California has a reputation as a strong business community – it has the film industry in Southern California, the technology industry in Silicon Valley and the wine country in Napa Valley. Combine this entrepreneurial spirit with strong tourism, excellent universities, and great weather all year round, and you will get the recipe for a healthy small business community across the state! But where exactly are the top California cities for businesses? We took the latest census data to create an estimate for each city.
So, what are the top California cities for businesses
That is not an easy question. It is not as easy as hiring commercial movers Los Angeles and moving there, hoping that you will succeed. We have gathered a list of the best cities for business in California, so you can make your plan in advance.
#1 Palo Alto
At the head of our list is a city that is synonymous with entrepreneurship. In the heart of Silicon Valley, Palo Alto is a legendary home to many startups and technology companies, including HP, Ideo, Nest, Palantir, Tesla, and VMWare. And many other companies worked from Palo Alto in the early years – Facebook, Google, Paypal, and Pinterest. The Palo Alto Business Community is supported by Stanford University, one of the best colleges in California, and in the USA also.
The city is leading our study on average household income, with a whopping average of $147. Its score is also helped by a very high average business income and an incredibly low unemployment rate of 2.6%. You should keep in mind that the current US unemployment rate is about 4.9%.
Interesting fact: Facebook was working from home in Palo Alto when the company first moved to California. You may remember this from this scene in the Social Network.
#2 Yorba Linda
37 miles from downtown Los Angeles, in Orange County, is the city of Yorba Linda. The beautiful landscape of Orange County and the proximity to the center of Los Angeles attract a rich group of residents.
Yorba Linda has the second largest average income of any city (US $121,102). And a very high percentage of owner-occupied housing (82.61%). This economic health provides an excellent opportunity for small business owners, especially in service-oriented services!
Interesting fact: President Richard Nixon was born in Yorba Linda, and his presidential library and museum are also located in the city.
#3 Torrance
This coastal city of Los Angeles County showed good results in all directions. Torrance is ranked 3rd in terms of average business income and 2nd in the percentage of firms with employees (30.85% of firms have employees). In Torrance, much of the economic power comes from manufacturing plants located in the city, such as Alcoa Fasteners, Exxon, Honda, and Robinson Helicopters.
Interesting fact: The Beverly Hills 90210 was filmed at Torrance High School.
#4 San Francisco
A technical boom helped San Francisco become one of the most powerful business communities in the United States. Perhaps you communicate daily with many companies from San Francisco: AirBnb, Gap, Levi Strauss, Lyft, Twitter, Uber, Square, and Yelp are just a few of the thousands of companies that call SF home.
But the business environment in San Francisco is not just in high-tech companies! Growth in the region attracts entrepreneurial breeds to all sectors of the city, helping to improve the small business community as a whole. San Francisco has more than 116,800 firms in the city with total sales of more than $ 175 billion! Many people are moving to San Francisco, so it records a significant population growth of 7.32%.
#5 Thousand Oaks
Thousand Oaks is 35 miles northwest of Los Angeles in Ventura County. The city has established itself well, including the 3rd largest average family income ($ 108) and the 2nd largest percentage of owner-occupied housing (69.8%). There are several corporate headquarters and regional offices, including Amgen, Verizon, and Volkswagen.
Interesting fact: Scenes from “Birth of a Nation”, “Tarzana” and “Robin’s Adventures” were filmed in Thousand Oaks.
#6 Santa Monica
At the western end of Los Angeles is the famous beach town of Santa Monica. The city has a strong economy, aided by many companies located within its borders, and its role as a beach tourist destination. Hulu, Lionsgate Films, RAND Corp, Toms Shoes and Universal Music are located in Santa Monica.
In Santa Monica, almost 23% of firms have employees. There are more than 23,153 companies in the city, and the population is only 93,220 people!
Interesting fact: Santa Monica is part of the coast near Los Angeles, nicknamed Silicone Beach. Over the past few years, many start-ups and technology companies have opened or moved into the region.
#7 Redwood City
Between San Jose and San Francisco, there is Redwood City. Over the past ten years, the bay area has increased dramatically. And in Redwood City, there has been a sharp increase in population. From 2010 to 2015, its population increased by almost 11%. Redwood City can thank many of its major employers for their continued economic health. Two large companies – Electronic Arts and Oracle – employ more than 9,000 people. This is more than 10% of the community! But, if you want to move your office there, you could still have enough employees.
#8 San Clemente
Down from the coast of Yorba Linda is another town in Orange County, San Clemente. San Clemente scored good for all indicators, but it was especially good in terms of average household income (US $ 100,187), unemployment (4.2%) and the percentage of owner-occupied housing (66.48%).
Interesting fact: Richard Nixon’s West White House, La Casa Pacifica, is located in San Clemente.
# 9. Los Angeles – One of the top California cities for businesses
Nothing can go without LA. As the center of the film industry, with so many potential clients, it represents one of the top California cities for businesses. Median household income is a bit above $55,000, and the unemployment rate is less than 5%. If you consider moving your business there, you can get your moving quotes Los Angeles easily.
Interesting fact: By 1923, a quarter of the world’s oil was produced in Los Angeles. It still has the third largest oil field in the country!