The first concern that most business owners have about relocating to California is that it is one of the most expensive states in the country. Taking California state taxes and regulations into account, California is still the most profitable state in the country and is 2156 percent more profitable than Texas, 38 percent more profitable than New York, and 291 percent more profitable than Philadelphia.
But what if you’re not a technology behemoth bringing in billions in revenue a quarter? Even if you remove technology and telecommunications companies from the equation, California is still the most profitable in the country.
Profitability Allows for Innovation
Profitability allows for innovation and vice versa. With the 6th largest economy in the world, California companies are more profitable than any state in the United States. A sizable amount of this success (and the state’s GDP) is due to the innovative workings of the many technology and telecom companies headquartered in the state (although, even without these fields, the state is still the most profitable in the U.S.).
California is the West Coast Capital of Education
With some of the most prestigious and influential universities in the country, the talent pipeline in California is continually being filled. Add the fact that most students in the state stay within 150 miles of their school after graduation. And, California has a recipe for an ever-expanding talent pool filled with the best and the brightest.
Stanford is the #5 ranked university nationally according to U.S. News & Reports, and a study by Reuters named it the “World’s Most Innovative University.” The list also including the University of California system, ranking them at #13. UC Davis is ranked #1 in plant and animal sciences in U.S. News and World Report’s “Best Global Universities” report, as well as ranking #1 for veterinary studies. The California institute of Technology (CalTech) is known as one of the world’s leading scientific research and teaching universities. California schools occupy five of the top 50 slots on the Forbes list of “America’s Best Schools.” The high concentration of incredibly talented graduates allows for a constant flow of new innovation all across the state, from San Diego to the Silicon Valley.
Silicon Valley–Tech Hub of the World
From self-driving cars to solar engineering to virtual reality, California leads the world in big ideas. Nowhere else best exemplifies this level of non-stop innovation than the Silicon Valley. The cutting-edge ideas generated in this region everyday makes the two-thousand square miles of land in Northern California the most innovative on the planet. With innovation as the driving force, the Silicon Valley and San Francisco Bay Area account for nearly 15 percent of the state’s GDP.
The area is also responsible for 77 percent of the state’s venture capital investment and 87 percent of the state’s angel investment, as well as over half of the state’s patent registrations and IPOs. This kind of economic impact identifies the Silicon Valley as the innovation capital of the world.
While the Silicon Valley remains the technological hub of the world, expanding business and growth means limited space. As the Valley begins to overflow, the Capital Region of California is becoming a shared marketplace, taking on a new role as the gateway to the Silicon Valley and one of the nation’s newest technology hotspots. The Greater Sacramento region is experiencing a start-up boom, and fresh initiatives and investments are the key to transforming this space into yet another cutting edge city in the Golden State.
New Economy
The flood of venture capital that has defined the global startup economy can be traced directly to California. Prominent venture capital firms such as Andreessen Horowitz and Google Ventures as accelerators such as 500 Startups and Y-Combinator are all in California, yet have collectively invested billions in thousands of companies around the world. Startup founders around the world fight tooth and nail to get a meeting with legendary venture capital firms like Sequoia Capital and Founders Fund, and they are only a two hour drive away from Sacramento.
The Northern California Megaregion marketplace consists of over 12.2 million people and a regional GDP higher than any other megaregion in the United States. As the capitol of the 6th largest economy in the world, there is a reason the Sacramento region has been attracting so many new businesses.
The City of Sacramento recently partnered with 500 startups to develop the startup ecosystem in the city and encourage entrepreneurs and businesses to grow in the Greater Sacramento Area. This partnership is expected to increase direct foreign investment in Sacramento and to position the city’s tech sector to make game-changing advances.
Visit http://www.expansionsolutionsmagazine.com/california_ed for local economic development office directory listings.
