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Life Sciences Continues to Drive Growth in San Diego
Cushman & Wakefield’s newly released report, “San Diego Life Sciences Industry Spotlight: Mid-Year 2017,” uncovers the the key trends driving the San Diego region’s important life sciences sector, as well as its impact on commercial real estate.
The life sciences inventory makes up 7.6%, or 18.2 million square feet, of all inventory across San Diego County, making it a vital component of the regional economy to monitor. In fact, the direct economic impact of the life sciences industry is $33.6 billion, with an additional $19.4 billion indirectly added and $11.2 billion induced by income received by employees.
Report takeaways
- Fundamentals continue to improve, as a result of increased demand for space coming to the San Diego region.
- With 210,372 square feet of positive absorption through Q2 2017, vacancy in the sector continues to decrease and landed at 6.5%.
- Asking rental rates for life sciences properties are 60% higher than average office rates
- Nearly 44,000 people are employed in the life sciences industry in San Diego. Life sciences employment expanded by 13.1% annually, compared to growth of just 1.9% for all jobs in San Diego.
- Healthcare continues to be the most heavily-funded sector in San Diego, receiving 64% of all venture capital funding in the first half of 2017.
- Many U.S. companies have taken advantage of San Diego’s proximity to Mexico, where medical device manufacturing is inexpensive and high-quality.
For comments, questions or concerns, please contact Dennis Kaiser


