The Local Economy of Menifee, California

Menifee is a city in Riverside County, California with a population of over 95,000 residents. Located in southern California’s Inland Empire region, Menifee has a diverse and growing local economy. Some key facts about Menifee’s economy:

• The top employment sectors are retail, healthcare, construction, hospitality, and manufacturing. Major local employers include Target, Riverside Community Hospital, Mt. San Jacinto College, and Promevo.
• Median household income is over $80,000, above the national average. The homeownership rate is 77%.
• New housing construction continues at a rapid pace to support population growth. Over 1,500 new housing permits were issued in 2021 alone.
• Menifee has attractive amenities for businesses including affordability, skilled workforce availability, and access to major transportation routes.

Major Local Industries and Employers

Menifee has a mixture of service, retail, healthcare, education, and construction employers across many sizes:

Retail/Hospitality

Popular retail and restaurant chains with locations in Menifee include:

• Target (one of the largest employers with over 200 employees)
• Walmart Supercenter
• Lowes Home Improvement
• Panera Bread
• Chili’s Grill & Bar
• Olive Garden
• Starbucks (two locations)

New hotels have recently opened along the I-215 corridor to serve business and leisure visitors including:

• Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott
• Myoma Hotel Menifee (small boutique hotel)
• Hampton Inn & Suites

Healthcare

As the largest healthcare employer, Riverside Community Hospital has over 1,500 employees providing a full range of medical services.

In addition, residents have access to a Sutter Health urgent care clinic, dialysis center, and many independent physician practices and medical specialists across the city.

Education

For education, Mount San Jacinto Community College (MSJCC) has a Menifee campus location with over 7,500 students.

MSJCC is the 5th largest community college in California offering associate’s degrees and technical certifications for local students and adult learners. Local K-12 school districts include Perris Union High School District and Romoland School District.

Construction/Manufacturing

Major builders with new housing communities under development include Lennar Homes, DR Horton, Century Communities, and KB Home.

Promevo is a large manufacturing employer in Menifee producing medical devices. Other construction/manufacturing employers serve aerospace, automotive, and green energy industries in the region.

Top 5 Largest Employers in Menifee

1. Riverside Community Hospital (Healthcare)
2. Target (Retail)
3. Mt. San Jacinto College (Higher Education)
4. Promevo (Manufacturing)
5. City of Menifee (Municipal Government)

Real Estate and Housing Market

With steady population growth over the past decade, Menifee has an active real estate and new housing construction market. Some key indicators on the local housing economy:

Home Values

• The current average listing price for a home in Menifee is $525,000.
• Average home values have appreciated 13.8% over the past year.
• Most common properties are 4 bedroom, 2-3 bathroom single family suburban homes with yard space.

Rents

• Average rent for a 1 bedroom apartment is $1,895/month.
• New luxury apartments and townhome communities cater to renters.

New Construction

• 1,548 new housing permits were issued in Menifee in 2021, primarily for single family homes.
• DR Horton, Lennar Homes, Richmond American Homes, and Century Communities are the top builders with new home communities selling out quickly.
• New master-planned housing developments are expanding the city east towards Hemet and south towards Murrieta.

Commercial Real Estate

In addition to new housing, Menifee sees new shopping center developments driven by population growth:

Recently Opened

• The Brickyard Shopping Center opened in 2021 with key tenants Lowe’s Home Improvement, Burlington, Panera Bread, Chipotle Mexican Grill
• Marketplace at Newport mixed use center also recently opened major grocery anchored center.

Future Developments

• Menifee Town Center will be a large regional open air shopping destination scheduled to break ground in 2023. Majestic Realty Co. leading development.
• Additional neighborhood shopping centers, medical office space, and mixed use projects planned around core areas of city.

Business Incentives, Resources, and Infrastructure

Menifee actively supports business investment and expansion through:

Infrastructure

• Recent road improvements along I-215 highway and arterial connectors to reduce congestion.
• Plans to expand public sewer access to key commercial corridors. Most of city currently relies on private septic systems.
• Expansion of high speed fiber internet underway through partnerships with Spectrum, Frontier, etc.

Financial incentives

• Expedited project application review and fee reductions.
• Support procuring state and federal grants, loans, and tax credits.
• Southern California Edison economic development incentives for large employers.

Business resources

• Menifee’s economic development department serves as business concierge for site selection, permitting, and launch.
  -Active Chamber of Commerce hosting mixers and promoting business partnerships.
  -Streamlined online portal for starting a business with all resources and requirements.

Quality workforce

• Adult population with higher education degrees above state/national average creating solid white collar and knowledge worker talent pipeline.
• Strong technical programs at MSJCC and nearby universities creating skilled talent.
• Lower cost of living compared to L.A and coastal cities helps employee retention.

Analysis of Key Economic Data

Menifee’s population growth, education levels, income levels, and business makeup indicate a strong and expanding local economy. Some key statistics:

Category	Statistic
Population 2010	77,519
Estimated Population 2022	95,741
Projected Population Growth by 2025	107,068 (+12% over 2022)
Median Age	36.5 years
Median Household Income	$83,561
Percent with Bachelor’s Degree or higher	24.7%
Number of Businesses	5,062 businesses
Number of New Business Starts 2022	712
Top Industry Sectors by Revenue	Healthcare, Retail, Construction
Jobs-to-Housing Balance	0.78 (2022)

Data sources: U.S. Census Bureau, ESRI Business Analyst, City of Menifee

The favorable demographic and business trends point to continued economic expansion in Menifee. The city’s economic strategy focuses on managed growth in key sectors identified earlier to support prosperity for local businesses and residents.

Challenges Facing the Local Economy

While the overall economic outlook is positive, Menifee still faces a few headwinds:

Infrastructure growing pains – As the population expands, the city must continue upgrading roads, utilities, and amenities to keep pace with development and maintain quality of life. Traffic congestion already an issue.

Dependent bedroom community – Over 85% of working residents commute outside city, indicating limited white-collar office jobs nearby. City wants more diverse professional industry base.

Vulnerable service workforce – Retail, restaurant and essential services have labor shortages and likely saw small business failures coming out of pandemic downturn. Need to foster support and growth opportunities.

Unpredictable market forces – Potential recession risks from inflation/interest rates, supply chain issues, labor shortages, or stock market declines could quickly dampen key drivers like new housing construction and consumer spending.

Conclusion and Future Opportunities

Menifee has clearly established economic momentum, though still maturing compared to neighbors like Temecula and Murrieta.

Supporting continued population influx while methodically addressing infrastructure and quality of life needs can help the city avoid growing pains and compete for investors.

Areas of biggest opportunity:

• Commercial office space and more white-collar employers
• Additional entertainment, culture, and lifestyle amenities to prevent resident spending leakage into surrounding cities.
• Supporting entrepreneurship and small business growth to diversify the employer base.
• Ongoing retail/restaurant sector expansion catering to new rooftops.

If the building blocks are nurtured properly, Menifee appears well on its way to sustaining a healthy and balanced local economy for decades to come.