Broadband
A fiber optic network loop provides Giga-Bit bandwidth capabilities for businesses to locate their facilities in near-proximity to U.S. Highway 101 anywhere from the northern California border north to the south border of Coos County, Oregon. A one Giga-Bit fiber connection is sufficient to service more than 4,000 employees in a sophisticated call center. Multiple Giga-Bit fiber feeds from this network and can support corporate data centers like Google, Amazon and Facebook. The Curry Coast is an ideal place for professionals seeking to live on the coast but work remotely from corporate offices located elsewhere.
Power
Curry County relies on two companies for the County’s electricity needs of the county, Coos-Curry Electric Cooperative Inc. and Pacific Power. Your location dictates the company that will provide service. View the boundaries of service for each company here. Because curry County's electric service are is located directly along the Pacific Ocean, energy usage is considerably lower than the inland consumption due to the temperature regulation. Oregon is ranked 11th nationally by America’s Electric Cooperatives with rates at 10.7 cents per kilowatt/hour; however Curry County’s rates are about 9.8 cents per kilowatt/hour.
Ground Transportation
U.S. Highway 101 travels along the Pacific coast running north-south through Curry County and provides for easy access to coastal communities and transport of timber and goods. State highways 42 and 99 run east to west connecting U.S. 101 to U.S. Interstate 5. Eugene and Medford are within a 200-mile travel radius. U.S. 101 South also connects to U.S. 199 with access to Grants Pass through California. There are no toll roads in Curry County.
Curry Public Transit, the local bus service runs along Highway 101 from Smith River, CA to North Bend, OR. Stops include: Harbor, Brookings, Gold Beach, Port Orford, Bandon, and Coos Bay. More information can be found at Curry Public Transit's Website. Other bus services with access to and within Curry County include Redwood Coast Transit: serving Crescent City, Gasquet and Arcata. Curry Public Transit connects in Smith River, California; Coos County Area Transis (CCAT); and the Pacific Crest Bus Lines which provides services between Coos Bay and Eugene.
Rail
Rail freight services are offered to Coos Bay, 35 miles north of Curry County. The Amtrak Coast Starlight Line serves cities along Oregon's I-5 corridor on its route northwest from Los Angeles to Seattle.
Air Transportation
The Gold Beach Municipal Airport and the Brookings Airport are easily accessible by U.S. Highway 101 through their respective cities. Both are local general aviation airports and can accomodate general aviation users and local business activities. There are 2,500 or more annual operations or more than ten based aircraft out of each of these airports.
The Cape Blanco State Airport is located within ten miles of Port Orford to the North and for emergency and recreation use. Less than 2,500 annual operations function out of this airport, with ten or fewer based aircraft at this time. As noted on the State of Oregon Department of Aviation web site, "the airport plays a supportive role in the current system, providing access to the surrounding recreational areas, including several State parks, the Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge, and the Orford and Blanco reefs. There are several large turboprop business aircraft currently operating at the airport. The location of the airport also allows for continuation of the Oregon coastal airport system."
Other airports accommodating commercial flights to the area include Del Norte County Airport in Crescent City, California, one hour south of the southerly County border; the Southwest Oregon Regional Airport in North Bend, on hour from the northerly County border; the Rogue Valley International - Medford Airport in Medford, about three hours from the southerly County border, and the Eugene Airport in Eugene, about 3 hours from the northerly County border.
Water/Ports
There are three ports in Curry County. The Port at the sound the end of the county, Port of Brookings-Harbor, is a shallow-draft harbor used for both recreation and commercial fishing. As a full service commercial marina, the Port offers a six-lane launch ramp and travel-lift services, docks and moorage facilities, ocean front RV camping and shops and restaurants along a public boardwalk. The Port is the busiest recreational Port on the Oregon Coast with more than 31,000 bar crossing and more than 95,000 recreational users annually. More than 5,000 commercial fishing vessels visit the Port annually while more than 20 million pounds of bait, fuel, ice and fish products across its docks annually. Because of its location and geographical configuration, the Port of Brookings-Harbor is the safest bar on the Oregon Coast with more than 280 passable days per year.
In the central part of Curry County, the Port of Gold Beach is used primarily for recreation and offers 65 slips, electricity, water, launch ramp, pump out, and fuel dock. Office: 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Walking distance to: restaurants, guest facilties, groceries, restrooms.
Curry County's northernmost port, the Port of Port Orford, is heavily used for commercial fishing, and is the only dolly dock on the est coast (vessels are lifted in and out of the water by crane). The commercial fishing ports are critical to the county's successful fishing industry which yields not just fish, but crab and other coastal delicacies.
The Port provides boat launching services, fuel, public restrooms and showers and overnight parkig. also located at the Port is a restaurant, maritime museum, a tour guide businesses and commercial fish buyers.
School/Workforce
The county is served by three school districts, a community college, and a university extension office. The community college is the Southwestern Oregon Community College, and it is located in Brookings; the main campus is just north of the county in North Bend. In addition, local businesses help train and mentor youth for trades in welding, robotics, and technology.
The county is a member of the Southwestern Oregon Workforce Investment Board, https://www.sowib.org/ which assists the county and their businesses in workforce needs. A local workforce office is located in Brookings at the southerly end of Curry County.
Taxes
Property taxes comprise the bulk of revenue for Curry County. There is no County sales tax nor is there a business license requirement. For more information about property taxes, go to the County assessors web page at http://www.co.curry.or.us/government/county_assessor/index.php. For more information about Business taxes, or other taxes, visit Oregon.gov.
Climate
Curry County is known as the ‘Banana Belt’ because winters are milder than other Oregon areas. In winter the only snow found is high in the mountains, and although there is rain, it tends to be restricted to the winter months with just occasional showers the remainder of the year. Normal annual precipitation is 65 to 90 inches.
Summer months are cooler than inland areas and attract those in search of temperatures below 90 degrees—the Curry Coast is around 75 degrees during the summer months. The mild temperatures are a plus for businesses that need cooling facilities and are concerned about air conditioning costs.
Business Opportunities
The CCD Business Development Corporation, (CCD) and the South Coast Development Council, Inc. (SCDC) are excellent resources for businesses and industries in Curry County. CCD assists with financial consulting and U.S. Small Business Administration business loans for start ups and land, building and equipment acquisitions. SCDC provides technical assistance for expansion of existing growing of new businesses and industries and works closely with Curry County on a variety of economic development projects. More information is available on our Resources page.
The city of Brookings, and neighboring community of Harbor, have a Chamber of Commerce, as does the City of Gold Beach, and the City of Port Orford.