What is the capital of the U.S. state of California?

The capital of the U.S. state of California is Sacramento. The city lies in Northern California at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers and serves as the seat of California’s state government.

Sacramento developed rapidly during the California Gold Rush. Its river location made it a major transportation and supply center for miners, and the settlement was laid out in 1848. Sacramento was incorporated in 1850, the same year California entered the Union as the 31st state. It became the permanent state capital in 1854 after California’s legislature moved the capital several times during the state’s early years.

The city’s name comes from the Spanish word for the Holy Eucharist. California’s most populous and globally famous cities, Los Angeles and San Diego, are not the capital. San Francisco also served as California’s capital briefly in the early statehood era, which helps explain why it is sometimes mistaken for Sacramento.