Whitest cities in California research summary. We analyzed California’s most recent Census data to determine the whitest cities in California based on the percentage of White residents.
81.3% White · #1 whitest in California
Located in
San Mateo County, California
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
81.2% White · #2 whitest in California
Located in
Marin County, California
Sausalito is a city in Marin County, California. Located 8 miles south-southeast of San Rafael, at an elevation of 13 feet, and is located 7km north of San Francisco.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
80.3% White · #3 whitest in California
Located in
Marin County, California
Fairfax is an incorporated town in Marin County, California, United States. Fairfax is located 3.25 miles west-northwest of San Rafael, at an elevation of 115 feet. The population is 7,441 at the 2010 census. Fairfax is the only town in America that holds a Green Party majority in the town council.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
80.2% White · #4 whitest in California
Located in
Nevada County, California
The city of Grass Valley is the largest city in the western region of Nevada County, California, United States. Situated at roughly 2,500 feet elevation in the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountain range, this historic northern Gold Country city is 57 miles by car from the state capitol in Sacramento, 64 miles from Sacramento International Airport, 88 miles west of Reno, Nevada, and 177 miles northeast of San Jose. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 12,860.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
80.1% White · #5 whitest in California
Located in
Marin County, California
Mill Valley is a city in Marin County, California, United States, located about 14 miles north of San Francisco via the Golden Gate Bridge. The population was 13,903 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
80.1% White · #6 whitest in California
Located in
Sonoma County, California
Sonoma is a city in Sonoma Valley, Sonoma County, California, United States, surrounding its historic town plaza, a remnant of the town’s Mexican colonial past. Today, Sonoma is a center of the state’s wine industry for the Sonoma Valley AVA Appellation, as well as the home of the Sonoma International Film Festival. Sonoma’s population was 10,648 as of the 2010 census, while the Sonoma urban area had a population of 32,678.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
79.2% White · #7 whitest in California
Located in
San Luis Obispo County, California
Pismo Beach is a city in San Luis Obispo County, in the Central Coast area of California, United States. The estimated population was 7,931 in 2014, up from 7,655 in the 2010 census. It is part of the Five Cities Area, a cluster of cities in that area of San Luis Obispo County. The “5 Cities” is actually only 3 cities; Grover Beach, Pismo Beach, and Arroyo Grande. Oceano is a Community Service District and Shell Beach is part of Pismo Beach. Pismo Beach’s motto is “Clam Capital of the World”.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
78.8% White · #8 whitest in California
Located in
Orange County, California
Laguna Beach is a seaside resort city located in southern Orange County, California, in the United States. It is known for a mild year-round climate, scenic coves, environmental preservation, and an artist community. The population in the 2010 census was 22,723.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
78.8% White · #9 whitest in California
Located in
Butte County, California
Paradise is an incorporated town in Butte County, California. It is located in the Sierra Nevada foothills above the northeastern Sacramento Valley.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
78.7% White · #10 whitest in California
Located in
Nevada County, California
Truckee is an incorporated town in Nevada County, California, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 16,180, reflecting an increase of 2,316 from the 13,864 counted in the 2000 Census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is California’s statewide median.
On the map
Where California’s White population is concentrated
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How we determined the whitest places in California for 2026
To rank the whitest places in California, we used Saturday Night Science to look at Census demographic data.
We had to look at the number of white people living in each city in California on a per capita basis. In other words, the percentage of white people living in each city in California.
We looked at table B03002: Hispanic OR LATINO ORIGIN BY RACE. Here are the category names as defined by the Census:
- Hispanic or Latino
- White alone*
- Black or African American alone*
- American Indian and Alaska Native alone*
- Asian alone*
- Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone*
- Some other race alone*
- Two or more races*
Our particular column of interest here was the number of people who identified as White alone.
We limited our analysis to places with a population greater than 5,000 people. That left us with 421 cities.
We then calculated the percentage of residents that are White. The percentages ranked from 81.3% to 0.3%.
Finally, we ranked each city based on the percentage of the White population, with a higher percentage being more White. Woodside took the distinction of being the most White, while Huron was the least White city.
