All Things BendBend, OregonLocal guide

Working in Bend · 2027 guide · Updated October 19, 2026

Best Places to Work in Bend, Oregon

Who actually employs Bend, which workplaces employees rate highest, and where the hiring is heading into 2027. Built from the newest public data, not guesses about company culture.

4.5%Deschutes County unemploymentAugust 2026, not seasonally adjusted
+1,340Private-sector jobs in a yearDeschutes County, Feb 2025–Feb 2026
−940Public-sector jobs in a yearSame period
108,800Jobs in Central OregonNonfarm, January 2026 average

Heading into 2027

Where Bend's jobs are going

Bend's job market cooled in 2026: total jobs in Deschutes County were roughly flat over the year to February, but that hid a split. Private employers added jobs while government shrank. "Best" depends on what you want, so start with the path that fits you.

HealthcareStill the biggest and most varied. St. Charles is shifting toward specialty care, and clinic groups like Summit and Mosaic are among Bend's biggest employers.Strongest for clinical and specialty roles
Making thingsAerospace (Epic Aircraft), pharma development (Lonza, Serán, Thermo Fisher) and, in Redmond, data center equipment (BASX, 1,033 people).Engineers, technicians, skilled trades
Public serviceCity, county, schools and the Forest Service offer stable pay scales and benefits, but fewer openings after 2026's cuts.Apply early, set alerts
Outdoors & hospitalityMt. Bachelor, Sunriver Resort, Tetherow, Juniper Preserve and the Riverhouse hire in waves before each season.Fall hiring for winter
Bend brandsLes Schwab corporate, Deschutes Brewery, Hydro Flask and Ruffwear. Great names, few openings.Watch their pages
Mission-drivenTen Bend-area nonprofits made Oregon Business's 2026 best nonprofits list.See the list

By headcount

The 16 biggest employers in Bend

Employees working in Bend, public and private, from the Economic Development for Central Oregon (EDCO) 2026 list. Seasonal employers report their peak.

  1. St. Charles Health System4,528
  2. Bend-La Pine Schools2,256
  3. Mt. Bachelor1,311
  4. Deschutes County1,087
  5. City of Bend783
  6. Almost Family (home health)731
  7. Summit Medical Group Oregon655
  8. Central Oregon Community College631
  9. Epic Aircraft544
  10. Costco513
  11. U.S. Forest Service, Deschutes NF480
  12. Les Schwab HQ & tire centers465
  13. Lonza (formerly Bend Research)367
  14. Central Oregon Radiology Associates347
  15. Mosaic Community Health330
  16. OSU-Cascades315

Source: EDCO 2026 largest employers (released April 2026). Numbers are self-reported and not audited; some employers chose not to take part. Mosaic is listed by EDCO under its former name, Mosaic Medical.

Employer watchlist

Who to keep tabs on in 2027

What each is good for, what changed this year, and the official place to apply. We don't rank culture we can't see from outside; check pay, benefits and work arrangement on each posting.

HealthcareLargest employer

St. Charles Health System

Headcount: 4,528 in Bend · 5,538 regionwide

Best for: The widest range of careers in town

Grew about 7% in a year. In June 2026 it cut 45 leadership roles (22 filled), less than 1% of staff and no direct patient care, while shifting toward specialties such as orthopedics, neurosurgery, urology, GI and cancer care. For 2027, clinical and specialty roles look stronger than management.

Typical roles: Nursing and clinical, imaging, pharmacy, IT, finance, facilities, admin

Official careers page
Education

Bend-La Pine Schools

Headcount: 2,256 in Bend

Best for: Teaching, school support and summers off

The district now posts jobs on its new site, blschools.org. Classified roles (bus, nutrition, office) are a common way in without a teaching license.

Typical roles: Teachers, instructional assistants, nutrition, transportation, counselors, admin

Official careers page
Outdoors & hospitality

Mt. Bachelor

Headcount: 1,311 at the seasonal peak

Best for: A ski-season job with a pass

Hiring ramps up in early fall for winter. A smaller year-round team runs operations, marketing and finance.

Typical roles: Lifts, ski school, food and beverage, retail, rental, patrol, mountain ops

Official careers page
Public sector

Deschutes County

Headcount: 1,087 in Bend

Best for: Public health and county services

Public jobs in the county shrank by 940 over the year to February 2026, so expect fewer openings and more competition than a few years ago.

Typical roles: Health and behavioral health, roads, sheriff and corrections, assessor, admin

Official careers page
Public sector

City of Bend

Headcount: 783

Best for: Engineering, planning and city operations

Openings are posted on GovernmentJobs.com with job descriptions and alerts; Oregon veterans' preference applies.

Typical roles: Engineering, utilities, planning, police, fire, IT, finance

Official careers page
ManufacturingTraded sector

Epic Aircraft

Headcount: 544 in Bend

Best for: Aerospace and composites

Builds the six-seat, all-composite E1000 turboprop at Bend Airport. One of EDCO's top five private employers that sell outside the region.

