Most Popular Languages Spoken in Multnomah County: 2023

April 1, 2025

Multnomah County is the most racially and ethnically diverse county in Oregon. It is home to individuals and families with a variety of different backgrounds. The U.S. Census Bureau estimated there were at least 110 unique languages spoken in households across the county in 2023. The number of people in Multnomah County who spoke a language other than English (LOTE) at home quadrupled over the last 30 years from 50,000 (9% of the population) in 1990 to 206,000 (26%) in 2023, according to the Census Bureau.  

In this article, “speakers” are those who report speaking a specified language at home, not necessarily all who can speak a language. 

Expectedly, most people spoke English at home in the county. Of the more than 800,000 people in Multnomah, 577,000 residents reported speaking only English at home, accounting for 72% of the population. Of the remaining population, the four other most common languages in the county in 2023 were Spanish, Vietnamese, Russian, and Chinese. 

With the Hispanic population being the largest minority group in Multnomah County (as well as in Oregon and in the U.S.), it is unsurprising that Spanish is the second most common language spoken in the county. There are an estimated 89,000 Spanish speakers in the county, accounting for about 11% of the total population. According to the Migration Policy Center (MPI), migration to the U.S. from Mexico and Spanish-speaking countries in Central America has been a longstanding phenomenon due to close cultural, geographic, and trade ties. Immigration from South America is a small portion of total immigration, but has been increasing in recent years, according to MPI. 

Vietnamese is the third most common language spoken in the county with an estimated 20,000 speakers. According to the MPI, a large number of refugees came to the U.S. from Vietnam after 1975 with the end of the Vietnam War. In more recent years, however, MPI says that the vast majority of immigrants from Vietnam come through family reunification channels. 

Russian is the fourth most common language in Multnomah with an estimated 14,000 speakers. A 2014 report detailing the Slavic Community in Multnomah County, produced by the Coalition of Communities of Color and Portland State University, stated that the Slavic Community (who mostly speak Russian) moved to Oregon in several waves: (1) In the early 1900s when Russian Orthodox members fled persecution; (2) around 1922 during the Russian Revolution; and (3) around 1991 during the collapse of the Soviet Union. 

Chinese (a grouping which here includes Mandarin, Cantonese, and other related dialects) is the fifth most common language in the county with an estimated 7,000 speakers. Chinese immigrants have been migrating to Oregon at various levels for social, economic, and familial reasons since 1850, according to the Oregon Historical Society. 

Characteristics of the Population by Language Spoken at Home

Looking at the characteristics of the people who speak the five most common languages in Multnomah, Spanish and Russian speakers tend to be younger. Spanish and Russian had the greatest share of speakers ages 5-14 (16% and 17%, respectively) and the smallest share of speakers ages 60 and over (8% and 13%, respectively). 

English only, Vietnamese and Chinese speakers tend to have older populations. They all had similarly small shares of speakers ages 5-14 (9%, 10%, and 10%, respectively) and larger shares of speakers ages 60 and over (22%, 23%, and 27%, respectively). 

Looking at educational attainment of speakers ages 25 and older, English only and Chinese have high shares of speakers with a bachelor’s degree or higher (53% and 43%, respectively). Chinese, Spanish and Vietnamese speakers have higher shares of not graduating from high school (30%, 28%, and 26%, respectively).

Employment status across the five most common languages did not differ too significantly across the different speaking populations, all of the five had unemployment rates between 4.0% and 6.0%. Spanish speakers had the lowest unemployment rate of 4.3% and the highest labor force participation rate estimated at 76.9%. Chinese speakers had the lowest labor force participation rate (57.8%). English only speakers had the highest unemployment rate estimated at 5.7%.

English ability differs by population. According to ACS data, 63% of people who spoke Vietnamese at home spoke English less than “very well”, a higher rate than the other three common languages: Spanish, 36%; Russian, 47%; and Chinese, 55%. For rest of LOTE population, 33% of them speak English less than “very well.” 

This data shows that while much of the population does speak English very well, there still remains over 50,000 residents of Multnomah County who might have trouble speaking English. Businesses and employers should consider hiring people who speak other languages or utilizing translation services to utilize and reach the whole population of Multnomah County.