Nicknamed the "Golden State," California is the third largest state in area after Alaska and Texas. The discovery of gold and the immigration in 1849 of thousands of "forty-niners" in search of the precious metal helped California's admission into the Union in 1850. Today, California, land of the giant redwoods, has the highest population of any state in the nation and is America's principal agricultural state. It is also the home of Hollywood, the center of America's movie and television industry. Its capital is Sacramento and the state flower is the golden poppy.
State Flower: Golden Poppy
State Motto: Eureka (I Have Found It)
State Nickname: Golden State
State Bird: California Valley Quail
Land area, 2000 (square miles): 155,959.34
Length: 770 Miles
Width: 250 Miles
10 largest cities, 2010:
- Los Angeles, 3,792,621
- San Diego, 1,307,402
- San Jose, 945,942
- San Francisco, 805,235
- Fresno, 494,665
- Sacramento, 489,488
- Long Beach, 462,257
- Oakland, 390,724
- Bakersfield, 347,483
- Anaheim, 336,265
Geographic Center: 38 miles east of Madera
Geographic Center County: Madera
Highest Point: 14,494 — Mt. Whitney
Lowest Point: 282 below sea level — Death Valley
Number of counties: 58
State Demonstration Forest: 8 (71,000 ac.)
State parks & beaches: over 270
Persons per square mile, 2010: 238.9
Population, 2010: 37,253,956
Population, percent change, 2000 to 2010: 10.00%
Population, 2000: 33,871,648
Persons under 5 years old, percent, 2009: 7.50%
Persons under 18 years old, percent, 2009: 25.50%
Persons 65 years old and over, percent, 2009: 11.20%
Female persons, percent, 2009: 49.90%
White persons, percent, 2010 (a): 57.60%
Black persons, percent, 2010 (a): 6.20%
American Indian and Alaska Native persons, percent, 2010 (a): 1.00%
Asian persons, percent, 2010 (a): 13.00%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, percent, 2010 (a): 0.40%
Persons reporting two or more races, percent, 2010: 4.90%
Persons of Hispanic or Latino origin, percent, 2010 (b): 37.60%
White persons not Hispanic, persons, 2010: 40.10%
Living in same house 1 year ago, pct 1 yr old & over, 2005-2009: 83.90%
Foreign born persons, percent, 2005-2009: 26.80%
Language other than English spoken at home, pct age 5+, 2005-2009: 42.20%
High school graduates, percent of persons age 25+, 2005-2009: 80.50%
Bachelor's degree or higher, pct of persons age 25+, 2005-2009: 29.70%
Veterans, 2005-2009: 2,092,627
Mean travel time to work (minutes), workers age 16+, 2005-2009: 27
Housing units, 2009: 13,433,718
Homeownership rate, 2005-2009: 57.90%
Housing units in multi-unit structures, percent, 2005-2009: 30.70%
Median value of owner-occupied housing units, 2005-2009: $479,200
Households, 2005-2009: 12,187,191
Persons per household, 2005-2009: 2.91
Per capita money income in past 12 months (2009 dollars) 2005-2009: $29,020
Median household income, 2009: $58,925
Persons below poverty level, percent, 2009: 14.20%
(a) Includes persons reporting only one race.
(b) Hispanics may be of any race, so also are included in applicable race categories.
D: Suppressed to avoid disclosure of confidential information
F: Fewer than 100 firms
FN: Footnote on this item for this area in place of data
NA: Not available
S: Suppressed; does not meet publication standards
X: Not applicable
Z: Value greater than zero but less than half unit of measure shown
GDP Data — Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis
Population and Economic Data — US Census Bureau
Government Data — Congress.Org
