California

California is a large state in the Western United States that lies along the Pacific Coast. It shares borders with Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and the Mexican state of Baja California to the south. California is the most populous U.S. state, with many people living in its many different landscapes.

Before European explorers arrived, California was home to many different Native American groups with their own languages and cultures. Later, it became part of the Spanish Empire, then Mexico, and finally the United States after the Mexican-American War. The discovery of gold brought many people to the state and changed its history.

Today, California is known for its important cities such as Los Angeles and Sacramento, its diverse geography—from coastal areas to mountain ranges—and its strong economy. The state leads the country in agriculture, technology, and entertainment.

Etymology

Main articles: Etymology of California and Island of California

The name "California" comes from early Spanish explorers. They called the area Las Californias. This name began with the peninsula of Baja California in Mexico. Later, it included lands further north, which became the U.S. state of California, known as Alta California.

The word "California" likely came from an old story about a fictional island. In this tale, the island was a faraway place full of gold and pearls. Strong women, much like the Amazons, lived there. The name appeared on maps by 1541, probably from a Spanish sailor.

Short ways to write the state's name include CA, Cal, Cali, Calif, and US-CA.

History

Further information: History of California before 1900

Indigenous tribes

Main article: Indigenous peoples of California

California had many different groups of people living there long before Europeans arrived. It was one of the most culturally rich places in pre-Columbian North America. Many thousands of people lived in California before new settlers came. The Indigenous peoples of California included over 70 distinct ethnic groups. They lived in many kinds of places, such as mountains, deserts, islands, and forests.

A map of Indigenous Californian tribes and languages at the time of European contact.

These groups took care of their land in smart ways. They used forest gardening to grow food and find medicinal plants. This was an early kind of sustainable agriculture. To keep forests safe, they used controlled burning. Some groups were led by leaders called chiefdoms, like the Chumash, Pomo, and Salinan.

Spanish period

Main articles: Province of Las Californias and Spanish missions in California

The first Europeans to see the coast of California were on a Spanish ship led by a sailor named Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo in 1542. He was looking for places to trade. Later, in 1769, another Spanish group, the Portolá expedition, came to California and built many places like missions, presidios, and pueblos.

Mexican period

Portuguese explorer Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo claiming California for the Spanish Empire in 1542

Main articles: Alta California and Ranchos of California

In 1821, Mexico won its freedom from Spain. California became part of Mexico. In 1822, California had its first local government. By 1834, the California mission system was changed and became property of the Mexican government.

U.S. conquest and the California Republic

Main articles: Conquest of California and Bear Flag Revolt

In 1846, some American settlers in Sonoma decided to break away from Mexico. They raised a flag and called it the California Republic. Its leader was William B. Ide. Soon after, the Mexican–American War began.

Junípero Serra conducting the first Mass in Monterey Bay in 1770

The California Republic did not last long.

Early American period

In 1848, a treaty ended the war, and California became part of the United States. Just before this, gold was found in California. This brought many people to the area. Thousands of people from many countries came during the California gold rush.

The Spanish founded Mission San Juan Capistrano in 1776, the third to be established of California's missions.

1900–present

Main article: History of California (1900–present)

In the 1900s, many Japanese people moved to California. In 1913, a law was passed that stopped Asian immigrants from owning land. During World War II, Japanese Americans in California were interned. In 2020, California said it was sorry for this.

More people moved to California when roads were built, like Route 66. The population grew very fast.

Big projects were built to help, such as the Los Angeles Aqueducts, the Oroville and Shasta Dams, and the Golden Gate Bridge.

In the 1900s, California faced big problems like the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and the 1928 St. Francis Dam flood.

In recent years, California has had dry periods and wildfires, partly because of climate change. The COVID-19 disease came to the U.S. in California in early 2020. A state of emergency was called, and people were asked to stay home. This ended in early 2023.

Geography

Main article: Geography of California

Further information: Northern California and Southern California

California is the third-largest state in the U.S. It covers 163,696 square miles (423,970 km²). It is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, the Pacific Ocean to the west, and shares a border with the Mexican state of Baja California to the south.

The state is split into Northern and Southern California, with the Central Valley between the Sierra Nevada and coastal mountains. The Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys are important farming areas, and the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta helps supply water. Notable places include Mount Whitney, the highest peak in the contiguous U.S., and Death Valley, one of the hottest places on Earth. California has many different landscapes, including forests, deserts, and coastlines.

