Central California is generally thought of as the middle third of the state, north of Southern California, which includes Los Angeles, and south of Northern California, which includes San Francisco. It includes the northern portion of the San Joaquin Valley (which itself is the southern portion of the Central Valley, beginning at the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta), part of the Central Coast, the central hills of the

California Coast Ranges The Coast Ranges of California span from Del Norte or Humboldt County, California, south to Santa Barbara County. The other three coastal California mountain ranges are the Transverse Ranges, Peninsular Ranges and the Klamath Mountains. Ph ...

and the foothills and mountain areas of the central Sierra Nevada. Central California is considered to be west of the crest of the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...

. East of the Sierra is

Eastern California Eastern California is a region defined as either the strip to the east of the crest of the Sierra Nevada or as the easternmost counties of California. Demographics According to the 2010 census, the population of the eastern border counties of Ca ...

. The largest cities in the region (over 50,000 population), from most to least populous, are Fresno,

Bakersfield Bakersfield is a city in Kern County, California, United States. It is the county seat and largest city of Kern County. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley and the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's populat ...

, Stockton,

Modesto Modesto () is the county seat and largest city of Stanislaus County, California, United States. With a population of 218,464 at the 2020 census, it is the 19th largest city in the state of California and forms part of the Sacramento-Stockton ...

, Salinas,

Visalia Visalia ( ) is a city in the agricultural San Joaquin Valley of California. The population was 141,384 as per the 2020 census. Visalia is the fifth-largest city in the San Joaquin Valley, the 42nd most populous in California, and 192nd in ...

, Clovis,

Santa Maria Santa María is a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, in languages such as Italian, Portuguese and Spanish. Santa Maria or Santa María may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * "Santa Maria" (Tatjana song), released 1995 * "Santa Maria ...

Merced Merced (; Spanish for "Mercy") is a city in, and the county seat of, Merced County, California, United States, in the San Joaquin Valley. As of the 2020 Census, the city had a population of 86,333, up from 78,958 in 2010. Incorporated on April ...

Turlock Turlock is a city in Stanislaus County, California, United States. Its estimated 2019 population of 73,631 made it the second-largest city in Stanislaus County after Modesto. History Founded on December 22, 1871, by prominent grain farmer J ...

, Madera, Lodi, Tulare, Porterville, Hanford and

Delano Delano or DeLano may refer to: Places in the United States * Delano, California * Delano, Wichita, Kansas, a neighborhood in Wichita and former community before merging with Wichita * Delano, Minnesota * Delano, Nevada * Delano, Pennsylvania * ...

. Over time,

droughts A drought is defined as drier than normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D. Jiang, A. Khan, W. Pokam Mba, D. Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, an ...

and

wildfires A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identif ...

have increased in frequency and become less seasonal and more year-round, further straining the region's water security.

Geography

Central California can have widely varying definitions depending on the context. Some divide the state by lines of latitude making northern, central and southern sections. Others divide by county lines or watershed boundaries. Some definitions include more of the San Joaquin Valley and even larger portions of the Central Valley. Some have less or none of Central Coast. Yosemite

Counties

Central California as defined above includes the following 10 counties: * Fresno *

Kings Kings or King's may refer to: *Monarchs: The sovereign heads of states and/or nations, with the male being kings *One of several works known as the "Book of Kings": **The Books of Kings part of the Bible, divided into two parts **The ''Shahnameh'' ...

* Madera * Mariposa *

* Monterey * San Benito * Stanislaus * Tulare * Tuolumne The following counties are partially contained within central California: * Calaveras *

Kern KERN (1180 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Wasco- Greenacres, California, and serving the Bakersfield metropolitan area. The station is owned by American General Media. The radio studios and offices are in the American General M ...

* San Joaquin *

San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Louis of Toulouse, St. Louis the Bishop", ; Chumashan languages, Chumash: ''tiłhini'') is a city and county seat of San Luis Obispo County, California, San Luis Obispo County, in the U.S. state ...

* Santa Barbara * Santa Cruz

Cities

Area cities and towns listed below are major regional centers or county seats. *

* Fresno * Hanford * Hollister *

Lemoore Lemoore (formerly, La Tache and Lee Moore's) is a city in Kings County, California, United States. Lemoore is located west-southwest of Hanford, at an elevation of . It is part of the Hanford-Corcoran Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA Code ...

* Lodi *

Lompoc Lompoc ( ; Chumash: ''Lum Poc'') is a city in Santa Barbara County, California. Located on the Central Coast, Lompoc has a population of 43,834 as of July 2021. Lompoc has been inhabited for thousands of years by the Chumash people, who calle ...

