Workforce & Education

Success in Business

A skilled and well educated workforce is critical to business success. Irwindale’s central location affords the business community access to a large labor pool, not only from the surrounding San Gabriel Valley cities, but also from western San Bernardino County and North Orange County.

Intellectual Capital

The San Gabriel Valley has the distinction of being known as the Intellectual Capital of California. The valley boasts a number of research institutions and a variety of for-profit biotech and technical cutting-edge companies. The valley is home to over 30 colleges, universities, and graduate schools, many of which are ranked above those of other intellectual capitals, such as Boston / Cambridge, Manhattan, and Chicago.

Higher Education Institutions

The San Gabriel Valley, with its population of 1.8 million, contains more institutions of higher education than the following:

• East Bay / Alameda County / Berkeley (Population: 1.4 million)
• Greater San Francisco / Stanford (Population: 1.8 million)
• North Orange County (Population: 1.4 million)
• Santa Clara County / San Jose (Population: 1.7 million)
• San Diego (Population: 1.2 million)
• San Fernando Valley (Population: 2 million)
• South Orange County (Population: 1.4 million)

The bookends of the Intellectual Capital of California are the Claremont Colleges to the east and Caltech at the west. The City of Irwindale is centrally located between these bookends, offering convenient access to these great research institutions, and the City of Hope is right next door in the City of Duarte.

Community Colleges

There are also three superb community colleges within a 12 mile radius, including Mt. San Antonio College, Pasadena City College, and Citrus College, which offer specialized training and other customized services to address specific needs of any business enterprise.