Best Cities to Start a Business in California

Last updated: March 19th, 2024

With a state GDP that dwarfs those of most nations and unrivaled access to venture capital funding (boasting 41.9% of the U.S.’s venture capital deals), California remains the number one destination to grow a business in the field of technology. California’s tech portfolio is unparalleled: industry giants such as Google, Apple, and eBay all began as small upstarts in the section of San Francisco’s Bay Area known as Silicon Valley, growing to dominate their respective industries.

The advantages Silicon Valley has over other locations in developing a tech company are myriad: the area has the highest concentration of tech workers of any area in the U.S. (and perhaps the world), and the pool of talent available from California universities such as Stanford is incomparable.

While entrepreneurs must cope with high costs of living and business expenses, the opportunity to generate wealth more than offsets these difficulties. The Valley boasts the highest average tech salary at $114,184 and contains the highest number of millionaires and billionaires in the nation.

For opportunistic entrepreneurs hoping to relocate to California but concerned about high costs, the southern counties of Riverside and San Bernardino possess affordable housing prices and a competitive cost of living compared to LA and the Bay Area while still offering a comfortable climate and ready access to capital.

StateCityCounty
CAIndioRiverside
CAPalm DesertRiverside
CACathedral CityRiverside
CARiversideRiverside
CALake ElsinoreRiverside
CAHemetRiverside
CAMoreno ValleyRiverside
CAMurrietaRiverside
CAPerrisRiverside
CAMenifeeRiverside
CATemeculaRiverside
CACoronaRiverside
CARosevillePlacer
CARocklinPlacer
CAMountain ViewSanta Clara
CASunnyvaleSanta Clara
CACupertinoSanta Clara
CAGilroySanta Clara
CAMilpitasSanta Clara
CASanta ClaraSanta Clara
CASan JoseSanta Clara
CARancho CucamongaSan Bernardino
CAChinoSan Bernardino
CAChino HillsSan Bernardino
CAOntarioSan Bernardino
CAUplandSan Bernardino
CAApple ValleySan Bernardino
CAColtonSan Bernardino
CAFontanaSan Bernardino
CAHesperiaSan Bernardino
CAHighlandSan Bernardino
CARedlandsSan Bernardino
CARialtoSan Bernardino
CAVictorvilleSan Bernardino
CAYucaipaSan Bernardino
CASan BernardinoSan Bernardino
CAHuntington BeachOrange
CALaguna NiguelOrange
CALake ForestOrange
CAAliso ViejoOrange
CANewport BeachOrange
CASan ClementeOrange
CAWestminsterOrange
CAMission ViejoOrange
CAYorba LindaOrange
CALos AngelesLos Angeles
CAComptonLos Angeles
CAHuntington ParkLos Angeles
CALynwoodLos Angeles
CARedondo BeachLos Angeles
CASanta MonicaLos Angeles
CANorwalkLos Angeles
CAPico RiveraLos Angeles
CACerritosLos Angeles
CABellflowerLos Angeles
CALakewoodLos Angeles
CAParamountLos Angeles
CACarsonLos Angeles
CALong BeachLos Angeles
CAArcadiaLos Angeles
CASanta ClaritaLos Angeles
CABurbankLos Angeles
CADiamond BarLos Angeles
CARosemeadLos Angeles
CAWest CovinaLos Angeles
CALancasterLos Angeles
CAPalmdaleLos Angeles
CAChula VistaSan Diego
CALa MesaSan Diego
CANational CitySan Diego
CACarlsbadSan Diego
CAEl CajonSan Diego
CAEncinitasSan Diego
CAEscondidoSan Diego
CAOceansideSan Diego
CAPowaySan Diego
CASan MarcosSan Diego
CASanteeSan Diego
CAVistaSan Diego
CASan DiegoSan Diego
CASacramentoSacramento
CACitrus HeightsSacramento
CAElk GroveSacramento
CAFolsomSacramento
CARancho CordovaSacramento
CAWest SacramentoYolo
CADavisYolo
CAWoodlandYolo
CASanta MariaSanta Barbara
CAAlamedaAlameda
CAFremontAlameda
CAHaywardAlameda
CALivermoreAlameda
CAPleasantonAlameda
CADublinAlameda
CASan LeandroAlameda
CAUnion CityAlameda
CAOaklandAlameda
CABerkeleyAlameda
CASan RafaelMarin
CANovatoMarin
CAThousand OaksVentura
CAVenturaVentura
CACamarilloVentura
CAOxnardVentura
CAPetalumaSonoma
CAClovisFresno
CAFresnoFresno
CADelanoKern
CABakersfieldKern
CAFairfieldSolano
CAVallejoSolano
CAVacavilleSolano
CANapaNapa
CAStocktonSan Joaquin
CATracySan Joaquin
CAMantecaSan Joaquin
CAWatsonvilleSanta Cruz
CAReddingShasta
CAMercedMerced
CAModestoStanislaus
CASalinasMonterey
CAMaderaMadera
CADaly CitySan Mateo
CARedwood CitySan Mateo
CASouth San FranciscoSan Mateo
CASan FranciscoSan Mateo
CASan MateoSan Mateo
CAYuba CitySutter
CAPortervilleTulare
CATulareTulare
CAVisaliaTulare
CAAntiochContra Costa
CABrentwoodContra Costa
CAConcordContra Costa
CAPittsburgContra Costa
CASan RamonContra Costa
CAWalnut CreekContra Costa

Only cities with over 50,000 inhabitants are reported in the results. Some data had to be interpolated to the county level and extrapolated to all the cities in the county. We concentrated on the following metrics to obtain our ranking: Cost of livingBest state for businessUnemploymentKauffman index, and Universities.

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