By Assemblymember Marie Waldron
San Diego County ranks third in the nation as a center for the Life Science industry after Boston and the San Francisco Bay Area. As Vice Chair of Assembly Health Committee and a member of the Assembly Select Committee on Biotechnology, I advocate for affordable and accessible life saving innovations that enhance the quality of life for millions of patients.
Overall, California leads the nation in research and development (R&D) investment and labor. Wages paid to life sciences employees in 2023 were $57 billion, with 441,770 directly employed life science workers in the state’s 18,078 life science establishments. Their average wage was $166,538.
The importance of the industry to the San Diego region cannot be overstated. The total economic output of the life sciences industry is $56.6 billion, and we receive $2.2 billion in funding from the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation. We have 75,816 workers directly employed by the industry in 1,966 life science establishments, with another 178,143 jobs supported in related industries. The average annual salary for local life science workers is $163,177.
With outstanding institutions like the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and the Sanford Burnham Medical Research Institute, this region has the highest density of biophysicists, chemists and biochemists in the nation. We have a huge number of small pharmaceutical startups and incubators, with San Diego being one of the fastest-rising life sciences hubs in the world. Venture investment in local biotech and medical devices reached $1.5 billion in 2023; a slight downturn from the previous year but still above pre-COVID norms.
The Life Science industry’s impact, both medially and economically, is immense. Our state and region are on the leading edge of medical research, innovation, and employment. I am proud to salute the Life Sciences industry and its ongoing role in supporting and enhancing life-saving medical research.
Assemblymember Marie Waldron, R- Valley Center, represents the 75th Assembly District in the California Legislature, which includes the cities of Poway, Santee, portions of the City of San Diego, and most of rural eastern and northern San Diego County.
