US Counties

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.

Sierra County is a tiny slice of the Sierra Nevada, tucked away in the northeast. It’s California’s second-least populous county.

Siskiyou is way up north, right on the Oregon border. Mount Shasta dominates everything. It’s massive and supposedly magical.

Solano County is where the Bay Area bleeds into the Central Valley. The population is about 450,000 people, with thriving communities.

Sonoma County is north of San Francisco, and it’s all about wine, food, and scenery. You’ve got towns like Healdsburg, Sonoma, and Santa Rosa.

Stanislaus County is right in the middle of the Central Valley and is where “American Graffiti” was set. Modesto is the biggest city.

Sutter County is this little slice of farm country in the Sacramento Valley. Yuba City is the main spot, which is across the river.

Tehama County sits in Northern California’s Sacramento Valley, a land of rolling hills, rivers, and agriculture. The county seat is Red Bluff.

Trinity County is way up in the mountains of Northwest California. There is no stoplight in the whole county. That is how rural it is.