Climate

Main article: Climate of California

Further information: Climate change in California

Most of California has a Mediterranean climate, with cool, wet winters and dry, warm summers. The state's mountains create different climates, from cold conditions in the Sierra Nevada to desert climates in the east. Coastal areas are cooler because of the California Current, which brings fog. Northern parts of the state get more rain than the south. Climate change is causing more frequent and serious droughts, which affect water and farming.

Ecology

Main articles: Ecology of California and Environment of California

California is one of the richest places for plants and animals, with many species found only there. Its different landscapes support many kinds of plants and animals, from desert plants to coastal forests. Some threats to these places include building cities, cutting trees, overgrazing, and invasive species. Conservation work helps protect endangered species and habitats.

Flora and fauna

California's different climates and lands support many plant and animal species. The state is home to very large and old trees, like the giant sequoias. Native plants include the California poppy, the state flower, and the Joshua tree. Wildlife includes coastal sea lions and mountain animals. Many species face threats from losing their homes and climate change, so there are efforts to protect them.

Rivers

Main article: List of rivers of California

California's major rivers include the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers, which flow from the Sierra Nevada through the Central Valley to the Pacific Ocean. Other important rivers are the Klamath, Eel, Salinas, Mojave, and Santa Ana Rivers. These rivers are very important for farming and water, and many have dams as part of big water projects.

Regions

Main article: List of regions of California

Cities and towns

California has 483 cities and towns. Sacramento became the first incorporated city in 1850. The state's big cities include Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area, Riverside-San Bernardino, San Diego, and Sacramento. These cities are important for the economy, culture, and where many people live.

Average temperatures and precipitation for selected communities in California
Location	August (°F)	August (°C)	January (°F)	January (°C)	Annual precipitation (mm/in)
Los Angeles	83/64	29/18	66/48	20/8	377/15
LAX/LA Beaches	75/64	23/18	65/49	18/9	326/13
San Diego	76/67	24/19	65/49	18/9	262/10
San Jose	82/58	27/14	58/42	14/5	401/16
San Francisco	67/54	20/12	56/46	14/8	538/21
Fresno	97/66	34/19	55/38	12/3	292/11
Sacramento	91/58	33/14	54/39	12/3	469/18
Oakland	73/58	23/14	58/44	14/7	588/23
Bakersfield	96/69	36/21	56/39	13/3	165/7
Riverside	94/60	35/18	67/39	19/4	260/10
Eureka	62/53	16/11	54/41	12/5	960/38
Death Valley	115/86	46/30	67/40	19/4	60/2
Mammoth Lakes	77/45	25/7	40/15	4/ −9	583/23

Largest cities or towns in California Source:
Rank	Name	County	Pop.	Rank	Name	County	Pop.
1	Los Angeles	Los Angeles	3,898,747	11	Stockton	San Joaquin	320,804
2	San Diego	San Diego	1,386,932	12	Riverside	Riverside	314,998
3	San Jose	Santa Clara	1,013,240	13	Santa Ana	Orange	310,227
4	San Francisco	San Francisco	873,965	14	Irvine	Orange	307,670
5	Fresno	Fresno	542,107	15	Chula Vista	San Diego	275,487
6	Sacramento	Sacramento	524,943	16	Fremont	Alameda	230,504
7	Long Beach	Los Angeles	466,742	17	Santa Clarita	Los Angeles	228,673
8	Oakland	Alameda	440,646	18	San Bernardino	San Bernardino	222,101
9	Bakersfield	Kern	403,455	19	Modesto	Stanislaus	218,464
10	Anaheim	Orange	346,824	20	Moreno Valley	Riverside	208,634

Largest metropolitan statistical areas in California
CA rank	U.S. rank	Metropolitan statistical area	2020 census	2010 census	Change	Counties
1	2	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA MSA	13,200,998	12,828,837	+2.90%	Los Angeles, Orange
2	12	San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA MSA	4,749,008	4,335,391	+9.54%	Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo
3	13	Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA MSA	4,599,839	4,224,851	+8.88%	Riverside, San Bernardino
4	17	San Diego-Carlsbad, CA MSA	3,298,634	3,095,313	+6.57%	San Diego
5	26	Sacramento–Roseville–Arden-Arcade, CA MSA	2,397,382	2,149,127	+11.55%	El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, Yolo
6	35	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA MSA	2,000,468	1,836,911	+8.90%	San Benito, Santa Clara
7	56	Fresno, CA MSA	1,008,654	930,450	+8.40%	Fresno
8	62	Bakersfield, CA MSA	909,235	839,631	+8.29%	Kern
9	70	Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA MSA	843,843	823,318	+2.49%	Ventura
10	75	Stockton-Lodi, CA MSA	779,233	685,306	+13.71%	San Joaquin

