Cities in California by employed residents

Los Angeles, CA had the highest employed residents of 281 cities in 2020, at 1.75 million. Paradise, CA had the lowest, at 1,179. The median was 27,562. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest1,754,256Los Angeles, CA
Lowest1,179Paradise, CA
Median27,562281 cities

Top 40 cities, 2020

Los Angeles, CA: 1,754,256 personsLos Angeles, CA1,754,256San Diego, CA: 633,589 personsSan Diego, CA633,589San Jose, CA: 488,894 personsSan Jose, CA488,894San Francisco, CA: 476,420 personsSan Francisco, CA476,420Sacramento, CA: 231,765 personsSacramento, CA231,765Fresno, CA: 213,014 personsFresno, CA213,014Long Beach, CA: 211,442 personsLong Beach, CA211,442Oakland, CA: 210,034 personsOakland, CA210,034Bakersfield, CA: 162,836 personsBakersfield, CA162,836Anaheim, CA: 156,979 personsAnaheim, CA156,979Irvine, CA: 139,520 personsIrvine, CA139,520Riverside, CA: 139,395 personsRiverside, CA139,395Santa Ana, CA: 139,360 personsSanta Ana, CA139,360Stockton, CA: 123,919 personsStockton, CA123,919Chula Vista, CA: 114,381 personsChula Vista, CA114,381Fremont, CA: 107,095 personsFremont, CA107,095Santa Clarita, CA: 101,814 personsSanta Clarita, CA101,814Huntington Beach, CA: 93,647 personsHuntington Beach, CA93,647Fontana, CA: 90,322 personsFontana, CA90,322Oxnard, CA: 87,823 personsOxnard, CA87,823San Bernardino, CA: 87,771 personsSan Bernardino, CA87,771Modesto, CA: 86,584 personsModesto, CA86,584Moreno Valley, CA: 86,182 personsMoreno Valley, CA86,182Glendale, CA: 83,706 personsGlendale, CA83,706Santa Rosa, CA: 82,784 personsSanta Rosa, CA82,784Sunnyvale, CA: 80,721 personsSunnyvale, CA80,721Rancho Cucamonga, CA: 79,244 personsRancho Cucamonga, CA79,244Ontario, CA: 78,130 personsOntario, CA78,130Oceanside, CA: 76,933 personsOceanside, CA76,933Hayward, CA: 76,147 personsHayward, CA76,147Elk Grove, CA: 75,241 personsElk Grove, CA75,241Garden Grove, CA: 75,221 personsGarden Grove, CA75,221Corona, CA: 72,098 personsCorona, CA72,098Salinas, CA: 70,568 personsSalinas, CA70,568Santa Clara, CA: 67,888 personsSanta Clara, CA67,888Pasadena, CA: 67,392 personsPasadena, CA67,392Roseville, CA: 66,122 personsRoseville, CA66,122Escondido, CA: 65,709 personsEscondido, CA65,709Orange, CA: 64,793 personsOrange, CA64,793Torrance, CA: 64,270 personsTorrance, CA64,270Los Angeles, CA: 1,754,256 personsLos Angeles, CA1,754,256San Diego, CA: 633,589 personsSan Diego, CA633,589San Jose, CA: 488,894 personsSan Jose, CA488,894San Francisco, CA: 476,420 personsSan Francisco, CA476,420Sacramento, CA: 231,765 personsSacramento, CA231,765Fresno, CA: 213,014 personsFresno, CA213,014Long Beach, CA: 211,442 personsLong Beach, CA211,442Oakland, CA: 210,034 personsOakland, CA210,034Bakersfield, CA: 162,836 personsBakersfield, CA162,836Anaheim, CA: 156,979 personsAnaheim, CA156,979Irvine, CA: 139,520 personsIrvine, CA139,520Riverside, CA: 139,395 personsRiverside, CA139,395Santa Ana, CA: 139,360 personsSanta Ana, CA139,360Stockton, CA: 123,919 personsStockton, CA123,919Chula Vista, CA: 114,381 personsChula Vista, CA114,381Fremont, CA: 107,095 personsFremont, CA107,095Santa Clarita, CA: 101,814 personsSanta Clarita, CA101,814Huntington Beach, CA: 93,647 personsHuntington Beach, CA93,647Fontana, CA: 90,322 personsFontana, CA90,322Oxnard, CA: 87,823 personsOxnard, CA87,823San Bernardino, CA: 87,771 personsSan Bernardino, CA87,771Modesto, CA: 86,584 