San Diego’s Life Sciences Job Mix Signals Recovery

San Diego’s life sciences sector is showing early signs of recovery, with growth in core biotech and pharmaceutical employment signaling improving demand for lab space even as overall industry employment remains below recent peaks, according to a new report from CBRE.

In the report, titled “6 Life Sciences Talent Trends Driving Property Demand,” CBRE spotlights the highest rate of year-over-year job growth in nearly three years – 1.7% as of April – for two key life sciences subsectors: biotechnology research & development and pharmaceutical & medicine manufacturing.

In San Diego, core life sciences employment increased in 2025 for the first time in three years, reflecting renewed hiring in biotech and pharma. However, total life sciences employment declined approximately 4% year-over-year, underscoring the market’s sensitivity to funding cycles and its outsized concentration of research and development roles.

“San Diego’s profile as one of the nation’s most research-intensive life sciences hubs means it often feels funding shifts more quickly than other markets,” said Ted Jacobs, Vice Chairman at CBRE. “While that created short-term pressure, the recent rebound in core hiring is an encouraging sign for future demand.”

San Diego remains one of the top 10 U.S. markets for life sciences talent, ranking eighth nationally, supported by a deep bench of highly skilled workers and a strong innovation ecosystem.

At the national level, life sciences venture capital investment has rebounded following declines in 2022 and 2023. However, San Diego experienced a significant pullback in VC funding in 2025 after a surge the prior year, highlighting continued volatility in capital flows that directly impact R&D-heavy markets.

The report marks the fifth consecutive year that CBRE has ranked U.S. life sciences markets by weighing a combination factors including each market’s number and density of key life sciences jobs, its number of college graduates with life-sciences degrees, its density and total of life sciences PhDs and its total of people working in the professional, scientific and technical services industries.

CBRE 2026 Rankings of US Markets for Life Sciences Talent