These Are The 10 Most Successful Cities In California

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What is success? Is it the amount of money you have in your bank account, at any given point? Is it that feeling you get after delivering a killer presentation, or even a pretty decent bar joke?

Or is it something biggerâsomething wholly unnamable, undefinable, immeasurable, and totally subjective?

Probably so.

But here at Zippia, we like things that we can neatly measure and then expound upon. So yes, with the Power of Math, we have determined the unarguable, totally objective 10 most successful cities in California. And here they are:

If you are trying to argue already with our unarguable list, keep reading. Thereâs a method to this madness.

For more CA reading, check out:

How We Determined The Most Successful Cities In California

The first thing that comes to most capitalist minds in terms of success isâmoney. After all, rich people must be successful, right?

Meh. Maybe. But we think thereâs a bit more that goes into it than that. So we looked at this set of criteria from the 2010-2014 American Community Survey:

1. Palos Verdes Estates

Source: Wikipedia

Population: 13,568Median Income: $171,328
Poverty Level: 3.4%
Unemployment Rate: 2.1%

2. Orinda

Source: Wikipedia

Population: 18,390Median Income: $166,866
Poverty Level: 1.4%
Unemployment Rate: 4.9%

3. Mill Valley

Population: 14,178Median Income: $132,192
Poverty Level: 2.7%
Unemployment Rate: 4.1%

4. Woodside

Population: 5,427Median Income: $206,528
Poverty Level: 4.0%
Unemployment Rate: 3.4%

5. La Canada Flintridge

Population: 20,477Median Income: $151,786
Poverty Level: 2.0%
Unemployment Rate: 5.7%

6. Los Altos

Population: 29,762Median Income: $157,500
Poverty Level: 2.8%
Unemployment Rate: 5.5%

7. Rolling Hills Estates

Population: 8,184Median Income: $136,477
Poverty Level: 4.1%
Unemployment Rate: 3.7%

8. Manhattan Beach

Source: Wikipedia

Population: 35,534Median Income: $142,071
Poverty Level: 3.6%
Unemployment Rate: 5.1%

9. Hillsborough

Population 2014: 11,148 Median Income: $250,001
Poverty Level: 3.5%
Unemployment Rate: 5.8%

10. Saratoga

Population: 30,627Median Income: $167,917
Poverty Level: 3.2%
Unemployment Rate: 6.3%

Measuring Success

If youâre still looking at this post thinking, âSurely, such superficial methods canât possibly measure a city, or rather, the individuals that make up that cityâs success!â well, youâre probably right.

But we like to measure things, and when it comes to success, we feel pretty successful in our approach. Congrats to Palos Verdes Estates and our winners. And for those who didnât make the cut, well, better luck next year.

