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CACalifornia rankings

Towns with the most conserved land in California

Ranked by the share of the town's area that is permanently protected: town forests, state and federal land, land-trust preserves and conservation easements (USGS PAD-US). 65 towns with 2,500+ residents.

U.S. Census ACS 2020–2024 5-year

Map of Kings Beach 1 Kings Beach 60.5% Conserved acres 1,146 Big Bear City 2 Big Bear City 60.2% Conserved acres 12,276 Palm Springs 3 Palm Springs 31.7% Conserved acres 19,102
#TownConserved landConserved acresTrails
1 Map of Kings Beach Kings Beach2,736 people 60.5% 1,146 20.3 mi
2 Big Bear City Big Bear City11,431 people 60.2% 12,276 124.7 mi
3 Palm Springs Palm Springs45,070 people 31.7% 19,102 126.7 mi
4 Rancho Mirage Rancho Mirage17,563 people 30.6% 5,012 31.2 mi
5 Rancho Santa Margarita Rancho Santa Margarita46,990 people 30.1% 2,480 41.8 mi
6 Map of Emeryville Emeryville13,081 people 24% 342 1.4 mi
7 Richmond Richmond115,505 people 19.8% 6,622 66.8 mi
8 La Habra Heights La Habra Heights5,478 people 19.5% 767 8.4 mi
9 Map of Albany Albany19,414 people 18.1% 632 6.6 mi
10 Folsom Folsom83,916 people 16.4% 3,145 37.8 mi
11 Rolling Hills Estates Rolling Hills Estates8,131 people 15.5% 358 16.7 mi
12 Orinda Orinda19,514 people 15.1% 1,235 18.1 mi
13 Oceanside Oceanside172,242 people 15% 4,017 41.8 mi
14 Map of Highgrove Highgrove8,366 people 14.5% 296 3.6 mi
15 Map of Los Angeles Los Angeles3,857,263 people 14.1% 45,295 701.7 mi
16 Santa Clarita Santa Clarita230,221 people 13.8% 6,457 184.8 mi
17 Plumas Lake Plumas Lake9,418 people 13.1% 1,019 21.0 mi
18 Map of Vacaville Vacaville102,596 people 13% 2,486 49.6 mi
19 Scotts Valley Scotts Valley12,044 people 12.6% 369 10.4 mi
20 Santa Rosa Santa Rosa177,090 people 11.3% 3,068 68.6 mi
21 Map of McKinleyville McKinleyville17,113 people 10.7% 1,442 23.0 mi
22 Oakland Oakland439,418 people 10.5% 5,230 104.3 mi
23 Mountain View Mountain View83,732 people 9.4% 735 17.2 mi
24 University of California-Davis8,696 people 9.2% 101 7.9 mi
25 Jurupa Valley Jurupa Valley107,011 people 9% 2,513 93.1 mi
26 Berkeley Berkeley120,257 people 8.4% 945 16.7 mi
27 Palos Verdes Estates Palos Verdes Estates12,925 people 7% 785 20.3 mi
28 Pico Rivera Pico Rivera60,272 people 6.7% 382 6.7 mi
29 Map of Suisun City Suisun City29,286 people 6.7% 174 2.7 mi
30 Pollock Pines Pollock Pines6,212 people 6.2% 340 1.0 mi
31 Map of Blythe Blythe17,396 people 5.9% 1,018 10.3 mi
32 Culver City Culver City39,931 people 5.8% 188 5.3 mi
33 Big Bear Lake Big Bear Lake5,041 people 5.3% 218 6.4 mi
34 Map of Brentwood Brentwood65,208 people 4.9% 461 19.7 mi
35 Oceano Oceano7,128 people 4.4% 44 0.3 mi
36 Fontana Fontana214,169 people 4.3% 1,198 36.5 mi
37 Beverly Hills Beverly Hills31,624 people 4% 146 4.5 mi
38 La Puente La Puente37,142 people 3.9% 86 0.2 mi
39 Oroville Oroville19,752 people 3.8% 334 10.2 mi
40 Kensington Kensington5,179 people 3.7% 23 0.8 mi
41 Map of South Gate South Gate91,483 people 3.4% 158 2.9 mi
42 Pismo Beach Pismo Beach8,014 people 3.2% 269 7.9 mi
43 Map of Santa Maria Santa Maria110,462 people 2.4% 359 11.2 mi
44 Tracy Tracy96,966 people 2.3% 390 10.9 mi
45 Map of South Whittier South Whittier55,650 people 2.2% 75 1.7 mi
46 Map of Nice Nice2,569 people 2.2% 24 1.0 mi
47 Riverbank Riverbank25,166 people 2.1% 63 0.9 mi
48 Cameron Park Cameron Park18,315 people 1.9% 139 13.4 mi
49 San Joaquin San Joaquin3,708 people 1.9% 14 0.6 mi
50 Map of Firebaugh Firebaugh8,392 people 1.6% 37 1.4 mi
51 West Hollywood West Hollywood34,884 people 1.3% 16 0.4 mi
52 Map of Fetters Hot Springs-Agua Caliente Fetters Hot Springs-Agua Caliente3,347 people 1.2% 11 0.0 mi
53 Lennox Lennox19,449 people 0.9% 6 0.4 mi
54 Map of South El Monte South El Monte19,287 people 0.9% 16 0.5 mi
55 Orange Cove Orange Cove9,695 people 0.9% 11 0.2 mi
56 Map of Paradise Paradise7,392 people 0.9% 108 2.0 mi
57 Map of Pixley Pixley3,742 people 0.6% 19 1.7 mi
58 Victorville Victorville137,627 people 0.5% 216 121.6 mi
59 Coachella Coachella43,307 people 0.5% 92 37.6 mi
60 Hawaiian Gardens Hawaiian Gardens13,691 people 0.5% 3 0.1 mi
61 La Cresta8,389 people 0.3% 2 0.0 mi
62 Map of Lake Nacimiento Lake Nacimiento3,339 people 0.3% 21 8.8 mi
63 Map of French Camp French Camp3,264 people 0.2% 4 0.0 mi
64 Map of Bella Vista Bella Vista4,511 people 0.1% 18 31.3 mi
65 Oasis4,051 people 0.1% 15 12.3 mi

How this ranking works

We rank every town by the share of the town's area that is permanently protected: town forests, state and federal land, land-trust preserves and conservation easements (USGS PAD-US). Easements protect land from development but are often private, so not all of it is open to visitors. The town with the highest figure ranks #1.

Only towns with at least 2,500 residents are ranked; Census estimates for smaller places are too uncertain. Population and income: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Trails, streets and parks: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Conserved land: USGS PAD-US. Measured within each town's Census boundary. Town photos: Wikimedia Commons, credited on each town’s page.

Same ranking in other states

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