Cranberries are raised in the bogs near Grayland along the south shore of Grays Harbor. A large cranberry processing plant, also located on the south shore of Grays Harbor, handles most of the regional cranberry harvest. There is a history of gravel mining along the Chehalis River near Elma. A few of the abandoned pits have been reclaimed for wildlife habitat, and swimming ponds for a county park. It contains two malls and many businesses in the downtown area.
Industries are numerous around the harbor.
They include a port and large log storage yard, two pulp and paper mills, a veneer plant, a shake plant, a plywood plant, a pulp mill equipment plant, and a strapping plant. While this subbasin has not experienced high or even average growth rates, high rates of growth in nearby population centers are encouraging residential development in rural areas. This spillover effect could cause growth to exceed traditional norms. Several theories have been presented to account for this decline. Some of the problems have been vigorously addressed in recent years by both industry and municipalities, and still the problems remain.