Enrollment Forecasts for Portland Public Schools Project Continued Decline

An annual enrollment forecast for Portland Public Schools by the Population Research Center at Portland State University shows a continuation in a trend district officials are all too familiar with: steadily declining enrollment.

The medium-growth enrollment forecast by PSU is based on 2024–25 school year enrollment numbers. The district reported 43,375 students in the last academic year, 630 less than PSU had forecast then. Accordingly, the newest forecast by PSU projects steeper losses in the district’s enrollment than projections from previous years.

The district is expected to lose about 9% of its students by the 2029–30 school year.

Enrollment numbers matter in large part because they determine how much state funding PPS will receive (districts are paid per student), so the dec