State profile · CA

Largest Cities in California

Name: California Cities: Population, Income & Housing Data
Creator: PlainCities
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

Ranked by resident population across 1,458 tracked cities and towns in California, using Census ACS 5-Year Estimates (2023). This compares cities and Census-designated places, not metropolitan areas, and carries the same rows into the chart, table, and downloadable CSV below.

Compiled by PlainCities

1,458
Cities: 37.3M
Combined city pop.: $98,165
Avg median income: 9.8%
Avg poverty rate

Data updated August 2026

The headline finding

Los Angeles is the largest of 1,458 tracked cities in California, which ranks #6 of 52 nationally on avg median income.

Los Angeles
largest tracked city (3,857,897 people): #6
national rank, avg median income: 1,458
cities tracked in this state

Every figure here is read live from the same table rendered below.

California's 1,458 tracked cities include 2 with over 1 million residents; 66% are small towns under 10,000 people.

<10K

958
10K-99K

423
100K-999K

75
1M+

2

What this shows Small towns under 10,000 residents are the largest group in PlainCities' California coverage, with 958 of 1,458 tracked places. This is a count of profiled places, not a share of the state's population.

How we calculate this mix & the national home-value percentile below

Every tracked city in California is bucketed by population: small town under 10,000; mid-size 10,000–99,999; large 100,000–999,999; megacity 1,000,000+. The national home-value comparison below plots California's average tracked-city home value against all 52 US states/territories, ranked the same way as the per-city percentiles: the state's percentile is the share of states with a lower average home value. See the methodology page for the full source-to-figure lineage.

Los Angeles

3,857,897
San Diego

1,385,061
San Jose

990,054
San Francisco

836,321
Fresno

543,615
Sacramento

524,802
Long Beach

458,491
Oakland

438,072
Bakersfield

408,366
Anaheim

344,553
Stockton

320,470
Riverside

316,241

What this shows Los Angeles, CA is the most populous city profiled in California; the top 100 rows are listed below and the complete 1,458-row record is available as a CSV.

How California ranks nationally

Avg median income

$98,165

#6 of 52 · highest income

Avg home value

$658,387

#3 of 52 · highest values

Avg poverty rate

9.8%

#30 of 52 · lowest poverty

Tracked cities

1,458

#3 of 52 · most tracked cities

California ranks #6 of 52 nationally on average median income and #30 of 52 on average poverty rate, derived live by comparing it against every other tracked state. Averages are computed only across the cities PlainCities tracks in each state, not full state populations.

How California's home values compare nationally

Average tracked-city home value vs. all 52 US states/territories

$658,387 6th percentile more affordable than 6% of 52 US states

Show national distribution

Each bar is a $50K-wide band; taller bars hold more US states. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023

Largest cities in California

Showing the 100 most-populous tracked places, ordered by population. Download the CSV for every one of the 1,458 city records and their source-backed fields.