personsModesto, CA86,584Moreno Valley, CA: 86,182 personsMoreno Valley, CA86,182Glendale, CA: 83,706 personsGlendale, CA83,706Santa Rosa, CA: 82,784 personsSanta Rosa, CA82,784Sunnyvale, CA: 80,721 personsSunnyvale, CA80,721Rancho Cucamonga, CA: 79,244 personsRancho Cucamonga, CA79,244Ontario, CA: 78,130 personsOntario, CA78,130Oceanside, CA: 76,933 personsOceanside, CA76,933Hayward, CA: 76,147 personsHayward, CA76,147Elk Grove, CA: 75,241 personsElk Grove, CA75,241Garden Grove, CA: 75,221 personsGarden Grove, CA75,221Corona, CA: 72,098 personsCorona, CA72,098Salinas, CA: 70,568 personsSalinas, CA70,568Santa Clara, CA: 67,888 personsSanta Clara, CA67,888Pasadena, CA: 67,392 personsPasadena, CA67,392Roseville, CA: 66,122 personsRoseville, CA66,122Escondido, CA: 65,709 personsEscondido, CA65,709Orange, CA: 64,793 personsOrange, CA64,793Torrance, CA: 64,270 personsTorrance, CA64,270
persons. Source: BLS, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: employment (measure 05), annual average. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2020
persons
Change on 2019
1Los Angeles, CA1,754,256-11.2%
2San Diego, CA633,589-8.6%
3San Jose, CA488,894-7.4%
4San Francisco, CA476,420-9.8%
5Sacramento, CA231,765-5.9%
6Fresno, CA213,014-5.8%
7Long Beach, CA211,442-11.7%
8Oakland, CA210,034-8.2%
9Bakersfield, CA162,836-5%
10Anaheim, CA156,979-9.3%
11Irvine, CA139,520-7.9%
12Riverside, CA139,395-5.4%
13Santa Ana, CA139,360-8.9%
14Stockton, CA123,919-4.6%
15Chula Vista, CA114,381-8.1%
16Fremont, CA107,095-8.8%
17Santa Clarita, CA101,814-11.5%
18Huntington Beach, CA93,647-9.7%
19Fontana, CA90,322-4.5%
20Oxnard, CA87,823-7.6%
21San Bernardino, CA87,771-5.1%
22Modesto, CA86,584-4.9%
23Moreno Valley, CA86,182-5.1%
24Glendale, CA83,706-11.8%
25Santa Rosa, CA82,784-9.8%
26Sunnyvale, CA80,721-7.1%
27Rancho Cucamonga, CA79,244-5.2%
28Ontario, CA78,130-4.4%
29Oceanside, CA76,933-9.2%
30Hayward, CA76,147-9.1%
31Elk Grove, CA75,241-5.4%
32Garden Grove, CA75,221-9.5%
33Corona, CA72,098-4.9%
34Salinas, CA70,568-8.3%
35Santa Clara, CA67,888-3%
36Pasadena, CA67,392-11.4%
37Roseville, CA66,122-4.7%
38Escondido, CA65,709-9%
39Orange, CA64,793-9.9%
40Torrance, CA64,270-11.9%
41Palmdale, CA63,184-11.8%
42Pomona, CA62,959-11.7%
43Fullerton, CA62,510-9.6%
44Simi Valley, CA60,273-7.8%
45Lancaster, CA59,638-11.4%
46Costa Mesa, CA58,469-9.7%
47Visalia, CA58,312-4.3%
48Concord, CA57,858-9.1%
49Berkeley, CA57,633-9.2%
50Thousand Oaks, CA56,957-8%
51Vallejo, CA54,501-8.7%
52San Mateo, CA54,458-9.1%
53Daly City, CA54,242-9.2%
54Richmond, CA52,093-8.7%
55San Buenaventura (Ventura), CA50,957-7.7%
56Downey, CA50,683-11.9%
57Clovis, CA50,642-4%
58Antioch, CA50,276-8.5%
59Fairfield, CA50,097-8.1%
60Carlsbad, CA49,138-7.8%
61Burbank, CA48,753-11.7%
62Inglewood, CA47,973-11.9%
63West Covina, CA47,536-11.9%
64Chico, CA46,690-8.9%
65Santa Maria, CA46,432-6.8%
66Temecula, CA46,044-5.5%
67Santa Monica, CA45,767-11.7%
68Victorville, CA45,224-4.3%
69Murrieta, CA45,189-4.8%
70Jurupa Valley, CA44,448-4.5%
71El Monte, CA44,418-11.8%
72Santa Barbara, CA44,213-7.2%
73Mountain View, CA44,005-6.3%
74Vista, CA43,989-8.7%
75Norwalk, CA43,674-11.9%
76Rialto, CA42,971-5.2%
77San Leandro, CA42,359-9.7%
78Redwood City, CA41,847-9.2%
79Livermore, CA41,806-9.2%
80Mission Viejo, CA41,194-9.9%
81El Cajon, CA41,137-9.2%
82Vacaville, CA41,084-7.9%
83Tracy, CA40,973-2.4%
84Lake Forest, CA40,894-9.3%
85San Marcos, CA40,742-8.6%
