California

=== Cities and towns ===
{{see also|List of cities and towns in California|List of largest California cities by population}}

The state has 482 [[Municipal corporation|incorporated]] cities and towns, of which 460 are cities and 22 are towns. Under California law, the terms "city" and "town" are explicitly interchangeable; the name of an incorporated municipality in the state can either be "City of (Name)" or "Town of (Name)".<ref name="Cal Gov Code 34502">{{Cite web |title=CA Codes (gov:34500-34504) |url=http://info.sen.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=gov&group=34001-35000&file=34500-34504 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090827062453/http://info.sen.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=gov&group=34001-35000&file=34500-34504 |archive-date=August 27, 2009 |access-date=January 29, 2010 |publisher=California State Senate}}</ref>

[[Sacramento, California|Sacramento]] became California's first incorporated city on February 27, 1850.<ref name="Sacramento Charter">{{Cite web |title=Instant City: Sacramento |url=http://www.library.ca.gov/goldrush/sec08.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100128231357/http://www.library.ca.gov/goldrush/sec08.html |archive-date=January 28, 2010 |access-date=January 29, 2010 |publisher=[[California State Library]]}}</ref> [[San Jose, California|San Jose]], [[San Diego]], and [[Benicia, California|Benicia]] tied for California's second incorporated city, each receiving incorporation on March 27, 1850.<ref name="San Jose Inc">{{Cite web |title=San Jose at a Glance |url=http://www.sanjoseca.gov/about.asp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100208201852/http://www.sanjoseca.gov/about.asp |archive-date=February 8, 2010 |access-date=January 29, 2010 |publisher=City of San Jose}}</ref><ref name="History of San Diego">{{Cite web |title=A History of San Diego Government |url=http://www.sandiego.gov/city-clerk/geninfo/history.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100528081607/http://www.sandiego.gov/city-clerk/geninfo/history.shtml |archive-date=May 28, 2010 |access-date=January 29, 2010 |publisher=City of San Diego}}</ref><ref name="Benicia Inc">{{Cite web |date=May 23, 2007 |title=California State Parks: 1846 to 1854 |url=http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=1096 |access-date=January 29, 2010 |publisher=California State Parks}}</ref> [[Jurupa Valley, California|Jurupa Valley]] became the state's most recent and 482nd incorporated municipality, on July 1, 2011.<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 11, 2011 |title=Jurupa Valley Becomes California's 482nd City |url=http://newsletter.cacities.org/e_article002045084.cfm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120506030043/http://newsletter.cacities.org/e_article002045084.cfm |archive-date=May 6, 2012 |access-date=August 21, 2011 |publisher=League of California Cities}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Stokley |first=Sandra |date=June 14, 2011 |title=Jurupa Valley: Rushing to meet a July 1 incorporation |url=http://www.pe.com/localnews/riverside/stories/PE_News_Local_D_wcode15.40e71cc.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120907035535/http://www.pe.com/localnews/riverside/stories/PE_News_Local_D_wcode15.40e71cc.html |archive-date=September 7, 2012 |access-date=August 21, 2011 |publisher=[[The Press-Enterprise (California)|The Press-Enterprise]]}}</ref>

The majority of these cities and towns are within one of five [[metropolitan area]]s: the [[Los Angeles Metropolitan Area]], the [[San Francisco Bay Area]], the [[Riverside-San Bernardino Area]], the [[San Diego metropolitan area]], or the [[Sacramento metropolitan area]].

