Move Over, Irvine: Palmdale State’s Fastest-Growing City

Palmdale, once better known for its rattlesnakes and tumbleweeds than for economic development, has displaced Irvine as the fastest-growing city in California, according to study released today by the Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy.

Historic rivals Riverside and San Bernardino counties jumped in tandem to become the state’s two fastest-growing counties, based on several economic and demographic categories tracked during the past five years by the Palo Alto-based private research organization.

“The Palmdale-Lancaster area has been a recipient of substantial job growth around the aerospace complex,” said Stephen Levy, the center’s senior economist. Palmdale also has become a bedroom community for Los Angeles area, where housing closer to the city is beyond the means of many, he said.

Palmdale, which just celebrated the 25th anniversary of the high desert city’s incorporation, “has literally become the aerospace capital of the United States,” City Manager Robert Toone said.

“There are going to be a lot of opportunities for business in the years to come,” he said. “Personally, it’s a neat place to be.”

Palmdale recorded a whopping 130.9% population increase during the past five years and a 40.5% hike in the past year alone, the annual study found.

The index ranked the state’s 441 incorporated cities by growth in population, households, retail sales and building permits.

The study tends to favor smaller communities over the state’s big players, such as Los Angeles and San Diego, because percentage of growth will be larger if a city starts with a small base, Levy said. For example, the second city on the growth list is Hercules, a town near San Francisco with fewer than 12,000 residents.

Los Angeles has the most of almost everything, but the index measured the fastest growth and that favors cities in the 20,000 to 80,000 population range, Levy said.

But the growth leaders “are not little hamlets strewn across the state,” he said. Most of the fastest-growing towns are near large towns; 19 of the top 25 are in the southern part of the state.

Until 12 years ago, the town of Hercules was little more than a safety zone incorporated in 1900 by Hercules Powder Co. to keep the surrounding counties from building too close to the company’s dynamite factory. Housing development began in 1975, after the company closed the factory and sold the land, and now “everything they build out here gets sold right away” to people who work in San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley and other communities, Hercules Planning Director Kevin Garrett said.

“Part of the reason we’ve had what we like to call the dynamite growth,” Garrett quipped, “is we started from a very small base.” Hercules’ retail sales jumped 903.4% to $5 million in 1986 from $500,000 in 1982, by the addition of a “normal community shopping center,” featuring a drugstore, a supermarket, a pizza parlor, a yogurt shop and other stores.

Falling to third place behind Palmdale and Hercules doesn’t bother Irvine.

“We’ve never aspired to be the fastest growing in the state by any means. It just turned out that way,” Assistant City Manager Paul Brady said.

Brady said he had not seen the study and could not comment on specific areas where Irvine had slipped. But, he noted that Irvine Co., the city’s principal developer, has reduced its residential development to focus on office and industrial development.

Among the state’s 58 counties, Riverside jumped to the top slot from No. 5 and San Bernardino rose to No. 2 from No. 6.

Affordable Housing Cited

Officials in the two counties said that relatively cheap land, good schools, financing incentives to attract business and heavy promotion have contributed to the Inland Empire’s growth spurt.

“The reason it’s happening, of course, is home prices in Orange and Los Angeles counties have simply gone beyond the reach of most young families, and they’re willing to make the long commute to get affordable housing,” said Wes McDaniel, executive director of San Bernardino Associated Governments.

What’s more, San Bernardino and Riverside counties have tried to set aside their historic rivalry.

“We are working hand in glove with the city and county of San Bernardino,” said Joe Hernandez, assistant director of the Riverside County Department of Economic and Community Development. The counties are working with the cities of Riverside, Rialto and Colton to promote the Agua Manza enterprise zone that crosses the county line, he said. The zone is meant to attract new business with a package of government incentives.

“The county of San Bernardino and the city of San Bernardino provide jobs for citizens of Riverside,” Hernandez said. “We decided to be good neighbors and take advantage of what we have.”

Riverside and San Bernardino counties are cooperating to provide services to new residents by, for example, building roads together, McDaniel said.

“We feel we’re in this together,” McDaniel said. “There’s plenty for everybody.”

Tuolumne County was the third fastest growing in the state, followed by Placer, San Luis Obispo, San Diego, Solano, Nevada, Sacramento and Sonoma counties.

Counties were ranked by growth in population, households, retail sales, building permits, household income and jobs.

CALIFORNIA’S 15 FASTEST-GROWING CITIES

1987* % change 1986 retail City County population from 1986 sales ($ mil.) Palmdale Los Angeles 33,083 40.5% 124.2 Hercules Contra Costa 11,620 15.3 5.0 Irvine Orange 94,139 6.7 649.0 Palm Desert Riverside 17,111 4.6 241.7 Walnut Los Angeles 23,750 13.4 27.7 Cathedral City Riverside 23,532 22.5 192.0 Victorville San Bernardino 24,754 7.7 318.7 La Quinta Riverside 8,188 14.2 25.3 Carlsbad San Diego 55,281 13.1 503.1 Indian Wells Riverside 2,286 9.0 13.2 Lancaster Los Angeles 68,044 11.8 525.5 Fontana San Bernardino 59,978 12.4 268.3 Escondido San Diego 86,861 9.1 897.1 Rancho Cucamonga San Bernardino 80,420 9.0 168.5 Folsom Sacramento 19,246 14.4 96.1

% change City from 1985 Palmdale 12.5 Hercules 5.4 Irvine 7.9 Palm Desert 10.7 Walnut 13.8 Cathedral City 6.6 Victorville 19.3 La Quinta 9.5 Carlsbad 4.0 Indian Wells 6.1 Lancaster 14.4 Fontana 15.8 Escondido 28.3 Rancho Cucamonga 8.3 Folsom 17.0

* As of Jan. 1, 1987

Source: Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy

COUNTY GROWTH: THE TOP 10Growth index is calculated by combining percent increases in population, taxable retail sales, per capita income, and wage and salary jobs.

Growth 1986 County index Rank 1. Riverside 140.1 5 2. San Bernardino 136.0 6 3. Tuolumne 131.8 21 4. Placer 130.5 3 5. San Luis Obispo 125.8 1 6. San Diego 121.7 4 7. Solano 119.0 7 8. Nevada 116.2 17 9. Sacramento 116.0 12 10. Sonoma 115.6 8