* Madera * Mariposa *

* Monterey * Pismo Beach *

Paso Robles Paso Robles ( ), officially El Paso de Robles (Spanish for "The Pass of Oaks"), is a city in San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. Located on the Salinas River approximately north of San Luis Obispo, the city is known for its ho ...

* Porterville * Salinas *

* Sonora * Stockton * Tulare *

Watsonville Watsonville is a city in Santa Cruz County, California, located in the Monterey Bay Area of the Central Coast of California. The population was 52,590 according to the 2020 census. Predominantly Latino and Democratic, Watsonville is a self- ...

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

Sub-regions

The following regions are entirely contained within central California: *

Big Sur Big Sur () is a rugged and mountainous section of the Central Coast of California between Carmel and San Simeon, where the Santa Lucia Mountains rise abruptly from the Pacific Ocean. It is frequently praised for its dramatic scenery. Big Sur ...

* Kings Canyon National Park * Metropolitan Fresno *

Pinnacles National Park Pinnacles National Park is an American national park protecting a mountainous area located east of the Salinas Valley in Central California, about east of Soledad and southeast of San Jose. The park's namesakes are the eroded leftovers of t ...

Salinas Valley The Salinas Valley is one of the major valleys and most productive Agriculture, agricultural regions in California. It is located west of the San Joaquin Valley and south of San Francisco Bay and the Santa Clara Valley. The Salinas River (Califo ...

* San Joaquin Valley * Sequoia National Park * Yosemite National Park The following regions are partially contained within central California: *

* Central Coast *

Diablo Range The Diablo Range is a mountain range in the California Coast Ranges subdivision of the Pacific Coast Ranges in northern California, United States. It stretches from the eastern San Francisco Bay area at its northern end to the Salinas Valley ...

* Gold Country * Santa Barbara County * Santa Cruz County * Sierra Nevada Mountains * Tehachapi Mountains

Education

Central California has opened two new universities recently, one in each of the past two decades. The University of California has one campus in the region. University of California, Merced opened on a newly constructed site on the east side of

in 2005. The

California State University The California State University (Cal State or CSU) is a public university system in California. With 23 campuses and eight off-campus centers enrolling 485,550 students with 55,909 faculty and staff, CSU is the largest four-year public univers ...

system has four campuses in the region.

California State University, Monterey Bay California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB or Cal State Monterey Bay) is a public university in Monterey County, California. Its main campus is located on the site of the former military base Fort Ord, straddling the cities of Seaside, Cali ...

opened on the site of the former

Fort Ord Fort Ord is a former United States Army post on Monterey Bay of the Pacific Ocean coast in California, which closed in 1994 due to Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) action. Most of the fort's land now makes up the Fort Ord National Monument, m ...

army base in 1994.

California State University, Stanislaus California State University, Stanislaus (Stanislaus State, Stan State) is a public university in Turlock, Stanislaus County, California. It is part of the California State University system. It was established in 1957 and is also the only camp ...

in Turlock opened in 1957.

California State University, Fresno California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California. It is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers bache ...

opened in 1911. The Monterey Institute of International Studies is a graduate school that offers eleven master's degree programs in international policy, international management,

language teaching Language education – the process and practice of teaching a second or foreign language – is primarily a branch of applied linguistics, but can be an interdisciplinary field. There are four main learning categories for language education: ...

, and translation and interpretation. The Monterey Institute of International Studies is a graduate school of

Middlebury College Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalists, Middlebury was the first operating college or university in Vermont. The college currently enrolls 2,858 undergraduates from all 5 ...

San Joaquin College of Law San Joaquin College of Law (SJCL) is a private law school in Clovis, California. History SJCL was founded in Fresno in 1969 by Fresno County Municipal Court Judge Dan Eymann, U.S. District Court Judge Oliver Wanger, and attorney John Loomis. T ...

is a private, nonprofit law school located in Clovis.

