Portland Lands Near Bottom of U.S. Study on Deferred Infrastructure Maintenance

In a recent national study, Portland finished at last place but one for infrastructure maintenance.

Portland’s Deferred Infrastructure Maintenance Earns Second-to-last Place in National Study

The Infrastructure & Capital Assets Commitment Burden report, authored by Richard Ciceroen, president of Merritt Research Services, analyzed nationwide accounting audits to understand the cost of infrastructure maintenance procrastination.

Ciceroen noted that cities have accumulated a massive obligation and commitment to fund repairs and replacements, and estimated that cities nationwide need over $1 trillion to cover this expense.

In Portland, the cost is roughly $19 billion, or about $31,000 per resident, putting it second-to-last among procrastinating large cities. San Jose ranks last.

The report shows that:

• The nationwide infrastructure replacement backlog sits at $1.03 trillion.
• The cost is massive. This hidden burden is 2.6 times higher than the total direct debt of U.S. cities ($390 billion) and 4.1 times higher than total unfunded pension liabilities ($255 billion).
• Because there is no legal funding requirement, cities can defer maintenance without immediate accounting consequences, creating a hidden fiscal risk.
• Large, legacy cities like Portland carry the highest relative burdens.