The local economy of California and its counties, metro areas and cities, from official US government data, plus daily local gas prices for the state, its counties and metro areas.
Unemployment rate
5.1%
-0.4 ptsvs a year ago
Counties: lowest San Mateo County 4.0%, highest Imperial County 21.9%.
August 2026, seasonally adjusted, preliminary
Average weekly pay
$1,986
+2.7%vs a year ago
18,211,770 jobs at 1,990,701 business locations.
Q1 2026, all jobs
New homes permitted
111,538
+14.3%this year vs last year
Most in Los Angeles County 29,499, San Diego County 10,538.
Homes in the last 12 months, to August 2026
People moving in
-209,197
-6.8 per 1,000residents
406,844 moved in and 616,041 moved out. Most newcomers came from Texas.
Net people, 2022 to 2023, the newest year published
California gas price
$6.33
+$1.67vs a year ago
Counties: lowest Imperial County $6.04, highest Mono County $7.28. Counties and metro areas
Regular, per gallon, California, October 9, 2026
Newest data: -. Not seasonally adjusted: compare with the same month a year earlier. Click a row for the history of that area.
The state, its counties and metro areas, updated daily. A separate series from the weekly survey prices above.
Business locations, employees and payroll by industry, 2023. Click an industry for its US report.
Business locations
1.03M
+0.6%vs 2022
2023, places with paid employees
Employees
16.4M
+2.3%vs 2022
Largest sector: Health Care and Social Assistance (14.3%).
2023, mid-March
Annual payroll
$1.43T
Wages and salaries paid during the year.
2023, all industries
Average pay
$87,119
Highest sector: Information $232,014.
Per employee per year
Share of California's employees, 2023
| Industry | Employees | Average pay |
|---|---|---|
| Restaurants and Other Eating Places | 1,404,974 | $28,689 |
| Employment Services | 1,053,799 | $74,036 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals | 583,361 | $106,202 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises | 387,376 | $192,582 |
| Grocery Stores | 332,219 | $37,424 |
| Software Publishers | 300,096 | $245,608 |
| Computer Systems Design and Related Services | 299,029 | $167,821 |
| Building Equipment Contractors | 259,566 | $88,024 |
| Outpatient Care Centers | 256,442 | $100,525 |
| Traveler Accommodation | 253,803 | $49,314 |
| Services to Buildings and Dwellings | 252,209 | $44,403 |
| Offices of Physicians | 241,978 | $112,080 |
Most values are changed slightly to protect the privacy of single businesses; a few are withheld and shown as a range. Counties and metro areas have the same numbers in the area card above (Industries).
Cost, students and graduate earnings of the colleges in the state, from official public data.
The newest unemployment rate, pay, new home permits, moves and gas price for California, updated as new official numbers come out.
Unemployment for California is seasonally adjusted; for its counties, metro areas and cities it is not, so compare a month with the same month a year earlier. Pay covers all jobs that pay into unemployment insurance. Building permits count homes approved to be built, not homes sold. Moves count households by where they filed their tax returns in two years in a row. Daily gas prices are average pump prices for California, its counties and metro areas on the day shown. The weekly gas prices in the explorer come from a separate weekly survey that publishes a price for only some states, so a state without one shows the price of its region there; the two series are never combined.
The unemployment rate in California was 5.1% in August 2026 (seasonally adjusted, preliminary), compared with 5.5% a year earlier. 18,506,343 people were employed out of a labor force of 19,499,116. Among its counties, San Mateo County had the lowest rate (4.0%) and Imperial County the highest (21.9%, not seasonally adjusted).
Average weekly pay in California was $1,986 in Q1 2026, up 2.7% from a year earlier, across 18,211,770 jobs at 1,990,701 business locations.
Building permits were issued for 9,649 new homes in California in August 2026 (4,145 single-family and 5,262 in buildings with 5 or more units). From January to August the total was 75,156, up 14.3% from the same months last year, and 111,538 in the last 12 months. The most homes were permitted in Los Angeles County (29,499), San Diego County (10,538), Riverside County (7,421) over the last 12 months.
No, more people moved out than in. From 2022 to 2023, 406,844 people moved to California and 616,041 moved away, a net loss of 209,197 (-6.8 per 1,000 residents). Most newcomers came from Texas, New York, Washington, and most people who left went to Texas, Arizona, Nevada.
Regular gasoline in California averaged $6.33 per gallon on October 9, 2026, up $1.67 from a year earlier. Diesel averaged $8.36. Among its counties, Imperial County had the lowest regular price ($6.04) and Mono County the highest ($7.28). In the weekly survey, California averaged $6.23 in the week of October 5, 2026.
Health Care and Social Assistance (2,347,305 employees), Accommodation and Food Services (1,788,988 employees), Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services (1,738,165 employees) were the largest sectors in California in 2023. In all, 1,029,689 business locations employed 16,405,436 people at an average pay of $87,119 a year.