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Role in the SoCal Economy

The City of Vernon is the smallest among the cities of Los Angeles County when ranked by geographic area or population. The city’s economic impact, however, is far larger than one might expect. Indeed, as one of Los Angeles County’s “industrial cities” – along with the Cities of Commerce and Industry – Vernon is a vital economic center.

LA County

The LAEDC has identified and tracks the progress of 16 individual industry types in Los Angeles County. These industries are important drivers of the regional economy because they “export” goods and services to the rest of the state, the nation, and indeed the world. In doing so, they bring “new money” into Los Angeles that helps the regional economy grow.

The chart below lists the sixteen industry groups and describes the role played by Vernon’s firms in each. The industries in the table are ranked according to Vernon’s share, in percentage, of total county employment in that group.

Vernon’s Place in the Los Angeles Economy
(Industries Ranked by Vernon’s Overall Share of LA County Employment)
Industry Type Number of LA County Employees Number of Vernon Employees What Percentage of LA County Employees are Employed in Vernon
Food Products Manufacturing & Wholesale 69,700 10,668 15.31%
Fashion – Apparel & Textile Design / Manuf'g / Wholesale 105,500 11,246 10.66%
Furniture & Home Furnishings Manufacturing / Wholesale 36,500 2,018 5.53%
Fabricated Metal Products & Industrial Machinery 61,300 2,061 3.36%
Toy Manufacturing & Wholesale 6,800 165 2.43%
Auto Design & Aftermarket Parts Manufacturing / Wholesale 26,600 627 2.36%
Wholesale Trade & Logistics (not counted elsewhere) 228,900 4,502 1.97%
Average for All Industries 3,477,651 44,896 1.29%

Sources: City of Vernon, California Employment Development Department (QCEW data series), LAEDC.

Given its industrial profile, Vernon plays its biggest role in the Food Manufacturing area. Vernon-based food product companies employ almost 10,700 workers, more than 15% of the Los Angeles County total for this group. Vernon also plays an important role in the region’s Fashion--Apparel and Textile Design/Manufacturing/ Wholesale industry cluster, with more than 11,200 employees or 10.66% of the L.A. County total.

Other regional industry clusters in which Vernon plays a large role include Furniture and Home Furnishings (with an employment share of 5.53%), Fabricated Metal Products and Industrial Machinery (with 3.4%), Toys (with 2.4%), Auto Parts (also 2.4%), and Wholesale Trade and Logistics (with nearly 2%).

The State of California:

The State of California collects a large percentage of tax revenues associated with private-sector business activities carried out in the City of Vernon – about $310 million annually. Most of these revenues are actually paid by the employees in the form of state personal income taxes and sales taxes. Workers pay an estimated $193.5 million in personal income taxes to the State of California. Spending by employees related to Vernon-based businesses also generates sales tax revenues for the cities and counties in which the purchases take place.