San Bernardino County, California forms part of the eighth-largest economy in the world. Despite spanning the high desert lands in the east of the state, it is far from desolate. With a population of over two million living in 24 cities, it is the fifth most populous county in California and 12th in the US, giving it a large internal market and workforce.

While the capital of the county, San Bernardino City, is struggling after filing for bankruptcy, the rest of the state is thriving. “This is a top-15 economy in the US”, says Chris Thornberg of Beacon Economics, in an interview with Site Selection. “It is a big economy. Almost four million people live in the two-county region [the San Bernardino and Riverside counties], known as the Inland Empire. They bump up against Orange County and LA – the second largest economy in the nation next to New York. There is huge potential in the Inland Empire, and it is diversified.”

The Inland Empire and Central Valley have a reputation as where you want to go to find
hard workers

Working away
In areas such as the Apple Valley and Ontario, well-trained and skilled workers are employed to manufacture a variety of goods, from aircraft components to furniture. The San Bernardino County Economic Development Agency (EDA) boasts a skilled workforce of nearly 900,000. County authorities offer residents “extensive workforce development programmes to help employers with recruitment and training, at little or no cost to them”, creating a ready-to-work population.

The cost of labour is also low when compared to the surrounding counties of San Diego, Los Angeles and Orange County. While many residents of San Bernardino County work in those areas, according to the EDA many of the residents who commute to the coastal counties for work are willing to accept lower pay for jobs closer to home. 47 percent of local residents would accept at least five percent lower pay to avoid commuting to Orange County.

Talking to Site Selection, Terri Lee Rogers, the president of a furniture manufacturing company, put his firm’s success partially down to labour in the county, which is both low-cost and hard-working, saying that San Bernardino county areas such as “the Inland Empire and Central Valley have a reputation as where you want to go to find hard workers”.

Linked up
Location-wise, the county is also attractive, with good infrastructure and transportation links. It is located only 40 miles from the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, some of the most trafficked in the world, giving business easy access to international and Pacific markets. These ports are also connected to railway freight services east of the Rocky Mountains, such as Union Pacific and BNSF. These are some of the busiest rail corridors in the country, and pass straight through San Bernardino County, giving abundant access to East Coast markets.

The county also has three airports, including Ontario International Airport which offers commercial flights to passengers to major US cities, as well as acting as a major cargo centre, serving as the UPS West Coast Air Hub. An extensive road network further connects the county, both regionally and nationally. San Bernardino Country is connected to interstate highways I-10, I-15, and I-40. These road networks are, according to the EDA, “powerful corridors for business and goods movement. This infrastructure asset makes the county a perfect location for a western US regional distribution centre for national brands.”