In 1804, it was included in Alta California province within the Viceroyalty of New Spain. European exploration in the 16th and 17th centuries led to the colonization of California by the Spanish Empire. Prior to European colonization, California was one of the most culturally and linguistically diverse areas in pre-Columbian North America, and the indigenous peoples of California constituted the highest Native American population density north of what is now Mexico. Slightly over 84 percent of the state's residents 25 or older hold a high school degree, the lowest high school education rate of all 50 states. The San Francisco Bay Area Combined Statistical Area had the nation's highest gross domestic product per capita ($106,757) among large primary statistical areas in 2018, and is home to five of the world's ten largest companies by market capitalization and four of the world's ten richest people. The Greater Los Angeles area and the San Francisco area are the nation's second- and fourth-largest urban economies ($1.0 trillion and $0.6 trillion respectively as of 2020 ). If California were a sovereign nation, it would rank as the world's fifth-largest economy as of 2022, behind India and ahead of the United Kingdom, as well as the 37th most populous. It is the largest sub-national economy in the world. Sacramento is the state's capital.Ĭalifornia's economy is the largest of any state within the United States, with a $3.6 trillion gross state product (GSP) as of 2022. Los Angeles County is the country's most populous county, and San Bernardino County is the nation's largest county by area. San Francisco is the second-most densely populated major city in the country. Los Angeles is the state's most populous city and the nation's second-most populous city. Greater Los Angeles has over 18.7 million residents and the San Francisco Bay Area has over 9.6 million residents.

The Greater Los Angeles and San Francisco Bay areas in California are the nation's second and fifth-most populous urban regions respectively. California borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and the Mexican state of Baja California to the south it has a coastline along the Pacific Ocean to the west. state by area, and the most populated subnational entity in North America. With over 38.9 million residents across a total area of approximately 163,696 square miles (423,970 km 2), it is the most populous U.S. California is a state in the Western United States.

California map with cities