YUBA CITY, Calif. — A new report shows one of the fastest growing cities in California is in Sutter County. Yuba City ranks 10th, according to the state’s finance department.
It comes as California experienced positive population growth in 2023 for the first time since 2020. Growth can mean more jobs, investment and business opportunities.
Affordability and home production are two factors contributing to the city's growth.
“There’s interest in this area because of the growth and because the community is looking for amenities like (Raising Cane's)," said development liaison Ashley Potocnik.
Big brands, like the new Raising Cane’s, are part of new construction seen around Yuba City, emerging alongside popular older parts of town.
“Every new development brings new tax dollars, which is important for a jurisdiction,” Potocnik said. “Also, all of these new developments — a lot of people don’t know — but they pay what are called impact fees, so Raising Cane’s is paying for the impact that they’re having on our roads, on our schools, on our library, a variety of things that really benefit the community as a whole.”
Potocnik says the city launched the 'You Can With Yuba City' initiative in 2023 to help companies when they come to town.
“The You Can initiative provides a single point-of-contact, someone they can talk to to get answers to their questions and it also helps connect local businesses with these bigger national businesses coming in," she said.
Mayor Shon Harris says the city has a plan for measured and thoughtful growth.
“We definitely always want to be more efficient. We want to be accommodating to folks," Harris said. "We want to provide a lot of housing opportunities to where people can realize homeownership."
City manager Diana Langley has worked for the city since 1996. She says the town has grown over the years in both area and population through annexations.
“The majority of our growth, not only do we have in-fill development within this area, but we also have additional growth going to the west out here and to the south down here," Langley said.
Langley says they're seeing more residential development from national and local home builders. It brings commercial and office development with it.
“One thing we would like to see more development of is the industrial and manufacturing... We’re very proud to be the home of Sunsweet and that just reflects our agricultural roots," Langley said.
Two other Northern California cities also made the list, including Folsom and Lathrop.
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