Which fictional U.S. state is the main setting of Grand Theft Auto V?

The main setting of Grand Theft Auto V is the fictional U.S. state of San Andreas.

Released in 2013, Grand Theft Auto V reimagines San Andreas as a large Southern California-inspired state. Its central city is Los Santos, Rockstar's fictional version of Los Angeles, while the surrounding countryside includes Blaine County, desert, forests, mountains, and smaller settlements. The open world combines these regions into one continuous map, allowing players to travel between urban, rural, and wilderness environments.

San Andreas is easy to confuse with the game's other named locations. North Yankton is a separate fictional state that appears mainly during the opening prologue and one later mission, while Los Santos is a city within San Andreas rather than the state itself. Leonida is associated with the later Grand Theft Auto setting revealed for Grand Theft Auto VI, not GTA V. The name San Andreas also appeared in the 2004 game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, where it represented a broader state inspired by California and Nevada and contained three major cities. GTA V uses a more concentrated Southern California interpretation centered on Los Santos and Blaine County.