Fresno Pacific University Fresno Pacific University (FPU) is a private Christian university in Fresno, California. It was founded as the Pacific Bible Institute in 1944 by the Pacific District Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches. The university awarded its first Bac ...

is a private university in Fresno. The Naval Postgraduate School and

Defense Language Institute The Defense Language Institute (DLI) is a United States Department of Defense (DoD) educational and research institution consisting of two separate entities which provide linguistic and cultural instruction to the Department of Defense, other ...

are located in Monterey. The following

community college A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an "open enrollment" for students who have graduated from high school (also known as senior sec ...

campus sites are in the region: * Columbia College in Sonora, Tuolumne County * Clovis Community College in Clovis, Fresno County *

Fresno City College Fresno City College (FCC or "Fresno City") is a public community college in Fresno, California. It is part of the State Center Community College District within the California Community Colleges system. Fresno City College operates on a semester ...

in Fresno, Fresno County * Hartnell College in Salinas, Monterey County *

Merced College Merced College is a public community college in Merced, California. History In 1961, the Merced High and Le Grand High School Districts petitioned the State Board of Education for permission to set an election to approve the establishment of a ...

in Merced, Merced County * Modesto Junior College in Modesto, Stanislaus County *

Monterey Peninsula College Monterey Peninsula College (MPC) is a public community college in Monterey, California. Established in 1947, it is a part of the California Community Colleges system. There are two additional MPC campuses located in Marina, CA, and Seaside, ...

, Monterey, Monterey County * Porterville College in Porterville, Tulare County *

Reedley College Reedley College (Reedley or RC) is a public community college in Reedley, California. It is a part of the California Community Colleges system within the State Center Community College District (SCCCD). It is accredited by the WASC Accrediting ...

in Fresno, Fresno County *

College of the Sequoias College of the Sequoias (COS) is a public two-year community college in Visalia, California. The college is named for the Giant Sequoia trees native to the nearby Sierra Nevada mountain range. History College of the Sequoias was originally esta ...

in Visalia, Tulare County *

West Hills College Coalinga West Hills College Coalinga is a public community college in Coalinga, California, with a satellite facility in Firebaugh. Both locations serve students in the central San Joaquin Valley. Established in 1932, West Hills College Coaling is in the ...

in Coalinga, Fresno County *

West Hills College Lemoore West Hills College Lemoore is a public community college in Lemoore, California. It was built in 2002 and serves students in the San Joaquin Valley. In addition, classes are offered at Lemoore Naval Air Station. West Hills College Lemoore is p ...

in Lemoore, Kings County *

Madera Community College Madera Community College, established in 2020, is a community college located in Madera, California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area ...

in Madera, Madera County *Oakhurst Community College Center in Oakhurst, Madera County There are no community colleges in Mariposa or San Benito Counties.

Transport

Major highways

Most of the major highways in the region run north-south around the mountains.

Interstate 5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels through the states of Californ ...

and State Route 99 are the primary highways in the San Joaquin Valley.

US 101 U.S. Route 101, or U.S. Highway 101 (US 101), is a north–south United States Numbered Highway that runs through the states of California, Oregon, and Washington, on the West Coast of the United States. It is also known as (The Royal Roa ...

and State Route 1 are the major coastal highways.

Rail

Passenger rail in the region consists of the Amtrak long-haul

Coast Starlight The ''Coast Starlight'' is a passenger train operated by Amtrak on the West Coast of the United States between Seattle and Los Angeles via Portland and the San Francisco Bay Area. The train, which has operated continuously since Amtrak's formati ...

and Amtrak California San Joaquin routes. The

California High-Speed Rail California High-Speed Rail (also known as CAHSR or CHSR) is a publicly funded high-speed rail system currently under construction in California in the United States. Planning for the project began in 1996, when the California Legislature and Gove ...

system is under planning. If built, it would have stations in Fresno and Merced on the initial line between San Francisco/San Jose and Los Angeles.

Freight rail Rail freight transport is the use of railroads and trains to transport cargo as opposed to human passengers. A freight train, cargo train, or goods train is a group of freight cars (US) or goods wagons (International Union of Railways) hauled ...

is served by commercial railroads. Union Pacific Railroad and

BNSF Railway BNSF Railway is one of the largest freight railroads in North America. One of seven North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 35,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and nearly 8,000 locomotives. It has three Transcontinental railroad, tr ...

operate mainline freight through the region in the Central Valley.

Air

Major and regional airline service are available at

Fresno Yosemite International Airport Fresno Yosemite International Airport is a joint military/public airport in Fresno, California, United States. It is the primary commercial airport for the San Joaquin Valley and three national parks: Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon. It ...

and Monterey Regional Airport. Regional airline service is also available at

Modesto City-County Airport Modesto () is the county seat and largest city of Stanislaus County, California, United States. With a population of 218,464 at the 2020 census, it is the 19th largest city in the state of California and forms part of the Sacramento-Stockton ...

