Claremont has long been synonymous with higher education. As the “city of trees and PhDs,” the tiny town on the border of Los Angeles County and the Inland Empire has been influenced by the colleges that have called it home since their founding in 1887.
Over 59 percent of Claremont residents hold bachelor’s degrees or higher and another 8,000 students are working towards degrees of their own in the city of just over 36,000.
As another school year nears its halfway point, TSL has spoken with various stakeholders in the community to better understand the impact students and faculty at the 5Cs have on the local economy.
The Claremont village is a cozy downtown with various boutiques, gift shops and restaurants dotted along its streets. According to the Claremont Village Marketing Group, a nonprofit that partners with and promotes local businesses, there are 115 businesses in the village.
Among these is the Claremont Village Eatery, a popular restaurant just a short distance from the colleges that has seen significant business from students and visiting families since its opening in 2019. The owners, sisters Janell and Jolene Henry, also own Bert & Rocky’s, an ice cream store a couple blocks away. Manager Desi Sullivan said that customers are a mix of both locals and those from the 5Cs.
“Just recently, we’ve made friends with some faculty at the colleges for some catering orders,” Sullivan said. “We do catering for whatever lunch meetings they may have or events they have going on over there.”
The village’s proximity to the colleges brings significant benefits to local businesses, though it also poses unique challenges. Sullivan, for example, explained that she’s seen the number of customers decline when school wasn’t in session.
“I would say [business] definitely died down a little bit, just because we know students are going back home with their families and everyone’s just out vacationing,” Sullivan said.
Katie Daniel, co-owner of the Grove Clothing and Grove Home stores, agreed that the school breaks tend to be slower for businesses, with a notable lack of foot traffic throughout the village in summer months.
“I think that’s definitely because of the college students and, not even just the students, but everyone that goes along with that too,” Daniel said. “All the employees and teachers and everything.”
A 2016 study from the Claremont Colleges quantified the student impacts brought to the Claremont community, with over $38 million spent by students within Claremont and another $35 million spent in neighboring Upland in the 2016-17 academic year alone. In all, the study estimates that student spending supported 494 jobs and $13.6 million in personal income at local businesses.
Beyond their personal spending, students at the Claremont Colleges bring with them thousands of visitors each year. In 2016-17, visitors spent $4.1 million in Claremont, with local hotels generating around $2.5 million in room revenue. The Claremont Colleges employees, meanwhile, spent upwards of $38 million in Claremont.
The Claremont Colleges-related spending can leave local businesses that don’t adjust to the ebbs and flows of the academic year subject to difficulties during times when students and faculty are away.
To combat that, Sullivan emphasized the value of their local customers who keep them busy even when students are away.
Daniel said that they have expanded social media marketing operations to bridge the gaps that would otherwise be present with the lower foot traffic throughout the village.
She also explained that the Grove’s location on the western side of the Village has an impact on the traffic they see compared to other businesses closer to the colleges, saying that many students don’t discover their business until their later years in school.
That is something the Claremont Marketing Group (CMG), a 5C student-led marketing organization, has sought to change via partnerships with local businesses.
“I think it’s just like a lot of awareness,” CMG President Chloe Ross CM ’26 said. “Just because there’s so much in the village and around — people don’t even know what there is. Most of these places offer student discounts, and no one knows about it.”
To raise awareness, CMG has partnered with multiple businesses in the village, offering on-campus pop-up shops, social media marketing and beyond. Partnerships include promotion of Yogurtland’s “flavor wars,” where 5C students can vote for their schools by purchasing certain ice cream flavors, or distributing flyers and punch cards promoting discounts and rewards for Daddy Ji, a local Indian restaurant.
CMG’s methods have proven successful, with a recent CMG-led initiative with Nobibi, a local ice cream shop, showing a 28.14 percent sales increase, according to internal sales reports shared with TSL.
Although CMG assists in initiatives outside the 5Cs and with businesses outside Claremont, Ross said that local partnerships are some of her favorites to work on.
“I’d say my favorite projects are the ones that are focused on the 5Cs, because I think that’s where, one, we can see the most impact, and two, it’s most fun for the associates to work on,” Ross said.
Numerous other businesses within the village also offer student discounts to encourage students at the 5Cs to stop by. The Eatery is one of the businesses doing just that, in hopes it brings more students in.
“We are trying to get our name out there for students more,” Sullivan said. “We have seen quite a few students trickling in. Now, more than ever.”
“We are trying to get our name out there for students more,” Claremont Village Eatery Manager Desi Sullivan said. “We have seen quite a few students trickling in. Now, more than ever.”
Daniel emphasized the importance of students supporting local businesses, noting that their business uplifts the broader community.
“We are employing people within our communities, we purchase a lot of our products from businesses that are also small businesses, local businesses, businesses that are sustainably produced or women-owned and have great values,” she said. “I think that the college students being involved in that and supporting us is just giving right back to their own community, so we definitely appreciate the support.”
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