Agriculture generated an estimated $3.4 billion in economic activity in San Luis Obispo County in 2024, according to a new county-commissioned study.
The total includes approximately $2.37 billion in direct economic output from agricultural production and processing. Purchases by agricultural businesses and spending by their employees generated another $1.05 billion.
That amounts to more than $9 million in local economic activity each day, according to the report.
Agriculture directly supported 12,015 jobs in San Luis Obispo County, or approximately one out of every 16 jobs. Business and employee spending supported an additional 7,162 positions, bringing the industry’s total employment effect to more than 19,000 jobs.
Fruit and nut crops also made up more than half of the county’s farm production value in 2024. Strawberries were the county’s most valuable agricultural product at approximately $242 million, followed by wine grapes at $195 million.
Wineries represented the largest local agricultural processing sector, generating about $1.07 billion in direct output.
Overall, the county’s agricultural products had a gross production value of approximately $1.02 billion. That figure represents the value of products produced, not the profits earned by individual farmers and ranchers.
The report ranks agriculture as the county’s seventh-largest industry based on direct economic output and its ninth-largest source of direct employment. Real estate, rentals and leasing ranked first in direct output.
The study found agriculture’s overall economic contribution was about 34% higher than the total reported in the county’s previous economic analysis, which was released in 2019 and based on 2017 data.
The complete economic study is available through the San Luis Obispo County Department of Agriculture’s website.
