The Richest Cities in California

California is the largest state in the US with a population of about 40 million and its economy is dominated by trade, farming, science and technology, and media. The majority of economic activities is concentrated in the coastal cities of the state while the inner regions of the state are largely focused on farming. The strongest economic areas are located around Los Angeles where tourism, media, and trade play a significant role. Other regions include San Francisco where the major economic drivers include trade, technology, and tourism. The state of California is located as a coastal state where it plays a significant role of trade movement in and out of the United States. By 2018, the economic output of the state of California was only surpassed by the US, Japan, China, and Germany. Its economy is now larger than the economy of UK, and if it were a country, it would be ranked as the 5th largest in the world. Some of the richest cities in the state of California based median household income include the following.

California's Richest Cities

Santa Clara

Santa Clara city is found in the county of Santa Clara in California. The city had a population of 116,468 people in 2010. Now it has a population of 1,841,569, and a population density of 1,427.3 per square mile ranking as the 6th most populous city in the whole of San Francisco bay area. The city is about 45 miles to the south-east of San Francisco and was founded in 1777. Santa Clara was incorporated as a city in 1852 and is located in the center of the Silicon Valley, and several high tech companies have headquarters in the city which include giants such as Intel. The city is among the richest in California and has a median household income of $93,854 and per capita income of $42,666.

Marin

The city of Marin is a Census-Designated Place (CDP) and unincorporated community located in Marin County, California in the US. It is approximately 1.5 miles to the northwest of downtown Sausalito and almost five miles north of the city of San Francisco from the Golden gate bridge. It started as a housing community in 1942 where houses were built to accommodate the shipyard workers and other migrants in the state of California. Among the migrants were the African Americans who moved from the south during the great migration which went on until the 1970s. In 2010, the population of Marin city was about 2,666, but now the population is about 56,802 with a population density of 493.4 per square mile. The city is regarded as one of the richest in the state of California based median household income with income standing at $91,529. By 2010, the racial composition of the city of Marin was made up of 38.9% whites and 38.1% African Americans and approximately 14% Hispanic community.

San Mateo

San Mateo in the County of Mateo in California is situated in the high-tech region of the Silicon Valley found in the San Francisco Bay area. San Mateo is a Spanish name for Saint Mathew, and in 2016 the city of San Mateo had a population of 103,959, and presently the population stands at 739,837 translating to a population density of 1,649.7 per square mile. The city was incorporated in 1894, and it is now one of the largest 300 cities in the US. It is the third richest city in California based on median household income which stands at $91,421. The economy of San Mateo is highly diversified with most jobs being found in healthcare, technology, government, financial services, and retail trade. Some of the companies found in the city include Fisher Investment, Franklin Templeton Investments, GoPro, Roblox, SolarCity, Sony Interactive Entertainment, Solstice Netsuite, and Marketo, which are also the biggest employers in the city.

San Francisco

San Francisco is a Spanish name which means Saint Francis. The city of San Francisco is located in the county of San Francisco, and it is a financial, commercial, and cultural center in northern California which occupies an area of approximately 46.89 square miles. It is the 4th most populous city in California and the 13th most populous in the whole country. The city is also ranked as the 5th most densely populated urban area in the US after the five New York City boroughs as of 2016. The city of San Francisco was the 7th with the highest income in the country of $110,418 per capita personal income. The city was founded 1776 and is one of the richest cities in California based on median household income which is $78,378. The population of San Francisco is 829,072 people with a land population density of 1,768.01 people per square mile. During the gold rush of 1849 in California, there was a rapid growth of population in the city making it one of the largest on the west coast at the time. It became a consolidated city-county in 1856, and in 1906 about three-quarters of the city was destroyed as a result of the earthquake which led to a fire breakout. However, the city of San Francisco was rebuilt almost immediately to host an international exposition some few years after the earthquake.

Ventura

The city of Ventura also serves as the county seat of Ventura County in California, and the region was inhabited for several thousands of years, and the earliest Europeans explorers encountered the Chumash or the Shisholop villages in the Pacific coast, who had exceptional navigation skills. Ventura is part of Los Angeles metropolitan area, and it is considered one of the richest cities in California based on household median income which stands at $77,335.

Population of Cities in California

The state of California has three cities with populations exceeding 1 million people, and 72 cities with populations varying from 100,000 to 1 million people. There are 300 cities with populations ranging from 10,000 and 100,000. The largest city in the state is Los Angeles with a population of slightly less than 4 million people. It is also the most populated city in California and the second most populous in the whole country.