Bend has once again caught national attention. According to the Milken Institute 2016 Best Performing Cities Report, the Bend-Redmond area was ranked first in the U.S. Best-Performing Small Cities index, up from last year's ranking at eighth place.
The report bases its rankings on nine different indicators, and Bend-Redmond posted gains on seven of the nine indicators during this past year. According to the report, Bend ranked first in job growth for the period of 2014-2015 with tourism and health care grounding the local economy, but was also noted for a growing tech sector. Noted was the development of the tech sector in the area with Facebook and Apple data centers nearby, and the light aviation industry and drone testing.
Four of the top 10 ranked cities were college towns. The report cites the expansion of the OSU-Cascades campus as another positive factor for tech job growth and for providing a talent pool for future job growth.
The interesting part was the assets noted for our area: "Low cost of living and of doing business attracts highly educated workers." The liability listed was: "Tourism jobs are low-paying and represent a large percent of employment."
I'm not sure I agree with the low cost of living part when the housing equation is considered along with low paying jobs. While it is nice to get a good grade, articles like this stand to only make housing more expensive by bringing our city to the attention of more potential newcomers and further contribute to our low inventory housing level. That can be either good or bad, depending on your perspective of our housing situation.
Source: www.best-cities.org/bestcities.taf?rankyear=2016&type=small-cities&metro=MBND
LOW
20784 St George Ct., Bend, OR 97702
3 beds, 2 baths, 1,344 square feet, .17 acre lot
Built in 1975
$219,900
Listed by Coldwell Banker Morris Realty
MID
63165 Meridian Pl., Bend, OR 97701
3 beds, 2.5 baths, 2,441 square feet, .1008 acre lot
Built in 2016
$399,950
Listed by Hasson Company Realtors
HIGH
19024 NW Squirreltail Loop, Bend, OR 97701
4 beds, 2.5 baths, 3,850 square feet, .26 acre lot
Built in 2007
$1,749,000
Listed by Bend Premier Real Estate