Typical roles: Composites, assembly, engineering, quality, flight ops

Official careers page
Retail & corporate

Les Schwab

Headcount: 465 in Bend

Best for: Corporate careers without leaving Bend

Founded in Prineville in 1952. EDCO's Bend count covers headquarters staff and tire centers; the Prineville campus handles warehousing and distribution.

Typical roles: Store teams, corporate IT, finance, marketing, supply chain

Official careers page
Life sciences

Lonza, Serán Bioscience & Thermo Fisher

Headcount: 367 · 207 · 140 in Bend

Best for: Science and pharma manufacturing

Three life-science employers in Bend's top 35 make this a real local career path. Lonza's Bend site is the former Bend Research.

Typical roles: Chemists, process engineers, quality, manufacturing

Official careers page
Higher education

COCC & OSU-Cascades

Headcount: 631 · 315 in Bend

Best for: Campus careers and teaching adults

Search OSU's portal by the Bend location for OSU-Cascades roles.

Typical roles: Faculty, advising, IT, facilities, research, part-time instructors

Official careers page
HospitalityOregon Business 2026 #19

Sunriver Resort

Headcount: 500 (Oregon)

Best for: Resort work with a top-rated culture

Ranked #19 among large companies in Oregon Business's 2026 employee-survey list. Employees there cited culture, pay, benefits and location.

Typical roles: Hospitality, food and beverage, golf, recreation, maintenance

Official careers page
Healthcare

Summit Health & Mosaic Community Health

Headcount: 655 · 330 in Bend

Best for: Clinic jobs outside the hospital

Summit (listed by EDCO as Summit Medical Group Oregon) runs multispecialty clinics; Mosaic (formerly Mosaic Medical) is the region's nonprofit community health center.

Typical roles: Medical assistants, nursing, front desk, behavioral health, dental

Official careers page
Bend brands

Hydro Flask, Ruffwear & Deschutes Brewery

Headcount: Deschutes Brewery: 289 in Bend

Best for: Outdoor and consumer brand careers

Openings are rare compared with the big employers, so set alerts. Hydro Flask hires through parent Helen of Troy (it posted a Bend-based product manager role in fall 2026).

Typical roles: Product, design, marketing, e-commerce, brewing, sales

Official careers page

Rated by their own employees

Bend's award-winning workplaces

Oregon Business ranks its 100 Best lists from anonymous employee surveys, which makes them the closest thing to an inside view. These Central Oregon employers made the 2026 lists.

100 Best Companies to Work For in Oregon, 2026

  1. Sunshine Retirement Living
    Bend; 130 Oregon employees    #15, large companies
  2. Sunriver Resort
    Sunriver; 500 Oregon employees    #19, large companies
  3. Steele Associates Architects
    Bend; 17 employees    #24, small companies
  4. BBT Architects
    Bend; 19 employees    #26, small companies
  5. Sierra James Construction
    Bend; 58 employees    #31, medium companies

100 Best Nonprofits to Work For, 2026

  • Central Oregon LandWatch#3 small
  • Healing Reins#7 small
  • Bethlehem Inn#10 medium
  • Deschutes Land Trust#14 small
  • Central Oregon Independent Practice Association#18 small
  • Bend-Redmond Habitat for Humanity#21 medium
  • Central Oregon Collective#25 large
  • CASA of Central Oregon#25 small
  • NeighborImpact (Redmond)#29 large
  • Cascades Academy#33 medium

Source: Oregon Business 2026 100 Best Companies and 100 Best Nonprofits. Only employers that apply are surveyed, so plenty of good Bend workplaces are not on it.

FAQ

Working in Bend: common questions

Who is the largest employer in Bend, Oregon?

St. Charles Health System, with 4,528 employees in Bend and 5,538 across Central Oregon in EDCO's 2026 list. Bend-La Pine Schools (2,256) and Mt. Bachelor (1,311 at its seasonal peak) are next.

Is it hard to find a job in Bend?

It can be. Deschutes County unemployment was about 4.5% in August 2026, and the region has far fewer large employers than Portland. Private-sector jobs grew over the year to February 2026 while public-sector jobs shrank, so healthcare, skilled trades, manufacturing and hospitality have the most openings.

What are the best companies to work for in Bend?

Based on employee surveys, Oregon Business's 2026 list included Sunshine Retirement Living, Sunriver Resort, Steele Associates Architects, BBT Architects and Sierra James Construction from the Bend area, plus ten local nonprofits including Central Oregon LandWatch, Healing Reins and Bethlehem Inn.

What industries are growing in Central Oregon?

EDCO's 2026 list highlights healthcare (St. Charles grew about 7%), data center equipment (BASX in Redmond, now over 1,000 local employees), medical device reprocessing (Medline ReNewal, up 23%) and aerospace (Epic Aircraft). Data centers in Prineville (Meta) are a major regional employer.

Do many people in Bend work remotely?

Yes, many professionals live in Bend and work for companies elsewhere, so remote and hybrid listings are worth including in a Bend job search, along with Redmond for in-person roles.

Living in Bend

Planning a move?

Moving to BendCost of living, housing and what to expectNeighborhoodsWhere to live for your commuteCoworking spacesFor remote workers

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