Local government in California

The city halls of some of the major California cities. Left to right, top to bottom: San Francisco City Hall, Los Angeles City Hall, San Jose City Hall, Sacramento City Hall, Fresno City Hall, Oakland City Hall

The government of California has an extensive system of local government that manages public functions throughout the state. Like most states, California is divided into counties, of which there are 58 (including San Francisco)^{[note 1]} covering the entire state. Most urbanized areas are incorporated as cities,^{[note 2]} though not all of California is within the boundaries of a city. School districts, which are independent of cities and counties, handle public education. Many other functions, especially in unincorporated areas, are handled by special districts, which include municipal utility districts, transit districts, health care districts, vector control districts, and geologic hazard abatement districts.

Due to geographical variations in property tax and sales tax revenue (the primary revenue source for cities and counties) and differing attitudes towards priorities, there are variations in the levels of various services from one city to the next.

Article 2, Section 6, of California's constitution provides that elections for county, city, school, and judicial offices are officially non-partisan and political party affiliations are not included on local election ballots.
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