Business Climate
YOUR NEXT CHAPTER
Bring your business to Santa Monica
Have an idea for a new business? Ready to move or grow? Explore Santa Monica, browse commercial space resources, and connect with our team for help navigating City processes.
Santa Monica’s business community
Our business community brings together creative and technology businesses, health care, finance and real estate, hospitality, and retail.
Explore how your business could fit here, then talk with Business Concierge about your plans.
Get to know the local market
Our local economy brings together thousands of businesses, a citywide workforce and visitors from around the world.
Employees
Residents
Unemployment rate
Visitors in 2025
Annual tourism revenue
Find your place in Santa Monica’s leading industries
From Silicon Beach to neighborhood storefronts, explore the businesses and people that shape our economy. Open each industry profile for the full statistics, company examples and local highlights.
Creative industries and technology
Create your next chapter in Silicon Beach, alongside businesses in technology, media, design and the arts.
Businesses
Employees
Average annual payroll
Explore creative industries and technology: facts and business highlights
- 3,141 businesses (32% of total); 28,026 employees (32.7% of total) with an average annual payroll of $6.8 billion (56.5% of city’s total).
- Santa Monica’s major tech + creative clusters:
- Information (e.g., publishers, motion picture/video production, film distribution, postproduction, telecommunications, sound recording studios)
- Professional, Scientific + Technical Services (e.g. advertising, graphic design, computer design/programming, bio- technology R+ D) and
- Arts, Entertainment and Recreation sectors.
- Examples: Activision Blizzard, Cornerstone on Demand, Hulu, Lionsgate Entertainment, Snap Inc. + Universal Music Group, Skydance Studios.
Health care and wellness
Join a community of health care providers, biotech companies, wellness brands and educators.
Businesses
Employees
Average annual payroll
Explore health care and wellness: facts and business highlights
- 2,664 businesses (27% of total), 10,160 employees (11.9% of the City’s total employment) in the Health Care and Social Assistance sector with an average annual payroll of $778 million (6.5% of total payroll)
- Examples: Berkley East Healthcare Center, Cedars Sinai Medical Group, Kaiser Permanente SM, Kite - A Gilead Company, Neogene Therapeutics, Providence St John’s Health Center + UCLA Santa Monica Medical Center
- In addition to a growing biotech sector, Santa Monica is also a global wellness hub with GoodRX, GOOP, Headspace and FIGS Inc. corporate headquarters and health care educator Santa Monica College.
Finance, insurance and real estate
Explore a business community spanning financial services, investment and real estate.
Businesses
Employees
Average annual payroll
Explore finance, insurance and real estate: facts and business highlights
- 931 businesses (9.5% of total), 5,496 employees (6.4% of the City's total employment) with an average annual payroll of $1.06 billion (12.8% of total payroll)
- Examples: CBRE, Beach Point Capital, Clearlake Capital Group LP, Tala, Worthe Real Estate Group, and Blackrock.
Hospitality and tourism
Connect with visitors who come to experience our coastal city, restaurants, hotels and attractions.
Businesses
Employees
Average annual payroll
Explore hospitality and tourism: facts and business highlights
- 505 businesses (5.5% of total) in the Accommodation and Food Services sector employ 12,470 people (14.6% of the City’s total employment) with an average annual payroll of $586 million (4.9% of City’s total).
- 3.9 million visitors came to Santa Monica in 2025 (1.95 million from outside the USA), 7.8% lower than 2024, however, Santa Monica's vital tourism industry saw strong recovery of international demand. The top five international feeder markets are: Western Europe, Central and Eastern Europe, United Kingdom/Ireland, Scandinavia, and Australia/New Zealand.
- The tourism industry is estimated to generate $996 million annually in revenue for the local economy.
- National Geographic ranked Santa Monica as one of the “Top Ten Beach Cities in the World.” And for a fun fact: our historic Santa Monica Pier is the 2nd most Instagrammed place in CA and 8th most in the world.
- Examples: Din Tai Fung (SM Place), Fogo De Chao (Ocean), Fairmont Miramar Hotel + Bungalows renovation/rebuild featuring a Cesar Pelli-designed facility, the luxury Regent Santa Monica Beach with SM serving as their sole US location, Museum of Illusion (Third St/DTSM) and coming soon Home State (Wilshire/Lincoln).
Retail and local business
Bring your ideas to a city of storefronts, shopping destinations and businesses that give back.
Businesses
Employees
Average annual payroll
Explore retail and local business: facts and business highlights
- 557 businesses (5.7% of total), employing 7,421 people in the retail sector (8.7% of Santa Monica’s total employment) with an average annual payroll of $556 million (4.6% of City’s total).
- Santa Monica’s businesses generated $3.2 billion in taxable sales in 2023, of which 28% was generated in Downtown SM.
- Purchases made at Santa Monica businesses last year raised $18.5 million in funding for our schools and an estimated $8 million for affordable housing construction and preservation (Measure GSH transaction and use tax).
