California sales tax rates vary by county, starting from a statewide minimum of 7.25% and climbing past 10% in some locations once local district taxes are added. Every county sits at or above that 7.25% floor, and the exact rate at any given address depends on which city, transit district, and other voter-approved taxes overlap there.
Minimum Sales Tax Rate for Each California County
The table below lists the minimum combined sales tax rate for all 58 California counties. Each figure reflects the 7.25% state base plus any county-wide district taxes that apply across the whole county, including unincorporated areas. Cities inside these counties frequently carry higher rates because of additional city-level measures.
Rates marked with an asterisk (*) have been verified against the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration’s current listings.1California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. California City and County Sales and Use Tax Rates District taxes take effect and expire on a quarterly cycle, so confirm any rate through the CDTFA before relying on it to collect or remit tax.
| County | Min. Rate | County | Min. Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alameda* | 10.250% | Orange | 7.750% |
| Alpine* | 7.250% | Placer* | 7.250% |
| Amador | 7.750% | Plumas | 7.250% |
| Butte | 7.250% | Riverside | 7.750% |
| Calaveras | 7.250% | Sacramento* | 7.750% |
| Colusa | 7.250% | San Benito | 8.250% |
| Contra Costa* | 8.750% | San Bernardino | 7.750% |
| Del Norte | 8.000% | San Diego | 7.750% |
| El Dorado | 7.250% | San Francisco* | 8.625% |
| Fresno* | 7.975% | San Joaquin | 8.000% |
| Glenn | 7.250% | San Luis Obispo | 7.750% |
| Humboldt | 7.750% | San Mateo | 8.750% |
| Imperial | 7.750% | Santa Barbara | 7.750% |
| Inyo | 7.750% | Santa Clara* | 9.125% |
| Kern* | 8.250% | Santa Cruz* | 9.500% |
| Kings | 7.750% | Shasta | 7.250% |
| Lake | 7.250% | Sierra | 7.250% |
| Lassen | 7.250% | Siskiyou | 7.250% |
| Los Angeles* | 9.750% | Solano | 7.375% |
| Madera* | 7.750% | Sonoma | 8.250% |
| Marin* | 8.250% | Stanislaus | 7.750% |
| Mariposa* | 8.250% | Sutter | 7.250% |
| Mendocino | 7.875% | Tehama | 7.250% |
| Merced | 7.750% | Trinity | 7.250% |
| Modoc | 7.250% | Tulare | 7.750% |
| Mono | 7.750% | Tuolumne | 7.750% |
| Monterey* | 8.750% | Ventura | 7.250% |
| Napa | 7.750% | Yolo | 8.250% |
| Nevada | 7.375% | Yuba | 7.250% |
A few patterns are visible at a glance. Rural counties with small populations, like Alpine, Sierra, Modoc, and Trinity, sit right at the 7.25% state minimum. Urban counties with major transit systems and infrastructure programs carry substantially higher floors. Los Angeles County’s 9.750% minimum reflects several county-wide measures, and cities within it push rates above 10%.1California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. California City and County Sales and Use Tax Rates Alameda County’s 10.250% is currently the highest county-level floor in the state.2California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. California Sales and Use Tax Rates by County and City
How the Rate Is Built
Every rate in California starts from the 7.25% statewide base, which is set by state law and collected on all retail sales of tangible goods unless a specific exemption applies.3California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Know Your Sales and Use Tax Rate On top of that base, counties and cities may impose voter-approved district taxes that fund transportation, public safety, healthcare, and other local needs. Those district taxes are why two addresses five miles apart can carry meaningfully different rates.
No location in California charges less than 7.25%.3California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Know Your Sales and Use Tax Rate That’s the absolute floor. Everything above it is local.
Why the Rate at Your Address May Be Higher Than the County Minimum
The county numbers above are the starting point, not the final answer. District taxes layered on top drive the wide variation across the state. Each is approved by local voters and funds a specific program: a city transportation authority, a hospital district, a countywide public safety measure, a regional transit system. More than one district tax can apply to the same address, each adding an increment as small as 0.125%.3California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Know Your Sales and Use Tax Rate
So two businesses in the same county, even on the same highway, can collect different rates. A storefront inside city limits with an active transportation tax charges more than one a half-mile away in an unincorporated area without that tax. State law caps the total combined district tax within a county at 2% by default, but the legislature has authorized higher limits for specific counties, which is why some locations exceed that threshold by a wide margin.
The county minimum in the table is the correct rate only in unincorporated areas with no additional district taxes. For any incorporated city or overlapping special district, the actual rate is almost certainly higher. A consumer shopping in the city of Compton pays a rate well above the Los Angeles County floor because of city-specific measures stacked on top.1California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. California City and County Sales and Use Tax Rates
Looking Up the Exact Rate for an Address
The only reliable way to find the precise combined rate for a specific location, accounting for every overlapping district tax, is the CDTFA’s official rate lookup tool.4California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Find a Sales and Use Tax Rate Enter a full street address, and the tool returns the exact rate for that spot. The CDTFA also publishes a downloadable spreadsheet of rates for every city and county on its website, which businesses collecting tax across multiple locations can pull into their point-of-sale systems.1California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. California City and County Sales and Use Tax Rates
Because the lookup runs on the current quarter’s rates, it also picks up district taxes that just took effect or recently expired, which the county-level summary won’t reflect until it’s updated.
Which Rate Applies to Online and Shipped Sales
For online sellers, the rate is based on where the property is shipped, not where the seller is located. A retailer in Sacramento shipping a product to a buyer in Alameda County collects the Alameda County rate on that transaction.5California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Online Retailers – Registration and Local Tax Getting this wrong is a common audit trigger, particularly for businesses that assume their home location’s rate applies to every shipment they make.
Use Tax on Purchases from Out-of-State Sellers
When you buy something from an out-of-state retailer that doesn’t collect California sales tax, you owe use tax on that purchase at the rate that would have applied had you bought it locally. The rate is based on the California location where you use, store, or consume the item, not the rate in the state where you bought it.6California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. California Use Tax For Personal Use If you already paid sales tax to another state, California allows a credit for the amount paid, so you’d owe only the difference when California’s rate is higher.
Individuals report use tax on their annual California income tax return (Form 540 or 540 2EZ). For items under $1,000, a lookup table included with the return instructions can be used instead of tracking exact amounts. For items costing $1,000 or more, the exact tax has to be calculated and reported.6California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. California Use Tax For Personal Use Out-of-state retailers that exceed $500,000 in sales delivered into California during the current or prior calendar year must register with the CDTFA and collect California use tax directly.7California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Use Tax Collection Requirements Based on Sales into California