Pendleton – Several major manufacturers, both national and local, call Pendleton home, and the area has room for growth. Pendleton is the only community in Oregon to have 2 shovel-ready sites listed with the state. An abundance of private sites are also ready-to-build.

Besides sitting astride the state-wide fiber ring, the area has electric and natural gas available at competitive prices, and major transportation facilities. Those amenities, along with Pendleton’s central geographical location, put the area in a most favorable position for development.

Pendleton maintains steady growth with an increase in the number of jobs created in the manufacturing and industrial sectors. Over 200 new jobs have been created in the past year. Future projects are consistently being developed in Pendleton and in the surrounding area.

Population trends mirror that steady growth and Pendleton’s market area extends to a population of between 50,000 and 65,000. That number swells with tourism surges related to major events and seasonal travel. A multitude of retail and commercial niches have recently been identified for enhancement and recruitment.

Umatilla County – Umatilla County has a balanced and productive mix of economic activity with continued growth potential. The County’s latest figure for non-agricultural employment was 28,200 with total employment for 2002 of 35,003. Government , Trade, and Manufacturing are the top three employment sectors. McNary Dam on the Columbia River, the Two-Rivers Correctional Facility in Umatilla and Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution in Pendleton, and the regional offices of state and federal agencies based in Pendleton serve large areas of eastern Oregon. Cities, service districts, and schools, including Blue Mountain Community College in Pendleton and its branches in Hermiston and Milton-Freewater, provide local government services. Manufacturing is centered on food-processing, followed by pre-fabricated homes and recreational vehicles. The Transportation, Communications, and Utilities sector continues to grow with the completion of another 640-megawatt gas combustion power plant, expansion of Wind Power Generating Facilities now numbering close to 1,000 units, and Union Pacific Railroad’s locomotive servicing facility at the Hinkle switch-yard.

The importance of Tourism is rapidly increasing in the County’s economy, and is centered in Pendleton. In addition to the world famous Pendleton Round-Up, Underground Tours, and Pendleton Woolen Mill, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla operate Wildhorse Resort on the adjacent Indian Reservation. The Tribes’ complete destination resort complex includes a casino, hotel, RV park, a golf course, restaurant and Tamástslikt Cultural Institute Museum. The significant number of visitors to Pendlton should be taken into account when calculating custom-base figures.

Local economic development agencies, such as the Port of Umatilla, actively serve each of the three largest urban areas of the County in association with the cities of Pendleton, Hermiston and Milton-Freewater.