{{Largest cities
 |country=California
 |stat_ref=Source:<ref name="2020Census">{{Cite web |title=Census QuickFacts: California |url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/CA/PST045219 |access-date=September 24, 2021 |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau}}</ref>
 |list_by_pop=
 |div_name=
 |div_link=Counties of California{{!}}County
 |city_1=Los Angeles, California{{!}}Los Angeles
 |div_1=Los Angeles County, California{{!}}Los Angeles
 |pop_1=3,898,747
 |img_1=Los Angeles with Mount Baldy.jpg
 |city_2=San Diego, California{{!}}San Diego
 |div_2=San Diego County, California{{!}}San Diego
 |pop_2=1,386,932
 |img_2=San Diego skyline 18 (2).jpg
 |city_3=San Jose, California{{!}}San Jose
 |div_3=Santa Clara County, California{{!}}Santa Clara
 |pop_3=1,013,240
 |img_3=SJPan (cropped).jpg
 |city_4=San Francisco, California{{!}}San Francisco
 |div_4=San Francisco County, California{{!}}San Francisco
 |pop_4=873,965
 |img_4=San Francisco from the Marin Headlands in August 2022 (cropped).jpg
 |city_5=Fresno, California{{!}}Fresno
 |div_5=Fresno County, California{{!}}Fresno
 |pop_5=542,107
 |city_6=Sacramento, California{{!}}Sacramento
 |div_6=Sacramento County, California{{!}}Sacramento
 |pop_6=524,943
 |city_7=Long Beach, California{{!}}Long Beach
 |div_7=Los Angeles County, California{{!}}Los Angeles
 |pop_7=466,742
 |city_8=Oakland, California{{!}}Oakland
 |div_8=Alameda County, California{{!}}Alameda
 |pop_8=440,646
 |city_9=Bakersfield, California{{!}}Bakersfield
 |div_9=Kern County, California{{!}}Kern
 |pop_9=403,455
 |city_10=Anaheim, California{{!}}Anaheim
 |div_10=Orange County, California{{!}}Orange
 |pop_10=346,824
 |city_11=Stockton, California{{!}}Stockton
 |div_11=San Joaquin County, California{{!}}San Joaquin
 |pop_11=320,804
 |city_12=Riverside, California{{!}}Riverside
 |div_12=Riverside County, California{{!}}Riverside
 |pop_12=314,998
 |city_13=Santa Ana, California{{!}}Santa Ana
 |div_13=Orange County, California{{!}}Orange
 |pop_13=310,227
 |city_14=Irvine, California{{!}}Irvine
 |div_14=Orange County, California{{!}}Orange
 |pop_14=307,670
 |city_15=Chula Vista, California{{!}}Chula Vista
 |div_15=San Diego County, California{{!}}San Diego
 |pop_15=275,487
 |city_16=Fremont, California{{!}}Fremont
 |div_16=Alameda County, California{{!}}Alameda
 |pop_16=230,504
 |city_17=Santa Clarita, California{{!}}Santa Clarita
 |div_17=Los Angeles County, California{{!}}Los Angeles
 |pop_17=228,673
 |city_18=San Bernardino, California{{!}}San Bernardino
 |div_18=San Bernardino County, California{{!}}San Bernardino
 |pop_18=222,101
 |city_19=Modesto, California{{!}}Modesto
 |div_19=Stanislaus County, California{{!}}Stanislaus
 |pop_19=218,464
 |city_20=Moreno Valley, California{{!}}Moreno Valley
 |div_20=Riverside County, California{{!}}Riverside
 |pop_20=208,634

