Cities in California by employed residents

Los Angeles, CA had the highest employed residents of 279 cities in 2019, at 1.98 million. Paradise, CA had the lowest, at 1,152. The median was 30,403. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest1,975,199Los Angeles, CA
Lowest1,152Paradise, CA
Median30,403279 cities

Top 40 cities, 2019

Los Angeles, CA: 1,975,199 personsLos Angeles, CA1,975,199San Diego, CA: 693,271 personsSan Diego, CA693,271San Francisco, CA: 527,993 personsSan Francisco, CA527,993San Jose, CA: 527,746 personsSan Jose, CA527,746Sacramento, CA: 246,281 personsSacramento, CA246,281Long Beach, CA: 239,363 personsLong Beach, CA239,363Oakland, CA: 228,774 personsOakland, CA228,774Fresno, CA: 226,126 personsFresno, CA226,126Anaheim, CA: 173,028 personsAnaheim, CA173,028Bakersfield, CA: 171,415 personsBakersfield, CA171,415Santa Ana, CA: 152,956 personsSanta Ana, CA152,956Irvine, CA: 151,518 personsIrvine, CA151,518Riverside, CA: 147,335 personsRiverside, CA147,335Stockton, CA: 129,942 personsStockton, CA129,942Chula Vista, CA: 124,469 personsChula Vista, CA124,469Fremont, CA: 117,446 personsFremont, CA117,446Santa Clarita, CA: 115,101 personsSanta Clarita, CA115,101Huntington Beach, CA: 103,754 personsHuntington Beach, CA103,754Oxnard, CA: 95,072 personsOxnard, CA95,072Glendale, CA: 94,885 personsGlendale, CA94,885Fontana, CA: 94,601 personsFontana, CA94,601San Bernardino, CA: 92,531 personsSan Bernardino, CA92,531Santa Rosa, CA: 91,763 personsSanta Rosa, CA91,763Modesto, CA: 91,062 personsModesto, CA91,062Moreno Valley, CA: 90,794 personsMoreno Valley, CA90,794Sunnyvale, CA: 86,846 personsSunnyvale, CA86,846Oceanside, CA: 84,743 personsOceanside, CA84,743Hayward, CA: 83,806 personsHayward, CA83,806Rancho Cucamonga, CA: 83,620 personsRancho Cucamonga, CA83,620Garden Grove, CA: 83,097 personsGarden Grove, CA83,097Ontario, CA: 81,760 personsOntario, CA81,760Elk Grove, CA: 79,496 personsElk Grove, CA79,496Salinas, CA: 76,956 personsSalinas, CA76,956Pasadena, CA: 76,086 personsPasadena, CA76,086Corona, CA: 75,825 personsCorona, CA75,825Torrance, CA: 72,982 personsTorrance, CA72,982Escondido, CA: 72,198 personsEscondido, CA72,198Orange, CA: 71,935 personsOrange, CA71,935Palmdale, CA: 71,659 personsPalmdale, CA71,659Pomona, CA: 71,306 personsPomona, CA71,306Los Angeles, CA: 1,975,199 personsLos Angeles, CA1,975,199San Diego, CA: 693,271 personsSan Diego, CA693,271San Francisco, CA: 527,993 personsSan Francisco, CA527,993San Jose, CA: 527,746 personsSan Jose, CA527,746Sacramento, CA: 246,281 personsSacramento, CA246,281Long Beach, CA: 239,363 personsLong Beach, CA239,363Oakland, CA: 228,774 personsOakland, CA228,774Fresno, CA: 226,126 personsFresno, CA226,126Anaheim, CA: 173,028 personsAnaheim, CA173,028Bakersfield, CA: 171,415 personsBakersfield, CA171,415Santa Ana, CA: 152,956 personsSanta Ana, CA152,956Irvine, CA: 151,518 personsIrvine, CA151,518Riverside, CA: 147,335 personsRiverside, CA147,335Stockton, CA: 129,942 personsStockton, CA129,942Chula Vista, CA: 124,469 personsChula Vista, CA124,469Fremont, CA: 117,446 personsFremont, CA117,446Santa Clarita, CA: 115,101 personsSanta Clarita, CA115,101Huntington Beach, CA: 103,754 personsHuntington Beach, CA103,754Oxnard, CA: 95,072 personsOxnard, CA95,072Glendale, CA: 94,885 personsGlendale, CA94,885Fontana, CA: 94,601 personsFontana, CA94,601San Bernardino, CA: 92,531 personsSan Bernardino, CA92,531Santa Rosa, CA: 91,763 personsSanta Rosa, CA91,763Modesto, CA: 91,062 personsModesto, CA91,062Moreno Valley, CA: 90,794 personsMoreno Valley, CA90,794Sunnyvale, CA: 86,846 personsSunnyvale, CA86,846Oceanside, CA: 84,743 personsOceanside, CA84,743Hayward, CA: 83,806 personsHayward, CA83,806Rancho Cucamonga, CA: 83,620 personsRancho Cucamonga, CA83,620Garden Grove, CA: 83,097 personsGarden Grove, CA83,097Ontario, CA: 81,760 personsOntario, CA81,760Elk Grove, CA: 79,496 personsElk Grove, CA79,496Salinas, CA: 76,956 personsSalinas, CA76,956Pasadena, CA: 76,086 personsPasadena, CA76,086Corona, CA: 75,825 personsCorona, CA75,825Torrance, CA: 72,982 personsTorrance, CA72,982Escondido, CA: 72,198 personsEscondido, CA72,198Orange, CA: 71,935 personsOrange, CA71,935Palmdale, CA: 71,659 personsPalmdale, CA71,659Pomona, CA: 71,306 personsPomona, CA71,306
