Economy of Ontario, OR

and Home Depot dominate the retail sector, however, the lack of a sales tax in the state attracts relocating retailers and shoppers from Idaho communities. Ontario also attracts employees, who benefit from a minimum wage that as of 2012 was 21% higher than the one paid in Idaho.

The Four Rivers Cultural Center, which was named by John and Chaundra Cammack, was named after the Snake, Malheur, Owyhee and Payette rivers, has a museum that traces the history of settlement in the area by the Northern Paiutes and Basque, Japanese American, Eskimos, Hispanic and European American immigrants. The center's theater and conference center contribute regional dollars to the local economy, as does Treasure Valley Community College, located near the cultural center.

St. Alphonsus Medical Center is a 49-bed, acute-care hospital, serving Ontario and the surrounding communities in Eastern Oregon and southwestern Idaho; it is part of the hospital system of Saint Alphonsus Hospital in Boise, Idaho.

Ontario's role as a regional center of economic growth is challenged by the westward expansion of Boise, about fifty miles east of the city. While Oregon's lack of a sales tax is an asset, the state's land use laws make it hard for the city to grow a property tax base and match the pace of development seen across the state line in Idaho. An article in the August 14, 2005 edition of The Oregonian noted that half of the staff of the Snake River Correctional Institution, Oregon's largest state prison and a large Ontario employer, live in Idaho, commuting daily across the state line. The article also noted that the land use laws that protect farmland across the state work to a farmer's disadvantage if farmers cannot find a way to compete profitably