We updated this article for 2026. This report represents our eleventh time ranking the whitest cities in California.
The full plate
Cities In California By White Population
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Population | White Population | % White |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Woodside | 5,126 | 4,170 | 81.3% |
| 2 | Sausalito | 7,141 | 5,797 | 81.2% |
| 3 | Fairfax | 7,516 | 6,039 | 80.3% |
| 4 | Grass Valley | 14,113 | 11,317 | 80.2% |
| 5 | Mill Valley | 14,012 | 11,224 | 80.1% |
| 6 | Sonoma | 10,670 | 8,542 | 80.1% |
| 7 | Pismo Beach | 8,014 | 6,345 | 79.2% |
| 8 | Laguna Beach | 22,710 | 17,905 | 78.8% |
| 9 | Paradise | 7,392 | 5,823 | 78.8% |
| 10 | Truckee | 17,066 | 13,427 | 78.7% |
| 11 | Malibu | 10,421 | 8,139 | 78.1% |
| 12 | Morro Bay | 10,692 | 8,305 | 77.7% |
| 13 | Rancho Mirage | 17,563 | 13,620 | 77.5% |
| 14 | Shasta Lake | 10,311 | 7,901 | 76.6% |
| 15 | Auburn | 13,768 | 10,440 | 75.8% |
| 16 | Tiburon | 9,012 | 6,828 | 75.8% |
| 17 | Newport Beach | 83,845 | 63,373 | 75.6% |
| 18 | Anderson | 11,255 | 8,392 | 74.6% |
| 19 | San Anselmo | 12,679 | 9,411 | 74.2% |
| 20 | Yreka | 7,820 | 5,769 | 73.8% |
| 21 | Encinitas | 61,480 | 45,039 | 73.3% |
| 22 | Larkspur | 12,854 | 9,415 | 73.2% |
| 23 | Westlake Village | 7,743 | 5,668 | 73.2% |
| 24 | Redding | 93,409 | 67,965 | 72.8% |
| 25 | Solana Beach | 12,823 | 9,246 | 72.1% |
| 26 | Dana Point | 32,790 | 23,609 | 72.0% |
| 27 | Lafayette | 25,285 | 18,159 | 71.8% |
| 28 | Loomis | 6,853 | 4,918 | 71.8% |
| 29 | San Clemente | 63,273 | 45,317 | 71.6% |
| 30 | Manhattan Beach | 34,210 | 24,317 | 71.1% |
| 31 | Pacific Grove | 14,951 | 10,585 | 70.8% |
| 32 | Arcata | 18,607 | 13,128 | 70.6% |
| 33 | Ojai | 7,577 | 5,340 | 70.5% |
| 34 | Corte Madera | 10,077 | 7,079 | 70.2% |
| 35 | Hermosa Beach | 19,063 | 13,368 | 70.1% |
| 36 | Calabasas | 22,669 | 15,834 | 69.8% |
| 37 | Canyon Lake | 11,119 | 7,731 | 69.5% |
| 38 | West Hollywood | 34,884 | 24,236 | 69.5% |
| 39 | Sebastopol | 7,445 | 5,164 | 69.4% |
| 40 | San Luis Obispo | 48,491 | 33,516 | 69.1% |
| 41 | Beverly Hills | 31,624 | 21,796 | 68.9% |
| 42 | Scotts Valley | 12,044 | 8,262 | 68.6% |
| 43 | Placerville | 10,762 | 7,369 | 68.5% |
| 44 | Agoura Hills | 19,721 | 13,459 | 68.2% |
| 45 | Coronado | 19,015 | 12,896 | 67.8% |
| 46 | Arroyo Grande | 18,372 | 12,440 | 67.7% |
| 47 | Laguna Woods | 17,289 | 11,658 | 67.4% |
| 48 | Cotati | 7,489 | 5,044 | 67.4% |
| 49 | Piedmont | 10,945 | 7,346 | 67.1% |
| 50 | Petaluma | 59,247 | 39,604 | 66.8% |
| 51 | Orinda | 19,514 | 13,040 | 66.8% |
| 52 | Atascadero | 29,712 | 19,656 | 66.2% |
| 53 | Seal Beach | 24,722 | 16,333 | 66.1% |
