Oruro has been subject to cycles of boom and bust owing to its dependence on the mining industry, notably tin, tungsten (wolfram), silver and copper.

In the early 21st century, Oruro's economy grew through trade and economic connections with Chile, especially for exporting products to Pacific markets.

[5] Thanks to increased road building, Oruro has become important as a waystation on the overland route of goods from the Atlantic port of Santos, Brazil, through Puerto Suárez and Santa Cruz to the capital, La Paz.

Despite its economic decline, the city attracts numerous tourists to its Carnaval de Oruro, considered one of the great folkloric events in South America for its masked "diablada"[7] and Anata.

Due to the warm days and dry winters, snow is not a frequent occurrence as much as the bitter cold (especially at night); however, flurries can fall usually once every few years, most recently July 4, 2015.

Because of a high proportion of German-speaking residents, many of whom came as immigrants to work in the mines, the area once had a German school, Deutsche Schule Oruro.