Detailed List Of The Most Successful Cities In California

Rank	City	Median Income	Poverty Rate	Unemployment Rate
1	Palos Verdes Estates	$171,328	3.4%	2.1%
2	Orinda	$166,866	1.4%	4.9%
3	Mill Valley	$132,192	2.7%	4.1%
4	Woodside	$206,528	4.0%	3.4%
5	La Ca	$151,786	2.0%	5.7%
6	Los Altos	$157,500	2.8%	5.5%
7	Rolling Hills Estates	$136,477	4.1%	3.7%
8	Manhattan Beach	$142,071	3.6%	5.1%
9	Hillsborough	$250,001	3.5%	5.8%
10	Saratoga	$167,917	3.2%	6.3%
11	Los Altos Hills	$224,271	5.4%	4.8%
12	Corte Madera	$113,279	3.8%	4.5%
13	La Habra Heights	$111,250	3.9%	3.4%
14	Rancho Palos Verdes	$120,697	4.3%	4.7%
15	Rancho Santa Margarita	$104,952	2.8%	5.0%
16	Dublin	$114,699	3.5%	5.3%
17	Danville	$140,616	3.6%	6.4%
18	San Ramon	$129,062	3.6%	6.0%
19	Los Gatos	$122,860	4.6%	5.6%
20	Atherton	$250,001	4.7%	6.7%
21	Foster City	$114,651	3.5%	6.6%
22	Piedmont	$212,222	7.3%	4.6%
23	Palo Alto	$126,771	5.4%	5.7%
24	Pleasanton	$123,608	3.8%	7.1%
25	Hermosa Beach	$105,029	5.4%	4.8%
26	Tiburon	$130,661	3.9%	7.2%
27	Lafayette	$138,073	6.3%	5.9%
28	San Carlos	$125,747	4.3%	7.5%
29	Cupertino	$134,872	4.2%	7.9%
30	Yorba Linda	$115,994	2.8%	8.0%
31	Hercules	$100,267	6.2%	5.7%
32	Half Moon Bay	$103,239	1.8%	7.7%
33	Menlo Park	$115,650	7.1%	5.9%
34	Redondo Beach	$103,064	5.3%	6.9%
35	Aliso Viejo	$102,325	4.7%	7.4%
36	Moraga	$132,651	4.7%	8.1%
37	Scotts Valley	$102,927	4.9%	7.3%
38	Millbrae	$91,846	4.8%	6.8%
39	Belmont	$106,287	5.6%	7.2%
40	Villa Park	$150,864	1.6%	8.9%
41	Pacifica	$96,875	5.5%	6.6%
42	Livermore	$99,683	5.8%	6.7%
43	San Marino	$119,300	8.5%	5.6%
44	Loomis	$82,813	3.1%	7.1%
45	Burlingame	$90,890	6.9%	5.0%
46	Poway	$96,315	5.8%	6.8%
47	Cerritos	$91,487	3.9%	7.5%
48	Coronado	$90,876	6.8%	5.7%
49	Lake Forest	$92,781	6.8%	6.4%
50	Campbell	$91,269	7.0%	6.1%
51	Folsom	$100,163	4.3%	8.1%
52	Fremont	$103,591	6.0%	7.6%
53	Sierra Madre	$90,780	7.7%	5.1%
54	Calabasas	$117,176	8.2%	6.9%
55	Clayton	$131,136	3.5%	9.3%
56	Cypress	$83,819	6.6%	5.7%
57	Mission Viejo	$98,157	5.2%	7.7%
58	Westlake Village	$115,550	4.9%	8.6%
59	Walnut	$100,934	6.5%	7.5%
60	Agoura Hills	$107,268	5.0%	8.3%
61	El Segundo	$84,004	7.2%	6.3%
62	Mountain View	$100,028	7.6%	7.2%
63	Moorpark	$99,353	6.5%	7.6%
64	Laguna Beach	$97,881	7.6%	7.1%
65	Camarillo	$87,120	5.0%	7.7%
66	Newport Beach	$107,991	8.8%	7.2%
67	Redwood City	$81,955	7.3%	6.6%
68	Newark	$86,521	6.7%	7.4%
69	San Mateo	$90,087	7.3%	7.4%
70	Walnut Creek	$80,399	6.5%	7.1%
71	Sausalito	$111,702	5.7%	9.0%
72	Diamond Bar	$90,901	6.3%	8.0%
73	Laguna Niguel	$98,957	6.7%	8.1%
74	Fairfax	$93,354	10.1%	5.1%
75	Benicia	$89,094	5.8%	8.1%
76	Laguna Hills	$91,460	5.5%	8.5%
77	Sunnyvale	$103,257	8.1%	7.8%
78	Simi Valley	$89,595	6.0%	8.2%
79	San Bruno	$81,420	5.7%	7.8%
80	San Anselmo	$100,681	7.8%	8.0%
81	Windsor	$81,442	4.3%	8.7%
82	San Clemente	$91,749	8.8%	7.5%
83	Martinez	$85,736	6.1%	8.5%
84	Milpitas	$99,072	6.8%	8.7%
85	Santa Clara	$93,840	9.1%	7.6%
86	Arcadia	$80,147	9.2%	6.3%
87	Brentwood	$88,697	6.0%	8.8%
88	Larkspur	$82,568	4.5%	9.1%
89	South San Francisco	$78,101	6.3%	7.9%
90	South Pasadena	$80,479	8.5%	7.3%
91	La Mirada	$81,178	6.4%	8.4%
92	Torrance	$78,286	6.5%	8.1%
93	Fountain Valley	$82,532	7.1%	8.3%
94	Goleta	$75,766	9.3%	6.0%
95	Los Alamitos	$82,258	7.4%	8.2%
96	Solana Beach	$90,579	7.0%	9.1%
97	Encinitas	$92,564	9.8%	7.7%
98	Sonoma	$66,951	5.7%	7.7%
99	Eastvale	$109,783	4.6%	11.5%
100	Novato	$76,609	8.7%	7.4%

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Author

Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.

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