}}
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Largest metropolitan statistical areas in California
|-
| CA rank
| U.S. rank
![[List of metropolitan statistical areas|Metropolitan statistical area]]<ref name="OMB_17-01">{{Cite web |date=August 15, 2017 |title=OMB Bulletin No. 17-01: Revised Delineations of Metropolitan Statistical Areas, Micropolitan Statistical Areas, and Combined Statistical Areas, and Guidance on Uses of the Delineations of These Areas |url=https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/whitehouse.gov/files/omb/bulletins/2017/b-17-01.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/whitehouse.gov/files/omb/bulletins/2017/b-17-01.pdf |archive-date=October 9, 2022 |url-status=live |access-date=March 6, 2018 |publisher=[[United States Office of Management and Budget]]}}</ref>
!2020 census<ref name="2020Census" />
!2010 census<ref name="2020Census" />
!Change
!Counties<ref name="OMB_17-01" />
|-
| align="center" |{{nts|1}}
| align="center" |{{nts|2}}
|[[Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA MSA]]
 |{{change|invert=on|13200998|12828837}}
 |[[Los Angeles County, California|Los Angeles]], [[Orange County, California|Orange]]
|-
| align="center" |{{nts|2}}
| align="center" |{{nts|12}}
|[[San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA MSA]]
 |{{change|invert=on|4749008|4335391}}
 |[[Alameda County|Alameda]], [[Contra Costa County|Contra Costa]], [[Marin County|Marin]], [[San Francisco]], [[San Mateo County|San Mateo]]
|-
| align="center" |{{nts|3}}
| align="center" |{{nts|13}}
|[[Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA MSA]]
 |{{change|invert=on|4599839|4224851}}
 |[[Riverside County, California|Riverside]], [[San Bernardino County, California|San Bernardino]]
|-
| align="center" |{{nts|4}}
| align="center" |{{nts|17}}
|[[San Diego-Carlsbad, CA MSA]]
 |{{change|invert=on|3298634|3095313}}
 |[[San Diego County, California|San Diego]]
|-
| align="center" |{{nts|5}}
| align="center" |{{nts|26}}
|[[Sacramento–Roseville–Arden-Arcade, CA MSA]]
 |{{change|invert=on|2397382|2149127}}
 |[[El Dorado County, California|El Dorado]], [[Placer County, California|Placer]], [[Sacramento County, California|Sacramento]], [[Yolo County, California|Yolo]]
|-
| align="center" |{{nts|6}}
| align="center" |{{nts|35}}
|[[San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA MSA]]
 |{{change|invert=on|2000468|1836911}}
 |[[San Benito County, California|San Benito]], [[Santa Clara County, California|Santa Clara]]
|-
| align="center" |{{nts|7}}
| align="center" |{{nts|56}}
|[[Fresno, CA MSA]]
 |{{change|invert=on|1008654|930450}}
 |[[Fresno County, California|Fresno]]
|-
| align="center" |{{nts|8}}
| align="center" |{{nts|62}}
|[[Bakersfield, CA MSA]]
 |{{change|invert=on|909235|839631}}
 |[[Kern County, California|Kern]]
|-
| align="center" |{{nts|9}}
| align="center" |{{nts|70}}
|[[Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA MSA]]
 |{{change|invert=on|843843|823318}}
 |[[Ventura County, California|Ventura]]
|-
| align="center" |{{nts|10}}
| align="center" |{{nts|75}}
|[[Stockton-Lodi, CA MSA]]
 |{{change|invert=on|779233|685306}}
 |[[San Joaquin County, California|San Joaquin]]
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Largest combined statistical areas in California
|-
| CA rank
| U.S. rank
![[List of Combined Statistical Areas|Combined statistical area]]<ref name="2020Census" />
!2020 census<ref name="2020Census" />
!2010 census<ref name="2020Census" />
!Change
!Counties<ref name="OMB_17-01" />
|-
| align="center" |{{nts|1}}
| align="center" |{{nts|2}}
|[[Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA Combined Statistical Area]]
 |{{change|invert=on|18644680|17877006}}
 |[[Los Angeles County, California|Los Angeles]], [[Orange County, California|Orange]], [[Riverside County, California|Riverside]], [[San Bernardino County, California|San Bernardino]], [[Ventura County, California|Ventura]]
|-
| align="center" |{{nts|2}}
| align="center" |{{nts|4}}
|[[San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA Combined Statistical Area]]
 |{{change|invert=on|9714023|8923942}}
 |[[Alameda County, California|Alameda]], [[Contra Costa County, California|Contra Costa]], [[Marin County, California|Marin]], [[Merced County, California|Merced]], [[Napa County, California|Napa]], [[San Benito County, California|San Benito]], [[San Francisco]], [[San Joaquin County, California|San Joaquin]], [[San Mateo County, California|San Mateo]], [[Santa Clara County, California|Santa Clara]], [[Santa Cruz County, California|Santa Cruz]], [[Solano County, California|Solano]], [[Sonoma County, California|Sonoma]], [[Stanislaus County, California|Stanislaus]]
|-
| align="center" |{{nts|3}}
| align="center" |{{nts|23}}
|[[Sacramento-Roseville, CA Combined Statistical Area]]
 |{{change|invert=on|2680831|2414783}}
 |[[El Dorado County, California|El Dorado]], [[Nevada County, California|Nevada]], [[Placer County, California|Placer]], [[Sacramento County, California|Sacramento]], [[Sutter County, California|Sutter]], [[Yolo County, California|Yolo]], [[Yuba County, California|Yuba]]
|-
| align="center" |{{nts|4}}
| align="center" |{{nts|45}}
|[[Fresno-Madera, CA Combined Statistical Area]]
 |{{change|invert=on|1317395|1234297}}
 |[[Fresno County, California|Fresno]], [[Kings County, California|Kings]], [[Madera County, California|Madera]]
|-
| align="center" |{{nts|5}}
| align="center" |{{nts|125}}
|[[Redding-Red Bluff, CA Combined Statistical Area]]
 |{{change|invert=on|247984|240686}}
 |[[Shasta County, California|Shasta]], [[Tehama County, California|Tehama]]
|}