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California’s Life Science Job Market

Written by: Lucy Walters
Published on: 1 Feb 2022

California’s Life Science Job MarketCalifornia’s Life Science industry provides more than 1.37 million jobs across the state, and in 2020, generated more than $405 billion in Total Business Sales. Using data from Biocom California, we’ve rounded up these key figures that represent the scale of California’s Life Science job market.

Bay Area

The Bay Area is widely recognised as ‘the birthplace of biotech’, with Life Science companies in this area having employed more than 178,000 people in 2020, with the highest average annual earnings in California. The industry supports more than 410,000 jobs here, with Total Business Sales reaching $159 billion in 2020.

The largest Life Science sectors in this area include Research and Development, Medical Devices, Biotechnology, Biopharmaceuticals, Scientific/Research Tools, and Food and Agriculture Biotech.

Browse jobs in the Bay Area here.

Los Angeles

20% of all Life Science jobs in California are based in Los Angeles County, with more than 96,000 people in this area employed in the industry in 2020. More than 230,000 jobs are supported in Los Angeles County, and more than $60 billion was generated in Total Business Sales in 2020.

The largest Life Science sectors in this area include Research and Development, Medical Devices, Biotechnology, Biopharmaceuticals, Scientific/Research Tools, and Food and Agriculture Biotech.

Browse jobs in Los Angeles here.

San Diego

More than 72,000 people in San Diego were employed in the Life Science industry in 2020, where more than $47 billion was generated in Total Business Sales. In 2020, Research and Development was responsible for 45% of direct employment in the Life Science industry, followed by Biotechnology at 18%, Medical Devices at 17%, Biopharmaceuticals at 14% and Scientific/Research tools at 6%.  

Browse jobs in San Diego here.

Are You a Life Science Recruiter, Currently Hiring in California?

Take a look at our Recruiter Services Information Page for more information on how we can help, or get in touch by emailing sales@pharmiweb.com or by calling us on +44 (0)845 5651771 – we’d love to hear from you!