Because the city fathers of Westlake Village were so careful on the original master plan for the city, development and business were well taken into account in this city. Westlake Village has a thriving economy. Westlake Village is very attractive to businesses, with attractive commercial venues at competitive prices. The workforce in Westlake Village is well educated and the high quality of life in Westlake Village makes it very desirable to live and work here. Unemployment is only about 5%. Many companies wanting to move out of Los Angeles have come here, and sometimes to avoid the high city tax levied in Los Angeles. Rates for businesses on gross receipts are considerably lower in nearby Thousand Oaks than in Los Angeles. Within a radius of 20 miles around Westlake Village there is a large and well-educated labor force. The highest percentage of the workforce is made up of people in management and professional careers. Sales and administrative jobs make up the second largest percentage.
Within the city limits, there are about 850 commercial and light industrial business firms. In Westlake Village a high number of the industries and businesses are technical and computer oriented, including Amgen with 6200 employees, Rockwell Scientific with 450 employees, and others like Baxter Pharmaceutical, Surfware, Inc., Xircom Inc. Within the services category, WellPoint Health Network is the biggest employer with 3200 employees. Among manufacturing and distributing companies there are Jafra Cosmetics International, Dole Food Co., and Avery Packaging among others. Government employment is available in the two Counties, Ventura, and Los Angeles, as well as with the local, state and federal governments. This area is expected to continue its growth over the next 20 years.
In Moorpark the economy is strong and fosters businesses and corporations as well as maintaining the agricultural sector. Moorpark is famous for its methods of chicken and egg production. Experts in the agricultural field come from all around to learn the latest on chicken raising and egg production. There is quite a mix of agriculture and businesses in Moorpark.
Corporations and businesses in Moorpark include Kavlico, Countrywide, First Data/Card service International, Laars/Waterpick and many others. The City of Moorpark’s Development and Redevelopment Offices work hand in hand for businesses and redevelopment. The high quality of life in Moorpark brings satisfaction to employees and magnifies positive productivity. With the low cost of doing business in Moorpark and the high quality of living, Moorpark is an ideal place to start a business. The labor force is skilled and highly trained with so many colleges and universities, from community colleges to major universities nearby. Eighty-two percent of the adult population are high school graduates or above and 42.5% are college graduates. The median household income (from a survey in 2003) is $84,500.
City membership to Economic Development Collaborative of Ventura County (EDC-VC) has many services to businesses to help you whether you are starting a business or deciding how to grow the business, including financing, business enhancement services, seminars and workshops, including an Entrepreneur Academy, Business Roundtable and business reference library. Other services include business incentives for energy conservation practices and education to help businesses with this, marketing packages for new businesses, help in liasoning with government staff, economic forecast information from UCSB, training to prevent fraud and theft to and in your business, and more. Ventura County has a job and careers center that interfaces with businesses to help you find qualified employees and helps place people in jobs, helps you with legal and other issues. State programs offer business consulting and marketing services to help businesses. Federal programs also offer some business consulting and some financing.
Dos Vientos Ranch is part of the City of Thousand Oaks, which has both corporate and regional headquarters and other various and diversified retail, industrial and business companies. Amgen, Inc and Bioscience Department of Baxter HealthCare Corporation are major industries in the Thousand Oaks area. These companies are top leaders in the biotechnology field. Xircom, Inc., General Dynamics Corporation, and Rockwell Science Center are all leaders in technology. Jafra Cosmetics, Blue Cross, WellPoint Health Networks Inc., General Motors Regional Office, and Verizon Regional Office are among other corporations in Thousand Oaks. Small businesses are also thriving in Thousand Oaks. The sales tax is a major part of the income for the City of Thousands Oaks so the city is very supportive of businesses. On the positive side of this for the businesses is that the tax levied for business is lower than that levied in Los Angeles making it attractive for businesses to locate in Thousand Oaks.
The diversification of business and industry in Thousand Oaks makes for a very solid economy as well as provide a wide range of jobs for residents. The median income in Thousand Oaks is $86,000. In addition to the job opportunities in Thousand Oaks, there are innumerable employment opportunities in Ventura County, in San Fernando Valley, and in the metropolitan area of Los Angeles all of which are easily accessed via the freeways, or via Metrolink.
- NUMBER1EXPERT™ 