#	City	Population	Median Income	Home Value	Poverty
1	Los Angeles	3,857,897	$80,366	$879,500	11.9%
2	San Diego	1,385,061	$104,321	$848,500	6.9%
3	San Jose	990,054	$141,565	$1,187,800	4.9%
4	San Francisco	836,321	$141,446	$1,380,500	5.7%
5	Fresno	543,615	$66,804	$348,500	16.3%
6	Sacramento	524,802	$83,753	$484,600	10.3%
7	Long Beach	458,491	$83,969	$762,200	10.3%
8	Oakland	438,072	$97,369	$924,700	9.9%
9	Bakersfield	408,366	$77,397	$347,300	12.4%
10	Anaheim	344,553	$90,583	$771,700	9.3%
11	Stockton	320,470	$76,851	$412,900	12.4%
12	Riverside	316,241	$88,575	$542,100	9.1%
13	Santa Ana	311,639	$88,354	$657,800	8.8%
14	Irvine	308,160	$129,647	$1,115,400	8.6%
15	Chula Vista	275,030	$105,173	$697,400	6.9%
16	Santa Clarita	229,021	$119,926	$721,000	5.2%
17	Fremont	228,518	$176,350	$1,289,400	3.6%
18	San Bernardino	221,774	$63,988	$384,900	15.9%
19	Modesto	218,614	$77,899	$415,600	10.0%
20	Fontana	211,921	$98,187	$558,500	8.9%
21	Moreno Valley	210,378	$87,477	$461,400	10.1%
22	Oxnard	201,014	$93,372	$617,800	8.8%
23	Huntington Beach	196,010	$119,885	$1,047,300	4.6%
24	Glendale	192,270	$84,262	$1,043,900	9.8%
25	Ontario	178,347	$82,806	$568,000	10.7%
26	Elk Grove	177,221	$122,229	$603,400	5.5%
27	Santa Rosa	177,216	$97,410	$685,000	5.4%
28	Rancho Cucamonga	174,693	$109,511	$694,400	6.7%
29	Oceanside	172,542	$93,724	$702,000	4.5%
30	Garden Grove	170,603	$90,166	$765,500	9.4%
31	Lancaster	170,013	$76,083	$409,100	12.3%
32	Palmdale	165,487	$81,151	$435,300	11.9%
33	Salinas	161,993	$89,150	$610,900	11.6%
34	Hayward	159,201	$113,775	$820,700	6.5%
35	Corona	158,839	$106,438	$656,500	7.5%
36	Sunnyvale	153,455	$181,862	$1,816,600	3.4%
37	Roseville	152,438	$117,354	$630,600	4.3%
38	Escondido	149,913	$84,477	$663,500	9.9%
39	Pomona	148,391	$78,869	$569,600	11.5%
40	Torrance	143,499	$113,105	$1,036,600	4.7%
41	Visalia	142,649	$79,952	$340,600	8.8%
42	Fullerton	141,278	$104,219	$859,600	8.0%
43	Orange	138,723	$116,945	$900,700	5.4%
44	Pasadena	136,462	$103,778	$1,045,000	7.9%
45	Victorville	135,983	$70,663	$342,500	16.4%
46	Santa Clara	129,239	$173,670	$1,527,900	4.4%
47	Simi Valley	125,769	$117,703	$753,500	4.0%
48	Thousand Oaks	125,676	$134,367	$951,200	4.6%
49	Vallejo	124,637	$89,496	$557,500	8.9%
50	Concord	124,260	$109,195	$755,900	6.0%
51	Clovis	122,719	$100,360	$453,300	5.4%
52	Berkeley	120,223	$108,558	$1,351,100	3.4%
53	Fairfield	119,985	$102,321	$592,500	7.8%
54	Antioch	115,759	$94,256	$607,400	8.4%
55	Richmond	115,396	$90,038	$650,100	9.5%
56	East Los Angeles	114,617	$68,378	$613,600	13.9%
57	Carlsbad	114,500	$139,326	$1,156,900	4.8%
58	Downey	111,793	$87,400	$728,500	7.0%
59	Murrieta	111,621	$109,780	$606,900	4.4%
60	Costa Mesa	110,538	$110,073	$1,054,700	5.2%
61	Temecula	110,404	$117,840	$640,400	5.2%
62	San Buenaventura (Ventura)	109,900	$100,407	$778,700	6.4%
63	Santa Maria	109,880	$84,617	$478,200	11.2%
64	West Covina	107,436	$98,570	$712,300	7.7%
65	El Monte	107,066	$64,484	$626,000	13.5%
66	Menifee	107,020	$89,183	$487,200	7.1%
67	Jurupa Valley	106,244	$96,190	$538,700	9.1%
68	Inglewood	105,575	$71,029	$744,300	11.3%
69	Burbank	105,165	$95,816	$1,041,100	7.1%
70	El Cajon	104,909	$66,478	$632,800	16.1%
71	Rialto	103,866	$85,521	$454,400	11.0%
72	San Mateo	103,555	$152,669	$1,563,200	4.6%
73	Daly City	102,560	$119,570	$1,092,700	4.2%
74	Vacaville	102,085	$108,580	$596,700	5.3%
75	Chico	102,032	$67,929	$455,300	12.6%
76	Norwalk	100,713	$98,709	$616,600	7.3%
77	Hesperia	100,141	$68,971	$366,800	14.3%
78	Vista	98,646	$91,854	$674,400	7.1%
79	Arden-Arcade	96,319	$71,767	$504,400	14.2%
80	Tracy	95,358	$118,253	$653,900	5.9%
81	San Marcos	94,078	$105,286	$792,400	7.4%
82	Compton	93,525	$74,270	$546,700	14.2%
83	Carson	93,523	$107,391	$645,600	6.3%
84	Redding	93,268	$69,443	$363,800	8.2%
85	Mission Viejo	92,415	$136,071	$946,300	3.1%
86	South Gate	91,836	$71,315	$608,500	11.5%
87	Chino	91,775	$103,845	$641,500	6.4%
88	Santa Monica	91,535	$109,739	$1,810,200	6.4%
89	Indio	90,669	$78,709	$424,700	9.1%
90	Hemet	90,646	$53,623	$314,200	12.8%
91	Westminster	90,147	$82,686	$820,000	14.0%
92	Merced	89,766	$59,938	$347,700	18.6%
93	San Leandro	88,531	$98,063	$813,600	4.9%
94	Santa Barbara	88,024	$101,672	$1,466,400	6.7%
95	Citrus Heights	87,036	$77,167	$432,100	5.9%
96	Manteca	86,521	$94,718	$561,200	7.5%
97	Hawthorne	85,933	$72,719	$813,700	13.3%
98	Whittier	85,925	$92,374	$751,700	5.6%
99	Livermore	85,870	$153,602	$1,038,600	2.4%
100	Lake Forest	85,846	$131,378	$876,300	5.7%

