California Life Sciences Association (CLSA), the trade association representing California’s life sciences industry, is proud to release the 2020 California Life Sciences Sector Report, which shows that California’s life sciences sector directly employed 323,723 people, generated $191.6 billion in revenue, is projected to attract $6.5 billion in venture capital (VC) and received $4.5 billion in funding from the NIH.
Produced with PwC US, the 2020 snapshot highlights the strength of California’s biomedical sector – the largest cluster in the world – as evidenced by significant increases in employment, earnings, graduating science and engineering PhDs, VC investment and potential new drugs and medical devices in the pipeline.
California’s Life Sciences Sector by the Numbers

323,723
Directly Employed Californians
$123,00
Average Salary
$6.4 Billion
Paid in Direct State and Local Taxes
1,350
New Medicines in Clinical Trials, Including COVID-19 Therapies and Vaccines
$4.5 Billion
in NIH Investment
$6.5 Billion
in Venture Capital
Download the Sector Report
For over 20 years, this annual report has been used by lawmakers, legislative staff, business leaders, educators, media outlets, developers and others to make key decisions and learn more about the life sciences sector in California.
The 2020 Report is available as a free download thanks to the support of our membership. Click here to learn how you can become a part of our diverse community of over 1,000 life sciences members.