86Carson, CA40,370-11.7%
87Chino, CA39,818-4.7%
88South Gate, CA39,452-11.6%
89Milpitas, CA39,328-6.6%
90Menifee, CA39,220-3.3%
91San Ramon, CA39,216-8%
92Buena Park, CA38,554-9.8%
93Newport Beach, CA38,431-8.8%
94Hawthorne, CA38,425-11.9%
95Citrus Heights, CA37,969-6.6%
96Compton, CA37,737-11.9%
97Redding, CA37,707-3.7%
98Lakewood, CA37,552-11.9%
99Westminster, CA37,350-9.6%
100Alhambra, CA37,188-11.7%
101Napa, CA37,063-11.6%
102Indio, CA36,903-4.8%
103Tustin, CA36,836-9.3%
104Upland, CA36,776-5.3%
105Whittier, CA36,754-11.8%
106Chino Hills, CA36,141-5.2%
107Alameda, CA35,627-9.6%
108Hesperia, CA35,534-4.8%
109Pleasanton, CA35,387-9.5%
110Folsom, CA34,986-4%
111South San Francisco, CA34,745-9%
112Bellflower, CA34,046-11.7%
113Redondo Beach, CA33,949-11.8%
114Rancho Cordova, CA33,735-5.5%
115Manteca, CA33,300-3%
116Pittsburg, CA33,079-8.4%
117Dublin, CA32,986-8.1%
118Union City, CA32,760-9.6%
119Eastvale, CA32,584-4.4%
120Redlands, CA32,154-5%
121Merced, CA31,852-1.9%
122Perris, CA31,676-5.1%
123Palo Alto, CA30,676-7.1%
124Lake Elsinore, CA30,603-4.2%
125Rocklin, CA30,542-5.6%
126Santa Cruz, CA30,082-10%
127Davis, CA30,059-6.7%
128Walnut Creek, CA30,027-8.6%
129Laguna Niguel, CA29,959-9.4%
130Baldwin Park, CA29,927-11.9%
131Camarillo, CA29,887-7.3%
132Hemet, CA29,450-5.5%
133Turlock, CA29,276-5.1%
134Yorba Linda, CA29,264-9.2%
135Encinitas, CA29,102-9%
136La Habra, CA28,803-9.6%
137San Rafael, CA27,850-10.4%
138Yuba City, CA27,803-4.5%
139La Mesa, CA27,640-9.1%
140Petaluma, CA27,592-9.7%
141San Clemente, CA27,562-9.3%
142Gardena, CA27,467-11.7%
143Lodi, CA27,180-3.6%
144Brentwood, CA26,823-7.7%
145Montebello, CA26,644-11.9%
146Cupertino, CA26,600-7.4%
147Woodland, CA26,435-5.8%
148Pico Rivera, CA26,306-11.8%
149Aliso Viejo, CA26,240-9.5%
150Tulare, CA25,882-2.8%
151Gilroy, CA25,862-7.1%
152Lynwood, CA25,404-12.1%
153Santee, CA25,239-9.2%
154National City, CA25,166-4.9%
155Monterey Park, CA25,135-12%
156Madera, CA24,925-5.6%
157Apple Valley, CA24,894-5.1%
158West Sacramento, CA24,357-6.6%
159Diamond Bar, CA24,171-11.9%
160Fountain Valley, CA24,040-9.7%
161Newark, CA24,038-8.3%
162Rancho Santa Margarita, CA24,005-9.9%
163Covina, CA23,765-11.4%
164Porterville, CA23,699-4.5%
165Placentia, CA23,151-9.4%
166Colton, CA23,080-4.9%
167Highland, CA22,897-5.3%
168San Luis Obispo, CA22,853-8.4%
169Paramount, CA22,739-11.9%
170Azusa, CA22,687-11.8%
171Arcadia, CA22,635-11.6%
172San Bruno, CA22,537-9.4%
173Novato, CA22,442-10%
174Rohnert Park, CA22,440-9.1%
175Cathedral City, CA22,352-4.8%
176Huntington Park, CA22,253-11.9%
177Glendora, CA21,949-11.7%
178Yucaipa, CA21,859-5.2%
179Cypress, CA21,778-9.5%
180West Hollywood, CA21,714-11.8%
181Rosemead, CA21,369-11.7%
182Beaumont, CA21,364-3.4%
183Campbell, CA21,302-7.3%
184La Mirada, CA20,900-11.9%
185Brea, CA20,870-9.3%
186Hanford, CA20,728-5.5%
187Poway, CA20,656-9.3%
188Morgan Hill, CA20,529-5.7%
189San Jacinto, CA20,289-2.9%
190Watsonville, CA20,272-9.4%
191Cerritos, CA20,215-12%
192Oakley, CA19,840-7.7%
193Pacifica, CA19,277-9.5%
194Culver City, CA19,253-11.6%
195Palm Desert, CA19,090-5.5%
196Danville, CA18,818-8.7%
197Coachella, CA18,352-4.7%
198Ceres, CA18,299-5.3%
199Hollister, CA18,224-4.3%
200Lincoln, CA18,132-5.6%
201Delano, CA17,715-8.2%
202Palm Springs, CA17,689-5.1%
203San Gabriel, CA17,618-11.8%
204Martinez, CA17,444-9.7%
205Lompoc, CA17,384-7.7%
206Monrovia, CA17,299-10.1%
207Goleta, CA17,172-6.3%
208Moorpark, CA16,813-8.1%
