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DEMOGRAPHICS / ANNUAL ECONOMIC INDICATORS & DEMOGRAPHICS
Santa Clarita is the fourth largest city in Los Angeles County with a population of 177,158 in January 2007 and the 24th largest city in the State of California. In Los Angeles County, only Los Angeles with a population of 4.0 million, Long Beach with less than 493,000, and Glendale with slightly over 207,000 were larger than Santa Clarita. Consequently, Santa Clarita plays an important role in the County based on its size. UNEMPLOYMENT Santa Clarita maintains one of the lowest unemployment rates in Los Angeles County. The City’s unemployment rate was 4.9% in August 2008 compared to 8.2% for Los Angeles County and 7.6% for the State of California.
Source: First American Title Company’s California Economic Forecast, October 2007 Santa Clarita’s local economy is primarily a service based economy with 41% of the businesses in the service sector. An additional 21% of businesses are in retail trade and 10% each are in the finance, insurance, and real estate sector as well as construction.
The businesses located in Santa Clarita can be categorized as small businesses with 59% employing less than 5 employees. Businesses between 5 and 9 employees account for 19% of all businesses in the City and only 5% employ in excess of 50 employees.
The amount of space Santa Clarita businesses occupy is relatively small. Close to one-half or 46% of businesses are in locations between 2,500 and 9,999 square feet with an additional 36% of businesses occupying less than 2,500 square feet.
Close to two in four or 38% of the workforce in the City of Santa Clarita is employed in the services sector. An additional 25% of the City’s workforce is employed in retail trade followed by 9% in manufacturing, 8% in construction, 7% in finance/insurance, and real estate industries, and 6% in wholesale trade. Source: Claritas Site Reports, July 17, 2008 More than one-fourth or 26% of the City of Santa Clarita’s workforce are in professional or specialized positions while another 21% are in administrative and support positions, 14% are in marketing or sales, and 11% are in executive roles.
One-third or 32% of Santa Clarita Valley’s manufacturing workforce is employed in aerospace with an additional 18% in computers and electronics and 14% in biomedical manufacturing. The City of Santa Clarita’s workforce in the services sector is somewhat evenly distributed among education at 16%, consumer at 15%, health at 14%, and entertainment/amusement and business/computer services at 13% each. The remaining 9% are employed in legal/membership/other services.
Based on an independent study of 367 communities across the United States by the Kosmont-Rose Institute, cost ratings were developed in order to compare difference communities based on business taxes, telephone taxes, sales taxes, property taxes, electric taxes, and state income taxes. Santa Clarita is ranked as Low Cost ($$) compared to the Cities of Los Angeles and Pasadena which are both ranked as Very High Cost ($$$$$). Out of 224 California cities, Santa Clarita is ranked as the 11th lowest cost city in Los Angeles County.
The number of filming days in 2007 increased 12% to 847 days from 2006 following a 9% increase from the previous year. Additionally, filming in Santa Clarita contributed $20.42 million to the local economy in 2007, up 22% from $16.70 million the previous year.
The number of permits issued has increased from 2004. In 2007, 329 film permits were issued compared to 271 in 2004. This suggests the number of days per permit slipped from 3.3 film days per permit in 2004 to 2.6 film days per permit in 2007.
In 2007, money spent in the City in the first half of the year was slightly less than that spent in the second half of the year. A large drop in the economy impact of filming in Santa Clarita occurred at the end of the year in part due to the Writers Guild of America strike that began in early November and ended three months later in mid-February 2008.
Office vacancy rates in Santa Clarita climbed to 17.7% in the Third Quarter of 2008 while industrial vacancy rates slipped to 4.5% and retail vacancy rates remained steady at 3%. The increase in office vacancy rates can be attributed to the new office inventory in the marketplace not yet absorbed.
Over the past 10 years, retail sales in Santa Clarita have soared from just over $1 billion in 1996 to $2.5 billion in 2007.
One of the top 25 markets, Santa Clarita is on par with major shopping cities such as Glendale, home to the Glendale Galleria, and Pasadena, home to Paseo Colorado, Lake Avenue shopping district, and Old Town Pasadena, in terms of both retail dollars spent and number of retail stores in the communities. Retail sales in Santa Clarita are higher than in these other cities and there are more retail outlets in Santa Clarita than in Glendale and slightly fewer than in Pasadena.
Retail sales in Santa Clarita in 2007 reached $2.49 billion of which 26% of the sales were in automobile dealerships and suppliers followed by 17% in general merchandise stores, 11% each in service stations and restaurants and bars, and 9% in building materials stores.
Although Santa Clarita’s hotel market remained very strong throughout 2007, softening was seen during Fourth Quarter. Occupancy rates and average daily room rates peaked in the summer months at 85% and $131.17, respectively.
Santa Clarita’s average daily hotel room rate of $125.83 in 2007 remains more affordable than that of Los Angeles County at $156.88. Santa Clarita’s average daily hotel rates are less than one-half of those in Santa Monica and lower than rates in Hollywood, Long Beach, and Pasadena.
In 2007, Santa Clarita hotel occupancy rates fell somewhat below those of other Los Angeles area communities. Santa Clarita’s occupancy rate of 74.25% was the lower than the County’s rate of 77.45%.
Hotel rooms in Santa Clarita account for 47% of all hotel rooms in the Santa Clarita Valley with the remaining 53% of rooms outside the City.
The Santa Clarita Valley is home to a wide variety of hotels including upscale, family-oriented, and budget hotels. The current hotel properties offer limited meeting space in ballrooms and the recently completed Embassy Suites added a 4,500 square foot ballroom into the meeting space availability that is attractive not only to individuals but also companies planning large formal events.
Source: City of Santa Clarita, June 2008 |
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