ADELANTO – Claremont McKenna College released its 2022 Cost of Doing Business Survey, this week, and ranks Adelanto number 16 as the cheapest city to do business in the US. 

Although the study found that California has been a net exporter of businesses –  almost twice as many businesses left California in 2019 compared to the number that moved here due to costs, there are four California cities that ranked in the top 19 lowest cost cities to do business.

In addition to Adelanto, Lake Forest and Yucaipa also made the list. Laguna Woods came in the lowest cost California city at number six.

Researchers used seven variables for the analysis – sales tax, utility tax, business license fees, average office rent, FBI crime index, median home value, and minimum wage. 

Adelanto’s overall score 2.00 put the city in the fifth tier – or lowest tier for costs.

On the other end of the spectrum, 18 of the 21 highest costs of doing business in the nation are in California – Culver City and Seattle, Washington tied for number one.

“California’s costliness for businesses is difficult to overstate,” states the report. “While many cities will assert competitiveness or business friendliness, some even receiving local awards of recognition, the bottom-line cost levels of many California cities stand out as measurably higher than cities in other states.”

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The report found that 2,083 businesses moved into California and 4,018 left in 2019 – this is a 93% proportion of net business loss to in-migration as compared to 35% net business loss to in-migration in 1990.

Las Vegas is the most popular destination when businesses leave California. Cities in Nevada, Arizona, Texas, and Oregon are the destination for 64% of the businesses moving out of California. 

The report states that ​​in general, California’s business climate is not as affordable as the business climates of several other western states. However, certain cities in California, particularly those in Orange and San Bernardino Counties, manage to keep business costs somewhat lower. 

To view the full 2022 Cost of Doing Business Survey visit http://roseinstitute.org/costofdoingbusiness/