[4] Hermiston sits near the junction of I-82 and I-84, and is 7 miles south of the Columbia River, the Washington state line, Lake Wallula, and the McNary Dam.

The Hermiston area has become a hub for logistics and data center activity due to the proximity of the I-82 and I-84 interchange, Pacific Northwest fiber optic backbone, and low power costs.

Hermiston's early development was plagued by rivalry between The Maxwell Land & Irrigation Company and developers Skinner & Newport, who both fought to establish their own town of Hermiston in the exact same spot, centrally located in the irrigation district along the Oregon Railway and Navigation Company's main line.

[9] The greater Hermiston region began to see irrigated agriculture in 1908, with the completion of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation's Umatilla Basin Project in the form of Cold Springs Reservoir.

[10] The region saw modest growth until the outbreak of World War II, when the Umatilla Army Depot was constructed, causing Hermiston's population to jump from 803 at the 1940 US Census to 3,804 in 1950.

The region continued to experience modest growth for the next several decades until the 1970s, when low power costs coupled with the development of center-pivot irrigation resulted in a significant expansion in agricultural acreage put in to potato production.

The 1990s brought additional large employment developments to the Hermiston region in the form of Two Rivers Correctional Institution, a Wal-Mart Distribution Center, expansion of the Union Pacific Hinkle Rail Yard, and beginning of the Umatilla Army Depot's Chemical Weapon Incineration process.

According to 2018 U.S. Census estimates, there were 135,503 people actively employed within a 30-mile radius of Hermiston;[15] in comparison, there are 75,075 in the next-largest regional Labor Shed in Bend.

[15] Hermiston-area employers benefit greatly from the proximity of the Tri-Cities in Washington which, based on light traffic, and easy freeway access, is approximately 30–35 minutes to the north of Hermiston.

Riverfront Park features 16 acres of open grassy areas alongside the Umatilla River, as well as nearly a mile of paved walking paths, with picnic shelters, restrooms, and fishing access.

A 1.8-mile paved walking path, named the Oxbow Trail, was added in 2015 to connect Riverfront Park with the north side of town near Good Shepherd Medical Center.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 7.81 square miles (20.23 km2), all land.

This gives the area hot dry summers with high daytime temperatures which do cool considerably overnight, and relatively cold winters which typically yield several snow storms per year with relatively minimal accumulation.

This cross-state membership was approved by the WIAA in 2017 in recognition of the lack of comparable sized large high schools elsewhere in Eastern Oregon.

Hermiston benefits from being near the exact center of the Pacific Northwest, and at the crossroads of several major interstate highways.

Tri-Cities Airport is located approximately 40 minutes north of Hermiston, and offers commercial flights to Seattle, Salt Lake City, Denver, Minneapolis, Las Vegas, Portland, San Francisco, and Phoenix.

In 2014, due to strong growth in demand, the Port of Pasco approved a $42 million renovation and expansion, that will double the size of the current terminal.