What this year’s list says about growth, industry strength, and the value of a diverse employment base.
Every year, SCVEDC’s Largest Employers survey gives us a snapshot of the companies and organizations putting people to work across the Santa Clarita Valley. But the most interesting part of the list is not always who ranks first. It is what changed.
And this year, there is movement worth paying attention to.
The SCV’s largest employers reported more than 32,000 local employees in 2026, an increase of about 3% across the comparable cohort.
Among private employers, 26 of the 50 companies surveyed increased their headcount.
Those gains did not come from one company or one corner of the economy. They showed up across healthcare, logistics, aerospace, advanced manufacturing, and other sectors, reinforcing a central strength of the SCV economy: the breadth of its employment base.
There was plenty of positive movement among private employers this year. Collectively, the largest private employers added 191 employees, and several companies posted notable gains.
Amazon/Whole Foods had the largest increase, adding 208 employees, a 31% increase over its 2025 headcount. Healthcare also delivered one of the year’s biggest employer gains. Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital added 135 employees, an 8% increase, bringing its reported workforce to 1,830.
Several other employers posted meaningful growth. ASC Process Systems added 94 employees, a 34% increase. Stay Green added 68, up 14%. DrinkPAK added another 50 employees, an 11% increase.
Looking across the Aerospace & Defense employers highlighted in this year’s survey, companies reporting increases collectively added approximately 450 local jobs compared with their previously reported headcounts. The SCV’s aerospace and defense ecosystem also extends beyond companies classified specifically as Aerospace & Defense in federal industry data, with a number of local suppliers and manufacturers categorized within broader manufacturing and advanced-manufacturing sectors.
Those gains underscore the continued strength of one of the SCV’s most important industry clusters, supporting high-skill jobs across aerospace manufacturing, engineering, components and defense-related production. The broader Aerospace & Defense sector now supports approximately 1,824 workers in the Santa Clarita Valley, with an average salary of $114,342 per worker, placing employment at or near record levels.
That spread matters. Growth is showing up across companies serving very different markets, from healthcare and fulfillment to aerospace components and advanced manufacturing. Looking beyond individual companies, several larger industry stories also emerge.
Public organizations also contributed significantly to this year’s increase, collectively reporting 636 more employees than in 2025.
Together, these organizations continue to provide a substantial employment foundation across education, infrastructure, and public services in the SCV.
Individual employer gains tell one part of the story. Looking at the industries behind them tells us even more about where the SCV economy is finding momentum.
The 2026 Economic Outlook identifies healthcare as the region’s leading source of job creation, part of a broader trend also visible across Los Angeles County and California.
That momentum is visible in the Largest Employers survey. Henry Mayo added 135 employees, while Cardinal Health (+20), IQVIA (+14), Shield Healthcare (+10), and Kaiser Permanente (+3) also reported increased local headcounts.
The longer-term demographics point in the same direction. Residents age 65 and older are the SCV’s fastest-growing age group, supporting continued demand for healthcare services and the skilled professionals who provide them.
Healthcare growth also matters because many of these are skilled occupations. Healthcare practitioners and technical professionals in the SCV earn an average annual salary of approximately $128,673 in 2026.
The takeaway: healthcare is not only a growing sector, but also an important source of skilled, high-value careers in the SCV.
At first glance, manufacturing looks softer this year. Overall manufacturing employment in the SCV declined modestly, by approximately 183 jobs.
But look a little closer and the picture becomes much more interesting.
Several of the companies posting the strongest gains on this year’s Largest Employers list are part of the SCV’s advanced-manufacturing and aerospace ecosystem.
Fralock reported adding 173 employees. ASC Process Systems increased by 94. Cicoil, Sunvair, Adept Fasteners, Crissair, TA Aerospace and HRD Aero Systems all reported growth as well.
That matters because advanced manufacturing is a major piece of the SCV economy. The Outlook estimates that the sector employs between 8,000 and 9,000 workers and represents roughly 78% of the region’s manufacturing employment.
So while manufacturing as a whole experienced some contraction, some of the region’s more specialized manufacturers are expanding, particularly companies tied to aerospace, defense and advanced production.
Technology is changing the equation too, but not simply by replacing people. AI and automation are helping manufacturers streamline certain processes, increase productivity and redirect talent toward more specialized work. For some SCV employers, automating one part of the operation is creating room to grow elsewhere. And as local aerospace and advanced-manufacturing companies continue recruiting for skilled technical roles, workforce development remains closely connected to the cluster’s next phase of growth.
Transportation and warehousing tells another encouraging story.
Employment across the broader sector has continued to expand in the SCV and is now at record levels of more than 4,000 workers.
The Largest Employers list reflects some of that momentum. Amazon/Whole Foods added 208 employees — the biggest private-employer gain on this year’s list — while DrinkPAK added another 50.
DrinkPAK’s growth is especially notable because it has become a visible example of what long-term expansion can look like in the SCV. Since choosing the Santa Clarita Valley for its operations, the company has continued to add facilities, investment and jobs. Its reported local workforce now stands at 500 employees.
No regional economy moves in a straight line. Individual businesses grow, restructure, adjust staffing or respond to changes in their industries at different times.
That is why a diverse employment base matters.
We see that throughout this year’s employer list. Healthcare organizations expanded. Aerospace and advanced-manufacturing companies added workers. Transportation and warehousing employment reached a record level. Public employers grew as well. While individual organizations reported different headcount trends, the employers represented on this year’s list collectively reported higher employment than the comparable group a year ago.
That breadth is one of the SCV’s economic advantages.
Strong regional economies are supported by clusters of businesses, suppliers, workers, educational institutions, infrastructure and partners that create multiple pathways for investment and employment. When employment opportunities come from many different industries, the Santa Clarita Valley is better positioned to adapt to changing business conditions while continuing to support jobs, investment and long-term economic growth.
That diverse economic base is reinforced by another SCV advantage: relatively high household incomes. Median household income is estimated at approximately $144,700 in 2026, compared with $116,309 across California and $106,600 in Los Angeles County.
That difference reflects, in part, the concentration of SCV residents working in higher-skilled fields including management, manufacturing, finance, and scientific and technical occupations.
This year’s Largest Employers list isn’t a story about every company moving in the same direction.
It’s more interesting than that.
It’s a story about a healthcare sector adding jobs. About specialized manufacturers expanding even in a mixed year for manufacturing overall. About transportation and warehousing reaching record employment. It’s about dozens of employers, public and private, continuing to put people to work across the Santa Clarita Valley.
That is what a diverse regional economy looks like: broad-based, adaptable and better equipped to respond as conditions change.
At SCVEDC, our role is to help strengthen that foundation by working in partnership with the City of Santa Clarita, Los Angeles County, local businesses, educational institutions and community partners. Together, this public-private partnership supports existing employers, strengthens key industry clusters, connects companies with workforce resources and helps create the conditions for long-term investment in the SCV.
Because the real value of the Largest Employers list isn’t just knowing who is biggest.
It’s understanding where the Santa Clarita Valley is growing, and the many different businesses and industries helping move it forward.
Click below to read the list of the SCV Largest Employers. For the separate lists of Private and Public employers, you can visit our Top Employers page. And don't forget to follow us on social media and sign up for our newsletter to stay in the know about business updates across the valley!
The Santa Clarita Valley Economic Development Corp. is a unique private/public partnership representing the united effort of regional industry and government leaders. The SCVEDC utilizes an integrated approach to attracting, retaining and expanding a diversity of businesses in the Santa Clarita Valley, especially those in key industry clusters, by offering competitive business services and other resources. For more information, visit SCVEDC.org.