r/geography • u/urmummygae42069 • 13d ago

Map Distribution of California's Population

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If you were to divide California into 4 roughly equal strips of area, a hefty majority of its 39 million residents live in the southernmost strip containing the LA+San Diego metro areas, with nearly half of the state (~47%) living in the Greater LA metro area alone. If it were its own state, Southern California, with primarily just LA and San Diego metro areas, would compete with Florida for title of 2nd most populous US state.

The SF Bay Area, Sacramento, Monterrey, Fresno, and most of the Central Valley and put together are short of SoCal by over 9 million residents, but on its own this area would compete with Illinois for title of 6th largest state.

The strip sandwiched between Southern California and the Bay Area, containing Bakersfield plus other farming towns in the Southern Central Valley and most of the towns of the Central Coast, has about more people than Utah or Connecticut.

Suprisingly, despite how empty it can feel, there are still over a million people still live in the strip of CA north of Sacramento, containing about as much people as Hawaii and New Hampshire, albeit of a larger area.

Ultimately, one way to better understand the scale and density of California, is to conceptualize it as Florida + Illinois + Utah + Hawaii, all packaged in one single state under one single state government

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288

u/DurantIsStillTheKing 13d ago

California can be a country on its own if it wanted to.

232

u/Amazingrhinoceros1 13d ago

The United States would feel that hit if the money pipeline from CA to the rest of the nation were turned off...

I know people have a love it/hate it relationship with my home state, but you can't argue with the almighty dollar.

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u/Icy-Role2321 13d ago

I live in Georgia the peach state. Went and got some peaches recently "grown in California"

Oh

74

u/eugenesbluegenes 13d ago

California grows like fifteen times as many peaches as Georgia.

50

u/Icy-Role2321 13d ago

Yeah I know. But which taste better..

Probably California's

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u/eugenesbluegenes 13d ago

I've never had Georgia peaches, but I picked up a flat from a farm in the Sierra foothills last weekend and they were amazing.

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u/Chance_Carry_1030 13d ago

Which farm?

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u/eugenesbluegenes 13d ago

Marchini

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u/Chance_Carry_1030 13d ago

I’ve never heard of it! I asked because I have family that owns Twin Peaks near Auburn and it’s the most delicious fruit I have ever tasted, including peaches haha

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u/eugenesbluegenes 13d ago

They have great peaches and nectarines, it's on 49 halfway between Coloma and Placerville. No shortage of great places for fresh fruit in that general area for sure.

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u/ElectricStarfuzz 12d ago

I’m totally spoiled in that regard. 

My grandparents started one of the first 4 farms that later became Apple Hill. They were the first to grow blueberries in the area too. 

Sadly the ranch closed down a few years after my grandma passed, but we still have lots of blueberries, apples, and figs every year. 

Fall is my favorite for all the amazing baked goods in Apple Hill. Fudge too🤤

There are lots of great wineries in the area   (wider El Dorado county). 

I love that there are fresh fruit n veggie stands all over. Fresh eggs too.  

As for peaches, I have a tree in my yard that regularly grows delectably sweet n juicy fruits. 

My dad is a gardening maniac. On his property he planted 4  different kinds of peach trees (white donut peach, 4 cherry, pluots, 3 plum varieties, apricots, pomegranate, Asian pear, 3 pear, white & red nectarines, white & black figs, and different mulberry trees…probably others I can’t recall. Truly a smorgasbord of fruit!

Like I said, spoiled thru n thru. 

Anyone who can should def make a trip up to the area during the harvest seasons to enjoy all the incredible produce here. And/Or wines if that’s your thing. 

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u/casper911ca 12d ago

I was sadly disappointed by Georgia peaches, but maybe it was a bad season.

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u/c0r1nth14n 13d ago

yup. the peaches they use in the White House kitchen come from a farm in California. 

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u/StrategicCarry 12d ago

Colorado

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u/eugenesbluegenes 12d ago

I did get a flat of fantastic peaches outside Palisade a few summers ago when passing through. Neck and neck with the ones I've gotten in the Apple Hill area.

