Business Climate

Riverside-San Bernardino Metro Ranks 5th in Job Growth

A region’s attractiveness as a place to do business is critical in our interconnected national economy, where entrepreneurs and businesses have choices about where to locate. The availability of business supports, opportunities for growth, and barriers to doing business are all factors influencing these choices. Since businesses provide jobs, sales tax revenue, economic growth, and entrepreneurship opportunities, a strong business climate and growing job base is important for maintaining San Bernardino County’s economic health and quality of life. This indicator uses Forbe’s “2019 Best Places for Business and Careers” rankings to assess business climate. Forbes compares 200 metropolitan areas using several metrics including job growth, cost of living, cost of doing business, income growth, quality of life and education of the labor force, including the share of highly educated millennials. The greatest weight in the overall ranking is given to business costs and educational attainment.

How is San Bernardino County Doing?

TREND
The Riverside-San Bernardino metro area ranks among the top 100 best places in the nation for business and careers. Riverside-San Bernardino’s overall ranking rose 51 places in two years. The metropolitan area was ranked 72nd out of 200 metro areas compared in 2019.

BUSINESS CLIMATE RANK INCREASES AGAIN IN 2019

Riverside-San Bernardino Metro Area Business Climate Ranking, 2010-2019

Among the components measured, Riverside-San Bernardino ranked highest for projected job growth. The region’s cost of doing business improved slightly in 2018, moving from a rank of 151 to 148. Low educational attainment continues to be a stubborn problem that brings the Riverside-San Bernardino metro’s ranking down. The metro’s educational attainment rank in 2019 was 183 – the same as the previous year.

JOB GROWTH IS A STRENGTH; EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT IS A CHALLENGE

Best Places For Business Ranking by Component in Riverside-San Bernardino, 2010-2019

GEOGRAPHIC DETAIL
Riverside-San Bernardino ranked above the neighboring counties of Orange and Los Angeles, but below San Diego metro.

SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY BUSINESS CLIMATE RANKS HIGHER THAN L.A. AND O.C.

Regional Comparison of Best Places for Business Ranking, 2010-2019

Out of the 200 places analyzed, Riverside-San Bernardino ranked 5th for job growth, and was the only California metro area included in the top 10.