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California ZIP Code Demographics

By the ZIP Code Demographics Editorial Team · Last updated: October 2026

Statewide, the median household income in California is $99,122 — 22.8% higher than the national median of $80,734 — and per-capita income is $49,513 versus $44,673 nationally. The median age is 37.9 years (national: 38.9), and 37.1% of adults age 25 and over hold a bachelor's degree or higher (national: 35.7%). Housing runs to a median home value of $734,700 and a median gross rent of $2,036, against national figures of $332,700 and $1,413.

Those state averages hide wide internal variation, which is exactly why this site works at ZIP level. In California, the profiled ZCTAs below range from 79,409 to 105,517 residents, and their median household incomes run from $53,302 to $139,642. A state figure is a useful benchmark; the ZIP-level profile is where the local story actually is. Each profile compares its ZCTA with these same state and national benchmarks so the contrast is explicit rather than implied.

The Largest Profiled ZIP Codes in California

Rankings use total population from the American Community Survey (ACS) 2020–2024 5-year estimates. A ZCTA is the Census Bureau's statistical approximation of a ZIP Code, built from census blocks; it is not an exact USPS delivery boundary. ZCTAs are assigned to the state containing the largest share of their land area in the Census Bureau's ZCTA-to-county relationship file, so a ZCTA near a state line appears under its main state even though a small part may cross into a neighbor.

How California Compares With the United States

On race and ethnicity, residents of California who identify as Hispanic or Latino make up 40.2% of the population, versus 19.3% nationally. The White-alone share is 39.7% (national: 61.0%), the Black or African American alone share is 5.4% (national: 12.2%), and the Asian-alone share is 15.5% (national: 6.0%). On work, 59.1% of California residents age 16 and over are employed, with an unemployment rate of 6.6% among the civilian labor force, versus 59.7% and 5.2% nationally. Because these are five-year averages for 2020–2024, they smooth the pandemic-era swing and describe the period as a whole.

To use this page well, start with the table: open the profile for any ZIP you care about, note its median income, home value and degree share, then come back here to see whether it sits above or below the state pattern. ZIP areas that beat the state on income but trail it on home value are often renter-heavy or newly built; areas with the reverse pattern are often older, owner-heavy communities. The profiles explain their own numbers in those terms, with the full demographic table on every page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Data: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 2020–2024 5-year estimates, retrieved October 2026. Source files and table numbers are listed on our methodology page; the underlying data is published at census.gov.