Harney County is the largest county in Oregon and encompasses 10,132 square miles (6,506,240 acres).  It is situated in the southeastern portion of the state and is bordered on the east by Malheur County, to the north by Grant County, to the northwest by Crook County, on the west by Deschutes and Lake Counties, and on the south by the State of Nevada.

Harney County is largely rural in nature with the largest urban area being the towns of Burns, the County seat, and Hines, immediately south of Burns.  There are other "rural" communities throughout the county accounting for smaller concentrations of the population.  

percent of which is administered by the Bureau of Land Management, 10 percent by the U. S. Forest Service, and about 2 percent managed by the Department of Fish and Wildlife.

About 4 percent of the County is owned by the State of Oregon; about 96 percent of the state-owned land is administered by the Land Board and 2 percent by the Highway Commission.  The State of Oregon Fish and Wildlife Department administers the remaining land owned by the state.

Approximately 1 percent of the County is owned by the County, Burns, and Hines and consists of County and City Parks, public facilities and road rights-of-way.

Harney County

The Community Profile for Harney County, when reviewing Economic Development and the many opportunities that are present in this area, deals with Economic Indicators and Demographics.  In other words the economic indicators and demographics demonstrate what development has occurred, what may occur in the future, and what sort of workforce is available to further development.  Also included is an overall profile or look at the major employment sectors rankings, climate, population major employers, labor force, cost of living, quality of life, education, recreation, government services, history, public services and facilities offered and a review of the land use statistics of Harney County.

Urban Communities

The communities in Harney County provide the opportunity to develop at either an urban density and design or a rural setting.  Burns and Hines are incorporated and have public services and facilities to provide any development adequate urban services to operate.  Along with the services that are available, the communities have unique histories and businesses which are currently operating that are diverse and provide the residents of Burns and Hines with a variety of products and services.   The information provided here gives a profile or look at the climate, population labor force, cost of living, quality of life, education, recreation, government services, history, public services and facilities offered and a review of the land use statistics of both Burns and Hines.

Rural Communities

Along with the more urbanized communities, Harney County has a host of unique rural communities that have pockets of settlement and areas available for development (i.e. Andrews, Buchanan, Crane, Diamond, Drewsey, Fields, Frenchglen, Lawen, Princeton, Riley and Wagontire).  These communities often do not have community facilities (i.e. water, sewer, etc) and so typically require individual installation of this infrastructure.  These communities offer a "one-of-a-kind" setting ranging from being nestled into the foothills of Steens Mountain, located out on the flats of typical high desert, sagebrush covered  landscapes to being near  the gate to the Malheur National Forest.  These communities have much to offer in their diversity and lifestyle.  They provide access, and are gateway communities, to many of the most unique landforms in Oregon.  This means that if development desires to be close to that type of an environment, these areas are just what you are looking for.