Riversideruns on a handful of strong industries. If you’re job-hunting or weighing a move, here’s where the opportunities (and the big-name employers) are.
Top industries & employers
Logistics, warehousing & freight
Amazon, Walmart, Target, FedEx and UPS distribution networks, March Inland Port, the 60/215/10 warehouse corridors
The Inland Empire is one of the largest industrial property markets in the world, built to absorb container traffic from Los Angeles and Long Beach and distribute it nationally. It is the region's largest employment category by a distance, it is where most entry-level and mid-skill hiring happens, and it is also the subject of the region's fiercest local politics over air quality, traffic and land use.
Higher education & research
the University of California, Riverside, California Baptist University, La Sierra University, Riverside City College
UCR is a large public research university with a School of Medicine established to serve this region, one of the world's most important citrus germplasm collections, and an entomology and plant science tradition that grew directly out of the citrus industry. It is one of the city's largest employers and the main reason a research-facing career is possible here at all.
Health care
Riverside University Health System, Kaiser Permanente Riverside, Riverside Community Hospital, Loma Linda University Health nearby, Inland Empire Health Plan
Riverside University Health System is the county's public hospital and clinic network, and IEHP — the region's public Medi-Cal plan — is itself a large local employer. Health care is the sector most likely to be hiring regardless of the freight cycle, and the region's long-standing shortage of physicians relative to population makes clinical roles unusually easy to fill from outside.
County & local government
the County of Riverside, the City of Riverside, Riverside Public Utilities, Riverside Unified School District, the courts
Riverside is the county seat of a county of about 2.5 million people, so the county itself is among the largest employers in the metro — public health, social services, the sheriff, the courts and the hospital system. Add the city, its own utility and the school districts and the public sector provides a large stable employment floor.
Defence, aviation & aerospace
March Air Reserve Base, March Inland Port, the tier-two supplier base across the Inland Empire
March Air Reserve Base south-east of the city is a joint reserve base and an air mobility hub, with a civilian cargo airport operating alongside it. Most direct roles need US citizenship and often a clearance, so treat this as context for the local economy rather than an accessible job market on arrival.
Advanced manufacturing & electronics
Bourns, Inc., Solar Turbines and the wider Inland Empire manufacturing base, food processing and beverage plants
Bourns is a global electronic components manufacturer founded in Riverside in 1947 and still headquartered here — a genuine engineering employer in a region better known for distribution. It is a reminder that the Inland Empire's industrial base is not only warehouses, though the warehouses are what everyone sees from the freeway.
Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.