Portland-area incomes dipped during the pandemic

The median Portland metro household made slightly less last year than before the pandemic, according to new Census Bureau data.

Driving the news: Income across the Portland area fell 1.5% between 2019 and 2022, dropping from just over $90,000 to slightly under, adjusted for inflation.

Details: The share of residents making below $100,000 fell in all income brackets, while the share making over $100,000 increased from 38% to 45%.

Context: The new data comes by way of the U.S. Census Bureau's 2022 American Community Survey (ACS) one-year estimates, released Thursday.

• The ACS is one of the best resources available for a regularly published quantified look at myriad facets of American life, down to a remarkably local level.

The big picture: Nationally, median household income fell 1.6% between 2019 and 2022, adjusted for inflation.

• That trend "explains why Americans have felt so meh about the strong economy over the past couple years," Axios Markets' Emily Peck writes based on slightly different data released earlier this week.
• Americans are also getting older, and political power is shifting geographically.