Part of the San Francisco Bay area, the Oakland-Fremont-Hayward metropolitan area has a strong economy that provides ample opportunities for business and professional advancement. The Oakland area is home to ten Fortune 1000 company headquarters. The largest company with their headquarters in the Oakland area is Chevron. Probably the most famous companies headquartered in the area are Chevron, Clorox, Intuit, Google, and VeriSign.
Business honors and awards received by the Oakland metropolitan area include:
- The entire Bay area, including the Oakland area, ranked 25th among the 50 top large cities on Entrepreneur magazine's 2005 list of "Hot Cities for Entrepreneurs".
- The Oakland metropolitan area has ranked 41st among U.S. Cities in the large cities category on Inc. magazine's 2006 list of "Best Cities for Doing Business".
- In a 2005 study done by the Milikin Institute, the Oakland-Fremont-Hayward area ranked 88th among 200 U.S. cities as a "2005 Best Performing Cities - 200 Largest Metros".
The Oakland area has a very well educated work force. According to a U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, the Oakland area has almost 38% of its workforce with a college degree or higher, placing it 12th among large cities in the United States. Oakland ranks among the top thirty most literate cities according to a 2005 Central Connecticut State University study. The Oakland area was also ranked 19th among U.S. cities in educational attainment on Forbes magazine's 2006 "Best Places For Business And Careers" list.
Major industries in the Oakland area include:
- Business services
- Entertainment
- Food processing
- Government
- Health care services
- Light manufacturing
- Transportation
The Port of Oakland is also a major economic driver for the area. It is responsible for nearly 200,000 jobs and is he fourth busiest container port in the United States.
For business travelers, the Oakland area is served by the Oakland International Airport (OAK). OAK is one of the faster growing airports in the United States form the standpoint of passenger volume as well as air cargo volumes.
Companies with headquarters in the Oakland-Fremont-Hayward metropolitan area include:
- Chevron
- Chiron
- Clorox
- Golden West Financial
- Intuit
- Lam Research
- Longs Drug Stores
- UTStarcom
- VeriSign
Business and trade organizations and associations in the Oakland area include:
- The Fremont Chamber of Commerce
- The Hayward Chamber of Commerce.
- The Oakland Convention and Visitors Bureau
- The Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce
The Oakland Business Review, and the "Business Section" of the Oakland Tribune are sources of information on the business community in the Oakland area.