Largest combined statistical areas in California
CA rank	U.S. rank	Combined statistical area	2020 census	2010 census	Change	Counties
1	2	Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA Combined Statistical Area	18,644,680	17,877,006	+4.29%	Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura
2	4	San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA Combined Statistical Area	9,714,023	8,923,942	+8.85%	Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Merced, Napa, San Benito, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus
3	23	Sacramento-Roseville, CA Combined Statistical Area	2,680,831	2,414,783	+11.02%	El Dorado, Nevada, Placer, Sacramento, Sutter, Yolo, Yuba
4	45	Fresno-Madera, CA Combined Statistical Area	1,317,395	1,234,297	+6.73%	Fresno, Kings, Madera
5	125	Redding-Red Bluff, CA Combined Statistical Area	247,984	240,686	+3.03%	Shasta, Tehama

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of California

California is the most populous state in the United States, with almost 40 million people. It is the largest state by population. The state has grown over the years, though growth has slowed recently because of high living costs and other factors.

The state includes major cities like Los Angeles, the second-largest city in the U.S., and San Francisco, known for its many people living close together. California’s population is very diverse, with many people from Latin American and Asian countries. The state has many languages spoken, with English as the official language, though many people speak Spanish and other languages at home.

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1850	92,597	—
1860	379,994	310.4%
1870	560,247	47.4%
1880	864,694	54.3%
1890	1,213,398	40.3%
1900	1,485,053	22.4%
1910	2,377,549	60.1%
1920	3,426,861	44.1%
1930	5,677,251	65.7%
1940	6,907,387	21.7%
1950	10,586,223	53.3%
1960	15,717,204	48.5%
1970	19,953,134	27.0%
1980	23,667,902	18.6%
1990	29,760,021	25.7%
2000	33,871,648	13.8%
2010	37,253,956	10.0%
2020	39,538,223	6.1%
2025 (est.)	39,355,309	−0.5%
Sources: 1790–1990, 2000, 2010, 2020, 2024 Chart does not include indigenous population figures. Studies indicate that the Native American population in California in 1850 was close to 150,000 before declining to 15,000 by 1900.

Racial and ethnic composition as of the 2020 census
Race and ethnicity	Alone
Hispanic or Latino	—	39.4%
White (non-Hispanic)	34.7%	38.3%
Asian (non-Hispanic)	15.1%	17.0%
African American (non-Hispanic)	5.4%	6.4%
Native American (non-Hispanic)	0.4%	1.3%
Pacific Islander (non-Hispanic)	0.3%	0.7%
Other (non-Hispanic)	0.6%	1.3%

California Racial Breakdown of Population
Racial composition	1950	1960	1970	1980	1990	2000	2010	2020
White	93.7%	92%	89%	76.2%	69%	59.6%	57.6%	41.2%
Black	4.4%	5.6%	7%	7.7%	7.4%	6.7%	6.2%	5.6%
Asian	1.7%	2%	2.8%	5.3%	9.6%	10.9%	13%	15.4%
Native American	0.2%	0.2%	0.5%	0.9%	0.8%	1%	1%	1.6%
Pacific Islander	—	—	—	—	—	0.4%	0.4%	0.4%
'Some other race'	—	0.1%	0.7%	10%	13.2%	16.8%	17%	21.2%
Two or more races	—	—	—	—	—	4.8%	4.9%	14.6%
Hispanic or Latino (Any race)	7.2%	9.1%	13.7%	19.2%	25.8%	32.4%	37.6%	39.4%
Non-Hispanic White	86.5%	82.9%	76.3%	66.6%	57.2%	46.7%	40.2%	34.7%
Non-Hispanic Black	—	—	—	7.5%	7.0%	6.4%	5.8%	5.4%
Non-Hispanic Asian	—	—	—	5.3%	9.1%	10.8%	12.8%	15.1%
Non-Hispanic Native American	—	—	—	0.9%	0.6%	0.5%	0.4%	0.4%
Non-Hispanic Pacific Islander	—	—	—	—	—	0.3%	0.3%	0.3%
Non-Hispanic 'some other race'	—	—	—	0.5%	0.2%	0.2%	0.2%	0.6%
Non-Hispanic two or more races	—	—	—	—	—	2.7%	2.4%	4.1%

