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One landing page per service in each city or neighborhood you cover, so a customer searching in one town lands on a page written for that town.
California · SEO guide · 322 cities
One State, 322 Cities, and Search Works Differently in Each
A dentist in San Francisco and a roofer in Twentynine Palms both want page one of Google, yet their cities share very little. 74 of the 322 cities profiled here have a majority of renters. In 68, at least four in ten residents speak Spanish at home. Median household income runs from $45,863 to $250,000 or more, and the median home value from $173,600 to $2,000,000 or more.
We are GetPhound, and we do SEO for small businesses. Each California city on this site gets its own guide: public Census numbers, a competition score and local research, so you can size up the market before you hire anyone. Choose your city below, or read the statewide picture first.
- 322California cities, each with its own guide
- San FranciscoHighest competition score in the set
- 74Cities where most households rent
- $495/moStarting price of the RankGuarantee™ page engine
By region
How 12 California Regions Compare on the Numbers That Shape SEO
We sorted the cities into 12 regions by county. Each row shows the median city in that region, so a single giant or tiny place cannot skew it.
| Region | Cities | Median income | Median home value | Households renting | Spanish at home | Highest competition score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greater Los Angeles | 71 | $89,650 | $715,400 | 45.2% | 26.2% | Manhattan Beach |
| Inland Empire | 45 | $78,352 | $452,000 | 34.5% | 31.1% | Eastvale |
| Orange County | 31 | $117,461 | $850,200 | 39% | 12.9% | Aliso Viejo |
| East Bay | 29 | $125,880 | $960,200 | 35.6% | 10.9% | El Cerrito |
| South Bay and Peninsula | 29 | $152,199 | $1,508,900 | 43.7% | 10.8% | San Francisco |
| Sacramento Region | 25 | $85,069 | $476,400 | 40.2% | 9.6% | Rocklin |
| San Diego and Imperial | 23 | $88,715 | $647,100 | 45.7% | 28.6% | Solana Beach |
| Central Coast | 20 | $96,036 | $704,200 | 45.4% | 20.8% | Goleta |
| Fresno and the Southern Valley | 16 | $66,418 | $250,000 or more | 40.3% | 39.6% | Clovis |
| North Bay | 16 | $106,764 | $736,500 | 38.5% | 19.8% | San Rafael |
| Northern San Joaquin Valley | 12 | $76,164 | $400,500 | 42.3% | 29% | Tracy |
| North State and the North Coast | 5 | $62,934 | $348,900 | 49.6% | 8.2% | Chico |
Data: Census ACS 2018-2022 and the City Search Competition Index. Regions are our own county groupings. Methodology.
What changes from city to city
Four Differences That Reshape an SEO Plan
Renting. 74 cities have a renter majority, led by Marina del Rey (93%), West Hollywood (80.7%), Bell Gardens (80.4%), Huntington Park (75.7%). Newer residents, many of them renters, are still choosing their local providers, so a clear Google Business Profile and visible reviews carry extra weight.
Housing costs. The median home value goes from $173,600 in Barstow to $2,000,000 or more in Newport Beach. That gap changes what one customer is worth to a contractor, an agent or an attorney, and so how much visibility is worth buying.
Commutes and remote work. In 69 cities at least one worker in five works from home (highest: Marina del Rey (41.6%), Lafayette (37.6%), Malibu (35.7%)), while in 26 cities at least 35% of workers travel 45 minutes or more. Daytime searches come from the first group; evening and weekend searches from the second.
Language. In 68 cities at least 40% of residents speak Spanish at home, led by Calexico (93.4%), Maywood (91.1%), Bell Gardens (90.1%), Huntington Park (89.6%). Spanish-language pages are a project of their own, and they only pay off when someone can answer the phone in Spanish.
The competition map
Where the Field Is Crowded and Where There Is Room
Every city gets a City Search Competition Index from 0 to 100, built from county-level competition, county business density, the city's income and its population density. A high score is not a verdict on the market. It says that more rivals are chasing the same searches, which usually calls for deeper pages and a stronger map listing.
Highest scores
- San Francisco (score 88)
- Foster City (score 86.1)
- San Mateo (score 84)
- Aliso Viejo (score 83.1)
- Burlingame (score 82.8)
- San Carlos (score 82.1)
- Daly City (score 82)
- San Bruno (score 81.6)
Lowest scores
- Twentynine Palms (score 4.6)
- Barstow (score 5.2)
- Shafter (score 5.4)
- Adelanto (score 6.8)
- Apple Valley (score 7)
- Wasco (score 7.9)
- Big Bear Lake (score 9.1)
- Victorville (score 9.5)
Every city is ranked on the full ranking page.
