California manufacturing fact sheet
THE FACTORY CENSUS, Q3 2026 · FACTORYREGISTRY RESEARCH · SNAPSHOT AUG 2026
As of AUG 2026, FactoryRegistry lists 46,414 manufacturing facilities in California, of which 12,553 (27.0%) carry a recent operating signal. That is 117.71 facilities per 100,000 residents.
Full census, Q3 2026 · California in the registry
Top counties
| COUNTY | FACILITIES |
|---|---|
| Los Angeles | 11,664 |
| Orange | 4,905 |
| San Diego | 3,512 |
| Santa Clara | 3,486 |
| Alameda | 2,865 |
| San Bernardino | 2,411 |
| Riverside | 1,752 |
| Ventura | 1,069 |
| San Mateo | 1,011 |
| San Joaquin | 999 |
Leading industries
| SUBSECTOR | FACILITIES |
|---|---|
| 332 Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing | 6,694 |
| 334 Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing | 5,679 |
| 325 Chemical Manufacturing | 4,990 |
| 333 Machinery Manufacturing | 4,573 |
| 336 Transportation Equipment Manufacturing | 4,554 |
Largest listed employers
| FACILITY | CITY | EMPLOYEES |
|---|---|---|
| 009 Park Place, Irvine | Irvine | 500+ |
| 0210 - Tracy Ca Meat Plant | Tracy | 500+ |
| 06-212231022-5 | San Diego | 500+ |
| 2002 - Los Angeles | Los Angeles | 500+ |
| 2005 - Downey | Downey | 500+ |
| 2027 - San Leandro | San Leandro | 500+ |
| 47900 Bayside Pkwy Fremont, CA | Fremont | 500+ |
| Advanced Sterilization Products, Irvine | Irvine | 500+ |
| Aerojet Rocketdyne CA Canoga Park 8900 DeSoto Ave ARSPPS | Canoga Park | 500+ |
| Aerospace Irvine MFCD | Irvine | 500+ |
Ranked by reported employment band. Facilities whose sources report no band are not listed here.
Coverage
The registry lists 46,414 facilities in California against a BLS QCEW benchmark of 44,839 manufacturing establishments (2024) — coverage of 103.5%. The benchmark is a floor: QCEW counts establishments covered by unemployment insurance and so excludes most sole proprietors and some contract operations. The real number of manufacturing sites is therefore higher than the benchmark, and this percentage overstates coverage rather than understating it. Where it exceeds 100%, the registry lists more sites than QCEW counts establishments — which is expected in states with many small or single-person operations, and is also where duplicate listings would show up first.
FactoryRegistry Research, The Factory Census, Q3 2026 — factoryregistry.com/census/2026-q3/ca · press@factoryregistry.com