What to do with California's city data

1,458 cities is a lot to browse, here's where to start.

Los Angeles is California's largest tracked city by population, start there if you want the fullest picture of a major CA metro. Los Angeles profile
30 tracked cities in California sit at the Census ACS top-code of $250,000 or more, so no single city can be named the highest-income. Browse the city table by income column instead of trusting a single crown. All California cities
See how California's cities stack up nationally, not just against each other. National rankings

City counts and averages on this page cover only the 1,458 places with sufficient Census ACS data, smaller towns below the reporting threshold are not included.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Primary sources: Census ACS, FBI UCR, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES.

Compare beyond this state

Nationwide similar states

Other states closest to California on two ACS statewide axes: tracked-city population sum and mean of city median household incomes. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a claim that peers share a labor market or climate.

Similar statewide population

Nearest 50-state peers by ACS population of tracked cities. This state: 37,319,308.

4 peers

Similar mean household income

Nearest peers by mean of city median household incomes. This state: $98,165. Population peers are excluded.

4 peers

National city rankings →

Frequently Asked Questions

How many cities does PlainCities track in California?

PlainCities profiles 1,458 cities and towns in California, drawn from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (2023).

What is the largest city in California?

Los Angeles is the largest tracked city in California, with a population of 3,857,897.

What is the average household income in California?

Across the 1,458 tracked cities in California, the average median household income is $98,165. Individual cities vary widely - 30 tracked cities in California sit at the Census ACS top-code of $250,000 or more, so no single city can be named the highest-income.

What is the average poverty rate in California?

The average poverty rate across California's tracked cities is 9.8%, based on Census ACS 5-Year Estimates (2023).

Browse all city profiles → | Explore city rankings →

Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCities

Verify with U.S. Census Bureau →

Every figure on PlainCities is rendered directly from Census ACS source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on Census ACS source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Largest Cities in California

California's city-size mix

Largest cities in California

How California ranks nationally

Largest cities in California

Nationwide similar states

Similar statewide population

Similar mean household income

Frequently Asked Questions

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