99 articles
Fremont, California
Fremont, California: Alameda County city on southeast San Francisco Bay, incorporated 1956 from Centerville, Niles, Irvington, Warm Springs, and Mission San Jose; about 226,000 residents and a major advanced manufacturing hub.
Fresno, California
Fresno, California: largest city of California's Central Valley and fifth largest in the state, founded 1872 as a Central Pacific Railroad station, incorporated 1885, county seat of Fresno County, population about 555,000, economy anchored by leading national agricultural production.
Gilroy, California
Gilroy, California: city in southern Santa Clara County, about 25 miles south of San Jose, known as the Garlic Capital of the World; population 59,520 (2020), home of the Gilroy Garlic Festival and recent data center disputes.
Grass Valley, California
Grass Valley is a city in western Nevada County, California, in the Sierra Nevada foothills, incorporated in 1860 and known for its Gold Rush heritage and the Empire Mine.
Half Moon Bay, California
Half Moon Bay is a coastal city in San Mateo County, California, about 25 miles south of San Francisco. Incorporated in 1959, formerly San Benito and Spanishtown, population about 11,300, known for farming, fishing, and the January 2023 farmworker shootings.
Hanford, California
Hanford, California: county seat of Kings County in the San Joaquin Valley, founded 1877 as a Southern Pacific railroad town, incorporated August 12, 1891, population about 60,000.
Hayward, California
Hayward, California: Alameda County city on the east shore of San Francisco Bay, incorporated 1876, population 162,954 (2020). Known as the Heart of the Bay, home to the Hayward Fault, CSU East Bay, and Chabot College.
Hollister, California
Hollister, California: county seat of San Benito County, founded 1872 and named for Colonel W.W. Hollister. Population 41,678 (2020), 45,695 (2025 estimate); agricultural center near the creeping section of the San Andreas Fault.
Livermore, California
Livermore, California: Alameda County city founded 1869, easternmost in the Bay Area, population 87,955 (2020). Known for its 50-plus wineries, one of California's oldest wine regions, and Lawrence Livermore and Sandia national laboratories.
Los Altos, California
Los Altos, California: Silicon Valley residential city in Santa Clara County, incorporated 1952, population about 31,000, founded 1906-07 by Paul Shoup's Altos Land Co. around apricot orchards and the Southern Pacific Railroad.
Los Gatos, California
Los Gatos, California: incorporated 1887 town in Santa Clara County at the Santa Cruz Mountains base, named for La Rinconada de Los Gatos rancho; 33,529 residents in 2020, high-income Silicon Valley suburb.
Mammoth Lakes, California
Mammoth Lakes is a Mono County, California resort town in the Eastern Sierra, incorporated in 1984, home to about 7,100 people and Mammoth Mountain's 3,500 skiable acres, with a tourism-based economy and acute second-home housing pressures.
Martinez, California
Martinez, California: county seat of Contra Costa County, incorporated 1876, population about 37,000. Home of the John Muir National Historic Site, the 1849 Martinez Adobe, and major oil refineries.
Menlo Park, California
Menlo Park, California: San Mateo County city named in 1854 after Menlough, Galway, Ireland; reincorporated 1927; home of Meta headquarters, SRI International, Sand Hill Road venture capital, and California's oldest railroad station.
Merced, California
Merced, California: Central Valley city founded in 1872 as a Southern Pacific railroad town, nicknamed Gateway to Yosemite via the 1907 Yosemite Valley Railroad; home of UC Merced (opened 2005), population 99,724 in 2025.
Mill Valley, California
Mill Valley, California: incorporated 1900 in Marin County, 14 miles north of San Francisco; about 14,000 residents in 4.78 square miles, median household income $206,212, council-manager government, notable for Mount Tamalpais, wildfire and flood hazards, and high housing costs.
Milpitas, California
Milpitas, California: a Santa Clara County city at the southern tip of San Francisco Bay, incorporated 1954, known as the Crossroads of Silicon Valley, with about 80,000 residents and major tech employers.
Modesto, California
Modesto, California: Central Valley city and seat of Stanislaus County, population 218,464 (2020). Known for Tuolumne River water supply with MID, agricultural economy, McHenry Museum, and 2050 growth plan.
Monterey, California
Monterey, California: coastal city founded by Spain in 1770 by Portola and Serra; capital of California under Spanish and Mexican rule; site of the 1827 Old Custom House, Sloat's 1846 flag raising, Cannery Row, and the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
Mount Shasta, California
Mount Shasta, California: small incorporated city (1905) in Siskiyou County at the base of the 14,179-foot volcano, 50 miles from Oregon; tourism-driven economy, spring-fed water, council-manager government.
Mountain View, California
Mountain View, California, a Santa Clara County city in Silicon Valley between Palo Alto and Sunnyvale; population 85,438 (2025 est.), home to Google's headquarters and NASA Ames, with median household income $189,917.
Napa, California
Napa is a city in Napa County, California, on the Napa River, founded in 1847 and known as the gateway to Napa Valley wine country.
Nevada City, California
Nevada City, California: Gold Rush-era Sierra foothill city and Nevada County seat, founded 1850, incorporated 1856; 3,152 residents (2020), National Register downtown historic district, 1865 Nevada Theatre, council-manager government, high wildfire hazard.
Novato, California
Novato, California: northernmost city in Marin County, about 29 miles north of San Francisco. Population about 52,000, incorporated 1960, council-manager government, SMART rail stops, median household income $115,736.
Oakland, California
Oakland is a city in Alameda County, California, on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay opposite San Francisco. The 2020 Census counted 440,646 residents, and its port handles 99 percent of Northern California's containerized goods.
Oroville, California
Oroville, formerly Ophir City, is the county seat of Butte County, California, on the Feather River, best known for Oroville Dam, the tallest dam in the country.
Palo Alto, California
Palo Alto, California: Bay Area city named for El Palo Alto redwood, founded 1894 around Stanford University (opened 1891), birthplace of Silicon Valley, about 69,700 residents with municipal utilities.
Paradise, California
Paradise is a Sierra Nevada foothill town in Butte County, California, incorporated 1979, destroyed by the November 8, 2018 Camp Fire (85 deaths, 18,804 structures) and slowly rebuilding to about 9,100 residents.
Petaluma, California
Petaluma, California: Sonoma County city on the Petaluma River, 40 miles north of San Francisco; incorporated 1858, 2020 population 59,776, historic dairy and egg shipping center.
Placerville, California
Placerville, California, historically known as Hangtown, is a Gold Rush city and the county seat of El Dorado County on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada, incorporated in 1854.