Oregon by the Numbers 2020 released
Data report helps decision makers better understand their communities
October 28, 2020: Oregon by the Numbers 2020, the latest edition of a popular annual report produced by The Ford Family Foundation and Oregon State University Extension Service is now available. Oregon by the Numbers pulls together a set of community measures and displays them in an easy-to-digest format that includes charts and infographics. The 2020 edition marks the third year for the report.
Oregon by the Numbers targets decision makers such as business and educational leaders, local and state government officials, nonprofit professionals, and engaged residents, including youth.
“We are now living in an era of big data,” said Kasi Allen, the director of learning and knowledge management for the Foundation. “The internet makes available a wealth of datasets and analysis tools. The choices can be overwhelming. Oregon by the Numbers helps cut through the clutter and assembles a suite of community measures that help readers better understand the places where they live.”
Oregon by the Numbers is a collaborative effort between The Ford Family Foundation and Oregon State University Extension Service. It is an outgrowth of the Foundation’s long-term investment in the Rural Communities Explorer, an online tool that helps leaders explore data and statistics about their own communities.
Oregon By the Numbers identifies six essential measures for communities: demographics and land, community, education, economic, health, and infrastructure. The report features a wealth of information for each measure. The “community” indicator, for example, includes county-specific data on food insecurity, child poverty, foster care, crime and voter participation.
The data surrounding these critical measures are organized in two ways: by county and by measure. "This approach makes it possible for community leaders to immediately find valuable county-specific information, as well as to place that info in a statewide context," said Anne Kubisch, president of The Ford Family Foundation.
Community leaders should begin by exploring their own county’s pages. Then they can dig into specific measures. For example, the economy category includes statistics on unemployment rate, labor force participation rate, job growth, property tax and rent costs. They could then turn to the measure section to find out how their county compares to the rest of the state.
Printed copies of Oregon By the Numbers 2020 are available for free (while supplies last) to residents of Oregon and Siskiyou County, Calif., through the Foundation’s Select Books program. Anyone can download a PDF of the report for free.
