BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – “Really, Bend built its culture from a mill town years ago and transitioned from that lumber into something very, very different that it is today,” Bend Chamber CEO Katy Brooks says.

You can find a multitude of new businesses, specifically here in Central Oregon, as the state tops the USA for the highest percentage increase at 9.9%,

Digital marketing site DesignRush analyzed data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics to find the change in the number of business establishments per state between September 2022 and September 2023. The states with the greatest percentage increase of businesses over the year determined the ranking.    

Oregon ranks atop that list, with a 9.9% increase in business establishments over the course of the year. Oregon reported a total of 185,096 businesses in 2022 and 203,369 in 2023, for a net increase of 18,273.   

Bend’s entrepreneurial strength is something venture specialist Bryan Vierra says didn’t happen by accident.

“We have a lot of individuals that live in Bend that have chosen to be here, and they tend to be entrepreneurial in nature,” Vierra said. “so the type of people that we’ve attracted to come here have kind of driven that entrepreneurial ecosystem.”

 But people like Bend Outdoor Works Founder and President Gary Bracelin remember when times weren’t so great to be a new business owner here.

“In the early years, there wasn’t a lot of support for entrepreneurs and startups,” Bracelin said. “EDCO (Economic Development for Central Oregon) was around, and the Chamber, which we’re very fortunate to have such a great chamber of commerce and economic development.”

Fast-forward to now, and those same resources have expanded, making Bend in many eyes the place to be.

Brooks added, “They have a lot of resources that are available here from the Bend Tech incubators to OSU-Cascades, their innovation hub. That’s a regional asset. That’s something a group of us from the tri county area put together.”

 It’s something the community as a whole takes pride in.

Vierra said, “There are quite a few people that have contributed to the economic success here and the ecosystem that we have for early-stage companies. So it’s a sense of pride for all of us.”