earn lower median wages across all levels of educational attainment compared with all other workers. Research from the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco suggests that national differences in earnings between Black and white workers are persistent, have grown over time, and can’t be completely explained by factors such as geographic location, age, educational attainment, part-time employment, industry of employment, or occupation.
Gaps in wealth also exist between people of different racial and ethnic groups. According to the Federal Reserve Board’s 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances, the median net worth of Black families in the United States was $44,900, or about 16% of the median wealth of non-Hispanic white families ($285,000). Hispanic families had a median wealth of $61,600, about 22% of the non-Hispanic white median.
Homeownership contributes to this wealth gap. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 74.2% of non-Hispanic white households owned their homes in 2024, compared with 45.8% of Black households, 48.2% of American Indian or Alaskan Native households, and 49.0% of Hispanic households.
Looking Ahead
Oregon’s long-term population and economic-growth prospects depend increasingly on rising racial and ethnic diversity. Recent population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau show that nearly all national population gains now come from Hispanic and other non-white groups. This national trend of population gains relying on people of color is true at the state-level in Oregon as well. The Congressional Research Service reports that slowing population growth can weaken economic expansion.
The majority of economic indicators are consistent for each racial and ethnic group. Communities in Oregon with higher rates of educational attainment tend to be employed in higher-paying industries, and as a result, have lower unemployment rates and higher wages.
As Oregon’s population continues to diversify, patterns could change. Upward trends might depend on increasing access to education, increased opportunities for employment in higher-wage industries and occupations, and pathways to homeownership.
Additional Information
For Oregonians looking for ways to better support diversity in the workplace, Partners in Diversity offers a variety of resources tailored for employers and professionals of color in the Pacific Northwest.
Consider additional QualityInfo reading:
The Diversity of Oregon’s Industries,
Ability of Oregon Workers to Speak English Varies by Type of Job,
Asian Americans in Oregon’s Labor Force: Growing, Educated, and Diverse, and
African Americans in Oregon: A Labor Market Perspective.