Stockton is a culturally and ethnically diverse community that continues to grow gradually. With a population of 280,000, Stockton is considered the 13th biggest city in California. 60 miles to the west is San Francisco Bay, and 83 miles west is San Francisco itself. The city is in a relatively central location, with Sacramento situated only 45 miles to the south. The San Joaquin Delta waterway unites the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers to San Francisco Bay.
Recently, Stockton City has experienced a huge economic expansion with a particular focus on revitalizing the downtown area. There are several projects either currently planned or being built, like for instance retail, apartments, housing, a hotel, a baseball stadium, and an indoor arena. The arena will host four major sports teams: Stockton Ports Minor Baseball, Stockton Lightning Area2 Foot Ball, Stockton Thunder Hockey, and the California Cougars Soccer. At the gateways of the city, Stockton is building various entertainment and retail centers. During 2003 the City Centre Cinemas, the sixteen screen movie theatre, was developed.
Originally, the economy in Stockton was practically exclusively agriculturally based. Nevertheless, as time has passed the city has diversified, with telecommunication and manufacturing plants becoming more common. The strong ties with agriculture will progressively become increasingly more important while the concentration on trying to find a renewable energy increases.
The land is quite reasonably priced and the nearness of the transportations routes have enabled the businesses of Pac-West Telecommunications, Golden State Lumber Company and Duraflame to construct their regional operations in Stockton. The city is likewise ideal for those companies based on renewable energy; amongst the biggest receivers of wind turbines is the Port of Stockton. There is an extremely efficient and reliable rail system in the city, that helps to make the distribution of products go efficiently. Even with the ethanol and bio-diesel plants built near the Port, there is still over two thousand acres of free space obtainable
The city of Stockton is now currently developing green sustainable resources. The High Schools and other educational institutions are working along with the local governments to help in the education process handling renewable energy. The hope is there is a rapid solution to the declining supply of oil.