The Economic Development Division supports business investment, attraction, and expansion in Stockton. Visit the Economic Development website Advantage Stockton for additional local demographic and economic data, heat maps, and available sites and buildings.
Choose Stockton
Stockton, California is home to nearly 320,000 residents and a population that is constantly growing - now the 11th largest city in California. Nestled in the Central Valley, Stockton is bounded by two major highways - Highway 99 and Interstate 5 - and easily accessible by land, air, and water. Stockton's deepwater inland port, the Port of Stockton offers accessibility to global markets. The Stockton Metropolitan Airport supports commercial and passenger air. And the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad offers access throughout the country through the interconnected rail system.
Stockton has a history of innovation, entrepreneurialism, and perseverance. We are committed to investing in our community and its future. There following resources are available to assist:
Business Resources and Assistance
There are various resources to help businesses and developers start and grow in Stockton. The Economic Development Division can provide assistance and/or referrals to help businesses and developers navigate certain processes.
Resources for Starting a Business
- The Stockton Business Brochure offers a quick 10-step glance on how to start a business in Stockton, including the various agencies involved in creating a business and the permits and licenses that may be required before opening a business.
- The comprehensive Stockton Business Resource Guide offers a more detailed view of the 10-setps in starting a business in Stockton. The guide includes specific details and documents you may need at each step, website links for the respective agencies, links for useful resources including zoning map and data tools, contact information for City departments that may interact with businesses, and other local resources that provide assistance to local businesses.
- SizeUpStockton is a free online data tool that allows the user to see how their business measures in the existing local market. Small businesses and microenterprises that are looking to grow in Stockton can input data to
- Advantage Stockton is our economic development and site selection portal and provides community data - including demographic, consumer, and labor force data - business data, and a list of available commercial sites and buildings.
- The Community Development Virtual Assistant allows users to check the suitability of specific sites for their business and get preliminary costs, requirements and eligible programs that the site may be eligible for.
Business Assistance
- Our Financial Assistance page provides information on the City's various loans, grants, lien forgiveness, and fee deferral programs to help support new development as well as existing businesses. The page also includes information from other agencies' financial assistance programs.
- The Economic Review Committee (ERC) is the City's development and site plan review program. It is a free, voluntary service for project developers and business owners looking to invest in new development or major tenant improvements and would like feedback on preliminary site plans and project requirements prior to submitting plans for plan review.
If you have any questions regarding any of these resources, please send an email to
Economic.Development@Stocktonca.gov.
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