San Diego County showed a 46.6 percent year-to-year increase in overall private commercial construction activity in the first quarter, the best in California, according to a construction data firm.

Chicago-based BidClerk Construction, which collects quarterly construction data on 15 of the state’s most populous counties, showed Sacramento was a close second with a 45.8 percent hike in private commercial construction activity.

Los Angeles saw a 19.2 percent activity increase year-to-year, while San Francisco was flat with no gain, no loss.

BidClerk also collects data from Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Alameda, Contra Costa, El Dorado, Marin, Placer, Sacramento, San Mateo and Yolo counties.

For private commercial projects valued at more than $1 million, San Diego showed a 14.2 percent year-over-year increase.

That hike was dwarfed by Sacramento, which posted a 333 percent year-to-year increase.

San Diego and Sacramento were among the exceptions. In the markets surveyed, BidClerk found a year-to-year decrease of 17 percent in private projects valued at more than $1 million.

While the major Southern California counties experienced a modest 0.1 percent decrease in public project activity, San Diego County also excelled on this score with a 19.5 percent year-to-year increase.

The Riverside /San Bernardino market (Inland Empire) was the only other market in the BidClerk survey, with a marked increase in public work with a 9.8 percent gain.

For public projects valued at more than $1 million, just two major-metro areas showed positive growth.

Activity in San Diego rose 18.3 percent, while Sacramento showed a 15.3 percent rise.

Credit to: THOR KAMBAN BIBERMAN, The Daily Transcript