Bend still seeing growth in new businesses, though rate slowed in 2022, report says

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Bend entrepreneurs registered 3,625 new businesses with the state of Oregon last year, a 3% increase from 2021, which is only one-third the growth rate of the prior year, a report released this weekend said.

In comparison, the increase in business registrations from pandemic-stricken 2020 to 2021 was 9%, slightly higher than the annual population growth of Bend, said Jeff Eager, business attorney at Bend law firm EagerLaw PC.

“I’m not surprised the rate of growth slowed somewhat in 2022,” Eager said. "The 2020 numbers were depressed significantly by Covid and widespread business restrictions throughout Oregon, including in Bend.

"Also, with state economists predicting a recession in Oregon in 2023, it makes sense for business formations to slow a bit at this point in the business cycle," he added. "Even so, Bend saw one new business registered for every 28 residents in 2022, an impressive clip for a city its size.”

The following tables and graphs were compiled by EagerLaw PC from Oregon Secretary of State data:

New Bend Business Registrations

2020-2022 Comparable