City of San Marcos Questions & Answers
(Information is current as of December 2007)

Q. During 2007, how many new business licenses were taken out by San Marcos based businesses?
A. 900

Q. What is the total number of business licenses in the City?
A. 4,031

Q. What is the total number of new employees added to the workforce in San Marcos during 2007 as reported on new business licenses?
A. 3,178

Q. What is the total number of people employed in San Marcos businesses?
A. Approximately 27,411

Q. What is the total number of restaurants within the City?
A. 176

Q. How many manufacturing companies are there in San Marcos?
A. Approximately 159

Q. What city has the highest property base tax rate in the County?
A. Coronado ($0.3123)

Q. What city has the lowest property base tax rate in the County?
A. San Marcos ($0.0721)

Q. Several years ago, UPS chose San Marcos as their distribution and collection center for the entire North San Diego County. Why San Marcos?
A. Location, location, central location!

Q. Where is the educational center for North San Diego County?
A. San Marcos. We are home to California State University at San Marcos (9,100 students), Palomar College (over 30,000 students) and the San Marcos Unified School District (17,200 students).

Q. Does San Marcos have an Affordable Housing program?
A. Yes. San Marcos is a recognized leader in providing affordable housing via several different programs. We have a total of 2,867 dwellings that are classified as “affordable”, all with long-term deed restrictions. Of the 2,867 units, 2,630 are rentals (apartments, condominiums or manufactured homes). The remaining 237 units are the result of various affordable ownership programs.

Q. How many people live in San Marcos?
A. Approximately 80,000

Q. What was the population increase in San Marcos between 2000-2007?
A. 45%

Q. What was the Building Construction Valuation in the City for the year 2006?
A. Over $169,000,000

Q. What is the total assessed 2007 valuation for the City?
A. $9,687,043,317

Q. Which companies were among the largest employers in San Marcos? (Alphabetical order)

CSUSM Foundation
Costco Wholesale #416
Fry’s Electronics
Hunter Industries, Inc.
Jacques Gourmet
Lusardi Construction Company
Oncore Manufacturing Services
PAR Electrical Contractors, Inc.
RB III Associates, Inc.
Signet Armorlite, Inc.
United Parcel Service
Vanpike, Inc.
Wal-Mart #3494

Q. What is the approximate apportionment of land use within the City?
Residential 79.49%
Roads/Public facilities/Open Space 8.89%
Industrial 5.35%
Commercial 4.35%
Business park 0.89%
Office Professional 1.03%

Q. What organization is the largest employer, public or private, in the City?
A. San Marcos Unified School District – approximately 2000 employees