Economic Development

Novato is an economically-diverse and vibrant North Bay city of approximately 53,000 residents. Highway 101 connects this northernmost city in Marin County to San Francisco to the south, and Sonoma County to the north, and Highway 29 connects Novato to Napa and Solano counties to the east.

Due to its prime location and economic resiliency, it serves as a natural hub to global corporations, cutting-edge start-ups and niche independent businesses. Novato is home to more than 2,500 businesses including corporate headquarters, state-of-the-art technology companies, and both specialty and large-scale retailers.

We welcome new businesses and offer great opportunities for expansion and relocation—whether it be in Class-A office space of the renovated hangars at Hamilton, the light industrial area of Bel Marin Keys or our vibrant downtown—Novato offers a great home for new businesses.

Novato Wants Your Business

Novato is the northernmost city in Marin County and is approximately 29 miles north of San Francisco, 37 miles northwest of Oakland and just 15 miles south of wine country. Novato covers 28 square miles and is proximate to Bay Area businesses, venture capital, and educational institutions including Sonoma State University, U.C. Berkeley and U.C. San Francisco.

The average household income in Novato is one-and-a-half times that of the national average and the current per capita income is 170% of the national average.

The labor pool in Novato is well educated, with over one-third of all residents over 25 having a college degree. This is 1.5 times higher than the national average.

Novato has developed a reputation as a biotechnology center and it is home to the Buck Center for Research in Aging, which resides in a building designed by world famous architect I.M. Pei., and companies such as BioMarin and Ultragenyx in the Bel Marin Keys Business Park.

Downtown Novato

Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, specialty retailers and more...

Having undergone $10.5 million in streetscape improvements, Grant Avenue has a mix of specialty retailers and restaurants that have brought commercial vitality to Downtown Novato. With a 45,000 square-foot Whole Foods market that anchors the east end of Downtown's "main street," and is part of a mixed-use development which also includes 125 units of upper-story housing.

Hamilton Marketplace

Hamilton

The Hamilton neighborhood is located in southeast Novato, approximately four miles southeast of Downtown Novato. The former Hamilton Army Airfield is one of the most successful military base conversions in the entire nation. Over a seven-year period, more than 2,100 new homes have been constructed, providing a vibrant, well-balanced community that attracts new residents and businesses from throughout the Bay Area.

Hamilton features over 500,000 sq ft of office/technology space in renovated airplane hangers at Hamilton Landing—developed, owned, and managed by ScanlanKemperBard Companies. This stylish development features Class A state-of-the-art office buildings and it is home to various technology, entertainment, biotech, as well as traditional office tenants.

Bel Marin Keys

Downtown Depot

At their regular meeting on July 10, 2018, Council authorized staff to move forward with the request for proposals (RFP) process for the renovation and reuse of the Historic Train Depot and Site.

With the start of SMART passenger service and the anticipated completion of the Downtown SMART station expected in mid/late-2019, staff has begun to explore options for the renovation and reuse of the City-owned Depot and site (“Depot Lot”) to activate this new gateway into the Downtown.

To learn more about the Downtown Depot, visit novato.org/downtowndepot.