National Register of Historic Places listings in California Facts for Kids

The National Register of Historic Places is a special list in the United States that helps protect important historical places. In California, there are over 2,800 places on this list! These can be old buildings, interesting sites, whole neighborhoods (called districts), or even cool objects.

Out of these, 145 are even more special. They are called National Historic Landmarks. These are places that are important to the history of the entire country, not just California.

Map showing counties in California with National Register of Historic Places listings

Historic Places Across California Counties

California has 58 counties, and each one has its own unique history. Many important places in these counties are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. These listings help make sure these places are preserved for future generations.

How We Count Historic Sites

The numbers of historic places you see below are approximate. They come from the National Register Information Database, which was last updated on April 24, 2008. New places are added often, and sometimes places are removed from the list. So, these numbers are not always exact or official. Also, this count does not include changes to the boundaries of existing properties.

The California State Capitol building in Sacramento

The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

The John Steinbeck House in Salinas

The Donner Camp in Truckee

The Huntington Beach Municipal Pier

Barker Dam near Twentynine Palms

Balboa Park in San Diego

The Amargosa Opera House in Death Valley Junction Historic District

	County	Number of Sites
1	Alameda	153
2	Alpine	2
3	Amador	21
4	Butte	27
5	Calaveras	16
6	Colusa	6
7	Contra Costa	45
8	Del Norte	14
9	El Dorado	18
10	Fresno	43
11	Glenn	2
12	Humboldt	54
13	Imperial	12
14	Inyo	17
15	Kern	24
16	Kings	4
17	Lake	7
18	Lassen	7
19.1	Los Angeles: City of Los Angeles	237
19.2	Los Angeles: Pasadena	125
19.3	Los Angeles: Other areas	176
	Los Angeles: Duplicates	(2)
	Los Angeles: Total	536
20	Madera	4
21	Marin	44
22	Mariposa	43
23	Mendocino	42
24	Merced	15
25	Modoc	18
26	Mono	5
27	Monterey	59
28	Napa	85
29	Nevada	23
30	Orange	122
31	Placer	33
32	Plumas	5
33	Riverside	84
34	Sacramento	97
35	San Benito	15
36	San Bernardino	66
37	San Diego	144
38	San Francisco	188
39	San Joaquin	35
40	San Luis Obispo	36
41	San Mateo	60
42	Santa Barbara	44
43	Santa Clara	113
44	Santa Cruz	47
45	Shasta	29
46	Sierra	12
47	Siskiyou	18
48	Solano	28
49	Sonoma	66
50	Stanislaus	24
51	Sutter	2
52	Tehama	10
53	Trinity	5
54	Tulare	36
55	Tuolumne	34
56	Ventura	36
57	Yolo	25
58	Yuba	11
(duplicates)		(12)
Total:		2,759