Coachella Valley Region Economic Development Strategy

Chapter Three: Economic Summary

This section of the Strategy provides highlights of existing and projected demographic characteristics that influence the economic development potential of Riverside County and the Coachella Valley subregion. This summary has been extracted from a more detailed report prepared for the Countywide EDSP process ( Draft Analysis of Key Datasets for Economic Development Strategic Plan , dated January 16, 2025). The provided data summaries generally follow a “top-down” hierarchy geographically:

• Riverside County compared to the neighboring counties of Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, and San Diego • The Coachella Valley compared to other Riverside County subregions

• The nine Coachella Valley cities compared to each other

Census-Based Demographic and Economic Overview The following data were primarily obtained from the U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates (2019-23); income estimates (for 2024) are from Esri. Data are provided for Riverside County as a whole, the five Riverside County subregions, and the following neighboring counties: Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, and San Diego. Topics address current conditions related to economic characteristics, housing stock, educational attainment, and households/families. It is important to note the distinction between the terms “employment” and “jobs” as discussed in this section. “Employment” is a characteristic of an area’s resident workforce; it refers to the residents of an area (i.e., city, county or other geography) that are currently employed, regardless of the location of their employment (i.e., they may hold jobs in their own community or commute to work outside the community). The term “jobs” relates to the place of work; thus, the reported number of jobs in a subregion or county refers to jobs that are based in that subregion or county, regardless of where the jobholders live.

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