How many people are employed in Oregon?

According to Census Bureau County Business Patterns 2023 data, Oregon has 1,635,645 employees across 121,427 business establishments in 880 tracked industries.

What are the largest industries in Oregon?

The largest industries in Oregon by employment are General Medical and Surgical Hospitals (77,363), Full-Service Restaurants (64,406), and Limited-Service Restaurants (59,127).

What is the average payroll in Oregon?

Average payroll per employee varies widely by industry in Oregon. The highest-paying tracked industry is Investment Banking and Securities Dealing at $247,317/yr. All data is from Census Bureau County Business Patterns 2023.

How many businesses operate in Oregon?

Oregon has 121,427 business establishments across 880 industries tracked by the Census Bureau County Business Patterns program. Each establishment represents a single physical location or operating unit.

State overview · OR · Census CBP 2023

Oregon Industry Benchmarks

Name: Oregon Industry Employment and Payroll Benchmarks
Creator: PlainBizBench
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Employment, establishments, and payroll for 880 industries in Oregon. Drill into any industry for a Oregon-specific view, then cross-reference the national page for margins.

Compiled by PlainBizBench

1.6M
Workers: 121K
Establishments: 880
Industries tracked

Data updated August 2026

The verdict · Oregon

Oregon employs 1,635,645 workers across 880 tracked industries, led by General Medical and Surgical Hospitals (77,363 workers).

No single sector dominates Oregon (lead 17%; top-three 42%). Margins stay on national industry pages.

Oregon sector employment mix

Share of private-sector employment by NAICS-2 sector (Census CBP 2023). Tile area = workers.

Oregon private employment by sector · Census CBP 2023

Oregon spreads employment across sectors: the largest, Health Care and Social Assistance, is only 17% of 1,635,645 private-sector workers (about the 47th percentile of states by employment). No single NAICS-2 block dominates the private labor market here.

OR breadth ledger · HHI 0.096
Sector	Workers	Share
Health Care and Social Assistance (62)	286,220	17%
Retail Trade (44)	214,932	13%
Accommodation and Food Services (72)	188,725	12%
Top-three cumulative 42% - no single NAICS-2 block dominates.

Profit margins are national (IRS SOI); open any industry row below, then the matching national industry page for profitability.

Census CBP firm roll

County Business Patterns OR DISTRIBUTED · CBP

#27/51 · 1,635,645 workers · 121,427 firms

EMP 1,635,645
EST 121,427
RANK #27/51
PCT 47th pct
LEAD Health Care and Soci…
SHARE 17% lead
BAND distributed
DENS 13.5 /firm
BOOK 880 NAICS
PHOTO Louisiana

Nearest employment-scale peer: Louisiana (1,658,849 workers)

According to Census County Business Patterns 2023, Oregon ranks #27 of 51 states and territories by total private-sector employment (level-2 sector totals, the same non-double-counted aggregate shown above). Margins stay on national industry pages (IRS SOI). Read with this state → · Lead 6-digit industry →

Census CBP level-2 private employment among this state and nearest nationwide peers

Top Industries by Employment

Industry	Employment	Establishments	Annual Payroll	Avg Payroll/Emp
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals NAICS 622110	77,363	65	$7.3B	$94,592/yr
Full-Service Restaurants NAICS 722511	64,406	4,240	$1.9B	$30,064/yr
Limited-Service Restaurants NAICS 722513	59,127	3,396	$1.4B	$23,773/yr
Temporary Help Services NAICS 561320	32,315	466	$1.3B	$41,437/yr
Offices of Physicians (except Mental Health Specialists) NAICS 621111	31,412	2,040	$3.0B	$94,240/yr
Hotels (except Casino Hotels) and Motels NAICS 721110	21,496	984	$722.6M	$33,617/yr
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars NAICS 722515	20,280	1,677	$454.0M	$22,388/yr
Religious Organizations NAICS 813110	18,130	2,411	$482.0M	$26,585/yr
Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities NAICS 624120	17,611	587	$630.2M	$35,786/yr
Assisted Living Facilities for the Elderly NAICS 623312	17,599	1,090	$648.6M	$36,853/yr
Offices of Dentists NAICS 621210	15,999	1,913	$1.0B	$65,155/yr
Plumbing, Heating, and Air-Conditioning Contractors NAICS 238220	15,676	1,337	$1.3B	$85,283/yr
Electrical Contractors and Other Wiring Installation Contractors NAICS 238210	15,655	988	$1.5B	$92,777/yr
New Car Dealers NAICS 441110	14,021	305	$1.1B	$75,737/yr
Couriers and Express Delivery Services NAICS 492110	13,924	160	N/A	N/A
Commercial Banking NAICS 522110	13,814	906	$1.1B	$79,625/yr
Software Publishers NAICS 511210	13,674	416	$2.2B	$164,134/yr
Child Day Care Services NAICS 624410	13,335	1,517	$453.2M	$33,986/yr
Nursing Care Facilities (Skilled Nursing Facilities) NAICS 623110	12,915	232	$662.4M	$51,287/yr
Engineering Services NAICS 541330	12,448	838	$1.3B	$102,131/yr

Breadth peers near Oregon's private employment

Nearest other states by Census CBP level-2 private employment (1,635,645 in Oregon), excluding OR.

Louisiana 1,658,849 Kentucky 1,674,114 Alabama 1,727,530 Connecticut 1,527,746 Utah 1,512,504 Oklahoma 1,358,788 Iowa 1,306,260 Nevada 1,298,196

Disclaimer: Oregon (OR) figures on this page are Census CBP employment and payroll counts for informational registry use only, not financial, tax, or business advice. Consult a qualified accountant for decisions about Oregon businesses.

Source: Census Bureau County Business Patterns (CBP) 2023 · OR

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Data sourced from official public datasets for Oregon (OR). See our methodology.

Verify with U.S. Census Bureau → · Verify with IRS SOI →