Sherman County's Community Development Department strives to research, pursue, and encourage Economic Development activities that include job creation and retention and tourism marketing for the County. The Department manages Sherman County’s Enterprise Zone, which encourages businesses to locate within the cities in Sherman County by waiving property taxes for three to five years.

Sherman County is in an  Intergovernmental Agreement with Mid-Columbia Economic Development District (MCEDD) for the provision of local economic development services.

MCEDD is a government non-profit headquartered in The Dalles, Oregon. It is governed by a public-private board of directors representing counties, cities, ports, chambers, and major private industries. It serves Hood River, Wasco, Sherman, Skamania, and Klickitat counties in better accessing economic development loans and grants, pooled technical assistance, and a regional approach to economic development efforts.

Under the terms of the Intergovernmental Agreement between MCEDD and Sherman County, MCEDD provides Sherman County with the following services:

• Economic Development Opportunities & Assistance: MCEDD identifies both the economic opportunities throughout Sherman County and the investments to address the current, most important economic needs of the County. Projects will focus on infrastructure to support community readiness, and initiatives and activities that demonstrate potential for the greatest economic growth. MCEDD performs this role by reaching out to Sherman County's community leaders. 
• Economic Development Assistance: MCEDD works with the County Court and partners with the County to ensure all efforts are made to provide assistance. MCEDD facilitates discussions and efforts that consider how Sherman County can encourage, support, and help foster a business climate that attracts private-sector investments and job creation.
• Information and Referral: MCEDD serves as point-of-contact for Sherman County for economic  development information requests and makes referrals as needed to community partners. The project lead will represent the County, whenever possible, at economic-development-related activities in the region.
• Grant Assistance: MCEDD staff provide grant-writing services and grant-administration services for small projects as time allows.