California Counties Map: Click All 58 Counties

How many counties are in California?

California has 58 counties. 26 states have more, and 23 have fewer.

California has 58 counties. San Bernardino County is the largest county by area in the lower 48 states, and Los Angeles County has more people than any other county in the country. San Francisco is both a city and a county, the only consolidated city-county in California.

How California's counties were formed

California started with 27 counties when it became a state in 1850. The Gold Rush, new farm towns and fights over county seats split them up over the next half century. Imperial County, carved from eastern San Diego County in 1907, was the 58th and last. One original name changed almost at once: Branciforte County became Santa Cruz County in 1850.

California regions and the counties in each

California's 58 counties fall into regions most maps use. The North Coast runs from Del Norte to Sonoma. The nine Bay Area counties ring San Francisco Bay. The Central Valley is two halves: the Sacramento Valley (Shasta, Butte, Sacramento) and the San Joaquin Valley (San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Fresno, Kern). The Sierra Nevada counties include Placer, El Dorado, Mono and Inyo. The Central Coast runs from Santa Cruz to Santa Barbara, and Southern California holds Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego and the huge desert counties of Riverside, San Bernardino and Imperial.

Notable places on the California county map

Inyo County holds both the highest and lowest points in the lower 48 states: Mount Whitney (14,494 feet) on its border with Tulare County, and Badwater Basin in Death Valley at 282 feet below sea level. Yosemite National Park lies mostly in Mariposa and Tuolumne counties, the tallest trees on Earth grow in Redwood National Park in Humboldt and Del Norte counties, and Lake Tahoe straddles Placer and El Dorado counties and the Nevada line.

California counties map: the biggest and smallest

San Bernardino County is the largest county in California, with 20,068 square miles of land, about 13% of the state. That's more land than 9 whole states, including Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii and others. San Francisco County is the smallest, at 47 square miles.

The smallest counties by land area are San Francisco County (47 sq mi), Santa Cruz County (445 sq mi) and San Mateo County (449 sq mi).

Which counties in California have the most people?

Los Angeles County has the most people, about 9,757,179 in the Census Bureau's July 2024 estimate, or 25% of everyone in California. The three biggest counties together hold 41% of the state's 39,431,263 people. Alpine County has the fewest, about 1,099.

The most crowded is San Francisco County, with about 17,644 people per square mile. The emptiest is Alpine County, with about 1 person per square mile. Comparing the two is a quick way to show children that a big county on the map isn't always a big county in people.

What county is Sacramento in?

Sacramento, the capital of California, is in Sacramento County. Sacramento County ranks 8th of 58 by population. California is called the Golden State, and it became the 31st state in 1850.

Counties on the California border

Learning the edge of the map first gives children a frame to fill in. California shares a border with Arizona, Nevada and Oregon.

How California's counties compare with other states

California ranks 3rd among the 50 states in land area and 1st in population. Its average county covers about 2,687 square miles and holds about 679,849 people. Across the 50 states, the average county-level area covers about 1,139 square miles and holds about 109,381 people, so California's counties are bigger than usual in size. Bigger counties mean fewer names to learn for a state this size.

Landmarks for learning the counties of California

• The Central Valley runs down the middle of the state, from Shasta County to Kern County.
• Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties line the southern coast.
• The nine Bay Area counties surround San Francisco Bay.
• Alpine County, high in the Sierra Nevada, has the fewest people.

With 58 counties, work one region at a time: study it with names on, then take a Practice round and stop when you've found that group. Then print the California county map worksheet to check that it sticks on paper.

All 58 California counties

Every county on the map, A to Z, with its land area and July 2024 population estimate.

California geography for homeschoolers

Pair this map with the West states and capitals quiz and the US states quiz. If you teach at home, see homeschooling in california, and check get paid to homeschool in california to see whether a program may help pay for California history and geography curriculum. Each program decides what it covers.