2020 county payroll tops $1 billion
By Terry Murry on Friday, December 17th, 2021 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
UMATILLA COUNTY – Umatilla County’s all-industry payroll in 2020 was almost $1.4 billion. That’s the first time the figure has hit the billion dollar mark. Commissioner Dan Dorran said that might not seem like much to Multnomah County with its $39 billion payroll figure, but it’s a big step for Umatilla County.
“If you’re in Eastern Oregon and you’re the only Eastern Oregon county that has crossed that threshold, that’s something to be very proud of,” Dorran said.
The commissioner has lived in Umatilla County all his life and said the current growth astounds him.
“It’s an incredible number to me, coming from a kid that grew up when the payroll in the county was in the $80-million range,” he said. “I can’t say enough about how proud I am of Umatilla County, being a lifetime resident, of hitting that $1 billion line on the graph.”
He said hitting that benchmark will make recruiting new firms to the area easier and aid in attracting future employees as well.
