Apple Prineville Data Center

Bend's economy combines outdoor recreation and tourism (Mount Bachelor, the Deschutes River), craft brewing (Deschutes Brewery is the metro's signature company), healthcare, and a growing tech remote-worker influx. Data centers have a small footprint — two tracked facilities and roughly 80 NAICS 518 jobs (estimated). The metro is small but growing with tech in-migration.

The electrician wage is striking: $99,200 median across just 610 workers, near the very top of any US metro and reflecting Oregon's prevailing wage rules plus the construction labor shortage from rapid population growth. HVAC technicians earn $61,150 — a substantial gap, but the trade is healthy. Network admins clear $103,700, also high. The 980 maintenance workforce earns $54,660.

For a trades worker, Bend is the rare small metro with electrician wages competitive with Portland or Seattle. Best fit for IBEW electricians willing to relocate to a high-amenity, high-cost market. HVAC techs and maintenance workers earn well above national for a small metro. The data center component is minimal but commercial demand is real.