Long Beachruns on a handful of strong industries. If you’re job-hunting or weighing a move, here’s where the opportunities (and the big-name employers) are.
Top industries & employers
Port, shipping & logistics
Port of Long Beach, SSA Marine, Total Terminals, Matson, drayage and customs brokerage firms
The city owns the second-busiest container port in the United States, which moved a record 9.88 million TEUs in 2025 and forms half of the San Pedro Bay complex with the Port of Los Angeles. Trade, warehousing and customs work radiate from it across the whole south-east county.
Space & aerospace
Rocket Lab, Relativity Space, Vast, SpinLaunch, Wisk Aero, Virgin Galactic operations
'Space Beach' — a cluster of launch and space-hardware companies that took over the old Douglas and Boeing plants north of the airport. It is where most of the city's new engineering hiring is, and Cal State Long Beach's aerospace programme feeds it directly.
Healthcare
MemorialCare Long Beach Medical Center, Miller Children's & Women's Hospital, Dignity Health St. Mary, VA Long Beach, City of Long Beach Health Department
MemorialCare's Long Beach campus and the adjoining children's hospital are the region's referral centre, and the VA hospital is one of the larger federal employers in the city. The city health department itself employs over 500 people.
Education & public sector
Cal State Long Beach, Long Beach City College, Long Beach Unified School District, City of Long Beach
CSULB is one of the largest campuses in the California State University system and, with the school district and the city itself, makes the public sector the biggest single block of stable employment here.
Oil & energy
City of Long Beach Energy & Environmental Services, California Resources Corporation, THUMS
The Wilmington field under the city and harbour still produces close to eight million barrels a year, operated under a trusteeship the state granted the city in the early 1900s. It is a shrinking but still significant employer and a large contributor to city revenue.
Creative, film & events
Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, Long Beach Convention Center, film and television location work, Queen Mary
Long Beach is inside the studio zone, so location shooting is constant, and the convention centre and the April street-circuit Grand Prix drive a substantial hospitality and events economy.
Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.