persons. Source: BLS, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: employment (measure 05), annual average. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2019
persons
Change on 2018
1Los Angeles, CA1,975,199+1.4%
2San Diego, CA693,271+0.3%
3San Francisco, CA527,993+2.4%
4San Jose, CA527,746+0.3%
5Sacramento, CA246,281+1.2%
6Long Beach, CA239,363+0.5%
7Oakland, CA228,774+0.2%
8Fresno, CA226,126+1.1%
9Anaheim, CA173,028+0.5%
10Bakersfield, CA171,415+1.2%
11Santa Ana, CA152,956-0.3%
12Irvine, CA151,518+1.8%
13Riverside, CA147,335+1.4%
14Stockton, CA129,942+0.1%
15Chula Vista, CA124,469+1.1%
16Fremont, CA117,446-0%
17Santa Clarita, CA115,101+0.8%
18Huntington Beach, CA103,754-0.1%
19Oxnard, CA95,072+0.6%
20Glendale, CA94,885+0.8%
21Fontana, CA94,601+1.9%
22San Bernardino, CA92,531+1.1%
23Santa Rosa, CA91,763-1.1%
24Modesto, CA91,062+0.4%
25Moreno Valley, CA90,794+1.8%
26Sunnyvale, CA86,846+1%
27Oceanside, CA84,743+0.1%
28Hayward, CA83,806-0.1%
29Rancho Cucamonga, CA83,620+1.4%
30Garden Grove, CA83,097-0.2%
31Ontario, CA81,760+3%
32Elk Grove, CA79,496+1.3%
33Salinas, CA76,956-0.4%
34Pasadena, CA76,086+0.9%
35Corona, CA75,825+1.7%
36Torrance, CA72,982+0.4%
37Escondido, CA72,198+0.3%
38Orange, CA71,935-0.2%
39Palmdale, CA71,659+0.6%
40Pomona, CA71,306+0.7%
41Santa Clara, CA69,995+1%
42Roseville, CA69,391+2.4%
43Fullerton, CA69,182-0.3%
44Lancaster, CA67,313+0.7%
45Simi Valley, CA65,350+0.1%
46Costa Mesa, CA64,724+0.2%
47Concord, CA63,623-0.3%
48Berkeley, CA63,488+0.2%
49Thousand Oaks, CA61,927-0.3%
50Visalia, CA60,933+0.3%
51San Mateo, CA59,930+1.7%
52Daly City, CA59,770+1.7%
53Vallejo, CA59,679-0.5%
54Downey, CA57,553+0.4%
55Richmond, CA57,086-0.1%
56San Buenaventura (Ventura), CA55,218-1.3%
57Burbank, CA55,195+0.7%
58Antioch, CA54,9690%
59Fairfield, CA54,505-0.1%
60Inglewood, CA54,469+0.3%
61West Covina, CA53,966+0.4%
62Carlsbad, CA53,305+0.4%
63Clovis, CA52,770+2.6%
64Santa Monica, CA51,847+0.5%
65Chico, CA51,243+11%
66El Monte, CA50,375+0.7%
67Santa Maria, CA49,841+1.3%
68Norwalk, CA49,565+0.4%
69Temecula, CA48,710+1.1%
70Vista, CA48,194+0.1%
71Santa Barbara, CA47,619+0.7%
72Murrieta, CA47,471+2%
73Victorville, CA47,277+1.7%
74Mountain View, CA46,953+1.3%
75San Leandro, CA46,914-0.5%
76Jurupa Valley, CA46,550+2.2%
77Redwood City, CA46,090+2.8%
78Livermore, CA46,034+0.1%
79Carson, CA45,722+0.6%
80Mission Viejo, CA45,699-0.6%
81Rialto, CA45,321+1.5%
82El Cajon, CA45,308-0.1%
83Lake Forest, CA45,092+0.8%
84South Gate, CA44,652+0.3%
85Vacaville, CA44,620+0.3%
86San Marcos, CA44,588+1.4%
87Hawthorne, CA43,614+0.5%
88Compton, CA42,844+0.4%
89Buena Park, CA42,745-0.4%
90San Ramon, CA42,648+1%
91Lakewood, CA42,627+0.4%
92Newport Beach, CA42,142-0.3%
93Milpitas, CA42,108+2.2%
94Alhambra, CA42,099+0.5%
95Tracy, CA41,995+1.3%
96Napa, CA41,929-0.4%
97Chino, CA41,774+3.6%
98Whittier, CA41,687+0.4%
99Westminster, CA41,317-0.5%
100Citrus Heights, CA40,661+0.1%
101Tustin, CA40,623-0.4%
102Menifee, CA40,579+3.5%
103Alameda, CA39,414-0.5%
104Redding, CA39,167+1.7%
105Pleasanton, CA39,083+0.1%
106Upland, CA38,830+1.5%
107Indio, CA38,751+1.9%
108Bellflower, CA38,559+0.6%
109Redondo Beach, CA38,511+0.6%
110South San Francisco, CA38,164+2.4%
111Chino Hills, CA38,137+1.8%
112Hesperia, CA37,321+2.2%
113Folsom, CA36,455+2.6%
114Union City, CA36,252+0.1%
115Pittsburg, CA36,128+0.7%
116Dublin, CA35,900+2.5%
