Population centers (Portland, Eugene, Bend, Salem, etc) are all at least an hour inland. Almost all other coastal states (both sides) have their populations centered around port towns. What happened in Oregon? Is it climate, geography, something else?
Geography.
There are no good ports along the Oregon Coast, and there is little good farmland.
There are mountains just inland from the coast of Oregon and there these mountains do not provide a fjord and harbor studded coast, but rather (perhaps as their main fold runs parallel to the coast) a relatively un-indented coastline. There are various small rivers coming down from the mountains which run into the sea, but they tend to have dangerous sandbars and breaking seas across their mouths in heavy wave conditions. The small river valleys do not contain much good farmland, so there is little hinterland up these rivers for a port at the mouth to service.
The main exception is the Columbia River, which penetrates far inland and is navigable for a ways. It too, however, has a difficult entrance, due to the Columbia River Bar, which creates dangerous breakers impeding the progress of ships into or out of the river.
Still, the Columbia River gives access to the Willamette River, and the Willamette River valley is the best farmland in the state. This is where the Oregon Trail settlers mainly settled. Portland, situated at the junction of the Willamette and Columbia rivers is the main city in the state and the main port (supplemented by the port of Astoria, somewhat downstream on the Columbia).
So, the geography of Oregon dictates that the population center is the Willamette Valley, not the Pacific Coast.
This is true of Washington as well. Unless you are including Seattle/Tacoma, in which case Portland is fair game.
Can someone comment on whether or not its a harbor thing? New York, San Francisco, etc. have natural harbors that Im not sure exists in the PNW coastline.