California County Map

California has 58 counties. Together they cover 155,860 sq mi of land and 39,355,309 people.

Neighbouring areas are given different colours so their shared borders read clearly. These colours carry no data.

Boundaries from the 2025 Census cartographic boundary file, generalised so that no point moves by more than half a pixel at this width. Select any area to open its page.
Counties
58
27th most of the 51 states and DC
Population
39,355,309
1st largest
Land area
155,860
square miles
Density
252.5
people per square mile, computed

Sources: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026; US Census Bureau, Gazetteer Files, 2025 Gazetteer Files, released 10 September 2025. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

Download this map

Free to use and redistribute. The boundaries are public-domain Census Bureau data; attribution to County Maps US is appreciated but not required.

Satellite view

Aerial imagery of California with the state boundary drawn on top. County lines are not drawn here: at this scale they would bury the picture, and the map above already carries them.

Aerial view of California from the USGS National Map, with its boundary outlined
Imagery: USGS National Map, USGS Imagery Only, public domain, requested from USGS by your browser when you reach this point on the page, at 701 by 800 pixels. The boundary is the 2025 Census cartographic boundary file, reprojected to Web Mercator to match the imagery. You can also open the USGS National Map viewer.

The extremes of California

Most populous

Los Angeles County

9,694,934

Least populous

Alpine County

1,043

Largest by land area

San Bernardino County

20,068 sq mi

Smallest by land area

San Francisco County

46.7 sq mi

Most densely populated

San Francisco County

17,695 per sq mi

Highest median household income

Santa Clara County

$164,281

Which is the largest county in California? The answer depends on whether you mean area or population.

The counties, by shape

Every one, drawn to its own scale so the small ones stay recognisable. Shape alone is not a size comparison; the table below carries the areas.

What the map does not say

The counties of California are nowhere near the same size. San Bernardino County covers 20,068 sq mi of land, 429.9 times the 46.7 sq mi of San Francisco County. People are spread even less evenly: San Francisco County packs 17,695 per sq mi while Alpine County holds 1.4 per sq mi.

They were not drawn in one sitting either. Yuba County dates to 1850, and the boundaries were still being redrawn when Imperial County was organised in 1907, 57 years later. Founding years come from Wikidata and are worth checking against the county's own history before citing.

Water is part of the picture too: 79.9% of San Francisco County is water, the most in the state, which is why its land area and total area disagree. And 9 of the 58 counties here share their names with counties in other states, so searching by name alone can land in the wrong place; the A to Z index lists every duplicate.

All 58 counties of California

Sortable on any column. This table doubles as the text alternative to the map above: every area is a link, in alphabetical order, whether or not the map renders.

