Oceanside business is on a roll. New companies are moving in and existing companies are expanding, creating approximately 2,000 new jobs per year. Oceanside’s appeal is based on its relatively cheap, bountiful land situated within a few miles of the coast; its easy access to two major freeways; its large, experienced labor force; and its less expensive housing market.
According to Jane McVey, president of the Oceanside Economic Development Commission, biotech and computer companies are “a good market fit” right now because of the cheap land and a labor force already trained for manufacturing.
The North County Business Expo, hosted by the Chamber of Commerce and sponsored by the San Diego Daily Transcript/San Diego Source and Christian Credit Counselors, sold out its 80 exhibitor slots a full month before the exhibit and attracted a large crowd of interested business people.
One reason companies are moving to Oceanside is its comparatively flat land. According to Larry O’Harra, president of O’Harra Investment and Commercial Properties, Oceanside’s topography allows developers to work with large parcels. “You can’t do that when the land is real hilly and you have to chop it up,” O’Harra said. Currently, Oceanside has around 460 acres available for development.
Companies have room to grow in Oceanside, a big reason Federal Sign has stayed, and hopes to stay, despite already out-growing two buildings. “From the proposals that we’ve seen, Oceanside continues to be a very attractive spot for commercial real estate,” said Kevin Stotemeister, president of Federal Sign. “Oceanside has more opportunities for build-to-suit type of arrangements. There’s more of that kind of land available here.”
Perhaps equally important is Oceanside’s current focus on being a developer-friendly environment. “They’re very eager to work with people to see how it can be done,” said O’Harra, referring to the Oceanside Planning Department. The department holds developer conferences so that companies can get input from the city before buying land.
This development-friendly attitude stands in stark contrast to the Oceanside of the past. “We had some council people in the past that were really anti-development and that really damaged Oceanside,” O’Harra said. O’Harra praised the city’s current leadership as helping to spread Oceanside’s new pro-development image.
The city’s efforts are getting noticed. “It’s becoming what I would classify as somewhat successful,” said Don Schemp, president of Rancho Santa Fe National Bank. “They’re not completely there yet, but it’s coming together nicely.”
Oceanside’s retail market has been having a hard time keeping pace with the business, industrial and commercial development. Even after undergoing extensive redevelopment, many of downtown Oceanside’s store windows remain vacant. “They’re trying to get people to come and visit, but they need to have the hotel and things like that to happen,” said Schemp, referring to the scrapped Manchester plans to build a resort in Oceanside. “They need something to stimulate that area.”
Some of that stimulus will come from the 599 new homes in the pipeline for the downtown area. “That is the place to be down there,” O’Harra said. “That’s the biggest barometer; when people buy houses to live here.”
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Top Home Sales in Oceanside
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Dwelling
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Street Address
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Zip
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Record Date
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Tax Value
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house
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27 Saint Malo Beach
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92054
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10/31/07
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$4,000,000
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house
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1815 S. Pacific St
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92054
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01/17/07
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$3,800,000
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condo
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921 S. Pacific St, Unit #2
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92054
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04/30/07
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$3,450,000
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house
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1823 S. Pacific St
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92054
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05/30/08
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$3,450,000
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house
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308 Montego Bay Ct
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92057
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03/12/08
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$3,200,000
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condo
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1129 S. Pacific St, Unit #A
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92054
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08/07/07
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$2,636,500
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condo
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1302 Pacific St, Unit #C
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92054
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05/01/07
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$2,300,000
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house
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312 S. The Strand
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92054
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06/26/08
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$2,250,000
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house
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2015 S. Pacific St
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92054
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08/29/07
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$1,740,000
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house
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607 N. Pacific St
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92054
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12/03/07
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$1,700,000
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house
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609 Pacific St
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92054
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01/11/08
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$1,700,000
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house
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5535 Papagallo Dr
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92057
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05/31/07
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$1,579,500
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condo
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999 N. Pacific St, Unit #D33
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92054
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02/08/07
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$1,500,000
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house
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207 Windward Way
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92054
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07/06/07
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$1,500,000
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house
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5543 Papagallo Dr
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92057
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09/07/07
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$1,437,000
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condo
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901 S. Pacific St, Unit #3A
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92054
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07/16/07
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$1,430,000
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condo
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500 N. The Strand , Unit #30
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92054
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06/29/07
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$1,425,000
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house
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1320 Sleeping Indian Rd
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92057
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03/23/07
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$1,400,000
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house
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1113 Conure Ct
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92057
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01/11/08
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$1,352,500
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house
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915 N. Pacific St
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92054
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11/07/07
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$1,335,000
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condo
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1314 S. Pacific St, Unit #2
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92054
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04/06/07
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$1,300,000
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house
