Solano County economic index: jobs steady, health care seen as primary growth engine

The Solano County Board of Supervisors received the 18th annual Solano County Index of Economic and Community Progress on June 9, presented by economist Dr. Robert Eer. The presentation synthesized 2024–2025 data and forward forecasts and framed strategic choices for county economic and workforce development.

Key findings: Dr. Eer said employment growth in Solano County remained resilient through April 2026, with private education and health care among the strongest annual gains. Health care and life sciences were identified as the most durable growth sectors toward the end of the decade, with implications for local training pipelines and job quality. The county’s population estimate for 2025 showed a slight decline, consistent with regional post‑pandemic demographic shifts, while the forecast through 2030 remained cautiously positive.

On wages and standards of living, Dr. Eer noted a jump in personal income per person in 2024 but observed that median household income measures still reflect pandemic‑era volatility in the data series. He highlighted inflation’s regressive effect — that price increases disproportionately burden lower and middle‑income households — and flagged a K‑shaped recovery in which higher‑income households realize larger gains.

Housing outcomes in 2025 were mixed: median home prices remain elevated (noted in the presentation as roughly $578,000 median in 2025), rents have risen modestly, and housing markets are slowly cooling as mortgage‑rate lock‑in reduces inventory. Agricultural output was down slightly in 2024 but remained above pre‑pandemic levels; Dr. Eer noted opportunities for added value in local supply‑chain integration (processing, packaging, visitor‑oriented assets tied to agriculture).

Supervisors asked detailed questions. Supervisor Mashurn pressed on manufacturing prospects and asked which subindustries to target; Dr. Eer recommended life sciences, advanced manufacturing tied to technical equipment and food/beverage processing, and leveraging the county’s logistics advantages between Sacramento and the Bay Area. Supervisors also probed infrastructure constraints, including water and power availability, and asked for more granular data about household income distribution to inform sales‑tax and cost‑of‑living policy choices.

Dr. Eer emphasized the importance of coordinated planning across education providers, workforce development and industry — recommending a pipeline approach that aligns K‑12, community college and higher education output with hiring needs in health care and other growing sectors. He suggested the county conduct an infrastructure inventory (water, power, broadband) to understand capacity for future investment and to guide economic development decisions.

The presentation concluded with staff and supervisors noting next steps: using the index to shape county workforce and economic development priorities and to inform infrastructure planning. Questions and discussion continued into a robust Q&A session covering living‑wage estimates, data‑center considerations, and the possible local impacts of federal and state investments.

Speakers on the record included Dr. Robert Eer, Matthew Davis (County Administrator's office) and multiple supervisors.