**Languages spoken in California by more than 100,000 persons**
Language	Population (as of 2021)	%
English	20,763,638	56.08%
Spanish	10,434,308	28.18%
Chinese	1,244,445	3.36%
Tagalog	757,488	2.05%
Vietnamese	544,046	1.47%
Korean	356,901	0.96%
Arabic	231,612	0.63%
Persian	221,650	0.6%
Armenian	211,614	0.57%
Hindi	208,148	0.56%
Russian	178,176	0.48%
Punjabi	156,763	0.42%
Japanese	135,992	0.37%
French	126,371	0.34%

Culture

Main article: Culture of California

Media and entertainment

Further information: Media in Los Angeles, Media in the San Francisco Bay Area, and Music in California

Hollywood and Los Angeles are very important to the world’s entertainment industry. Major film studios and TV networks are based there. Google, located in Mountain View, is one of the world’s biggest tech companies. California is also known for its music, with many famous styles and labels starting there. The state is home to many technology companies, including three of the “Big Five” firms.

Sports

Main article: Sports in California

California has many professional sports teams. There are five in the San Francisco Bay Area and ten in the Greater Los Angeles Area. The state has hosted the Summer and Winter Olympics. Los Angeles held the Summer Games in 1932, 1984, and will host again in 2028. California is where sports like surfing and skateboarding began. Popular sports in the state include golf, tennis, and motorsports.

Team	Sport	League
Los Angeles Rams	American football	National Football League (NFL)
Los Angeles Chargers	American football	National Football League
San Francisco 49ers	American football	National Football League
Los Angeles Dodgers	Baseball	Major League Baseball (MLB)
Los Angeles Angels	Baseball	Major League Baseball
San Diego Padres	Baseball	Major League Baseball
San Francisco Giants	Baseball	Major League Baseball
Golden State Warriors	Basketball	National Basketball Association (NBA)
Los Angeles Clippers	Basketball	National Basketball Association
Los Angeles Lakers	Basketball	National Basketball Association
Sacramento Kings	Basketball	National Basketball Association
Golden State Valkyries	Basketball	Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Los Angeles Sparks	Basketball	Women's National Basketball Association
Anaheim Ducks	Ice hockey	National Hockey League (NHL)
Los Angeles Kings	Ice hockey	National Hockey League
San Jose Sharks	Ice hockey	National Hockey League
Los Angeles Galaxy	Soccer	Major League Soccer (MLS)
San Jose Earthquakes	Soccer	Major League Soccer
Los Angeles FC	Soccer	Major League Soccer
San Diego FC	Soccer	Major League Soccer
Angel City FC	Soccer	National Women's Soccer League (NWSL)
San Diego Wave FC	Soccer	National Women's Soccer League
San Diego Legion	Rugby union	Major League Rugby

Education

Main article: Education in California

California has the most school students in the United States. Public high schools offer many courses in trades, languages, and arts. The state’s schools get more money as the economy and student numbers grow.

California is also home to many famous colleges and universities. The University of California, with its oldest campus at UC Berkeley, is the state’s main public university system. Other well-known schools include Stanford University, the California Institute of Technology, and the University of Southern California, along with many private and arts-focused colleges. The state’s higher education has three main systems: the University of California, the California State University, and the California Community Colleges.

Economy

Main article: Economy of California

California has a very big economy. In 2025, its total value was $4.250 trillion, making it the biggest economy of any U.S. state. It creates about one-seventh of the entire nation's wealth. California is home to many important companies, including 57 of the biggest 500 companies in the United States. The state has many ports, such as the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach, which help move goods around the world.

The state’s largest jobs are in trading, transportation, and many service industries. California grows lots of food, like milk and cream, almonds, and grapes. Some areas, like Silicon Valley, are very wealthy, while others have less money. California works hard to use energy wisely and has many solar and wind power projects. The state also has many highways, airports, and public transportation systems to help people travel around.

Government and politics

Main article: Government of California

California's capital is Sacramento. The state has three main parts to its government: the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. The executive branch has the governor and other leaders chosen by voters. The legislative branch has two houses: the Assembly and the Senate. The judicial branch has the Supreme Court and smaller courts. California lets voters decide some laws by voting on propositions.

The executive branch has the governor and seven other leaders, each serving four years. The legislative branch has a Senate with 40 members and an Assembly with 80 members. Senators serve four years, and Assembly members serve two years. The judicial branch uses ideas from English common law and also has parts from Spanish civil law. It is the largest court system in the U.S., with many judges.