CEO Guide to Site Selection

#45

Oregon

CEO Rank on Best & Worst States for Business

BETTING ON INNOVATION IN THE BEAVER STATE

Despite its struggles in Portland, the Beaver State still holds great economic potential and has seen several notable announcements in the past year by companies like Facebook, Amazon and Genentech. The state is doubling down on its potential for innovation with new investments and initiatives like the Oregon Innovation Plan.

“My 10-Point Plan provides a roadmap for economic recovery and will guide our state and local governments as we invest our shares of federal dollars from the American Rescue Plan. Aligning pro- grams and activities funded through these dollars will help ensure we are coordinating, not duplicating, efforts and collaborating on what will make a difference in our economies.”
Kate Brown
Governor

TAXES

0 %

top corporate income tax

# 0

on the Tax Foundation’s State Business Tax Climate Index ranking

EDUCATION

0 %

of students graduated high school in 2019

0 %

of adults age 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or higher

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE

0 %

RIGHT TO WORK STATE

No

QUALITY OF LIFE

# 0

POPULATION GROWTH

0 %

increase between 2010 and 2020

KEY INCENTIVES

Strategic Reserve Fund (SRF): Offers a flexible tool for job retention and creation, often used as forgivable loans helping businesses expand in Oregon.

Business Expansion Program (BEP): Offers a cash incentive based on the estimated increase in new per- sonal income tax revenue resulting from the new hires.

Enterprise Zones: Offers a three- to five-year ex- emption from local property taxes on new plant and equipment for expansion with longer terms available in rural areas.

Strategic Investment Program (SIP): Exempts a portion of very large capital investments from property taxes for 15 years.

Oregon Investment Advantage (OIA): Helps business- es start or locate new types of operations in a number of counties by providing an income tax subtraction, potentially eliminating state income tax liability on new operations.

EDCs

Business Oregon

www.oregon.gov/biz

Oregon’s Economic Development Districts

oedd.org

Prosper Portland

prosperportland.us

Strategic Economic Development Corporation

sedcor.com

HIGHLIGHTED PROGRAM OR INITIATIVE

Developed by the Futures Commission, the Oregon In- novation Plan aims to orient the state economy around innovation. The four strategies are to foster ideation, strengthen the innovation ecosystem, catalyze risk capital and promote the state as place to start and grow an innovative company.

BIG DEALS

  • Hawthorne Hydroponics, a subsidiary of Scotts Mira- cle-Gro, announced in October 2020 a 400,000-square- foot facility, the largest industrial lease in the Portland metro area in the previous year.
  • British manufacturer Lightbox opened in November 2020 a $94 million advanced manufacturing facility with 60 new jobs in Gresham.
  • Genentech announced in March 2021 a $175 million expansion and 100 new jobs at its facility in Hillsboro.
  • Facebook announced in March 2021 it would construct a $2 billion data center in Prineville.
  • Portland-based Expensify announced in November 2021 the first tech IPO in the state since 2004.
  • Amazon announced a $27 million fulfillment center and 1,800 new jobs in Woodburn.

BIG COMPANIES

  • Nike (Fortune 500 headquarters)
  • Lithia Motors (Fortune 500 headquarters) 
  • Greenbrier
  • Columbia 
  • Sportswear Portland 
  • General Electric 
  • Teledyne 
  • FLIR