State bird
California quail
Sources: Designation & background
Local timeSacramento ·
U.S. States / West · Card 005
California
The Golden State
Yosemite’s granite cliffs, deep valleys and waterfalls show how rock formation and erosion shape the Sierra Nevada.
California and its surroundings
● State capital · Gold highlights California.
Map: Natural Earth. Neighboring states use postal abbreviations.
Map: Natural Earth. Neighboring states use postal abbreviations.
At a glance
- Capital
- Sacramento
- Postal abbreviation
- CA
- Population
- 39,355,309July 1, 2025 · Census estimate
- Total area
- 423,967 km²163,695 square miles · land and water
- Statehood
- September 9, 1850State number 31
- Region
- West
Sources: Census · population · Census · area
State symbols & traditions
State song
I Love You, California
Sources: Designation & background
Geography & flag
01
Location
Neighboring states: Arizona, Nevada, Oregon.
02
Landscape & places
Yosemite’s granite cliffs, deep valleys and waterfalls show how rock formation and erosion shape the Sierra Nevada. The park also protects giant sequoias and high-country habitats, so Yosemite includes much more than its best-known valley.
03
Land and water
The total area includes 403,466 km² of land and 20,501 km² of water, according to Census area measurements.
State flag
A grizzly bear, a red star and the words California Republic above a red stripe.
Sources: Census · geographic reference · Census · area measurements · National Park Service · Yosemite
How the landscape works
A valley, a waterfall, and a forest are different features within Yosemite’s wider landscape. Rock structure and erosion affect the shape of the land; elevation and growing conditions influence habitats. A photograph of Yosemite Valley is therefore a view of one part of the park, not a complete picture of its terrain. The same caution applies when a single landmark is used to represent all of California.
History
How the Gold Rush accelerated statehood
Gold was discovered near Sacramento in January 1848, just before the treaty ending the Mexican-American War transferred California to the United States. The resulting migration quickly increased the population and demand for a working civil government. Californians wrote and ratified a state constitution in 1849 rather than waiting through a long period as an organized territory.
The constitution prohibited slavery, so admission became part of the national struggle between free and slave states. Congress admitted California as a free state on September 9, 1850, through the Compromise of 1850. The Gold Rush therefore changed both California’s population and the balance of national politics.
Read more: Historical source ↗
Why this mattered
Gold discoveries brought a rapid influx of people and intensified demands for government. California entered as a free state in 1850, affecting the national balance between free and slave states. That status did not make the period free of coercion or racial exclusion. Statehood, the slavery debate, and the consequences of the rush for Native communities must be understood together rather than reduced to a story of individual miners finding wealth.
Key dates
-
Mexico ceded California to the United States
-
Statehood · State number 31
Sources: Congressional Research Service · statehood · U.S. Census Bureau · historical geography · National Park Service
People and place
Indigenous history and communities today
The Yurok Tribe provides one present-day perspective from California. It is one of many distinct Native nations in the state, not a representative of a single uniform California Indigenous culture.
Continue with Yurok Tribe. This is one starting point, not a complete account of the peoples connected to this land.
Compare
California and Arizona
| Measure | California | Arizona |
|---|---|---|
| Population (2025) | 39,355,309 | 7,623,818 |
| Land area (km²) | 403,466 | 294,207 |
| People per km² of land | 97.5 | 25.9 |
California has more people per square kilometer of land. Population density divides population by land area. It is an average across the whole jurisdiction, not a claim that residents are evenly spread out.
Calculated from the Census population series and land-area measurements used on these pages. Rounded figures; water area is excluded. Explore Arizona.
Economy
Main activities
In 2025, professional and business services was the largest of the broad industry groups compared here by current-dollar output. Other major groups included real estate and rental and leasing, information, and government and government enterprises.
Total economic output was $4,250.8 billion in current dollars in 2025.
Largest industry groups · 2025
- Professional and business services: 14.8%
- Real estate and rental and leasing: 14.1%
- Information: 11.3%
- Government and government enterprises: 10.8%
Share of total current-dollar GDP. These figures measure output, not employment.
Sources: BEA · annual GDP by state, SAGDP2
Production, jobs and wages answer different questions
The industry chart measures the value of production. It does not count workers. An industry with a large share of GDP need not employ the most people or pay the highest wages. Employment and wage data would be needed to answer those questions.
Population & economic trends
Population, 2020–2025
Millions of people39.362025 · millions of people
July 1 resident population estimates, using the Census Bureau’s Vintage 2025 series.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau
View data table
| Year | People |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 39,527,808 |
| 2021 | 39,152,927 |
| 2022 | 39,125,347 |
| 2023 | 39,181,667 |
| 2024 | 39,364,774 |
| 2025 | 39,355,309 |
Real GDP, 2010–2025
Billions of chained 2017 dollars3,388.902025 · billions of chained 2017 dollars
Real GDP measures economic output adjusted for inflation. The chart uses BEA’s chained 2017 dollars.
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
View data table
| Year | Millions of chained 2017 dollars |
|---|---|
| 2010 | 2,153,852.8 |
| 2011 | 2,192,887.2 |
| 2012 | 2,255,437.3 |
| 2013 | 2,340,335.3 |
| 2014 | 2,428,675.7 |
| 2015 | 2,545,979.5 |
| 2016 | 2,623,711.7 |
| 2017 | 2,740,550.3 |
| 2018 | 2,850,970.3 |
| 2019 | 2,969,609.0 |
| 2020 | 2,930,654.6 |
| 2021 | 3,151,112.5 |
| 2022 | 3,147,211.4 |
| 2023 | 3,204,016.4 |
| 2024 | 3,306,928.6 |
| 2025 | 3,388,904.8 |
Read the trend, then ask what explains it
California’s population decreased by about 0.4% between 2020 and 2025 in this series. That shows the size of the change. The chart alone cannot tell us how much came from births, deaths or migration.
Real GDP adjusts for changes in prices, so it helps compare production over time. Current-dollar GDP includes price changes. Neither measure tells us how income is distributed among residents.
Representation
- Electoral votes
- 542024 & 2028 elections
- Voting U.S. House seats
- 522020 Census allocation
- U.S. Senate seats
- 2
Electoral votes equal the state’s U.S. House seats plus its two U.S. Senate seats. These allocations apply to the 2024 and 2028 presidential elections.
Practice
Test your knowledge
Use the explanations and data on this page to answer ten questions. Hints and links to the relevant sections are available throughout.
10 questions about California
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Sources & notes
Narrative and quiz updated 5 October 2026. Statistical data prepared 27 September 2026. Population: Census Bureau Vintage 2025, July 1 estimates for 2020–2025. Real GDP: BEA annual state accounts, SAGDP9, millions of chained 2017 dollars; industry shares: SAGDP2, current dollars. Data downloaded 27 September 2026. Area measurements include land and water.
Sources: Census · population estimates · BEA · state GDP · Census · area measurements · Natural Earth · map data
The capital clock shows current local time. Statistical figures are dated estimates and may be revised.
Updated 29 October 2026. Statistics retain the dated series shown in the charts; these are not live figures. Sources are linked beside each topic.