This "quiet giant" located at the crossroads of the burgeoning Bay Area, offers national and international companies a long list of amenities. For example, Solano County is accessible. It is ideally situated midway between the San Francisco, Contra Costa and Sacramento trade centers. Solano County is predictable. Civic and business leaders are committed to continued quality economic growth for the area. Additionally, the county has a large pool of skilled workers, many of whom currently work out of the county, and are ready and willing to work closer to home. The county also boasts an internationally recognized academic community, training the work force of the future. And, Solano County is affordable -- housing and land costs remain consistently competitive.
On the following pages, read how Solano County's business and civic leaders have made a firm commitment to continued economic growth and quality of life for their communities...and how, for this quiet giant, it's all growing in the right direction.
The eighth fastest growing county in California is expected to lead the Bay Area counties in population and employment growth over the next 20 years.
Halfway between the Sacramento and San Francisco
metropolitan areas lies Solano County, the most eastern of the Bay Area's
nine counties. Covering an area of 823 square miles, the majority of the
county lies in the fertile Sacramento Valley. To the north, Solano touches
the famed California wine country; on the south it is rimmed by the waters
of San Pablo Bay, the Carquinez Strait and the lush Sacramento River Delta. The
landscape ranges from flat agricultural land in the north to rolling
hills and valleys in the south.
Agricultural use and marshlands comprise roughly 95 percent of the
county's unincorporated land. Solano County's major urban areas thrive
along Interstates 80 and 680, which converge in its center. Solano was
the eighth fastest growing county in California over the last decade. The
Association of Bay Area Governments predicts that Solano County will lead
the Bay Area counties in percentage growth of population and employment
over the next 20 years.
Solano County experienced the second fastest rate of employment growth in
the Bay Area between 1985 and 1990. With 61,000 new jobs projected between
1990 and 2005, Solano County's rate of job growth will be the highest in
the Bay Area.
The key element of Solano's fast growth has been migration into the
county by both businesses and families. Solano County offers a rare set
of circumstances not found anywhere else in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Its cities offer a temperate, smogless climate, affordable housing,
nearby educational opportunities and a wide variety of recreational
activities. Businesses are attracted to Solano's extensive transportation
network; available and reasonably priced land; reliable, motivated work
force; and supportive local governments.
The 1990 census indicated a 45 percent increase in Solano County's
population during the decade. The population grew to 352,300 in January
1991, 3.5 percent above the 1990 census count. About 73 percent of the
increase occurred within the county's three largest cities: Vallejo,
Fairfield and Vacaville. Solano's population is expected to grow another
34 percent, to more than 455,000, by 2005.
Solano County enjoys a rapidly growing housing market and home values
that remain constant. The 42 percent increase in the number of housing
units in Solano County between 1980 and 1990 paralleled population
growth. Residential home and commercial land costs have long been the
most attractive in the region. As housing costs throughout the Bay Area
have escalated, Solano's housing costs have remained among the lowest.
Currently, Solano County is home to more than 154,000 employed residents; this number is expected to climb to more than 211,000 by the year 2000. Of the present work force, 68 percent work in Solano County and 32 percent commute. The average household income of Solano County ranks fifth among all California counties.
Government payrolls comprised the highest percentage (about 30 percent)
of Solano's total employment in 1990. The Mare Island Naval Shipyard and
Travis Air Force Base account for the majority of federal jobs. Retail
trade represents 22 percent of Solano's employment.
Most new jobs over the next 15 years will be in services, retail trade and the finance, insurance and real estate complex. Tourist-related hotel and restaurant industries will provide substantial new job opportunities. Solano's diverse, high quality labor pool is also expected to be a major labor source for the rest of the region.
Kaiser Permanente Medical Center Vallejo 1,920 Marine World Africa USA Vallejo 1,300 Lucky Distribution Center Vacaville 700 North Bay Medical Center Fairfield 690 Anheuser-Busch Fairfield 617 American Home Foods Vacaville 505 The Nut Tree Vacaville 500 Institutional Finacial Services Benicia 500 Sutter Solano Medical Center Vallejo 410 Exxon Co. USA Benicia 360
Several major highways and water transit to San Francisco serve Solano County's many commuters. The abundance of shipping channels and access to several airports and rail facilities have made the county a viable home for many national and international businesses.
In addition to nearby University of California campuses at Davis and Berkeley, higher education is provided by Solano Community College, J.F. Kennedy University, Chapman College and the prestigious California Maritime Academy, the only such four-year institution in the western United States.
