When Amazon announced its plans for a second North American headquarters, cities throughout the country began to salivate over the prospect of becoming its home — and they should. An investment of $5 billion locally, adding 50,000 new jobs with average salaries in the six-figure range would be transformational for any community.
It’s no wonder that so many luminaries in Orange County are wildly optimistic about the prospect of Amazon HQ2 moving here, and are beginning to mobilize to submit a bid to lure the massive online retailer to our community.
Landing the headquarters of a cutting-edge technology behemoth disrupting the global economy is exactly what Orange County needs as the next step of our community’s social, cultural and economic evolution.
In many ways, Orange County is the perfect location for Amazon. Yet, a few armchair skeptics believe that the O.C. doesn’t measure up to this challenge. Even the New York Times, in a recent report, listed other parts of Southern California as potential locations, but failed to even mention O.C.
For those uninitiated and unfamiliar with our locale, it’s typical to lump us in as part of Los Angeles. Too often, O.C. is inaccurately labeled as a bedroom community, or suburb, of Los Angeles, yet more workers commute from Los Angeles to Orange County than the other way around. That’s partially because O.C.’s job market is far better. Orange County’s unemployment rate is lower than Los Angeles County’s — and has been for some time, according to data tracked by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
No doubt L.A.’s population, media market and mythology get it the lion’s share of attention, but Orange County, and its 3 million-plus residents, is no side dish.
If Orange County were its own country, it would rank as the 45th-largest economy in the world, with a gross county product (the localized equivalent of gross domestic product) upwards of $200 billion. And, if we were our own state, we’d be around the 29th most populous in the nation.
In terms of business climate, hosting Amazon’s second HQ makes a lot of sense, but it is not just economics that makes this community enticing, it’s also the workforce.
Orange County is in the middle of one of the nation’s hubs for STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) graduates. Our geography makes us a hub for recruiting from anywhere in Southern California — from L.A. to O.C. to San Diego to the Inland Empire.
That hub produces more than 30,000 STEM bachelor’s and graduate degrees annually. It is virtually tied with the Tri-State New York-New Jersey-Connecticut metropolitan area for the No. 1 spot in the nation. Boston, with all of its great universities, is a distant third, at 17,000 graduates per year, and Silicon Valley is fifth, with 13,000 graduates.
As for its workforce, the Southern California tech hub also ranks first in the nation with its 528,000 professional and technical jobs. Orange County is at its nexus.
In comparison, the Silicon Valley counties have 404,000 similar jobs. Even as a stand-alone, Orange County’s 125,000 professional-technology jobs ranks higher than other competitive areas like Seattle; Phoenix; Austin, Texas; Charlotte and Raleigh in North Carolina; and Salt Lake City.
Orange County also employs more than five times the national average of workers in the medical equipment and supply manufacturing category. In audio and video equipment, it’s more than 4.4 times the national average; in electronic instrument manufacturing, it’s 3.5 times; and in semiconductor and electronic component manufacturing, it’s 3.1 times.
People don’t just look to relocate to the county for jobs, though. Many families and companies come here because our schools are so good. The depth and breadth of the county’s traditional public schools, public charter schools and private K-12 educational offerings are exceptional. The Irvine Unified School District, for example, was given an A+ grade by Niche’s 2018 Best Schools ranking, and was ranked the 11th-best school district in California.
As for higher education, U.S. News & World Report released rankings last week naming UC Irvine the ninth-best national public university, while private Chapman University moved up to fifth-best among Western comprehensive universities. Cal State Fullerton made it as a top “national university” and Soka University ranked as the 39th-best national liberal arts college.
It is pretty impressive that we have achieved top rankings in the major institutional categories of higher education — national, regional and liberal arts college.
And let’s not forget that Irvine’s Brandman University is widely regarded as offering the most innovative and personalized adult education program in the nation. In addition, Orange County’s community college system has strong preparatory STEM, cybersecurity and tech programs, including Irvine Valley College’s Business Sciences and Innovation Center.
While the job market and educational systems in Orange County both thrive, the real reason so many folks flock to this special place is the quality of life.
Live-work-play natural amenities are actually measured and ranked by the U.S. Agriculture Department, and include “six measures of climate, topography and water area that reflect environmental qualities most people prefer such as mild, sunny winters, temperate summers, low humidity, topographic variation and access to a body of water.” Orange County’s natural amenity scale of 8.74 is the highest score in the USDA’s ranking measure.
Other regions competing for Amazon’s HQ2 have much less to offer, including Denver, which scored just 2.88, Austin (1.38), Dallas (0.64), New York City (-0.31), Philadelphia (-0.46) and Chicago (-1.04).
And, according to county data, “O.C.’s regional park system is 39,000 acres in 25 urban and wilderness parks, including 7 historic sites, 7,000 acres of open space and 230 miles of regional riding and hiking trails.” Then, of course, there is the Orange Coast’s 40 miles of beaches and harbors.
In professional sports, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and the Anaheim Ducks, as well as the corporate headquarters for the Los Angeles Chargers, are here, and the Los Angeles Rams choose Orange County for training camp.
Orange County’s art scene is also enviable. It’s well-nigh impossible to measure the impact of the arts on the quality of our lives, but in a 2010 report issued by the Anderson Center for Economic Research at Chapman, the impact is almost half a billion dollars, making it one of the most significant art and cultural centers in the nation.
Orange County is not merely a community that thinks big, we also accomplish big things. Disneyland was built here. The life-saving medical device industry originated here. Electronic gaming innovators, like Blizzard Entertainment, are creating here.
The next big step for Orange County is welcoming another global technology force to our community. This is all to say: Amazon, Orange County wants you.
Jim Doti is president emeritus and the Donald Bren distinguished chair of Business and Economics at Chapman University. Lucy Dunn is president and CEO of the Orange County Business Council. Brian Calle is the opinion editor for the Orange County Register and the Southern California News Group and a professor at Chapman University’s School of Communication.
