Oregon
Source: IPEDS Completions, 3-yr avg AY 2022–25 (NCES; 2024–25 provisional), bachelor’s degrees, CIP 14 + 11; China 33.2%: PRC Ministry of Education, 2022 bachelor’s graduates by discipline (NSF NCSES S&E Indicators Fig. HED-30: 32.8%, 2020); Population: Census NST-EST2025.
Oregon at China’s rate would graduate 7,040 engineers a year. It graduates 2,947.
Oregon produces 2,947 engineering and computer science bachelor's degrees a year out of 21,206 total, one of America's strongest engineering producers, from 17 institutions. At China's rate it would produce 7,040. Output is growing (+15.6% over three years). Gap Score: 42% of the China benchmark. Its own economy is projected to open 6,160 engineering, computing and technician jobs a year through 2034; in-state degrees, associate and bachelor's together, cover 55% of them.
The gap against China’s benchmark
Three-year trend: eng+CS share of degrees
Oregon is missing 4,093 engineers a year at China's rate, roughly 2x the annual output of Oregon State University.
Where Oregon’s engineers are made.
17 institutions produce engineering or computer science bachelor’s degrees in Oregon. The top 8 account for 97% of output.
Every producing institution. Circle area = eng+CS bachelor’s degrees per year
Top producers
| # | Institution | Eng+CS / yr | % of its degrees |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oregon State University | 1,980 | 31.8% |
| 2 | Portland State University | 401 | 11.4% |
| 3 | Oregon Institute of Technology | 160 | 25.4% |
| 4 | University of Portland | 113 | 14.0% |
| 5 | University of Oregon | 78 | 1.9% |
| 6 | George Fox University | 70 | 11.2% |
| 7 | Western Oregon University | 39 | 4.8% |
| 8 | Eastern Oregon University | 32 | 5.3% |
Jobs vs. degrees
Oregon's own labor-market projection, 2024–2034, for engineers, computer occupations and engineering technicians, against the degrees the state produces at every level.
Openings against output
Where the openings are
| Occupation | Openings / yr |
|---|---|
| Software Developers | 1,410 |
| Computer User Support Specialists | 520 |
| Industrial Engineers | 450 |
| Computer Systems Analysts | 330 |
| Civil Engineers | 320 |
| Computer Occupations, All Other | 230 |
Coverage: degrees ÷ openings
Openings are the state labor agency’s own 10-year projection: new jobs plus replacing workers who retire or leave the field (BLS method). Not every opening goes to a new graduate, so this is a coverage measure; it does not count vacant positions. Occupations: engineers (SOC 17-2), computer occupations (SOC 15-12) and engineering technicians (SOC 17-3, the associate-degree tier), the jobs CIP 14 + 11 degrees feed; degrees here include associate degrees to match. Source: Oregon labor-market projections via Projections Central (U.S. Dept. of Labor).
Oregon put its incentives behind Intel and data centers
Oregon put a $240M state CHIPS Fund (11 agreements, $195.3M) and hundreds of millions in enterprise-zone abatements behind chip fabs and data centers. In 2025 the semiconductor cluster shed more than 3,000 jobs and the state's own assessment says Oregon lacks homegrown talent.
The drain.
Oregon still draws in-migrants, but it is losing the engineers it trains and employs: a third of Oregon State bachelor's grads work outside the state within five years, the chip cluster lost nearly a tenth of its jobs in 2025, and Multnomah County is losing prime-age residents.
Sources: HECC PSEO fact sheet; Business Oregon, Oregon CHIPS at a Crossroads; Willamette Week / U.S. Census Bureau
Who’s covering it.
Reporters already cover this, but no one has combined it into a single number the way the Index does.
The fix, in Oregon.
Make Oregon CHIPS pay for pipeline
Oregon CHIPS agreements already require jobs or tax revenue per $45,000 in grants. Attach a Digital ROTC clause: recipients like Intel and Microchip fund service-for-tuition seats at PCC, Mt. Hood and Chemeketa, and graduates repay with years at Oregon fabs rather than leaving the state.
Tie data-center abatements to engineers
The HB 4084 moratorium gives Hillsboro and Washington County a year to rewrite enterprise-zone terms. Require each new abatement to underwrite Digital ROTC scholarships at PSU and OSU-Cascades in exchange for in-state service, so that ~$90M a year in waived taxes pays to train Oregon engineers.
Keep the other third of OSU grads
A third of Oregon State bachelor's grads work outside Oregon within five years. Route the FAST NSF Engine and the Semiconductor Talent Sustaining Fund through service-for-tuition contracts so OSU and PSU engineering students commit to Oregon employers for the years the state pays their way.
What Digital ROTC would fund
Digital ROTC: federal student loans that cover two years of engineering, computer science, or cybersecurity school at a community college, whether those years end in an associate degree or transfer into a bachelor’s program. The loans are forgiven in full after 24 to 36 months of service in government technology roles. In Oregon, 12% of engineering-track credentials are associate degrees today. Digital ROTC is built to expand that community-college route.