- There are 1,700 businesses participating in the Buy Local SM campaign who hire local + actively support the community. They employ approximately 3,900 SM residents; 47% are owned by SM residents.
- Santa Monica embraces sustainable, green and eco-friendly businesses. The annual Sustainable Quality Awards (SQA) recognizes sustainable leaders; over 158 businesses have received this prestigious SQA Award.
- See Top 25 Sales Tax Producers (below) for some of our noteworthy retailers.
- Notable new openings include: Barnes + Noble (3rd St Promenade/DTSM), John Reed Fitness (3rd St Promenade/DTSM), Moscot (MT Ave), Nike (SM Place- major renovation), Reformation (Main St), The RealReal (26th St), Trader Joe's (3rd SM location, DTSM), Wilson's Sporting Goods (3rd St Promenade/DTSM), Google Store (Third St/DTSM), JD Sports (Third St/DTSM), Museum of Illusion (Third St/DTSM), and Uniqlo (Third St/DTSM).
- Coming soon: Arte (SM Place).
Meet our major employers
Health care, education, technology, entertainment and public service all have a place in our business community.
| Employer | Employees |
|---|---|
| UCLA Medical Center, Santa Monica | 4,010 |
| City of Santa Monica | 2,295 |
| Providence Saint John's Health Center | 2,026 |
| Amazon.com Services LLC | 1,970 |
| Santa Monica College | 1,932 |
| Snap, Inc. | 1,575 |
| SM-Malibu Unified School District | 1,370 |
| HULU | 1,334 |
| Activision Publishing Inc. | 1,294 |
| Universal Music Group | 914 |
Businesses that help our community thrive
Shopping and doing business locally supports our schools, affordable housing and the community we share.
For our schools
For affordable housing
Buy Local businesses
Explore all 25 top sales-tax producers
In alphabetical order:
- Apple
- Audi Leasing Bentley Leasing
- Bezel
- Fairmont Miramar Hotel
- Fame House
- Ferguson Enterprises
- Genesis Santa Monica
- Honda of Santa Monica
- Hyundai Santa Monica
- Jaguar/Land Rover Santa Monica
- Kia Santa Monica
- Lexus Santa Monica
- Mercedes Benz Vehicle Trust
- Santa Monica Audi
- Santa Monica BMW
- Santa Monica Ford Lincoln
- Santa Monica Proper
- Shutters on the Beach
- Snyder Diamond
- Subaru Santa Monica
- Target
- Toyota Lease Trust
- Toyota Santa Monica
- Water Grill/Pier Burger
- WI Simonson Mercedes
Take the full economic snapshot with you
Download all the citywide figures, industry profiles, employer counts, sales-tax producers and sources in one document.
What would you like to do next?
Open a business
Use the step-by-step guide to plan your opening.
Plan your business openingFind your space
Explore commercial space resources for your business.
Explore space resourcesMove or grow
Get help navigating permitting and licensing questions.
Connect with Business ConciergeInterested in City-owned property? Explore City-owned leasing opportunities.
Start a conversation
We help current and prospective business owners navigate City processes through our Business Concierge service.
Get help with permitting and licensing questions, and connections to local business leaders.
For other economic development questions: econdev@santamonica.gov or (310) 458-8906.
Frequently asked questions
Who can help me open, move or grow my business?
We help current and prospective business owners navigate City processes through our Business Concierge service.
Get help with permitting and licensing questions, and connections to local business leaders.
Connect with Business ConciergeWhat should I check before signing a lease?
Confirm that your proposed business use is allowed at the location before signing a lease. The City’s opening guide explains zoning, permits and other steps.
Read the business opening guideCan Business Concierge help if I already own a business in Santa Monica?
Yes! Business Concierge supports current business owners as well as those getting started. Connect with our team for help navigating City processes, permitting and licensing questions, and connections to local business leaders.
Connect with Business ConciergeCan I lease commercial property owned by the City?
We list City-owned commercial leasing opportunities on a dedicated page. Review the opportunities and contact details there to learn more.
Explore City-owned leasing opportunitiesWhere should I start when opening a business?
Start with our step-by-step business opening guide. Use it to plan your next steps, and contact our Business Concierge team when you need help navigating the process.
Read our business opening guideWhere can I learn more about local economic development?
Explore our business resources and local economic development initiatives, or connect with our team.
Economic snapshot sources
- Quarterly Census of Employment + Wages - CA Department of Labor Statistics 2024
- State of CA Employment Development Department - Monthly Labor Force Data (August 2025)
- SM Travel + Tourism Economic + Fiscal Impacts + Visitor Profile Summary 2025 by Lauren Schlau Consulting and CIC Research Inc
- City of Santa Monica Principal Employers of FY24/25
- HDL Companies--City of SM Quarterly Reports; US Census Quick Facts (v2024).