Downtown Foot Traffic in the Pacific Northwest Trails Other Regions in Post-Pandemic Recovery

Portland's downtown foot traffic is only 40% of its pre-pandemic volume, according to a recent study by the University of Toronto's School of Cities. The study analyzed foot traffic in downtown markets across the United States and Canada using connectivity data from phone antennas. This ranking puts Portland third from the bottom of the list, with only San Francisco and St. Louis ranking lower.

Despite the study period being impacted by winter weather, Portland's low ranking highlights the challenges the city's businesses have faced since the pandemic. Downtown Portland has struggled with low foot traffic, and more corporate moves are expected from downtown as businesspeople express frustration over high taxes and crime and locations outside Portland and Multnomah County become increasingly popular. 

However, with downtown Portland's Q1 office vacancy rate relatively low at 26.8%, there is hope for the city's economic recovery. 

DowntownRecovery.com/dashboards/recovery_ranking.html

Read more at Downtown Portland office vacancy remains high, despite marginal decrease - Portland Business Journal (bizjournals.com)