Annual Economic Indicators

UNEMPLOYMENT RATES
LARGEST EMPLOYERS
WORKFORCE
FILM INDUSTRY
RETAIL SALES
HOTEL ENVIRONMENT

POPULATION

Known for its exceptional quality of life, community-driven leadership, and top notch municipal services, Santa Clarita continues to attract new residents seeking a safe and beautiful place to call home.  With 213,231 residents (as of January 1, 2015), the City of Santa Clarita is the third-largest City in Los Angeles County, following the City of Los Angeles (3.9 million residents) and the City of Long Beach (472,779 residents). The City of Glendale ranks as the fourth-largest City in Los Angeles County, with a total estimated population of nearly 199,182 residents.

Santa Clarita plays an important role in Los Angeles County based on its size. Here you will find some of the latest data available illustrating a growing, thriving, and attractive City and place to call home.

View the full California State Department of Finance Report detailing 2015 population estimates for California cities.

EMPLOYMENT 

The City of Santa Clarita's strong and diverse economy makes Santa Clarita the ideal destination for business.  Maintenance of a highly supportive environment for business development is achieved through the cooperation of the Santa Clarita Valley Economic Development Corporation, the Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce, the Valley Industry Association, and the City government.  In addition, companies benefit greatly from the area's modern business parks, as well as from a highly-skilled labor pool, variety of transportation choices, housing, quality of life, climate, and scenery.

LARGEST EMPLOYERS

The Santa Clarita Valley’s top employers include Six Flags Magic Mountain, Princess Cruises, Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital, Quest Diagnostics, and the local school districts.

Source: California Economic Forecast and the Santa Clarita Valley Economic Development Corporation - 2015 Economic Outlook

 JOBS

Employment has exceeded pre-recession numbers with 79,951 jobs reported for the last quarter of 2014, compared to 78,608 in the last quarter of 2007, the pre-recession high. Over 8,000 jobs have been added since the fourth quarter of 2009 when the recession ended, an 11% increase.

 Source: California Employment Development Department – Labor Market Information Division

BUSINESSES

 The City has experienced a steady rise in the number of business establishments over the last ten years with a high of 6,416 in the 4^th quarter of 2014.

                 Santa Clarita’s unemployment rate in June 2015 was 6.7 percent compared to 7.3 percent for Los Angeles County and 6.2 percent for the state of California.  

As of January 2015 the state began using American Community Survey (2009-2013) population figures to determine the unemployment rates of cities. In the past, population data was collected using 2000 Census data. The new method assumes that the rates of change in unemployment are exactly the same in each city as at the county level.  If this assumption is not true for the city, then the estimates may not represent the current economic conditions.

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE

Source: California Employment Development Department, May 2015

RETAIL SALES

 The California Retail Survey which compares retail sales activity for each of California’s 58 counties and 482 cities ranked the City of Santa Clarita 20^th in retail sales in the recently released 2015 California Retail Survey. Santa Clarita ranked higher than Beverly Hills, Burbank, Glendale, and Pasadena and is one of only 37 cities with a retail market above $2 billion. The following graph illustrates the trends in activity since the beginning of the recession. The City has exceeded pre-recession numbers with a total of $2,534,204 compared to $2,394,449 in 2007.

Source: California Retail Survey, 2015 Edition

 Santa Clarita is on par with major shopping cities such as Glendale, home to Americana on Brand and the Glendale Galleria, as well as Pasadena, home to Paseo Colorado, Lake Avenue shopping District, and Old Town Pasadena, for both retail dollars and retail stores.

Source: California Retail Survey, 2015 Edition

FILM INDUSTRY

A strong film program means more business for local retailers and more jobs for the community. The City’s film-friendly permitting system, a responsive film staff, and the City’s innovative film incentive program resulted in $32.2 million in economic impact thanks to locally based productions and notable productions filming on location in Santa Clarita in 2014.

 Source:  City of Santa Clarita Film Office, 2015

Source:  City of Santa Clarita Film Office, 2015

 HOTEL ENVIRONMENT

Santa Clarita’s hotel market remained strong throughout 2014.  Average YTD occupancy percentage and average daily room rates for the year were 79.0% and $117.64

Source: STR, www.str.com

back to top

Free viewers are required for some of the attached documents.
They can be downloaded by clicking on the icons below.

Acrobat Reader Flash Player QuickTime Windows Media Player Microsoft Silverlight Word Viewer Excel Viewer PowerPoint Viewer