Salem Economy

Salem Diesel Prices Hit Record High

The average price of diesel reached about $6.77 a gallon Friday, adding another cost pressure for Salem businesses that depend on trucks, deliveries and equipment.

USDA Backs $5.85M Hubbard Manufacturing Deal, Preserving 75 Jobs

Oregon Unemployment Holds at 5.2%, Tied for Highest Among States

Sold-Out IRONMAN Expected to Bring $11.3 Million Into Salem Region

Cherriots Bus Expansion Hits Pause After Payroll Tax Talks Stall

Salem Adopts $824.6M Budget For Police, Fire And Library Services

Salem’s Job Market Holds Up As Oregon Forecast Signals Slower Growth

Salem Jobless Rate Falls To 4.9% In April As Local Hiring Shows Mixed Signals

Moms Are the $2 Trillion Buying Engine of the American Economy

Note from the editor: I'm including a hyperlink next to every statistic in this piece so you can check the math yourself. None of these numbers are mine — they...

Rising Rents Put New Pressure On Salem Housing Vouchers

Chamber’s 75th Awards Put Workforce, Culture and Civic Investment at Center of 2026 Honors

Salem’s Latest Bond Sale Gives City More Upfront Cash For Streets, Fire Stations And Other Major Projects

Commercial Market Defined by Discipline

By: Curt Arthur & Deanna Gwyn The Mid-Valley real estate picture in 2026 is being shaped less by fast growth and more by restraint — tighter deal standards on the...

Salem Economic Forum- Steady Multifamily, Small-Shop Retail Momentum, And A Longer Permitting Clock

Quick Summary- Click here! Retail leasing picked up in 2025 as smaller-format deals drove volume, while landlords and tenants paid closer attention to pass-through costs like security and ta...

City Council Moves Forward with Repealing the Downtown Business Parking Tax

Salem City Council voted unanimously Monday night to advance the repeal of the Downtown Parking District Tax, a long-running assessment paid by businesses in the downtown core to help fund.....

Oregon petition campaign submits nearly 200,000 signatures to challenge transportation tax hikes

A Republican-led campaign seeking to roll back parts of Oregon’s new transportation funding law turned in 194,000 voter signatures to the Oregon Secretary of State’s Elections Division on Fr...

A System Under Strain: The Expanding Cost of Homelessness in Oregon’s Mid-Willamette Valley

Homelessness in the Mid-Willamette Valley has reached record levels, exposing the limits of Oregon’s current response and the financial weight of maintaining it. The 2025 Point-in-Time count...

Wells Fargo to Shutter Salem Call Center, Cutting 147 Jobs as Part of National Consolidation

Wells Fargo & Co. will permanently close its Salem operations center, eliminating 147 positions by the end of the year as part of a broad plan to streamline its nationwide...

Cherriots Board Delays Payroll Tax Vote, Forms Joint Committee with Business Coalition

The Salem Area Mass Transit District (Cherriots) has decided to delay a vote on its proposed employer-paid payroll tax, opting instead to form a joint committee with local business leaders.....

Salem Closes $17.7 Million Budget Gap Without Payroll Tax

Less than a year ago, Salem’s financial forecast showed the city headed for a $17.7 million shortfall in its General Fund for the 2026 fiscal year. City staff warned that...