Vacaville, CA Economic Overview
Vacaville is located in Solano County and is 35 miles from Sacramento and 55 miles from San Francisco, along the I-80 freeway corridor. Home to nearly 100,000 residents, Vacaville is the third-largest city in the County. The commercial real estate market in Vacaville is driven by the city's closeness to the two major metro areas, its freeway access, and its talented workforce.
There are several factors that contribute to the growth of the economy in Vacaville, including its location in the center of the Northern California Metro area, its availability of labor, freeway access, excellent infrastructure, and, last but not least, the city's decidedly pro-business climate.
With a median household income of over $74,000/year, and an unemployment rate of just 4%, the economy of Vacaville remains strong. Over the past year, household income in the city has remained stable, while the number of employees in Vacaville has increased to nearly 49,000 workers.
The Travis Air Force Base in Solano County is also a major economic engine in the area, contributing nearly $1 billion annually to the local economy through salaries, purchases, contracted services, and construction.
Vacaville, CA Commercial Real Estate Market
Vacaville's commercial real estate market offers businesses a lower cost base, while still being near the major markets of Sacramento and San Francisco. Over the past year, the unemployment rate in the city has decreased by nearly 15%, a sure sign that industry likes what it sees in Vacaville.
With a labor force of nearly 49,000, employed by the over 3,100 businesses in the city, demand for office, industrial, retail and multifamily property in Vacaville remains strong.
Over the past year alone, asking prices for property in the Vacaville office market have increased by over 9%, prices for industrial real estate in Vacaville have jumped nearly 14%, retail asking prices have increased by nearly 9%, and multifamily property in Vacaville has seen an over 12% increase in asking price.
Vacaville's economic development incentive program has been created to stimulate private sector investment, to attract and retain new business and help existing industry expand, and to continue to create the job growth necessary for a vibrant community and growing real estate market.
The retail incentive program in Vacaville is designed to attract new, unique retail business to the city. Vacaville's office and industrial incentive programs are intended to provide financial incentives to developers, owners, and prospective tenants seeking to locate or expand within the city. The residential housing incentive program in Vacaville is designed to spur the construction of single family and multifamily housing, to ensure businesses that their employees will have a place to call home within the city.
One area that Vacaville has targeted for redevelopment is the Main Street Downtown project. At the east end of the city's downtown area, right along Main Street, the city plans a six-acre, high-quality mixed-use development intended to mirror the look and feel of those found in nearby San Francisco while at the same time allowing residents to enjoy everything that Vacaville has to offer.
Vacaville, CA Commercial Inventory Breakdown
Office Spaces
Total: 881,723 SF
By square footage range:
- 50k to 100k SF: 136,756 SF / 15.51% of total office
- 100k to 500k SF: 744,967 SF / 84.49% of total office
By class:
- Class B: 881,723 SF / 100% of total office
Industrial
Total: 11,245,648 SF
By square footage range:
- 50k to 100k SF: 1,383,837 SF / 12.31% of total industrial
- 100k to 500k SF: 7,178,738 SF / 63.84% of total industrial
- 500k to 1M SF: 2,683,073 SF / 23.86% of total industrial
By class:
- Class A: 4,312,687 SF / 38.35% of total industrial
- Class B: 3,052,915 SF / 27.15% of total industrial
Office Spaces with Retail
Total: 3,226,992 SF
By square footage range:
- 50k to 100k SF: 560,271 SF / 17.36% of total office with retail
- 100k to 500k SF: 2,666,721 SF / 82.64% of total office with retail
Employment in Vacaville, CA
Job growth in Vacaville has increased by nearly 15% over the past year in the retail, health care, and social service business sectors in the city, with nearly 49,000 people coming into the Vacaville to work every day. Within a 50-mile radius of Vacaville there are approximately 1 million employees who are well educated and highly trained.
Nearly 40% of the labor force in Vacaville works in management, administration, health care, sales, and education & training.
Major employers in Vacaville include
- the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation with over 2,900 employees,
- the Vacaville Unified School District with nearly 1,300 people;
- Genentech with nearly 900;
- the City of Vacaville with over 800 workers;
- Alza with 750;
- State Compensation Insurance Fund with nearly 700 employees;
- Kaiser Permanente with 600;
- VacaValley Hospital with nearly 500 workers;
- M&G DuraVent with 350.
Education in Vacaville, CA
Public schools in Vacaville are operated by the Vacaville Unified School District and the Travis Unified School District. Both are responsible for overseeing the 17 elementary schools, eight middle schools, and six high schools in Vacaville. Private schools in Vacaville include the Bethany Lutheran Preschool and Elementary School, the Notre Dame Parochial School, and the Vacaville Adventist.
Universities and colleges in Vacaville include the Solano Community College, California Maritime Academy, Touro University College of Osteopathic Medicine, and the University of Phoenix. Vacaville is also less than 20 miles from the University of California at Davis, and institution well known for its engineering, management, information sciences, medical, and bio-technology programs.
Commuting Time in Vacaville, CA
The average commuting time in Vacaville is just over 25 minutes, with nearly 4% of the workforce having a super commute of 90 minutes or more. Over 10% of the labor force chooses to carpool while over 3% have the option of working at home.
- The I-80 and I-505 interstate freeways both pass through Vacaville, with nearly 92 million persons each year.
- Vacaville City Coach provides bus service in the city.
- Fairfield and Suisun Transit provide service from the Vacaville Transportation Center along I-80 and I-680 to the Pleasant Hill and Walnut Creek BART Stations.
- Commercial airports serving Vacaville are the Sacramento International Airport, Oakland International Airport, and the San Francisco International Airport.
Vacaville Demographics
Population
- Total Population97,943
- Male Population(51.8 %) 50,726
- Female Population(48.2 %) 47,217
- Median Age37.30
Income/Financial
- Average Household Income$98,188
- Median Household Income$82,197
- Median Income Under 25$51,577
- Median Income 25-44$83,327
- Median Income 45-64$101,193
- Median Income Over 65$55,034