117Rancho Cordova, CA35,715+1.4%
118Manteca, CA34,339+2%
119Eastvale, CA34,085+1.7%
120Baldwin Park, CA33,960+0.6%
121Redlands, CA33,858+1.6%
122Santa Cruz, CA33,422+0.7%
123Perris, CA33,390+1.7%
124Laguna Niguel, CA33,0760%
125Palo Alto, CA33,010+0.3%
126Walnut Creek, CA32,861+0.1%
127Merced, CA32,477+2%
128Rocklin, CA32,360+2.8%
129Camarillo, CA32,246+1.5%
130Yorba Linda, CA32,2330%
131Davis, CA32,2320%
132Encinitas, CA31,9640%
133Lake Elsinore, CA31,941+1.6%
134La Habra, CA31,874-0.2%
135Hemet, CA31,157+1.1%
136Gardena, CA31,124+0.6%
137San Rafael, CA31,094-0.5%
138Turlock, CA30,843+0.3%
139Petaluma, CA30,555-1.2%
140La Mesa, CA30,403-0.2%
141San Clemente, CA30,378-0.3%
142Montebello, CA30,247+0.4%
143Pico Rivera, CA29,841+0.4%
144Yuba City, CA29,116+1.6%
145Brentwood, CA29,071+1.6%
146Aliso Viejo, CA29,000-0.1%
147Lynwood, CA28,901+0.6%
148Cupertino, CA28,730+0.2%
149Monterey Park, CA28,556+0.3%
150Lodi, CA28,189+0.8%
151Woodland, CA28,070+0.2%
152Gilroy, CA27,841+1%
153Santee, CA27,790+1%
154Diamond Bar, CA27,443+0.4%
155Covina, CA26,808+0.8%
156Rancho Santa Margarita, CA26,629-0.6%
156Tulare, CA26,629+1.1%
158Fountain Valley, CA26,609-0.5%
159National City, CA26,474-0.1%
160Madera, CA26,393+1.6%
161Apple Valley, CA26,234+1.6%
162Newark, CA26,207+2%
163West Sacramento, CA26,0720%
164Paramount, CA25,811+0.5%
165Azusa, CA25,709+1.2%
166Arcadia, CA25,600+0.7%
167Placentia, CA25,547-0.5%
168Huntington Park, CA25,269+0.4%
169San Luis Obispo, CA24,949+0.2%
170Novato, CA24,940-0.6%
171San Bruno, CA24,869+1.8%
172Glendora, CA24,848+0.9%
173Porterville, CA24,826-0.7%
174Rohnert Park, CA24,683-0.5%
175West Hollywood, CA24,625+0.3%
176Colton, CA24,278+1.6%
177Rosemead, CA24,201+0.6%
178Highland, CA24,186+1.6%
179Cypress, CA24,069+0.2%
180La Mirada, CA23,716+0.5%
181Cathedral City, CA23,476+1.6%
182Yucaipa, CA23,052+1.7%
183Brea, CA23,018+1%
184Campbell, CA22,980+0.9%
185Cerritos, CA22,968+0.7%
186Poway, CA22,768-0.3%
187Watsonville, CA22,384-0.2%
188Beaumont, CA22,105+4.6%
189Hanford, CA21,944+0.5%
190Culver City, CA21,774+1%
191Morgan Hill, CA21,759+2.2%
192Oakley, CA21,504+1.3%
193Pacifica, CA21,296+1.5%
194San Jacinto, CA20,899+2.7%
195Danville, CA20,609-0.2%
196Palm Desert, CA20,192+1.3%
197San Gabriel, CA19,977+0.4%
198Martinez, CA19,325-0.2%
199Ceres, CA19,315+0.4%
200Delano, CA19,305+0.5%
201Coachella, CA19,257+1.9%
202Monrovia, CA19,239+0.5%
203Lincoln, CA19,210+1%
204Hollister, CA19,046+3.8%
205Lompoc, CA18,844+1.1%
206Palm Springs, CA18,641+1.4%
207La Puente, CA18,331+0.7%
208Goleta, CA18,326+2.2%
209Rancho Palos Verdes, CA18,311+0.4%
210Moorpark, CA18,294-0.1%
211Stanton, CA18,078-0.3%
212Pleasant Hill, CA18,052-0.2%
213Claremont, CA18,024+0.7%
214Foster City, CA17,772+2.6%
215Menlo Park, CA17,637+1.6%
216San Juan Capistrano, CA17,599+0.1%
217Temple City, CA17,321+0.8%
218Burlingame, CA17,161+1.6%
219Lawndale, CA17,081+0.3%
220Dana Point, CA17,067-0.3%
221San Dimas, CA17,046+0.4%
222Bell Gardens, CA17,022+0.2%
223San Carlos, CA16,941+2.7%
224East Palo Alto, CA16,705+1.7%
225Los Banos, CA16,657+2.1%
226Seaside, CA16,516-0.2%
227Manhattan Beach, CA16,496+0.3%
228El Centro, CA16,326+0.3%
229Montclair, CA15,991+1.6%
230Laguna Hills, CA15,940-0.6%
231Beverly Hills, CA15,755+0.2%
232Los Gatos, CA15,361+0.3%
233Wildomar, CA15,338+1.6%
234Belmont, CA15,213+1.6%
235La Quinta, CA15,157+1.7%
236Atascadero, CA14,941-0.1%
237Monterey, CA14,882+0.2%
238South Pasadena, CA14,860+0.5%
239San Pablo, CA14,576-0.3%
240Bell, CA14,526+0.7%
241La Verne, CA14,326+0.6%
242Desert Hot Springs, CA14,264+1.1%
243El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles), CA14,251+0.4%
244Suisun City, CA14,149-0.5%
245Santa Paula, CA13,936-0.1%
246El Cerrito, CA13,918+0.4%
247Windsor, CA13,828-1.7%
248Saratoga, CA13,784+0.3%
249Los Altos, CA13,636+0.2%
250Hercules, CA13,472+0.3%

