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POPULATION TRENDS AND MINORITY POPULATIONS
IN LANE COUNTY

Population Trends
Of Oregon’s 36 counties, 13 counties lost population between 1980 and 1990, with the remaining 23 counties showing increases between 1% and 26.7%. Lane County’s growth during this period was at the low end at 2.8%. 1998 data shows Lane County’s percent of population growth as having increased between 1990 and 1998, with a 10.6% increase during this period. This growth, large as it was, dropped Lane County in rank from third to fourth as Oregon’s most populated county, due to even more rapid growth in Portland area counties. However, with 1998’s population at 313,000, Lane County still contains Oregon’s second largest city, Eugene.²

Minority Populations
As of the 1990 census, Lane County was still predominantly homogeneous with 95% of its population White, compared to 93% of the State population and 80.3% of the Nation. However, during the period between 1980 and 1990, its minority population grew by 41%, and this growth trend continues to the present day. The percentage of total population for minorities in Lane County breaks down as follows:

• African-American = 0.7%
• Native American = 1.1%
• Asian/Pacific Islander = 2.0%
• Hispanic = 2.4%

The fastest growing ethnic groups within Lane County between 1980 and 1990 were Hispanic and Asian/Pacific Islanders, followed by Native Americans. The slowest growth in Lane County during this period was that of African-Americans. The city of Eugene is the most racially and ethnically mixed city in Lane County, with an 8.3% minority population. The percentage of total population for minorities in the city of Eugene breaks down as follows:

• African American = 1.3%
• Native American = 0.9%
• Asian/Pacific Islander = 3.5%
• Hispanic = 2.6%