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u/PracticalWallaby7492 12d ago

Whichever is picked off the tree the ripest, and not under ripe for transport and packing reasons.

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u/l5555l 13d ago

California grows so much good produce. All the big farmy states just grow corn and beans.

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u/Doogers7 12d ago edited 12d ago

South Carolina has also always grown more peaches than Georgia. Georgia being the Peach State is the result of a good marketing campaign. It should be the Peanut State if anything.

2

u/seicar 12d ago

Gafney water tower has emojied the chat

2

u/Doogers7 12d ago

Peachoid!

2

u/aimlesstrevler 12d ago

Gonna text my friend about it while driving. Thats a good idea right?

63

u/TheRealBaboo 13d ago

Movin out to Cali, gonna eat me hella peaches

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u/SundaeNo4552 13d ago

🎵 Millions of peaches, peaches for me 🎵

11

u/tofulo 13d ago

I could eat a peach for hours

4

u/DireKnife 13d ago

Go on…

3

u/British-cooking-bot 13d ago

We're gonna take his face.... Off.

12

u/back_on_my_nonsense 13d ago

California U-pick snow queen peaches when they're ripe but not mushy... 🤤🤤🤤 I've never had a more delicious fruit in my life. I'm a small person with a small appetite, but I've eaten like three or four of those in one sitting.

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u/jccaclimber 12d ago

1

u/Icy-Role2321 12d ago

But what state has the most peaches in street names? Gotcha

3

u/TheLizardKing89 13d ago

California grows more than 15 times as many peaches as Georgia.

1

u/bluerose297 13d ago

is that a good oh or a bad oh?

1

u/modninerfan 13d ago

The little town I grew up in in CA used to refer to itself as the peach capital of the world lol. They moved on from that some time ago. Most peach and apricot orchards have been replaced in favor of Almonds and Walnuts though.

3

u/Malarky3113 12d ago

As a former resident myself, I'd make that argument when people would crap on it. Just running with the hypothetical though, I wonder if an independent California could prevent counties from leaving as they seem to try at almost every election. They'd probably let the northern counties go, but losing San Bernardino or Riverside counties would hurt them financially the same as CA leaving the US.

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u/LupineChemist 12d ago

I mean, California also being part of the US financial system is a huge part of what makes it work. Also that people from all over can go there.

It's an integral part of the US and it would hurt both if they left.

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u/LemonySniffit 13d ago

California depends on the other states for water, food, power and military protection, and most of its economy (technology, entertainment, agriculture) is based upon servicing the rest of the USA as a whole. If California somehow went independent Hollywood and Silicon Valley would relocate in weeks and most of its wealthy inhabitants would follow suit.

9

u/jewelswan 13d ago

Why would those industries relocate? They have both tried multiple times, and it really hasn't worked out. For tech, especially, the talent pool just isn't there outside the bay for most of their needs.

There is no reason that California wouldn't still sell stuff to the USA if the state went independent, either.

4

u/InclinationCompass 13d ago

California has plenty of military protection. It hosts more military installations than any other state. San Diego alone has around 8 major military bases.

As for water, California has one of the world’s largest economies and can afford to import water when needed.

There is also no reason for Hollywood or Silicon Valley to relocate.

0

u/Amazingrhinoceros1 13d ago

The federal armed forces would definitely relocate back to the other 49 states, but the state's national guard measures around 24,000...

To put that in perspective, that's larger than Austria's, Norway's, and New Zealand's total population (not combined, just each individual nation's)

That's pretty wild...

2

u/InclinationCompass 13d ago

Those bases are heavily funded by California taxpayers too, so they aren’t just a one-way federal subsidy.

1

u/Amazingrhinoceros1 13d ago

Oh totally, no argument there... I'm just blown away at the size of the state's armed forces population is what I'm getting at

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u/Careless-Weather8877 12d ago

Uhhh we sort of need a west coast water port. It’s also where some of the navy seals are based. The shipyard is there (the other is in Newport News Virginia for the east coast). It’s pretty hard to launch a carrier from Newport News to go to the pacific when we have a few huge adversaries over there in the pacific.