The 58 counties of California, with population, land area, density, median household income, county seat and FIPS code.
NamePopulationLand areaDensityMedian incomeSeatFIPS
Alameda County1,636,630737.5 sq mi2,219 per sq mi$129,367Oakland06001
Alpine County1,043738.3 sq mi1.4 per sq mi$105,521Markleeville06003
Amador County41,876594.6 sq mi70.4 per sq mi$88,044Jackson06005
Butte County209,2111,637 sq mi128 per sq mi$67,928Oroville06007
Calaveras County46,6051,020 sq mi45.7 per sq mi$78,647San Andreas06009
Colusa County21,8361,151 sq mi19.0 per sq mi$75,672Colusa06011
Contra Costa County1,170,070716.9 sq mi1,632 per sq mi$127,229Martinez06013
Del Norte County26,4101,006 sq mi26.2 per sq mi$67,058Crescent City06015
El Dorado County192,3231,708 sq mi113 per sq mi$108,845Placerville06017
Fresno County1,035,4565,959 sq mi174 per sq mi$74,201Fresno06019
Glenn County28,1411,314 sq mi21.4 per sq mi$67,139Willows06021
Humboldt County131,6473,568 sq mi36.9 per sq mi$61,160Eureka06023
Imperial County181,4114,175 sq mi43.4 per sq mi$57,681El Centro06025
Inyo County18,15810,197 sq mi1.8 per sq mi$73,991Independence06027
Kern County927,0688,135 sq mi114 per sq mi$70,210Bakersfield06029
Kings County154,3271,391 sq mi111 per sq mi$70,995Hanford06031
Lake County67,7721,255 sq mi54.0 per sq mi$60,621Lakeport06033
Lassen County28,1174,541 sq mi6.2 per sq mi$67,403Susanville06035
Los Angeles County9,694,9344,060 sq mi2,388 per sq mi$90,112Los Angeles06037
Madera County167,9272,137 sq mi78.6 per sq mi$76,627Madera06039
Marin County253,694520.1 sq mi488 per sq mi$149,091San Rafael06041
Mariposa County16,9181,449 sq mi11.7 per sq mi$68,412Mariposa06043
Mendocino County88,1223,507 sq mi25.1 per sq mi$68,092Ukiah06045
Merced County297,2601,938 sq mi153 per sq mi$65,510Merced06047
Modoc County8,4263,948 sq mi2.1 per sq mi$59,455Alturas06049
Mono County12,5053,049 sq mi4.1 per sq mi$99,415Bridgeport06051
Monterey County433,7293,282 sq mi132 per sq mi$97,230Salinas06053
Napa County132,949752 sq mi177 per sq mi$111,471Napa06055
Nevada County101,911957.8 sq mi106 per sq mi$89,882Nevada City06057
Orange County3,149,507793.2 sq mi3,970 per sq mi$116,289Santa Ana06059
Placer County442,0811,407 sq mi314 per sq mi$115,998Auburn06061
Plumas County18,5832,553 sq mi7.3 per sq mi$66,031Quincy06063
Riverside County2,544,9167,209 sq mi353 per sq mi$93,074Riverside06065
Sacramento County1,618,460965.4 sq mi1,677 per sq mi$92,175Sacramento06067
San Benito County70,0821,389 sq mi50.5 per sq mi$114,394Hollister06069
San Bernardino County2,224,09120,068 sq mi111 per sq mi$85,478San Bernardino06071
San Diego County3,282,2484,211 sq mi779 per sq mi$106,268San Diego06073
San Francisco County826,07946.7 sq mi17,695 per sq mi$140,970San Francisco06075
San Joaquin County823,8151,392 sq mi592 per sq mi$92,179Stockton06077
San Luis Obispo County282,3673,301 sq mi85.5 per sq mi$97,446San Luis Obispo06079
San Mateo County743,568448.6 sq mi1,658 per sq mi$158,855Redwood City06081
Santa Barbara County442,0652,734 sq mi162 per sq mi$98,161Santa Barbara06083
Santa Clara County1,914,3911,291 sq mi1,483 per sq mi$164,281San Jose06085
Santa Cruz County258,852445.1 sq mi582 per sq mi$111,093Santa Cruz06087
Shasta County181,6483,776 sq mi48.1 per sq mi$72,636Redding06089
Sierra County3,098953.2 sq mi3.3 per sq mi$63,355Downieville06091
Siskiyou County42,0136,279 sq mi6.7 per sq mi$59,095Yreka06093
Solano County455,376821.7 sq mi554 per sq mi$100,401Fairfield06095
Sonoma County486,4441,575 sq mi309 per sq mi$104,674Santa Rosa06097
Stanislaus County557,7191,496 sq mi373 per sq mi$81,468Modesto06099
Sutter County98,787602.7 sq mi164 per sq mi$79,704Yuba City06101
Tehama County64,6652,949 sq mi21.9 per sq mi$63,784Red Bluff06103
Trinity County15,7203,179 sq mi4.9 per sq mi$53,002Weaverville06105
Tulare County485,1464,824 sq mi101 per sq mi$71,300Visalia06107
Tuolumne County53,1602,221 sq mi23.9 per sq mi$77,404Sonora06109
Ventura County830,8511,841 sq mi451 per sq mi$109,797Ventura06111
Yolo County224,4101,013 sq mi222 per sq mi$91,752Woodland06113
Yuba County88,691632 sq mi140 per sq mi$76,373Marysville06115

Sources: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026; US Census Bureau, Gazetteer Files, 2025 Gazetteer Files, released 10 September 2025; US Census Bureau, American Community Survey, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates, released 29 January 2026; Wikidata (CC0), Wikidata. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

The ten most populous

  1. Los Angeles County9,694,934
  2. San Diego County3,282,248
  3. Orange County3,149,507
  4. Riverside County2,544,916
  5. San Bernardino County2,224,091
  6. Santa Clara County1,914,391
  7. Alameda County1,636,630
  8. Sacramento County1,618,460
  9. Contra Costa County1,170,070
  10. Fresno County1,035,456

Data on this page last rebuilt 30 August 2026. How these figures are produced.