, Merced Municipal Airport and

Visalia Municipal Airport Visalia Municipal Airport is five miles west of downtown Visalia, in Tulare County, California, United States. The airport is eligible for the Essential Air Service program, but has no scheduled air service, and is not eligible to request funding ...

. General Aviation airports exist in all 10 counties. The largest are former military bases converted to civilian airports *

Castle Airport Castle Airport is a public airport in unincorporated Merced County, California, northwest of Merced. The airport is operated by the Merced County Department of Commerce, Aviation, and Economic Development. It is owned jointly by the city of Me ...

in Merced County *

Marina Municipal Airport Marina Municipal Airport is a public airport located two miles (3 km) east of the central business district of Marina, a city in Monterey County, California, United States. It is owned by the City of Marina. The airport is on the former ...

in Monterey County * Porterville Municipal Airport in Tulare County *

Salinas Municipal Airport Salinas Municipal Airport is an airport in Monterey County, California, United States, three miles (4.8 km) southeast of Downtown Salinas. It is included in the 2017–21 National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems as a regional general ...

in Monterey County *

in Tulare County An active military air base is at

Naval Air Station Lemoore Naval Air Station Lemoore or NAS Lemoore is a United States Navy base, located in Kings County and Fresno County, California, United States. Lemoore Station, a census-designated place, is located inside the base's borders. NAS Lemoore is the Na ...

in Kings County and the

144th Fighter Wing The 144th Fighter Wing (144 FW) is a unit of the California Air National Guard, stationed at Fresno Air National Guard Base, California. As part of the Air Reserve Component of the United States Air Force, the wing is operationally gained by t ...

is stationed at

Fresno Air National Guard Base Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, maki ...

in Fresno County

Notes

Variations on significant/influential definitions of the term ''central California'' are collected in this section. The following counties are self-described as being in central California or central within California: * Fresno County ** Fresno County's intro paragraph on its web site says it is in central California. * Madera County ** Madera County describes itself as located "in the exact center of California." ** Madera County Economic Development Commission describes the county as "located in the geographical center of California". * Tulare County ** Tulare County describes itself as "centrally located within the State of California". The following are definitions by influential organizations: * The National Register of Historic Places splits California three ways with lines across the map, with central California being approximately above Los Angeles County and below Santa Clara and Merced Counties. * The

California Department of Transportation The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is an executive department of the U.S. state of California. The department is part of the cabinet-level California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA). Caltrans is headquartered in Sacrame ...

, or CalTrans, has a wide definition of the central portion of the state with several multi-county districts which have "central" in the name, combining the Central Coast and Central Valley. The ''North Central'' district covers

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

to Chico. The ''Central'' district covers Stockton to

, and Yosemite. The ''South Central'' district covers Madera, Fresno, and

. The ''Central Coast'' district covers Santa Cruz to Monterey. * The Central California chapter of the

Better Business Bureau Better Business Bureau (BBB) is a private, 501(c)(6) nonprofit organization founded in 1912. BBB's self-described mission is to focus on advancing marketplace trust, consisting of 97 independently incorporated local BBB organizations in the Unite ...

defines their central California region to exclude the coastal counties and include Mono, Inyo and Kern Counties. Their definition is

Fresno County Fresno County (), officially the County of Fresno, is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 1,008,654. The county seat is Fresno, the fifth-most populous city in Cali ...

Inyo County Inyo County () is a county in the eastern central part of the U.S. state of California, located between the Sierra Nevada and the state of Nevada. In the 2020 census, the population was 19,016. The county seat is Independence. Inyo County i ...

Kern County Kern County is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 909,235. Its county seat is Bakersfield. Kern County comprises the Bakersfield, California, Metropolitan statistical area. The county sp ...

Kings County Kings County or King's County may refer to: Places Canada *Kings County, New Brunswick *Kings County, Nova Scotia *Kings County, Prince Edward Island ** King's County (electoral district), abolished in 1892 Ireland * County Offaly, formerly calle ...

, Madera County,

Mariposa County Mariposa County () is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 17,131. The county seat is Mariposa. It is located in the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains, north of Fresno, east ...

Merced County Merced County ( ), is a county located in the northern San Joaquin Valley section of the Central Valley, in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 281,202. The county seat is Merced. The county is named after ...

Mono County Mono County ( ) is a county located in the east central portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 13,195, making it the fourth-least populous county in California. The county seat is Bridgeport. The cou ...

, and Tulare County.

References

;General ;Specific *

External links

Central Valley Tourism Association

CA Central Valley & Foothills
project area of th
American Land Conservancy

{{California Regions of California Northern California