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1302 Pacific Highway , Unit #A
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92054
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02/08/07
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$1,280,000
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house
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1601 S. Myers St, Unit #1
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92054
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07/31/08
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$1,250,000
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condo
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1314 S. Pacific St, Unit #C
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92054
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02/28/07
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$1,215,000
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condo
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1324 S. Pacific St, Unit #6
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92054
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07/20/07
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$1,189,500
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house
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1008 Whaley St
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92054
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03/26/07
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$1,186,000
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condo
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999 N. Pacific St, Unit #C310
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92054
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03/29/07
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$1,185,000
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house
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1114 Conure Ct
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92057
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04/24/07
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$1,151,500
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house
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634 N. Tremont St
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92054
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01/12/07
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$1,150,000
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condo
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804 N. Strand , Unit #11
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92054
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09/25/07
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$1,100,000
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Top 30 Employers in Oceanside
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| Ranked by number of employees |
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Company
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Industry
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Employees
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Oceanside Unified School District
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N/A
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2,300
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Tri-City Medical Center
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N/A
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2,201
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City of Oceanside
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N/A
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979
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MiraCosta College
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N/A
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798
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BD Sharps Disposal Systems
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N/A
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600
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North County Transit District (NCTD)
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N/A
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600
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Hydranautics, a Nitto Denko Company
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N/A
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330
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SeraCare Life Sciences Inc.
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N/A
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242
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Herzog Contracting Corp.
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N/A
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165
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SMM USA Inc.
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N/A
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145
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Deutsch ECD
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N/A
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125
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Monterey Financial Services Inc
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N/A
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125
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Riopelle Development Company
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N/A
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35
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Advanced Personnel Systems Inc
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N/A
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19
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Hatter Williams & Purdy, Inc.
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N/A
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16
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South Coast Newspapers
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N/A
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16
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Royal Pacific Construction Inc.
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N/A
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11
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Oceanside Engineering & Manufacturing
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N/A
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10
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Feist, Vetter, Knauf & Loy
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N/A
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8
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Stanfeild, Newquist, Brennan, Greener & Adler, CPA's
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Wide range
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8
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Coast Office Centre
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N/A
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7
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Investors Property Management Group Inc.
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N/A
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7
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Island Staffing
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N/A
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6
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Taylor Group, Inc.
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N/A
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6
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Value Engineering, Inc.
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N/A
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5
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Edge Consulting Group
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N/A
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2
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Sampson & Associates
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N/A
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2
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Scheble Computer Consulting
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N/A
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2
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R2D2 Electronics Inc.
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N/A
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1
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Alpha Limousine
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N/A
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0
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NORTH COUNTY
SPOTLIGHTS
Carlsbad
Escondido
Oceanside - More Info
Neighboring Locales
- Carlsbad
- Vista
- San Marcos
Poway
San Marcos
BUSINESS LISTINGS
CITIES
TROLLEY STOPS
ECONOMIC STATISTICS
ARTICLES
The Promise of Economic Growth for 2004
Expected population growth in Oceanside
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Oceanside
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2000:
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Total pop:
Hispanic pop:
Non-hispanic pop:
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161,029
48,691
112,338
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2010:
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Total pop:
Hispanic pop:
Non-hispanic pop:
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183,714
66,376
117,338
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2020:
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Total pop:
Hispanic pop:
Non-hispanic pop:
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208,846
86,946
121,900
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2030:
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Total pop:
Hispanic pop:
Non-hispanic pop:
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214,696
98,264
116,432
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Source
Sandag
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