<Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> Released in 2005 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> Lists of United States state symbols </Td> </Tr> <P> California is a U.S. state in the Pacific Region of the United States . With 39.5 million residents, California is the most populous state in the United States and the third largest by area . The state capital is Sacramento . The Greater Los Angeles Area and the San Francisco Bay Area are the nation's second - and fifth-most populous urban regions, with 18.7 million and 8.8 million residents respectively . Los Angeles is California's most populous city, and the country's second-most populous, after New York City . California also has the nation's most populous county, Los Angeles County; its largest county by area, San Bernardino County; and its fifth most densely populated county, San Francisco . </P> <P> California's $2.8 trillion economy is larger than that of any other state . If it were a country, California would be the 5th largest economy in the world, and the 36th most populous as of 2017 . The Greater Los Angeles Area and the San Francisco Bay Area are the nation's second - and third - largest urban economies ($1.2 trillion and $821 billion respectively as of 2016), after the New York City metropolitan area . The San Francisco Bay Area PSA had the nation's highest GDP per capita in 2016 (~ $94,000), and is home to four of the world's ten largest companies by market capitalization and four of the world's ten richest people . </P>

Where is california located in the region of the united states