Many people in Reutten owed their prosperity to the salt trade. The salt from Hall in Tyrol stopped in Reutte on its way to the Lake Constance area and Switzerland, where the "white gold" was stored overnight. All professions - farmers, craftsmen, innkeepers, merchants - earned from this branch of the economy.
 

The Lech bridge, built in 1464 between Reutte and Lechaschau, made it possible to cross the dangerous wild river without danger. The collapse of the salt trade then led to great hardship. Many men had to move abroad as seasonal workers from spring to fall, children were sent to the Allgäu as so-called "Swabian children" to herd cattle, help on farms and look after children.
 

From the fifties until today, Reutte has experienced a tremendous upswing thanks to its central position and its traffic situation. The once predominant agricultural structure in economic and social life has disappeared. Trade, commerce, industry, tourism and administration are today the characteristics of the district capital.