A new report published by UC ANR summarizes contributions made by all of the people working California’s diverse landscapes, from farmworkers to park rangers.Report: California working landscapes \u2013 farms, ranches, mines, forests, renewable energy installations and fisheries \u2013 generate $404 billion\u00a0in sales annually<\/p>\n
Last year, California surpassed Japan to become the\u00a0world\u2019s fourth-largest economy<\/a>. Contributing to that achievement are over a million farm laborers, winemakers, park rangers, agricultural truckers, renewable energy technicians and many other workers who generate value from the state\u2019s natural landscapes.<\/p>\n Academics from University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources have done the math on the economic scope of these working lands, compiling their findings in the publication \u201cCalifornia\u2019s Working Landscape: Evolving Contributions to National, State, and Regional Economies.\u201d\u00a0This new report<\/a> includes the latest data on state employment, earnings, sales and businesses, providing an update to the first edition of this report,\u00a0released in 2019<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Working landscapes encompass land areas actively managed for economic purposes, primarily agricultural lands, forests and rangelands, as well as the land and water areas that create economic value, like those used for fishing, renewable energy production, mining and outdoor recreation. In total,\u00a0those working landscapes support nearly 1.5 million jobs and 75,500 businesses while generating $404 billion in sales and providing $103 billion in worker earnings.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n When it comes to the farming sector, the report demonstrates a simple fact: the Golden State is an agricultural behemoth. More than 62,800 business establishments operate across the state\u2019s four agricultural sectors \u2013 agricultural production, support, processing and distribution \u2013 generating $310.8 billion in sales and contributing more than 1.2 million jobs in 2024.<\/p>\n Those numbers affirm California\u2019s rank as the nation\u2019s most agriculturally productive state.<\/p>\n \u201cThis report once again shows how our working landscapes are critical as a foundation of the California economy,\u201d said Glenda Humiston, UC vice president for agriculture and natural resources. \u201cIt also underscores the importance of continuing to invest in agriculture, natural resources and related industries to maintain California\u2019s position as one of the world\u2019s economic powerhouses.\u201d<\/p>\n According to the report, the most common jobs affiliated with California\u2019s working lands help produce our food supply, including positions in agricultural support, production, processing and distribution. The agricultural supply chain is linked across California\u2019s geography, with hubs of activity in the Central Coast, San Joaquin Valley, Bay Area and Los Angeles regions.<\/p>\n The 2025 report provides updated data on California working landscapes.<\/p>\n The report proves the benefit of keeping a close eye on the economy over time, according to co-author Alexandra Hill, an agricultural economist and UC Berkeley professor of Cooperative Extension.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s pretty crucial to analyze data over multiple years,\u201d Hill said.\u00a0<\/p>\n For instance, this report picked up on a recent surge of agricultural support jobs, positions that provide speciality support to farmers, like fertilizer retailers or business consultants. In Hill\u2019s interpretation, this uptick in agricultural support roles could be related to anecdotal evidence of more farmers securing labor through contracting businesses, rather than directly recruiting farmworkers themselves.<\/p>\n Hill hopes the report will reach stakeholders \u2013 including the diverse cross-section of experts employed by UC ANR \u2013 who can lend their own experience to tease out new research questions based on the data.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThere are just many different ways that you can divide this report. There are many possible avenues we can take this work in,\u201d Hill said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Besides demonstrating the impact of California agriculture, the report encompasses other natural resource sectors, including mining, outdoor recreation, fishing and renewable energy. The report provides national context by ranking the valuation of these sectors in multiple states. The results place California in the top five of every category included, and in most cases, first place. The state leads in the four agricultural sectors, outdoor recreation and renewable energy.<\/p>\n \u201cThat was useful to see California emerge as one of the top contributors across most sectors,\u201d Hill said.<\/p>\n Notably, the report highlights California\u2019s huge growth in the renewable energy sector, which includes solar, wind and geothermal. The state\u2019s latest accolades: ranking first nationwide in renewable energy business, sales and earnings. The renewable energy sector is the fastest-growing\u00a0working landscape included in the report.<\/p>\n In addition to Hill, the report was co-authored by Alec Dompka and Aaron Wilcher, UC Cooperative Extension advisors on the Community Economic Development team<\/a>.<\/p>\n