List of cities in California (by population)

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The following is a list showing the 100 largest incorporated cities in the state of California ranked by population, based on California Department of Finance estimates for January 1, 2008.^[1]

Note: These estimates are for the actual incorporated areas of the listed cities, as opposed to metropolitan areas, urban areas, or counties, and will therefore differ from other available population listings. Also, the California State Department of Finance uses different methods for estimating population than the United States Census Bureau, and therefore estimates from the two organizations will differ as well (the Department of Finance, however, does use the Census Bureau's decennial census figures as their base).

Rank	City	Population	County	Description
1	Los Angeles	4,045,873	Los Angeles	Los Angeles is one of the world's centers of culture, technology, media, business, and international trade. It is home to renowned institutions covering a broad range of professional and cultural fields, and it is one of the most substantial economic engines of the United States. Los Angeles also leads the world in producing popular entertainment — such as motion picture, television, video games and recorded music — which forms the base of its international fame and global status.
2	San Diego	1,336,865	San Diego	San Diego is located very close to the border between Mexico and the United States. It hosts miles of beaches and a number of U.S. Military facilities. San Diego's economy is largely composed of agriculture, biotechnology/biosciences, computer sciences, electronics manufacturing, defense-related manufacturing, financial and business services, ship-repair and construction, software development, telecommunications, and tourism.
3	San José	989,486	Santa Clara	San Jose is located at the southern end of the San Francisco Bay Area. San Jose is located in Santa Clara County, nicknamed "Silicon Valley". Thousands of high technology companies are headquartered either in or near Silicon Valley such as eBay,Apple,Intel, and Hewlett Packard among many others. Besides being the third larges in California it's the tenth-largest in the United States. San José is a border city between Northern California and Southern California. It is home to the Winchester Mystery house and one of the two Rotundas in the world! San José has been on a six year strike as America's safest big city.
4	San Francisco	824,525	San Francisco	San Francisco is a popular international tourist destination renowned for its steep rolling hills, eclectic mix of Victorian and modern architecture, and famous landmarks, including the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz Island, the cable cars, Coit Tower, and Chinatown. The city is also known for its diverse, cosmopolitan population, including large and long-established Asian American and LGBT communities.
5	Long Beach	492,642	Los Angeles	The Port of Long Beach is one of the world's largest shipping ports. The city also has a large oil industry; oil is found both underground and offshore. Manufacturers include aircraft, automobile parts, electronic and audiovisual equipment, and home furnishings. It is also home to the headquarters for corporations such as Epson America, Molina Healthcare, and Scan Health Care. Long Beach has grown with the development of high-technology and aerospace industries in the area.
6	Fresno	486,116	Fresno	Fresno is the leading agricultural area of the United States and the largest inland city in California.
7	Sacramento	475,743	Sacramento	Sacramento is the capital of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. Located along the Sacramento River and just south of the American River's confluence in California's expansive Central Valley, it is the seventh most populous city in California with a 2007 estimated population of 467,343.^[2] Sacramento is the core cultural and economic center of its four-county metropolitan area (El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, and Yolo counties) with a combined population of 2,103,956. The Sacramento Metropolitan Area is the largest in the Central Valley, and is the fourth-largest in California, behind the Greater Los Angeles Area, the San Francisco Bay Area, and the San Diego area. Greater Sacramento has been cited as one of the five "most livable" regions in America,and the city was cited by Time magazine as America's most integrated.