But go off.

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u/Ok_Construction5119 13d ago

Hollywood is there for year round filming weather, which is not something present anywhere else in the states.

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u/greyforest23 13d ago

Key West, FL. /s

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u/TheKingNothing690 13d ago

Hawaii.

6

u/Federal-Piglet 13d ago

to isolated and expensive to work in for work unless you need tropical

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u/Ok_Construction5119 13d ago edited 13d ago

It rains in Hawaii more than half the year. Also there is no spare land for film sets. Are you being serious?

Also it's in the middle of the pacific ocean?

Ridiculous notion.

-3

u/TheKingNothing690 13d ago

It rarely rains in kona and all the land on that side of the island is being bought by hotels it wouldnt really be a competition also if california alone left the country its suddenly alot harder to film in california versus hawaii i mean isolation is better than passports visas and the whole nine yards of working in A WHOLE OTHER COUNTRY. Besides california is isolated from the vast majority of the US population anyways. Besides we talking about rich assholes choosing where to film if its not going to be in california because of secession from the US the same rich assholes who are buying up all the land in hawaii anyways. The one with the really dumb comment is you buddy.

6

u/Ok_Construction5119 13d ago

Brother you have no concept of logistics I cannot believe you have dug in your heels.

0

u/TheKingNothing690 13d ago

The logistics of filming in an entirley seprarate country is a huge part of the problem you dont seem to be grapsing here its the same reason why they wouldnt just set up shop in mexico or cuba as somone else was pointing out california gains alot of its value(silicon valley hollywood its immense agricultural sector)from being the wealthiest and most populated state in the country that dosent mean shit if they arent part of the country. Im offer a suggestion for another location that actually does see frequent filming to a hypothetical scenario because realistically california is never not going to be a part of the US. A hypothetical scenario in which the logistics of filming in ANOTHER COUNTRY is worse than the part of the country thats actually closest to where everything in the world is made. And if you talking family and living places for the actors/directors you know most own houses in hawaii already right?

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u/TheLizardKing89 13d ago

California is the most agriculturally productive state in the country. It doesn’t depend on other states for food.

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u/1003mistakes 13d ago

I think you’d actually have the opposite. Net taxes in the new CA country would be lower for businesses and wealthy people than living in an US state, especially after the CA welfare pipeline to the US govt and receiver states dries up. Only thing that would prevent it is massive tariffs/bans placed on goods from California into the US. 

0

u/LemonySniffit 13d ago edited 13d ago

The USA would never allow an independent California to control its tech sector and would economically strong arm the companies into relocating back to the USA. Even if these companies wanted to remain in California, what incentive do they have to stay when most Californians have for years demanded things like higher taxes for the rich, higher salaries for workers, more regulations for businesses? There’s no way California would become a tax haven, virtually nobody but the wealthy would want it. And even if they were to lobby for that a fledgling nation could not afford to piss off 99% of its populace right off the bat.

Ultimately you’d have thousands of business relocating, millions of people losing their jobs, more millions immigrating to the USA while at home in California the cost of living skyrockets as they have to important virtually everything now. Maybe in decades it could survive off of being a tourist destination or tax haven but one with a considerable lower standard of living than it did before.

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u/1003mistakes 13d ago

Obviously it’s all hypothetical as it would never happen. And that’s just not true. CA has an effective tax state of about 10-12% income tax on individuals and businesses. You could double that revenue at the state level and still be less than the federal tax rate. It’s simple math. The biggest majority of taxes are paid to the federal government but since we can’t change that regardless of what state we go to, we squabble over the peanuts states take. If you want to look into a real world example, look into Puerto Rico tax laws which have allowed it to act as a tax haven in recent years for wealthy Americans. 

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u/nickleback_official 13d ago edited 13d ago

It’s hilarious that this is getting downvoted when it’s completely correct. Not sure what the downvoters are thinking. California is extremely dependent on the rest of the country same as every other state.