Showing the top 250 of 279. The Excel download has every row.

Other periods

About this ranking

Residents who did any work for pay or profit in the reference week, or were temporarily absent from a job, annual average.

More on how it is measured
  • People aged 16 and over by place of residence, from the Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
  • Active-duty military personnel and people living in institutions are excluded.

United States cities only for now. Counts people where they live, whatever the place of work, and someone with two jobs counts once. BLS estimates cities by splitting county estimates with Census Bureau employment and population data and unemployment insurance claims, so city figures are less precise than state ones. BLS publishes cities of 25,000 or more, and smaller cities in New England.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the cities are compared on one definition. 6 cities with data in other periods have no value for 2019 and are left out rather than filled from another source. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: employment (measure 05), annual average. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU15-19. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2026). Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: employment (measure 05), annual average (Cities in California by employed residents, 2019) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU15-19

MLA 9

Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: employment (measure 05), annual average, Cities in California by employed residents, 2019. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 30 Sept. 2026, https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU15-19. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employed-residents/california-cities?period=2019. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2026. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: employment (measure 05), annual average. Cities in California by employed residents, 2019. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU15-19. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employed-residents/california-cities?period=2019.

Harvard

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2026) Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: employment (measure 05), annual average, Cities in California by employed residents, 2019 [Dataset]. Available at: https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU15-19, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/employed-residents/california-cities?period=2019 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_cities_in_california_by_2019,
  author = {{U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics}},
  title = {{Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: employment (measure 05), annual average: Cities in California by employed residents, 2019}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU15-19},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employed-residents/california-cities?period=2019. Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: employment (measure 05), annual average. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU15-19. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
TI  - Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: employment (measure 05), annual average: Cities in California by employed residents, 2019
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/30
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU15-19
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/employed-residents/california-cities?period=2019
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employed-residents/california-cities?period=2019.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: employment (measure 05), annual average. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU15-19. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  - 
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Rank Cities in California by employed residents using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

Which city has the highest employed residents?

Los Angeles, CA, with 1.98 million in 2019, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which city has the lowest employed residents?

Paradise, CA, with 1,152 in 2019.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: employment (measure 05), annual average. Retrieved 2026-10-12. 6 cities have no value for 2019 and are not ranked.

Employed residents: other rankings

Cities in California: more rankings