Oregon

Oregon's economy straddles two realities: a globally significant semiconductor manufacturing corridor anchored by Intel's Hillsboro fabs, and a natural-resource economy increasingly threatened by wildfire, drought, and timber decline. The state's techAI score reflects Intel's massive CHIPS Act expansion and Portland's growing software scene, though the tech workforce remains concentrated in the metro area while rural Oregon faces structural economic challenges.

Ecological stress is among the highest in the western US. The 2020 Labor Day fires burned over a million acres in a single week, and wildfire seasons have intensified each year since. Oregon's hydroelectric infrastructure, which provides roughly half the state's electricity, faces long-term risk from reduced snowpack and drought cycles in the Columbia Basin.

Politically, Oregon functions as a progressive policy laboratory, having pioneered drug decriminalization (Measure 110), aggressive climate regulation, and right-to-repair legislation. This creates moderate political risk for businesses navigating regulatory complexity, though the state's lack of a sales tax and educated workforce remain strong draws. The urban-rural political divide is among the sharpest in the nation, with several eastern counties voting to secede into Idaho.