State profile · CA
Largest Cities in California
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.
- 1,458
- Cities
- 37,319,308
- Combined city pop.
- $98,165
- Avg median income
- 9.8%
- Avg poverty rate
Data updated July 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.
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.
Largest cities in California
By population, hover or tap a bar for income detail
- Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA
3,857,897 residents
- San Diego 1,385,061
San Diego, CA
1,385,061 residents
- San Jose 990,054
San Jose, CA
990,054 residents
- San Francisco 836,321
San Francisco, CA
836,321 residents
- Fresno 543,615
Fresno, CA
543,615 residents
- Sacramento 524,802
Sacramento, CA
524,802 residents
- Long Beach 458,491
Long Beach, CA
458,491 residents
- Oakland 438,072
Oakland, CA
438,072 residents
- Bakersfield 408,366
Bakersfield, CA
408,366 residents
- Anaheim 344,553
Anaheim, CA
344,553 residents
- Stockton 320,470
Stockton, CA
320,470 residents
- Riverside 316,241
Riverside, CA
316,241 residents
What this shows Los Angeles, CA is the most populous city profiled in California; the full list of all 1,458 cities follows below.
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
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
Which cities does California include?
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
- Los Altos has the highest median household income of any tracked city in California, a different lens than population size alone. Los Altos profile
- 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.
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, with Los Altos reporting the highest median income at $250,001.
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).
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.