We can safely say that 2017 was the Year of the Entrepreneur in Bend. According to a report from EagerLaw PC, there was one new business registration in Bend for every 28 residents last year. That gave Bend more registered businesses per capita (for cities larger than 30,000) than anywhere else in the state.
EagerLaw PC used data from the Oregon Secretary of State’s office for its report. In the news release, Jeff Eager notes that the next closest city with as many business registrations per capita was Lake Oswego.
“You know that thing about Bend being an entrepreneurial city? It is. Big time. There was one 2017 business registration in Bend for every 28 residents. In other words, walk down your street and chances are someone and probably multiple someone’s on your street registered a business in 2017,” attorney Jeff Eager said.
From the news release:
Portland, which registered the largest total number of businesses but also, by far, the largest population, only registered one business for every 84 residents. The statewide average was a business registration for every 65 residents.
Oregon Secretary of State Registrations by City
Bend Entrepreneur Report 2017
| Location | Total New Reg. Jan-Dec 2017 | Population | # of Residents per New Business Registered in 2017 |
| STATEWIDE: | 62803 | 4,093,465 | 65.17 |
| Bend: | 3261 | 91,122 | 27.94 |
| Lake Oswego: | 1300 | 38,945 | 29.95 |
| Grants Pass: | 977 | 37,779 | 38.66 |
| Keizer: | 1001 | 38,980 | 38.94 |
| Beaverton: | 2441 | 97,590 | 39.97 |
| Salem: | 3270 | 167,419 | 51.19 |
| Eugene: | 3215 | 166,575 | 51.81 |
| Medford: | 1392 | 81,636 | 58.64 |
| Gresham: | 1818 | 111,523 | 61.34 |
| Tigard: | 735 | 51,902 | 70.61 |
| Corvallis: | 804 | 57,110 | 71.03 |
| Albany: | 685 | 53,211 | 77.68 |
| Portland: | 7597 | 639,863 | 84.22 |
| Springfield: | 707 | 61,893 | 87.54 |
| Hillsboro: | 1148 | 105,164 | 91.60 |
| Aloha: | 160 | 53,879 | 336.74 |
EagerLaw’s report definitely matches with what we observed last year as well. We watched numerous people start companies and/or turn their solopreneur business into something bigger. All this creative and entrepreneurial energy also likely contributed to Bend’s recent ranking by the Milken Institute as THE best-performing small city of 2017.
The Milken Institute’s BPC index measures metropolitan areas’ economic performance using outcomes-based metrics such as job creation, wage gains, and technology developments to evaluate the metros’ relative growth, according to the website. This is the second year in a row that Bend has claimed the top spot.
Top 10 Best-Performing Small Cities 2017
| Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) / Metropolitan Division (MD) |
2017 Rank | 2016 Rank | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bend-Redmond, OR (MSA) | 1 | 1 | Steady |
| St. George, UT (MSA) | 2 | 4 | +2 |
| Gainesville, GA (MSA) | 3 | 10 | +7 |
| San Rafael, CA (MD) | 4 | 3 | -1 |
| Wenatchee, WA (MSA) | 5 | 36 | +31 |
| Elkhart-Goshen, IN (MSA) | 6 | 39 | +33 |
| Yuba City, CA (MSA) | 7 | 45 | +38 |
| Bellingham, WA (MSA) | 8 | 76 | +68 |
| Columbus, IN (MSA) | 9 | 7 | -2 |
| Auburn-Opelika, AL (MSA) | 10 | 6 | -4 |
It definitely felt like 2017 was a year filled up with hard work. Excited to keep the momentum going in 2018.
Kelly Kearsley
You can reach Kelly by email at [email protected].
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