209Pleasant Hill, CA16,449-8.9%
210Stanton, CA16,423-9.2%
211La Puente, CA16,176-11.8%
212Rancho Palos Verdes, CA16,126-11.9%
213Foster City, CA16,101-9.4%
214Menlo Park, CA15,968-9.5%
215Claremont, CA15,919-11.7%
216San Juan Capistrano, CA15,910-9.6%
217Los Banos, CA15,787-5.2%
218Burlingame, CA15,533-9.5%
219San Carlos, CA15,462-8.7%
220Dana Point, CA15,422-9.6%
221Seaside, CA15,330-7.2%
222Temple City, CA15,283-11.8%
223Montclair, CA15,269-4.5%
224El Centro, CA15,203-6.9%
225East Palo Alto, CA15,125-9.5%
226Lawndale, CA15,071-11.8%
227San Dimas, CA15,019-11.9%
228Bell Gardens, CA14,987-12%
229Manhattan Beach, CA14,505-12.1%
230Wildomar, CA14,503-5.4%
231La Quinta, CA14,421-4.9%
232Laguna Hills, CA14,376-9.8%
233Los Gatos, CA14,238-7.3%
234Beverly Hills, CA13,849-12.1%
235Belmont, CA13,786-9.4%
236Monterey, CA13,723-7.8%
237Atascadero, CA13,549-9.3%
238Desert Hot Springs, CA13,507-5.3%
239San Pablo, CA13,257-9%
240South Pasadena, CA13,087-11.9%
241El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles), CA12,988-8.9%
242Santa Paula, CA12,964-7%
243Suisun City, CA12,913-8.7%
244Bell, CA12,790-12%
244La Verne, CA12,790-10.7%
246Saratoga, CA12,760-7.4%
247El Cerrito, CA12,700-8.8%
248Los Altos, CA12,633-7.4%
249Windsor, CA12,446-10%
250Hercules, CA12,347-8.4%

Showing the top 250 of 281. 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. 4 cities with data in other periods have no value for 2020 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.CurrentU20-24. 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, 2020) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24

MLA 9

Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: employment (measure 05), annual average, Cities in California by employed residents, 2020. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 30 Sept. 2026, https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employed-residents/california-cities?period=2020. 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, 2020. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employed-residents/california-cities?period=2020.

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, 2020 [Dataset]. Available at: https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/employed-residents/california-cities?period=2020 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_cities_in_california_by_2020,
  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, 2020}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employed-residents/california-cities?period=2020. 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.CurrentU20-24. 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, 2020
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.CurrentU20-24
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/employed-residents/california-cities?period=2020
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employed-residents/california-cities?period=2020.
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.CurrentU20-24. 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 1.75 million in 2020, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which city has the lowest employed residents?

Paradise, CA, with 1,179 in 2020.

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. 4 cities have no value for 2020 and are not ranked.

Employed residents: other rankings

Cities in California: more rankings