Bend has been ranked the top small city in the United States for the fourth year in a row for its support of tech, job growth and wages, according to the Milken Institute.
Since 1999, the Milken Institute has been ranking large and small cities in terms of their economic vitality with job creation, wage growth and tech development, said Kevin Klowden, Milken Institute executive director for Center for Regional Economics. The rankings are used by policy makers, investors and businesses to understand regional economies.
San Francisco was named the No. 1 best performing large city, rising from No. 4 the year before. It was the first time the city topped the list since 2014. Provo, Utah, which had been No. 1 in 2019 came in second, according to the ranking.
Among small cities nationwide, Grants Pass was ranked second and Logan, Utah, ranked third on the Milken list.
The news was heralded with applause by those in the Bend tech industry. But when competing for new business with other small communities that offer similar outdoor lifestyles, Bend’s ability to support tech helps, said Amanda Krantz, BendTECH executive director.
“Sure, finding talent is hard here but there’s challenges everywhere,” Krantz said. “They’re just different. Here there’s not a huge talent pool. Other places have more talent but then it’s so much more competitive that it becomes cost prohibitive for startups. Oregon capital has been growing, we still take in more money than we dole out internally.”
Krantz believes that the way tech can survive in Bend is through access to venture capital. Recently, the Small Business Administration awarded $50,000 to help support tech companies in Central Oregon, she said. Over the past seven years that BendTECH has been around, there’s always been more requests for office space than space available, Krantz said. Just last month the co-working and incubator space expanded to a second location in NorthWest Crossing.
Deschutes county’s employment numbers support Milken’s ranking. In 2018, high tech jobs employed 4,494 people, a 73.5% increase over 2013. Wages were 5.9% higher in 2018 than 2013.
In Central Oregon, 2019 was a great year for job growth with employment up more than 2,700 jobs in Deschutes County over 2018, according to employment data provided by the Oregon Employment Department.
“We’ve had remarkable employment and wage growth in Bend,” said Damon Runberg, Oregon Employment Department regional economist. “The wage growth wasn’t particularly strong over a five year period of time, but the wages remain far above the broader average wage.”
Economic Development for Central Oregon CEO Roger Lee often cites the city’s position as proof that the Bend-Redmond area is dynamic.
“From a recruitment perspective, we believe that these rankings help our business attraction work,” Lee said. “I’m a firm believer that success begets success, and both business owners and human capital are attracted to communities that are thriving.”
Klowden said Bend’s ranking for four straight years is due to the strong tech concentration, which has helped make Bend resilient. Over the years, a strong ranking attracts more tech companies.
“It’s impressive,” Klowden said. “It’s not because a lot of high tech has moved to Bend, but it continues to grow at a rapid pace. It’s done well in job and wage growth, which makes it a lot more viable long term.”