Temperatures may be pushing the triple digits in the Portland area this weekend, but more people have a measure of relief right at home. About 80% of Oregonians have some form of air conditioning and close to 90% of homes in the metro area do.
That’s according to newly released Census data that shows the prevalence of air conditioning in Oregon and all across the country as of 2023.
Air conditioning used to be something of a luxury in the Pacific Northwest. But climate change is baking us, turning AC into a must-have for many Oregonians who eschewed it in the past.
Portland had more days above 90 degrees during the 2010s than any decade on record, by far, going back to the 1940s. The 2020s have been even hotter. A record-breaking heat wave in 2021 hit 116 degrees, with 69 deaths linked to the staggering temperatures.
Air conditioning has become far more common as the number of true scorchers have crept upward.
About 67% of homes in the Portland area had window units, central air or other forms of air conditioning in 2011, according to the Census. By 2019 it was 79%.
In 2023, it was almost 9 out of every 10 homes. (The latest numbers were calculated differently but show a similar trend.) About half of Portland homes have central air. Most of the rest have window units.
Air conditioners aren’t a panacea. A 2023 study found their effectiveness in public housing is limited during extreme heat, at least in part because people turn them off to save on their power bills. (The Portland Clean Energy Fund pays to install heat pumps for low-income residents, which are cheaper to operate.)
About 93% of homes nationally have air conditioners, ranging from nearly 100% in Delaware to just 7% in Alaska.
There’s great variation in Oregon, too.
Homes in coastal counties rely on the ocean to stay cool. Fewer than 40% of homes in Oregon’s coastal northwest counties have air conditioning.
Eastern and central Oregon often endure scorching summertime temperatures and air conditioning is close to universal in some places. In southeast Oregon, for example, more than 95% of the homes in Malheur County are air conditioned.
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