8	Oakland	420,183	Alameda	Oakland is a major West Coast port, and is home to several major corporations including Kaiser Permanente and Clorox, as well as corporate headquarters for nationwide businesses like Dreyer's and Cost Plus World Markets.Rand McNally named Oakland as having the best weather in the United States. According to the 2000 U.S. census, Oakland and Long Beach, California are the most ethnically diverse cities in the United States, with over 150 languages spoken in Oakland. Attractions include Jack London Square, the Oakland Museum of California, the Chabot Space and Science Center, Lake Merritt, the East Bay Regional Park District ridge line parks and preserves, and Chinatown.
9	Santa Ana	353,184	Orange
10	Anaheim	346,823	Orange	Home of Disneyland.
11	Bakersfield	328,692	Kern	California's petroleum country.
12	Riverside	296,842	Riverside
13	Stockton	289,927	San Joaquin
14	Chula Vista	231,305	San Diego
15	Fremont	213,512	Alameda
16	Modesto	209,936	Stanislaus
17	Irvine	209,806	Orange
18	Glendale	207,157	Los Angeles
19	San Bernardino	205,493	San Bernardino
20	Huntington Beach	201,993	Orange
21	Oxnard	194,905	Ventura
22	Fontana	188,498	San Bernardino
23	Moreno Valley	183,860	Riverside
24	Oceanside	178,806	San Diego
25	Santa Clarita	177,045	Los Angeles
26	Rancho Cucamonga	174,308	San Bernardino
27	Ontario	173,690	San Bernardino
28	Garden Grove	173,067	Orange
29	Pomona	163,405	Los Angeles	Home of the Los Angeles County Fair, the largest fair in the United States.
30	Santa Rosa	159,981	Sonoma
31	Salinas	150,898	Monterey	Salinas is known for being an agricultural center as well as being the hometown of famed writer and Nobel prize laureate John Steinbeck.
32	Hayward	149,205	Alameda
33	Torrance	148,965	Los Angeles
34	Pasadena	148,126	Los Angeles	Home of the Rose Bowl and Rose Parade.
35	Palmdale	147,897	Los Angeles	Largest city of the California deserts.
36	Corona	147,428	Riverside
37	Lancaster	145,243	Los Angeles
38	Escondido	143,389	San Diego
39	Orange	140,849	Orange
40	Elk Grove	139,542	Sacramento
41	Sunnyvale	137,538	Santa Clara
42	Fullerton	137,437	Orange
43	Thousand Oaks	128,650	Ventura
44	El Monte	126,053	Los Angeles
45	Simi Valley	125,657	Ventura	Home of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.
46	Concord	123,776	Contra Costa
47	Visalia	121,498	Tulare
48	Vallejo	121,097	Solano
49	Inglewood	118,878	Los Angeles
50	Santa Clara	115,503	Santa Clara
51	Costa Mesa	113,955	Orange
52	Downey	113,379	Los Angeles
53	West Covina	112,666	Los Angeles
54	Norwalk	109,695	Los Angeles
55	Roseville	109,154	Placer
56	San Buenaventura (Ventura)	108,261	Ventura
57	Burbank	108,029	Los Angeles	Home of the Walt Disney Company.
58	Victorville	107,408	San Bernardino
59	Fairfield	106,753	Solano
60	Berkeley	106,697	Alameda
61	Daly City	106,361	San Mateo
62	Carlsbad	103,811	San Diego
63	Richmond	103,577	Contra Costa
64	South Gate	102,816	Los Angeles
65	Temecula	101,057	Riverside	The heart of Southern California Wine Country.
66	Antioch	100,361	Contra Costa
67	Murrieta	100,173	Riverside
68	Rialto	99,767	San Bernardino
69	Compton	99,242	Los Angeles
70	Mission Viejo	98,572	Orange
71	Carson	97,960	Los Angeles
72	El Cajon	97,934	San Diego
73	Vacaville	96,905	Solano
74	San Mateo	95,776	San Mateo
75	Vista	95,770	San Diego
76	Clovis	94,278	Fresno
77	Westminster	93,027	Orange
78	Santa Monica	91,124	Los Angeles	Home of the world famous Santa Monica Pier.
79	Santa Maria	91,439	Santa Barbara
80	Redding	90,491	Shasta
81	Santa Barbara	90,305	Santa Barbara
82	Hawthorne	90,014	Los Angeles
83	Alhambra	89,259	Los Angeles
84	Hesperia	87,820	San Bernardino
85	Citrus Heights	87,321	Sacramento
86	Chico	86,949	Butte
87	Whittier	86,945	Los Angeles
88	Newport Beach	84,554	Orange
89	Livermore	83,604	Alameda
90	Lakewood	83,486	Los Angeles
91	Buena Park	82,768	Orange	Home of Knott's Berry Farm.
92	San Marcos	82,743	San Diego
93	Chino	82,670	San Bernardino
94	San Leandro	81,851	Alameda
95	Tracy	81,548	San Joaquin
96	Indio	81,512	Riverside
97	Baldwin Park	81,281	Los Angeles
98	Merced	80,608	Merced
99	Chino Hills	78,957	San Bernardino
100	Lake Forest	78,317	Orange