Oregon ranked 27th in population in the US with an estimated total of 3,521,515 in 2002, an increase of 2.9% since 2000. Between 1990 and 2000, Oregon's population grew from 2,842,321 to 3,421,399, an increase of 20.4%, making it one of the fastest-growing states in the nation. The population is projected to reach 3,613,000 by 2005 and 4.3 million by 2025.
In 2000 the median age was 36.3. Persons under 18 years old accounted for 24.7% of the population while 12.8% were age 65 or older.
Like other western states, Oregon experienced more rapid population growth than that of the US as a whole in the 1970s, when population expanded 26%. The 1990 census figure represented a 7.9% increase over the 1980 census population. The population density in 2000 was 35.6 persons per sq mi.
As of 2000, more than half of all Oregonians lived in the Portland region, while much of the remainder also lived in the Willamette Valley, particularly in and around Salem and Eugene. The city of Portland had an estimated 539,438 residents in 2002; the Portland Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area (which includes Vancouver, Washington) had an estimated 1999 population of 2,180,996. The estimated population of Salem was 140,977 and Eugene's was 140,395.