California: one of the best destinations in the world to spend your holidays From the celebrated coastline to the vast hinterland and granite peaks of the Sierra Mountains, California offers a lifetime of vacation in one place: the Golden State. In a place of this size and diversity, really everyone can get something – and there will always be plenty to do when you get back.
From the celebrated coastline to the sprawling interior and granite peaks of the Sierra Mountains, California offers a lifetime of vacations in one place: the Golden State. In a place of this size and diversity, really everyone can get something – and there will always be plenty to do when you get back. Sunny beaches and surfers riding the waves, dazzling cities bursting with culture and fun, jaw-dropping parks and views worthy of any bucket list: California is unrivaled in quality. Indulge in famous theme parks or some of the best food and wine experiences in the world. Whether seen from the window of a five-star hotel or through the vents of a tent, California is truly gold.
Country United States
Before statehood Mexican Cession unorganized territory
Admitted to the Union September 9, 1850 (31st)
Capital Sacramento
Largest city Los Angeles
Largest metro and urban areas Greater Los Angeles
Government
• Governor Gavin Newsom (D)
• Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis (D)
Legislature State Legislature
• Upper house State Senate
• Lower house State Assembly
Judiciary Supreme Court of California
U.S. senators Dianne Feinstein (D)
Alex Padilla (D)
U.S. House delegation
42 Democrats
11 Republicans
(list)
Area
• Total 163,696 sq mi (423,970 km2)
• Land 155,959 sq mi (403,932 km2)
• Water 7,737 sq mi (20,047 km2) 4.7%
• Rank 3rd
Dimensions
• Length 760 mi (1,220 km)
• Width 250 mi (400 km)
Elevation 2,900 ft (880 m)
Highest elevation (Mount Whitney[3][4][5][6]) 14,505 ft (4,421.0 m)
Lowest elevation (Badwater Basin[7]) −279 ft (−85.0 m)
Population (2022)
• Total Neutral decrease 39,185,605[8]
• Rank 1st
• Density 251.3/sq mi (97/km2)
• Rank 11th
• Median household income $78,700[9]
• Income rank 5th
Demonym Californian
Language
• Official language English
• Spoken language
English: 56.1%
Spanish: 28.3%
Other: 15.6%[10]
Time zone UTC−08:00 (PST)
• Summer (DST) UTC−07:00 (PDT)
USPS abbreviation
CA
ISO 3166 code US-CA
Traditional abbreviation Calif., Cal., Cali.
Latitude 32°32′ N to 42° N
Longitude 114°8′ W to 124°26′ W
Website www.ca.gov
Real Estate United States, California
Top advertisers
List of cities in California
- Adelanto Agoura Hills Alameda Albany Alhambra Aliso Viejo AlturasCounty seat Amador City American Canyon Anaheim Anderson Angels Camp Antioch Apple Valley Arcadia Arcata Arroyo Grande Artesia Arvin Atascadero Atherton Atwater AuburnCounty seat Avalon Avenal Azusa
- BakersfieldCounty seat Baldwin Park Banning Barstow Beaumont Bell Bell Gardens Bellflower Belmont Belvedere Benicia Berkeley Beverly Hills Big Bear Lake Biggs Bishop Blue Lake Blythe Bradbury Brawley Brea Brentwood Brisbane Buellton Buena Park Burbank Burlingame
- Calabasas Calexico California City Calimesa Calipatria Calistoga Camarillo Campbell Canyon Lake Capitola Carlsbad Carmel-by-the-Sea Carpinteria Carson Cathedral City Ceres Cerritos Chico Chino Chino Hills Chowchilla Chula Vista Citrus Heights Claremont Clayton Clearlake Cloverdale Clovis Coachella Coalinga Colfax Colma Colton ColusaCounty seat Commerce Compton Concord Corcoran Corning Corona Coronado Corte Madera Costa Mesa Cotati Covina Crescent CityCounty seat Cudahy Culver City Cupertino Cypress Daly City Dana Point
- Danville Davis Del Mar Del Rey Oaks Delano Desert Hot Springs Diamond Bar Dinuba Dixon Dorris Dos Palos Downey Duarte Dublin Dunsmuir
- East Palo Alto Eastvale El Cajon El CentroCounty seat El Cerrito El Monte El Segundo Elk Grove Emeryville Encinitas Escalon Escondido Etna EurekaCounty seat Exeter
- Fairfax FairfieldCounty seat Farmersville Ferndale Fillmore Firebaugh Folsom Fontana Fort Bragg Fort Jones Fortuna Foster City Fountain Valley Fowler Fremont FresnoCounty seat Fullerton