Amidst the marshlands of southern Solano County are three active water front communities. In the southwest corner of the county lies its largest city, Vallejo. California's capital city in the 1850s, Vallejo has since grown into an important shipping and naval center. Rolling hills surround the city, protecting it from the fog and wind typical of many coastal towns. Although Vallejo's population grew rapidly between 1980 and 1990, projections indicate a substantial slow-down through 2005, as residential land becomes less available.
Vallejo ranks sixth out of 98 cities in the Bay Area for its diversity and value in housing. Housing costs in Vallejo are the lowest in Solano County and are about 25 to 50 percent lower than in the Bay Area.
Vallejo is the last area on San Francisco Bay that has land available for business and industrial development. Rental and lease rates for existing space are very low, which has attracted businesses from the Bay Area.
Of the estimated 42,680 jobs in Vallejo in 1990, more than 35 percent were in the government sector. Most government workers are employed by the Mare Island Naval Shipyard, established in 1853, which was the West Coast's first shipyard. Vallejo is also home to Solano County's largest nongovemment employers, Kaiser Permanente Medical Center and Marine World Africa USA.
Bay Area commuters are accommodated by a high speed ferry service from the Vallejo waterfront to San Francisco and express bus service that connects Vallejo to the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) service.
A few miles southeast of Vallejo is Benicia, an industrial center that offers an economically important deepwater port for the Bay Area. Benicia is a small, afluent community with an average income of $45,700 and the highest median home price among Solano County cities.
Rio Vista is a small town in the southeast corner of the county, situated on the banks of the Sacramento River. The town's economy centers around agriculture, tourism, gas wells, construction and dredging. Unlike the rest of Solano County, Rio Vista's modest population has remained virtually unchanged since 1980. However, Rio Vista's population is expected to grow from 3,400 to 8,800 (165 percent) by the year 2005. Plans have been approved for 500 acres of commercial/industrial lands and the construction of 7,500 homes.
Fairfield, the Solano County seat, occupies about 35 square miles of relatively flat land in the heart of Solano County. Travis Air Force Base, one of the biggest Air Force installations on the West Coast, lies on the city's eastern border and to the southeast is Suisun City.
For both commuters and businesses, Fairfield is ideally situated midway between San Francisco and Sacramento at the intersection of two major highways. Permanently preserved open space frames the city limits, separating Fairfield from its neighbors along Interstate 80.
The Association of Bay Area Governments projects that Fairfield will lead
all midsized Bay Area communities in growth through 2005 and will
replace Vallejo as the largest city in Solano County. Expansion of the
population base is balanced with retail, office and industrial
development. The city's long-established policies of encouraging and
managing growth will preserve Fairfield's liveability.
Among Solano County's cities, Fairfield alone has more jobs than employed residents. These jobs are concentrated in the manufacturing, service, retail and government sectors. The number of jobs in Fairfield is expected to increase by 48 percent between 1990 and 2005. With this increase, Fairfield will become the largest employment center of Solano County, accommodating just over one third of Solano jobs.
Equipped with the one million square foot Solano Mall, Fairfield is the county's retail sales leader. Over the past five years, growth of Fairfield's taxable sales figures has significantly outperformed state sales growth.
The northern portion of Solano County is predominantly agricultural land. The rapidly growing City of Vacaville, surrounded by rolling hills, has gradually changed from a major fruit producing area to the home of numerous corporations. Of the three major Solano County cities, Vacaville demonstrated the highest percentage of population increase (almost 65 percent) since 1980. It is expected to continue growing to more than 100,000 by 2005.
Despite all the growth, Vacaville manages to retain its small town flavor. Boasting a low crime rate, it was rated among the top five "safest" of all California cities with comparable populations in 1989. The typical home price is 40 percent lower than that of the Bay Area.
Cooperation between the City of Vacaville and private developers has led to strong economic growth. Vacaville's recent commercial development, in cluding a factory outlet retail complex, sparked an overall increase in taxable sales of 16.3 percent during 1990. Vacaville is also developing a significant light industrial sector. Multimillion dollar corporations, high-tech companies, manufacturers and distributors are moving to Vacaville. In total, six industrial parks and seven commercial parks have been approved.
Dixon is North Solano County's easternmost city, situated 20 miles west of Sacramento. Although one of the smallest cities in the county, Dixon's growth rate is expected to parallel that of the rest of the county.
As commercial and industrial development continues over the next 10 years, Dixon's labor market will undergo considerable changes. Presently, the major employment sectors are agriculture (26 percent) and manufacturing (24 percent). In the year 2000, total jobs will have increased 45 percent, with manufacturing moving into first place, followed closely by retail. Agriculture will become the lowest sector, representing only 14 percent of the jobs.
