California is a state located in the Western United States. It is the most populous state and the third largest by area after Alaska and Texas. According to the 2020 United States Census, California has 39,538,223 inhabitants and of land.

California has been inhabited by numerous Native American peoples for thousands of years. The Spanish, the Russians, and other Europeans began exploring and colonizing the area in the 16th and 17th centuries, with the Spanish establishing its first California mission at what is now San Diego in 1769. After the Mexican Cession of 1848, the California Gold Rush brought worldwide attention to the area. The growth of the movie industry in Los Angeles, high tech in San Francisco and Silicon Valley, tourism, agriculture, and other areas in the ensuing decades fueled the creation of a $3 trillion economy , which would rank fifth in the world if the state were a sovereign nation.

California is divided into 58 counties and contains 483 municipalities. One, San Francisco, is a consolidated city-county. California law makes no distinction between "city" and "town", and municipalities may use either term in their official names.California Government Code Sections 34502 and 56722. They can be organized as either a charter municipality, governed by its own charter, or a general-law municipality (or "code city"), governed by state statute.California Government Code Sections 34450 and 34500.

The first municipality to incorporate was Sacramento on February 27, 1850, while the most recent was Mountain House on July 1, 2024. Eight cities were incorporated before the state's September 9, 1850, admission to the Union. According to the 2020 United States Census, the largest municipality by population and land area is Los Angeles with 3,898,747 residents and . Amador City is the smallest municipality by population with 200 people and the smallest by land area at .

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Municipalities

County seat State capital and county seat Name Type County Population (2020) Population (2010) Change Land area Population density Incorporated Adelanto City San Bernardino Agoura Hills City Los Angeles Alameda City Alameda Albany City Alameda Alhambra City Los Angeles Aliso Viejo City Orange Alturas City Modoc Amador City City Amador American Canyon City Napa Anaheim City Orange Anderson City Shasta Angels Camp City Calaveras Antioch City Contra Costa Apple Valley Town San Bernardino Arcadia City Los Angeles Arcata City Humboldt Arroyo Grande City San Luis Obispo Artesia City Los Angeles Arvin City Kern Atascadero City San Luis Obispo Atherton Town San Mateo Atwater City Merced Auburn City Placer Avalon City Los Angeles Avenal City Kings Azusa City Los Angeles Bakersfield City Kern Baldwin Park City Los Angeles Banning City Riverside Barstow City San Bernardino Beaumont City Riverside Bell City Los Angeles Bell Gardens City Los Angeles Bellflower City Los Angeles Belmont City San Mateo Belvedere City Marin Benicia City Solano Berkeley City Alameda Beverly Hills City Los Angeles Big Bear Lake City San Bernardino Biggs City Butte Bishop City Inyo Blue Lake City Humboldt Blythe City Riverside Bradbury City Los Angeles Brawley City Imperial Brea City Orange Brentwood City Contra Costa Brisbane City San Mateo Buellton City Santa Barbara Buena Park City Orange Burbank City Los Angeles Burlingame City San Mateo Calabasas City Los Angeles Calexico City Imperial California City City Kern Calimesa City Riverside Calipatria City Imperial Calistoga City Napa Camarillo City Ventura Campbell City Santa Clara Canyon Lake City Riverside Capitola City Santa Cruz Carlsbad City San Diego Carmel-by-the-Sea City Monterey Carpinteria City Santa Barbara Carson City Los Angeles Cathedral City City Riverside Ceres City Stanislaus Cerritos City Los Angeles Chico City Butte Chino City San Bernardino Chino Hills City San Bernardino Chowchilla City Madera Chula Vista City San Diego Citrus Heights City Sacramento Claremont City Los Angeles Clayton City Contra Costa Clearlake City Lake Cloverdale City Sonoma Clovis City Fresno Coachella City Riverside Coalinga City Fresno Colfax City Placer Colma Town San Mateo Colton City San Bernardino Colusa City Colusa Commerce City Los Angeles Compton City Los Angeles Concord City Contra Costa Corcoran City Kings Corning City Tehama Corona City Riverside Coronado City San Diego Corte Madera Town Marin Costa Mesa City Orange Cotati City Sonoma Covina City Los Angeles Crescent City City Del Norte Cudahy City Los Angeles Culver City City Los Angeles Cupertino City Santa Clara Cypress City Orange Daly City City San Mateo Dana Point City Orange Danville Town Contra Costa Davis City Yolo Del Mar City San Diego Del Rey Oaks City Monterey Delano City Kern Desert Hot Springs City Riverside Diamond Bar City Los Angeles Dinuba City Tulare Dixon City Solano Dorris City Siskiyou Dos Palos City Merced Downey City Los Angeles Duarte City Los Angeles Dublin City Alameda Dunsmuir City Siskiyou East Palo Alto City San Mateo Eastvale City Riverside El Cajon City San Diego El Centro City Imperial El Cerrito City Contra Costa El Monte City Los Angeles El Segundo City Los Angeles Elk Grove City Sacramento Emeryville City Alameda Encinitas City San Diego Escalon City San Joaquin Escondido City San Diego Etna City Siskiyou Eureka City Humboldt Exeter City Tulare Fairfax Town Marin Fairfield City Solano Farmersville City Tulare Ferndale City Humboldt Fillmore City Ventura Firebaugh City Fresno Folsom City Sacramento Fontana City San Bernardino Fort Bragg City Mendocino Fort Jones Town Siskiyou Fortuna City Humboldt Foster City City San Mateo Fountain Valley City Orange Fowler City Fresno Fremont City Alameda Fresno City Fresno Fullerton City Orange Galt City Sacramento Garden Grove City Orange Gardena City Los Angeles Gilroy City Santa Clara Glendale City Los Angeles Glendora City Los Angeles Goleta City Santa Barbara Gonzales City Monterey Grand Terrace City San Bernardino Grass Valley City Nevada Greenfield City Monterey Gridley City Butte Grover Beach City San Luis Obispo Guadalupe City Santa Barbara Gustine City Merced Half Moon Bay City San Mateo Hanford City Kings Hawaiian Gardens City Los Angeles Hawthorne City Los Angeles Hayward City Alameda Healdsburg City Sonoma Hemet City Riverside Hercules City Contra Costa Hermosa Beach City Los Angeles Hesperia City San Bernardino Hidden Hills City Los Angeles Highland City San Bernardino Hillsborough Town San Mateo Hollister City San Benito Holtville City Imperial Hughson City Stanislaus Huntington Beach City Orange Huntington Park City Los Angeles Huron City Fresno Imperial City Imperial Imperial Beach City San Diego Indian Wells City Riverside Indio City Riverside City of Industry City Los Angeles Inglewood City Los Angeles Ione City Amador Irvine City Orange Irwindale City Los Angeles Isleton City Sacramento Jackson City Amador Jurupa Valley City Riverside Kerman City Fresno King City City Monterey Kingsburg City Fresno La Cañada Flintridge City Los Angeles La Habra City Orange