Ten years ago, University of Cambridge personality psychologist Jason Rentfrow made news when he mapped Americans by personality type and found that US regions are home to demonstrably different personalities. Oregon and nearby coastal states cluster around “relaxed and creative” types, the Midwest leans “friendly and conventional,” and the Northeast gathers the “temperamental and uninhibited.”

This story is part of our 20th Anniversary Issue special section on Big Ideas for Changing Portland. Read more here.

Then in 2021, Rentfrow published a more in-depth analysis of 53 major US
metropolises, tracking the five main personality traits that psychologists use to categorize behavior: openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. Portland ranked dead last on extroversion. “There are considerably fewer sociable, outgoing, and enthusiastic people in Portland than in other major metropolitan areas,” says Rentfrow.

This profoundly explains the Portland of yore and now. We Portlanders have wonderful ideas and can be found sequestered in our homes, building them. Extroverts do not flock here. Our social skills are perfectly adept, but we allocate our free time to solo or one-on-one pursuits. As Rentfrow tells it, “In warmer environments that get perhaps a bit less rain, there are more opportunities to socialize with others.”  

On three other traits, Portlanders are typical American urbanites. We’re moderately agreeable (33rd), meaning that, for cityfolk, we have reasonable doses of consideration, cooperation, and trustingness—and the mild caution and skepticism that are good practice in a metropolis. Portlanders are also middle of the pack (32nd) on conscientiousness, which gauges conformity and rule following. We’re unlikely to be devoutly religious or overprioritize work, and “are comfortable challenging and questioning norms,” says Rentfrow. We also display average emotional stability (29th), coming off as far more easygoing, relaxed, calm, and less neurotic than New Yorkers and Bostonians. (That sound you hear is East Coasters saying, “What the hell did you expect?”)

And then there’s openness. Portlanders are wildly open, especially for a smaller city, ranking 16th out of 53, which suggests creativity, curiosity, enjoyment of new experiences, and cultural diversity. “It means that Portland is going to have more people who are educated, who are artists and entertainers, and people working in science, technology, and the arts,” says Rentfrow. 

Notably, Portland has grown more open over time. Personality researcher Friedrich Götz, an assistant professor at the University of British Columbia, studied three decades of online personality tests, as well as how outside factors like the housing market interact with cultural openness. He found Portland’s openness spiked along with our housing prices. “Open-minded people tend to be highly educated and earn a lot of money, so they are attracted to places with interesting cultures and lots of amenities. They move to a place that is getting more interesting. Then the people who were already Portlanders start changing their behaviors—they might be skeptical of a new restaurant, but at some point end up going there. And that scales over time.” Openness, he says, “is the main story for your city. The ‘Keep Portland Weird’ thing, and the whole culture and vibe—that’s openness.”

Considering all this data, is there an archetypal Portlander? Rentfrow took a stab at a description: “I’d say kind of reserved, keeps to themself, and does their own thing, but quite open and arty and curious. Doesn’t blindly accept social norms and conventions, and isn’t necessarily outwardly friendly, but at the same time isn’t overtly unfriendly. So maybe a bit more private and keeping their opinions to themself.” 

Our lean toward liberalism has personality ties, too. Helen Fisher, a biological anthropologist at Rutgers University, created a personality metric called the Fisher Inventory that describes four personality types based on dominant brain neurochemistry. Her research of 39,000 Oregonians, predominantly in Portland, found large numbers of men and women with personality traits linked to the estrogen system. “They’re empathetic and want to help people. It’s also linked with being a Democrat,” says Fisher. Think socially sensitive types who are able to read posture and tone of voice, with a bent toward professions in public service or environmental justice.

This, it turns out, is strong wiring for solving intractable challenges. “The high-estrogen brain is very well connected, and this is why these people can embrace a lot of alternate views before they make up their mind. They see the big picture,” she says. Fisher thinks this bodes well for Portlanders and their ability to find solutions for our current problems.

“Looking at the data, there’s every reason to think that the Portland personality is going to think holistically, synthetically, and long-term, and also going to be quite imaginative. They are built to see the long-term consequences.” The challenge? Emerging from our cozy homes long enough to bring about that change.