Salem grew faster than Portland last year, Census data shows

Calling Salem “western Oregon’s hottest city” might be overstating it. 

But Oregon’s capital grew by 2,369 people in 2017, Census Bureau data released Thursday shows. That’s a growth rate of 1.4 percent over 2016, putting Salem slightly ahead of both Portland and Eugene. 

Portland proper grew by about 1.3 percent in the same time, while the metropolitan area, which includes Vancouver and Hillsboro, grew about 1 percent, to 2.45 million people. 

Bend,…