California Beach Cities Populations

California beach cities range from a population of nearly 4 million in Los Angeles to a mere 400 in Sand City. If you guessed that the largest cities get the most visitors, you would be mostly correct in that L.A. region offers the most hotels and attractions to accommodate travelers coming to see beaches. Add to the mix the fact that Southern California beaches have warm weather that's generally 10 to 25 degrees warmer than the rest of the state's beaches, and a population over 12 million residents in about a 50 mile drive radius, and you quickly can figure why the L.A.-Orange County-San Diego beaches outrank any place on the West Coast of the U.S.

If you are going for the crowds, California's beaches are most popular from March to October. Off-season attendance is sometimes sparse and ideal for those who don't like crowds. You can be amazed that hovering nearby on a busy freeway are hundreds of thousands of cars and millions of people, while a beach can be practically empty on a beautiful day in November. There's a lot to love about beaches and the biggest factors in determining crowd sizes combines ease of access with weather. If there's a warm, sandy beach within reach, people will go there first!

California Beach Cities Populations:

3-5 million
Los Angeles

1-2 million
San Diego

500,000 - 1 million
San Francisco

300,000 - 500,000
Oakland
Long Beach

150,000 - 300,000
Chula Vista
Oxnard
Huntington Beach
Oceanside

75,000 - 150,000
Torrance
Berkeley
Ventura
Carlsbad
Santa Monica
Santa Barbara
Newport Beach

25,000 - 75,000
Redondo Beach
South San Francisco
San Clemente
Santa Cruz
Encinitas
Watsonville 
San Luis Obispo
Lompoc
Rancho Palos Verdes
Pacifica
Manhattan Beach
Dana Point
Seaside
Goleta
Monterey
Eureka
Imperial Beach

10,000 - 25,000
Seal Beach
Coronado
Laguna Beach
Port Hueneme
Hermosa Beach
El Segundo
Pacific Grove
Palos Verdes Estates?
Grover Beach
Solana Beach
Malibu
Fortuna?
Half Moon Bay

1,000 - 10,000
Morro Bay
Capitola
Pismo Beach
Fort Bragg
Sausalito
Guadalupe
Del Mar
Carmel by the Sea
Ferndale

100-1,000
Point Arena
Sand City