California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

is a

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

located in the

Western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Western States, the Far West, the Western territories, and the West) is List of regions of the United States, census regions United States Census Bureau. As American settlement i ...

. It is the most populous state and the third largest by area after

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

and

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. According to the 2020 United States Census, California has 39,538,223 inhabitants and of land. California has been inhabited by numerous Native American peoples for thousands of years. The Spanish, the Russians, and other Europeans began exploring and colonizing the area in the 16th and 17th centuries, with the Spanish establishing its first California mission at what is now

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

in 1769. After the

Mexican Cession The Mexican Cession () is the region in the modern-day Western United States that Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United S ...

of 1848, the

California Gold Rush The California gold rush (1848–1855) began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California from the rest of the U ...

brought worldwide attention to the area. The growth of the movie industry in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

high tech High technology (high tech or high-tech), also known as advanced technology (advanced tech) or exotechnology, is technology that is at the state of the art, cutting edge: the highest form of technology available. It can be defined as either the ...

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

and

Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that is a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical area of the Santa Clara Valley ...

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

, and other areas in the ensuing decades fueled the creation of a $3 trillion

economy An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...

, which would rank fifth in the world if the state were a sovereign nation. California is divided into 58

counties A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

and contains 483

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

. One, San Francisco, is a

consolidated city-county In local government in the United States, United States local government, a consolidated city-county (#Terminology, see below for alternative terms) is formed when one or more city, cities and their surrounding County (United States), county (Lis ...

. California law makes no distinction between "city" and "town", and municipalities may use either term in their official names.California Government Code Sections 34502 and 56722. They can be organized as either a charter municipality, governed by its own charter, or a

general-law municipality In the systems of local government in some U.S. states, a general-law municipality, general-law city, code city,

(or "code city"), governed by state statute.California Government Code Sections 34450 and 34500. The first municipality to incorporate was

Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...

on February 27, 1850, while the most recent was Mountain House on July 1, 2024. Eight cities were incorporated before the state's September 9, 1850, admission to the Union. According to the 2020 United States Census, the largest municipality by population and land area is Los Angeles with 3,898,747 residents and . Amador City is the smallest municipality by population with 200 people and the smallest by land area at . __TOC__

Municipalities

Los Angeles, Winter 2016.jpg, alt=Skyline of Los Angeles,

, the most populous city in California San Diego skyline 18 (cropped).jpg, alt=Skyline of San Diego,

, the second most populous city in California SJ_skyline_at_night_horizontal_(cropped).jpg, alt=Skyline of San Jose, San Jose, the third most populous city in California San Francisco from Twin Peaks September 2013 panorama 5 edit.jpg, alt=Skyline of San Francisco,

, the fourth most populous city in California Chukchansi_(cropped).jpg, alt=Skyline of Fresno,

Fresno Fresno (; ) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County, California, Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley region. It covers a ...

, the fifth most populous city in California Sacramento skyline from the river (cropped).jpg, alt=Skyline of Sacramento,

, California's sixth most populous city and state capital

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Cities And Towns In California * +Cities and towns

Municipalities

See also

References