Size of place
Big Cities Are the Exception in This Guide
37 cities have 150,000 residents or more, and 61 have fewer than 30,000. A small city can still carry a high score because part of it comes from the county: Belmont, with 27,820 residents, scores 81.5, the highest of the cities under 30,000. 218 of the 322 cities also have a 2023 population estimate below their 2020 base, which matters for anyone counting on new arrivals.
Inside a plan
What We Build for a California Business
Profile and citation upkeep
Listing setup and tuning, consistent citations, steady posts, review requests and replies, and tracking of where you show up on the map.
Preparing for AI search
We organize your pages and business details so tools such as ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews can find clear facts. Nobody can promise a mention.
Reporting and one contact
Search Console and Analytics reports, a named account manager and a plain conversation about what comes next.
All cities
Find Your California City (322 Guides)
Browse all 322 cities by county
Alameda County
14
Contra Costa County
15
El Dorado County
3
Humboldt County
1
Kern County
6
Los Angeles County
71
- Los Angeles
- Long Beach
- Santa Clarita
- Glendale
- Lancaster
- Palmdale
- Pomona
- Torrance
- Pasadena
- East Los Angeles
- Downey
- El Monte
- West Covina
- Inglewood
- Burbank
- Norwalk
- Compton
- Carson
- South Gate
- Santa Monica
- Hawthorne
- Whittier
- Alhambra
- Lakewood
- Bellflower
- Baldwin Park
- Redondo Beach
- Lynwood
- Montebello
- Pico Rivera
- Monterey Park
- Gardena
- Arcadia
- Hacienda Heights
- Huntington Park
- Diamond Bar
- Paramount
- Glendora
- Rosemead
- Covina
- Azusa
- Cerritos
- La Mirada
- Rowland Heights
- Altadena
- Rancho Palos Verdes
- Culver City
- Bell Gardens
- San Gabriel
- La Puente
- Monrovia
- Claremont
- Temple City
- West Hollywood
- Manhattan Beach
- San Dimas
- Bell
- Beverly Hills
- Lawndale
- La Verne
- Walnut
- South Pasadena
- Maywood
- Calabasas
- Agoura Hills
- Santa Fe Springs
- El Segundo
- Commerce
- Malibu
- Marina del Rey
- Westlake Village
Madera County
1
Marin County
2
Mendocino County
1
Mono County
1
Napa County
3
Nevada County
2
Orange County
31
- Anaheim
- Santa Ana
- Irvine
- Huntington Beach
- Garden Grove
- Fullerton
- Orange
- Costa Mesa
- Mission Viejo
- Westminster
- Lake Forest
- Newport Beach
- Buena Park
- Tustin
- Yorba Linda
- Laguna Niguel
- San Clemente
- La Habra
- Fountain Valley
- Aliso Viejo
- Placentia
- Cypress
- Rancho Santa Margarita
- Brea
- Stanton
- San Juan Capistrano
- Dana Point
- Laguna Hills
- North Tustin
- Seal Beach
- Laguna Beach
Riverside County
24
Sacramento County
12
San Benito County
1
San Bernardino County
21
San Diego County
20
San Francisco County
1
San Luis Obispo County
3
San Mateo County
13
Santa Barbara County
6
Santa Clara County
13
Santa Cruz County
2
Shasta County
1
Solano County
5
Sonoma County
6
Sutter County
1
Tulare County
3
Yolo County
3
Pricing
SEO Plans, Priced by the Month
Fees are charged monthly and you can leave at any time. Your first month includes the research, the site audit and a written six-month plan. Schedule time with our CEO to pick a plan.
Questions
California SEO: What People Ask Us
Why does every California city get its own page?
Customers search by place, and the places differ. A city page lets us show the numbers for that market, name its real neighborhoods and employers, and explain how a plan would work there, so you can judge our grasp of your market before you call.
Does a big city cost more than a small one?
Not by itself. Fees depend on the plan you pick, not on the size of your city. What changes from place to place is how much work a plan has to do to compete.
Can one plan cover several cities?
Yes. The landing pages in a plan can be spread across the cities and services you serve, and each city page on this site shows its neighbors so you can plan the spread.
How long does SEO take in California?
It builds gradually, and no honest provider can name a date. A crowded city generally takes longer than a quiet one. We report each month so you can watch movement before it turns into calls.
Is there a contract?
No. Plans are month to month and you can stop when you choose.
Do you run Google Ads too?
Yes, along with Bing Ads and Meta Ads (Facebook and Instagram), for a separate flat monthly fee. Our California Google Ads guide covers the paid side city by city.
Next step
Which California Cities Do You Serve?
Send us your services and your cities, and we will show you what an SEO plan would look like for each one, with real numbers behind it. Call 610-825-4363 or email hello@getphound.com.