Why choose Sonoma County for your business?

If you value sustainable business practices, a skilled workforce and a quality of life second to none, then Sonoma County is a great place for you to locate or expand your business. We pride ourselves on maintaining an entrepreneurial and competitive environment by catering to the potential of local businesses and residents.

Sonoma County provides a range of options that make it a great place to do business. Over 25,000 businesses, both large and small, call Sonoma County home. Having some of the most affordable housing costs and a more competitive cost-of-doing-business compared to the rest of the San Francisco Bay Area, it’s no surprise that young business start-ups are discovering Sonoma County as an ideal place to launch and grow. Nerdwallet.com recently ranked the cities of Healdsburg and Sonoma in the top 20 places to start a business. Sonoma County has also been recognized as one of the top 10 places for supporting Minority-Owned Businesses and Latino Entrepreneurs.

In addtion, Sonoma County has lower commercial property lease rates, lower average weekly wages, and lower sales and property tax rates, therefore lowering the cost of doing business when compared to Marin and San Francisco Counties. This low cost of doing business combined with a high “quality of place” index score makes Sonoma County a great place for your business and employees.

Call us today at 707.565-7170.  We can help you get started.

Sonoma County is invested in the success of our local businesses.  To this end we offer many programs and publications dedicated to facilitating your business’s development. Below is an illustrative list of local resources providing advice and information on market activity, business planning, professional development and community outreach.

Workforce Training & Recruitment 

Financing 

General Assistance & Information 

Permits & Licenses

Sonoma County has nine incorporated cities, all of which have jurisdiction over licensing and permitting within their city’s limits. Any development project a business may consider pursuing will require at least one approval from a local, state, or federal planning agency. In an effort- to consolidate permitting and licensing processes in California, business owners should be able to obtain proper paperwork from a city’s permitting agency and receive further referrals to any other local, state or federal agencies. Listed below are local permitting and licensing agencies for incorporated areas; from these agencies you should be able to receive more information on what regulations apply to your business.

Cloverdale
Building Planning Permits
Business Licenses

Cotati
Business Licenses

Healdsburg
Building Planning Permits
Business Licenses

Petaluma
Building Permits
Business Tax/Licenses

Rohnert Park
Business Resources

Santa Rosa
Business Resources

Sebastopol
Business Licenses Information

Sonoma
Business Information
Business Licenses

Unincorporated Areas
Unincorporated areas in Sonoma County are subject to local, regional and state boards and regulatory agencies. The county does not require a business license to do business within its unincorporated areas, but all fictitious business names must be registered with the Sonoma County Clerk. Below are links to agencies you should contact on permitting in Sonoma County’s unincorporated areas.