- Galt Garden Grove Gardena Gilroy Glendale Glendora Goleta Gonzales Grand Terrace Grass Valley Greenfield Gridley Grover Beach Guadalupe Gustine Half Moon Bay HanfordCounty seat Hawaiian Gardens
- Hawthorne Hayward Healdsburg Hemet Hercules Hermosa Beach Hesperia Hidden Hills Highland Hillsborough HollisterCounty seat Holtville Hughson Huntington Beach Huntington Park Huron Imperial
- Imperial Beach Indian Wells Indio City of Industry Inglewood Ione Irvine Irwindale Isleton
- JacksonCounty seat Jurupa Valley
- Kerman King City Kingsburg
- La Cañada Flintridge La Habra La Habra Heights La Mesa La Mirada La Palma La Puente La Quinta La Verne Lafayette Laguna Beach Laguna Hills Laguna Niguel Laguna Woods Lake Elsinore Lake Forest LakeportCounty seat Lakewood Lancaster Larkspur Lathrop Lawndale Lemon Grove Lemoore Lincoln Lindsay Live Oak Livermore Livingston Lodi Loma Linda Lomita Lompoc Long Beach Loomis Los Alamitos Los Altos Los Altos Hills Los AngelesCounty seat Los Banos Los Gatos Loyalton Lynwood MaderaCounty seat
- Malibu Mammoth Lakes Manhattan Beach Manteca Maricopa Marina MartinezCounty seat MarysvilleCounty seat Maywood McFarland Mendota Menifee Menlo Park MercedCounty seat Mill Valley Millbrae Milpitas Mission Viejo ModestoCounty seat Monrovia Montague Montclair Monte Sereno Montebello Monterey Monterey Park Moorpark Moraga Moreno Valley Morgan Hill Morro Bay Mount Shasta Mountain View Murrieta NapaCounty seat
- National City Needles Nevada CityCounty seat Newark Newman Newport Beach Norco Norwalk Novato
- Oakdale OaklandCounty seat Oakley Oceanside Ojai Ontario Orange Orange Cove Orinda Orland OrovilleCounty seat Oxnard
- Pacific Grove Pacifica Palm Desert Palm Springs Palmdale Palo Alto Palos Verdes Estates Paradise Paramount Parlier Pasadena Paso Robles Patterson Perris Petaluma Pico Rivera Piedmont Pinole Pismo Beach Pittsburg Placentia PlacervilleCounty seat Pleasant Hill Pleasanton Plymouth Point Arena Pomona Port Hueneme Porterville Portola Portola Valley Poway
- Rancho Cordova Rancho Cucamonga Rancho Mirage Rancho Palos Verdes Rancho Santa Margarita Red BluffCounty seat ReddingCounty seat Redlands Redondo Beach Redwood CityCounty seat Reedley Rialto Richmond Ridgecrest Rio Dell Rio Vista Ripon Riverbank RiversideCounty seat Rocklin Rohnert Park Rolling Hills Rolling Hills Estates Rosemead Roseville Ross
- SacramentoCapital city St. Helena SalinasCounty seat San Anselmo San BernardinoCounty seat San Bruno San Carlos San Clemente San DiegoCounty seat San Dimas San Fernando San FranciscoCounty seat San Gabriel San Jacinto San Joaquin San JoseCounty seat San Juan Bautista San Juan Capistrano San Leandro San Luis ObispoCounty seat San Marcos San Marino San Mateo San Pablo San RafaelCounty seat San Ramon Sand City Sanger Santa AnaCounty seat Santa BarbaraCounty seat Santa Clara Santa Clarita Santa CruzCounty seat Santa Fe Springs Santa Maria Santa Monica Santa Paula Santa RosaCounty seat Santee Saratoga Sausalito Scotts Valley Seal Beach Seaside Sebastopol Selma Shafter Shasta Lake Sierra Madre Signal Hill Simi Valley Solana Beach Soledad Solvang Sonoma SonoraCounty seat South El Monte South Gate South Lake Tahoe South Pasadena South San Francisco Stanton StocktonCounty seat Suisun City Sunnyvale SusanvilleCounty seat Sutter Creek
- Taft Tehachapi Tehama Temecula Temple City Thousand Oaks Tiburon Torrance Tracy Trinidad Truckee Tulare Tulelake Turlock Tustin Twentynine Palms UkiahCounty seat Union City Upland
- Vacaville Vallejo VenturaCounty seat Vernon Victorville Villa Park VisaliaCounty seat Vista
- Walnut Walnut Creek Wasco Waterford Watsonville Weed West Covina West Hollywood West Sacramento Westlake Village Westminster Westmorland Wheatland Whittier Wildomar Williams Willits WillowsCounty seat Windsor Winters Woodlake WoodlandCounty seat Woodside Yorba Linda
- Yountville YrekaCounty seat Yuba CityCounty seat Yucaipa Yucca Valley