A report recently released underscores the importance of foreign direct investment to the California economy, highlighting the value that trade and investment brings both domestically and internationally.
Foreign Direct Investment in California 2026, delivers insight into foreign direct investment (FDI) in the golden state, and how the continued expansion of foreign-owned enterprises continues to grow many of the industries that dominate California’s economy.
The report breaks down data into 13 FDI destination regions in the California Jobs First Economic Blueprint launched in February 2024.
Jobs and Innovation
As Dee Dee Myers, director of the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz), notes in the foreword to the report: “Through changing federal administrations, a global pandemic, and natural disasters, we have maintained our focus on job creation and building an economy that works for all Californians. We are proud to be the number one state for jobs supported by international companies.”
The report highlights California as a top economy in the world in 2026, as foreign investment continues to flow into the state.
This year, 19,717 foreign-owned enterprises (FOEs) accounted for 847,245 jobs across the state — an increase of 33,143 jobs from 2025 — paying an estimated $96.2 billion in wages to Californians.
Top Employers
Japan has returned as California’s top source of FOE employment in 2026, supporting 130,008 jobs across 3,501 establishments. This marks a net gain of more than 2,800 jobs from the previous year. Japan has a heavy investment in Southern California, with just more than 70% of all Japanese FOE employment in the state. Japan investment is concentrated in manufacturing and wholesale trade, but it has its mark in many other industries throughout California.
The United Kingdom ranked second among FOEs with 115,186 jobs across 2,163 establishments. UK FOEs saw a decline of 15,442 jobs and loss of around 52 establishments. This decline was seen mostly in high-wage service sectors, where the UK usually has dominated in prior years.
The report highlighted more notable movements this year from Bermuda, Luxembourg and China among the rankings.
- Bermuda saw itself in the top 15 for its first time, with a new total of 14,893 jobs — a gain of 11,720 jobs.
- Luxembourg rose notably with 5,788 jobs, totaling 17,353, with the gain possibly related to changes in capital flows or other industry factors.
- China saw a decline of 1,832 jobs to a total of 23,571.
The top 10 FDI rankings this year saw Japan back at number one, followed by the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Ireland, China, and Taiwan.
Published by the World Trade Center Los Angeles, the FDI report was made possible through the support of the Port of Long Beach, the Center for International Business Education (CIBE) of Loyola Marymount University, and GO-Biz.
