California Counties

Placer County runs from the Sacramento suburbs all the way up to Lake Tahoe. Auburn is the county seat, a town with a Gold Rush vibe.

Plumas is up in the northern Sierra, and it’s all about forests and mountains. Quincy is the biggest town and it’s also the county seat.

Riverside County is massive. It stretches from the LA suburbs to the Arizona border. You’ve got Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley.

Sacramento County is all about the state capital. The city of Sacramento has that gold rush history mixed with government buildings.

San Benito is this little county tucked between the Central Valley and the coast. Hollister is the main town. Not the clothing brand though.

San Bernardino County is the largest county in the United States, stretching from the outskirts of Los Angeles to the Nevada border.

San Diego County is about as south as you can get in California. The city has great beaches, that world-famous zoo, and diverse terrain.

San Francisco County is tiny in size. It’s just the city. But what a city! It has those iconic hills, cable cars, and the Golden Gate Bridge.

San Joaquin County is in the Central Valley with Stockton as the main city. Farming is the key industry with lots of cherries and asparagus.

SLO County is on the Central Coast, halfway between LA and San Francisco. It’s not as crowded as Southern California, but has nice beaches.

San Mateo County is the peninsula south of San Francisco. The county seat, Redwood City, is at the heart of the action.

Santa Barbara County is on the coast northwest of LA. Up north, you’ve got places like Santa Maria with its famous barbecue.

Santa Clara County is the heart of Silicon Valley. San Jose is the biggest city, but there’s Cupertino (Apple HQ) and Mountain View (Google).

Santa Cruz County is on the coast, over the hill from Silicon Valley. The cities in Santa Cruz County have that funky beach town vibe.

Shasta County is up north, where the Central Valley meets the mountains. Mount Shasta is not actually in the county but you can see it here.