Downtown Portland Foot Traffic Shows Year-Over-Year Growth, Increase In Worker Presence -01/27/25
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sydney Mead
Downtown Portland Clean & Safe
Janel Knight Trulear
EMC Communications
(617) 875-6581
NEW DATA: Downtown Foot Traffic Shows Steady Growth Year-Over-Year, Worker Presence Increases 8% in 2024
Major events return as city sees sustained recovery with five months of 2024 hitting 2.4M visitor milestone
Jan. 27, 2025, Portland, OR -- Downtown Portland continues to show strong signs of recovery, with employee foot traffic increasing 8% in 2024 compared to the previous year, according to new data from Downtown Portland Clean & Safe.
Foot traffic has been steadily rising, with a 3% overall increase in 2024 over 2023. Notably, foot traffic reached a post-pandemic high of more than 2.4 million visitors during five separate months in 2024, coinciding with the return of major events and concerts to the city center. Overall foot traffic has increased 54% from the district's pandemic low point in 2021.
"Downtown Portland continues to show encouraging signs of recovery, with five months reaching the significant milestone of 2.4 million visitors in 2024," said Mark Wells, Executive Director of Downtown Portland Clean & Safe. "The steady increase in overall foot traffic, and particularly the notable uptick in worker presence downtown, demonstrates that our recovery continues to move in the right direction."
The increased foot traffic coincides with improvements across several key areas and the return of signature events to the city center:
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Major events choosing downtown: The Rockstar Energy Open drew thousands to Tom McCall Waterfront Park, while Live Nation concerts at Providence Park, including the Foo Fighters, brought 30,000 attendees downtown.
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Employee presence: Downtown sees its strongest weekday activity Tuesday through Thursday.
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Tourism continues its strong recovery, especially in June and July when room demand increased by more than 10% and August when room demand increased by more than 17%. The trend continued through fall with increases greater than 5% in September and November and nearly 8% in October.
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40 retail businesses opened in the Downtown Portland Clean & Safe District in 2023 and 36 retail businesses in 2024.
"The return of iconic events like Project Pabst and new attractions like the Rockstar Energy Open and Coraline's Curious Cat Trail, combined with consistent growth in worker traffic and visitor numbers, shows that Portland is reclaiming its status as a premier destination for both culture and commerce," said Andrew Hoan, president and CEO of the Portland Business Alliance and the Portland Metro Chamber. "We're seeing a revitalized downtown that's attracting both local workers and tourists, creating an increasingly dynamic city center."
Downtown Portland Clean & Safe has been tracking foot traffic in its district since 2009. In 2022 we began using Placer.ai data to count visitors within the 213-block area that make up the Clean & Safe enhanced services district.
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About Downtown Portland Clean & Safe District
The Downtown Portland Clean & Safe District was established in 1988 to support additional cleaning and security in a 213 block-area of Portland's Central City. In addition to these important services, the district supports market research, retail recruitment and retention for Downtown Portland. The district is managed by the Portland Business Alliance under the direction of the district's board of directors. Learn more at cleanandsafepdx.com.