| 54 | Carlsbad | 114,373 | 75,181 | 65.7% |
| 55 | Citrus Heights | 86,995 | 57,059 | 65.6% |
| 56 | St. Helena | 5,318 | 3,487 | 65.6% |
| 57 | Escalon | 7,451 | 4,866 | 65.3% |
| 58 | Laguna Niguel | 64,139 | 41,693 | 65.0% |
| 59 | Big Bear Lake | 5,041 | 3,276 | 65.0% |
| 60 | Yucca Valley | 21,770 | 14,101 | 64.8% |
| 61 | Chico | 102,188 | 66,064 | 64.6% |
| 62 | Eureka | 26,010 | 16,680 | 64.1% |
| 63 | Palm Desert | 51,990 | 33,040 | 63.6% |
| 64 | Capitola | 9,689 | 6,154 | 63.5% |
| 65 | Ripon | 16,201 | 10,236 | 63.2% |
| 66 | Clayton | 10,937 | 6,887 | 63.0% |
| 67 | Santee | 59,332 | 37,341 | 62.9% |
| 68 | Glendale | 190,748 | 119,810 | 62.8% |
| 69 | Thousand Oaks | 125,205 | 77,998 | 62.3% |
| 70 | Lincoln | 52,956 | 32,935 | 62.2% |
| 71 | Los Gatos | 32,786 | 20,373 | 62.1% |
| 72 | Santa Monica | 91,169 | 56,633 | 62.1% |
| 73 | Danville | 43,401 | 26,949 | 62.1% |
| 74 | Atherton | 6,993 | 4,338 | 62.0% |
| 75 | Rio Vista | 10,102 | 6,254 | 61.9% |
| 76 | Mammoth Lakes | 7,214 | 4,463 | 61.9% |
| 77 | South Lake Tahoe | 21,269 | 13,121 | 61.7% |
| 78 | Rocklin | 73,327 | 45,130 | 61.5% |
| 79 | Palm Springs | 45,070 | 27,671 | 61.4% |
| 80 | Walnut Creek | 70,088 | 42,965 | 61.3% |
| 81 | Fortuna | 12,326 | 7,540 | 61.2% |
| 82 | Solvang | 6,034 | 3,688 | 61.1% |
| 83 | Ione | 9,156 | 5,579 | 60.9% |
| 84 | Ridgecrest | 28,225 | 17,180 | 60.9% |
| 85 | Villa Park | 5,748 | 3,498 | 60.9% |
| 86 | Monterey | 29,613 | 17,987 | 60.7% |
| 87 | Calimesa | 10,902 | 6,617 | 60.7% |
| 88 | Red Bluff | 14,549 | 8,821 | 60.6% |
| 89 | Roseville | 155,955 | 94,497 | 60.6% |
| 90 | Taft | 7,125 | 4,314 | 60.5% |
| 91 | Palos Verdes Estates | 12,925 | 7,724 | 59.8% |
| 92 | Santa Cruz | 61,607 | 36,745 | 59.6% |
| 93 | Benicia | 26,749 | 15,903 | 59.5% |
| 94 | Fort Bragg | 7,032 | 4,178 | 59.4% |
| 95 | Moraga | 16,769 | 9,927 | 59.2% |
| 96 | Mission Viejo | 92,151 | 54,463 | 59.1% |
| 97 | Huntington Beach | 195,240 | 115,273 | 59.0% |
| 98 | Martinez | 36,903 | 21,746 | 58.9% |
| 99 | Healdsburg | 11,243 | 6,584 | 58.6% |
| 100 | Windsor | 26,081 | 15,273 | 58.6% |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. 421 cities with more than 5,000 residents.
Summary
Summary: White Populations Across California
We measured the locations with the highest percentage of white people in California. According to the most recent data, this list provides accurate information on the whitest places in California.
The most White cities in California are Woodside, Sausalito, Fairfax, Grass Valley, Mill Valley, Sonoma, Pismo Beach, Laguna Beach, Paradise, and Truckee. Not sold on California? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
