The report has served as one of the most comprehensive and reliable tools available to Oakland’s business community, policymakers, and civic leaders, tracking the city through economic boom periods, a global pandemic, and the complex structural transition it is navigating today. More than a snapshot of Oakland’s economy, the report is a record of a city in transformation, where it has been, how far it has come, and where the most important trends are heading.
Employment: Recovery Amid Shifting Trends
Oakland’s job market has crossed an important threshold, but the details tell a more complicated story. Total employment has slightly surpassed pre-pandemic levels at roughly 227,000 jobs, outperforming the broader East Bay recovery, but this growth is uneven. Health care and government now together account for about 40% of all jobs in the city, while several historically important sectors, including professional services, manufacturing, transportation, warehousing, and retail, have contracted since 2019.
This shift away from higher-wage, trade-oriented industries toward more service-based employment has real consequences for workers. While nominal wages have risen over the past decade, inflation has eroded real earnings since their 2021 peak, reducing purchasing power for many Oakland residents and complicating the city’s broader economic recovery.
Health Care: Oakland’s Primary Economic Anchor
Within this transition, the expansion of the health care sector stands out as Oakland’s most significant economic driver. Major institutional investments are reshaping the city’s profile as a regional hub for care, research, and workforce development. Samuel Merritt University opened its new $240 million City Center Campus in Downtown Oakland in January 2026, bringing approximately 2,000 students and 500 faculty and staff into the downtown core on a daily basis. UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland has broken ground on a $1.6 billion modernization project expected to be completed by 2031. Additionally, a joint venture between Stanford Medicine and Sutter Health is developing a $400 million cancer center in the Pill Hill neighborhood, slated for completion later this year.
These investments build on the longstanding presence of Kaiser Permanente, Oakland’s largest employer with over 11,000 employees, and are opening new career pathways for local residents through workforce training programs and internship pipelines in nursing, emergency medicine, and clinical support roles. Oakland is becoming a regional health care destination, and the economic benefits are only beginning to take shape.
Downtown Oakland: Challenges and Emerging Momentum
Remote and hybrid work have reshaped Downtown Oakland more than perhaps any other force. Office vacancy has climbed from a pre-pandemic range of 7–9% to nearly 18% citywide and over 21% in the downtown core, reducing the daytime foot traffic that once sustained surrounding retail, restaurants, and service businesses. Retail vacancy in the downtown core now stands at 7.6%, above both the Oakland-wide and East Bay averages, and years of negative net absorption signal that a full office recovery remains a long-term proposition.
In response, the City of Oakland is advancing a multi-pronged revitalization strategy. Targeted tax incentives tied to the June 2026 ballot cycle, including a proposed business license tax exemption for new businesses and those with annual gross receipts under $1 million, are designed to lower the cost of doing business and attract employers back to Oakland. Alongside these efforts, the City has launched Economic Activation Zones (EAZs) as a centerpiece of its five-year economic development action plan running through 2029. Through a public-private partnership, these pilot zones are designed to re-energize commercial corridors through entertainment programming, outdoor activations, AI-focused workforce development initiatives, and dedicated corridor safety ambassadors, all aimed at supporting small businesses and increasing foot traffic across key neighborhoods.
Despite these persistent challenges, meaningful indicators of momentum are emerging. BART ridership at the 12th Street and 19th Street downtown stations surged more than 20% year-over-year by late 2025, and citywide violent crime declined by roughly 25% compared to the prior year, trends that are beginning to restore confidence among residents, workers, and visitors to the urban core. The historic Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts has reopened after years of closure, Oakland’s Black Arts Movement Business District earned official California Cultural District designation, and Oakland was named the number one food city in the United States by Condé Nast Traveler readers for the second consecutive year.
Taken together, these developments signal that Downtown Oakland’s recovery, while still unfolding, is being built on a broader and more diversified foundation, one rooted in culture, community investment, and a city actively shaping its own economic future.
The Port, the Airport, and Global Trade
The Port of Oakland remains one of the city’s most consequential economic assets, supporting nearly 100,000 jobs and generating $174 billion in annual economic activity. While container throughput has remained relatively flat over the past decade, reflecting competition from larger West Coast ports and the constraints of a smaller regional consumer market, Oakland maintains a distinct and defensible niche in the global supply chain. The Port is the nation’s leading export gateway for refrigerated cargo and a premier handler of high-value agricultural products, with per-unit export values that consistently exceed those of Los Angeles and Seattle.
Looking ahead, the Port is making targeted investments to modernize its infrastructure and position itself for sustainable, long-term growth. These key initiatives include the addition of new electric ship-to-shore cranes, an ongoing truck-rail grade separation project in West Oakland, and a $475 million Clean Ports program supported by a $322 million U.S. EPA award. Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport, meanwhile, recorded 9.2 million passengers in 2025, still below pre-pandemic levels, but is actively pursuing new domestic and international routes, terminal upgrades, and a planned third terminal to support its long-term recovery and growth.
Shaping Oakland’s Economic Future
Oakland is not waiting for the economy to return to what it was; it is building something broader, more resilient, and more representative of what this city has always been capable of. Oakland’s cultural investments, thriving arts scene, and world-class entertainment offerings are not just quality-of-life assets; they are economic development tools that drive tourism, neighborhood vitality, and the kind of place identity that attracts residents and employers alike. Oakland has navigated structural transitions before, and the institutions, workforce, and cultural character that define this city remain powerful foundations for what comes next.
Oakland’s economic transformation is underway, and the Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce has been a driving anchor of this city’s economic development, and that commitment is stronger than ever. This report reflects a belief that Oakland’s economic future is best shaped by those who understand it most clearly, and a conviction that transparent data analysis is one of the most powerful tools a community can have.
The Chamber will continue to deliver the research that Oakland’s business community, policymakers, and residents need to move forward with clarity and confidence because our commitment has always been, and will always be, to the growth, resilience, and vitality of Oakland.
