Dating in California: How to Meet People Beyond Your Small Town

California has about 39.4 million people and 483 incorporated cities and towns, and many of them are small: 54 of them (11%) have fewer than 5,000 people, and 14 have fewer than 1,000. If you live in one, you already know what dating close to home looks like: you've met most of the single people you'd consider, or you know someone who has.

This page is for everyone in those towns. It covers why the big dating apps make a small town's dating pool even smaller, how Amarbis lets you meet people across all of California instead, and, further down, every city or town in California by county.

California by town size

The typical California city or town has about 30,000 people. Its 276 places of 25,000 or more, led by Los Angeles (3.9 million), San Diego (1.4 million) and San Jose (990,000), are home to about 30.9 million of the state's 39.4 million people; everyone else lives in the smaller towns or outside city limits.

Why dating close to home runs out in small-town California

Dating apps that sort by distance start with the people nearest you. In a small California town that's a short list, and it doesn't take long to see all of it. A few examples:

• Alturas (about 2,600 people): no other places within 30 miles, and the nearest place of 25,000 or more is Redding, 114 miles away.
• Bishop (about 3,700 people): no other places within 30 miles, and the nearest place of 25,000 or more is Reedley, 79 miles away.
• Montague (about 1,200 people): 4 other places with 12,000 people between them within 30 miles, and the nearest place of 25,000 or more is Medford, Oregon, 45 miles away.

Those counts are for cities and towns only, so people in the countryside around them add to them, but the point stands: a distance-ranked app fills a small-town deck with the same few faces, and the bigger pools are a long drive away.

Why the nearest city is out of reach on the big apps

Dating in a small town is hard, and meeting someone in the nearest city can be harder. Many dating apps lean on distance to decide who you see, and Tinuiti's analysis of Tinder's algorithm says proximity is a key factor in who it shows you. When someone in Los Angeles or San Diego opens a distance-ranked app, the people who live near them come first. You live farther away, so you land behind their neighbors in their deck, whatever your photos and profile say.

That's the small-town problem twice over: at home you keep seeing the same people, and in the city you're barely seen.

How Amarbis is different

You choose your region

On Amarbis you choose the region you meet people from instead of being limited to whoever lives closest. Choose California and your pool is the whole state, about 39.4 million people, whether you live in Los Angeles or a town of a few hundred. A member in a town of 1,000 has the same state-wide pool as a member in Los Angeles.

Ranking isn't based on distance

On Amarbis, ranking isn't based on distance. Choose California as your region and the person you'd like to meet in Los Angeles isn't shown their next-door neighbor ahead of you because of where you live. It's the opposite of the proximity problem above, and it matters most to the people the big apps leave behind.

No distance limits, and the whole world if you want it

Amarbis has no distance limits, so you aren't limited to California either. You can widen your region to the neighboring states or meet someone in another country: Amarbis is an international dating app, the app speaks more than 50 languages, and built-in chat translation helps when you don't share one. The miles only matter once you both want to meet.

Real people, reviewed by real people

Every member has a real face photo, photos are screened before anyone sees them, and every profile on Amarbis is reviewed by a real person. When your local pool is small, every fake or abandoned profile takes up a bigger share of what you see, so that review step is worth more in a small town than in a big city.

Free to join

Joining is free, with no credit card. The free plan gives you 25 likes a day and unlimited messaging with your matches, so you can find out whether Amarbis works for your town before you pay anything. See plans and pricing for what the paid plans add.

How to start from a small town in California

1. Sign up free and build a profile that sounds like you: a clear photo of your face and one specific thing about life in your town. Our profile tips show what works.
2. Set your region to California, or wider if you like.
3. Message first. One good question about where someone lives works better than "hey", and a conversation can start long before anyone plans a drive.
4. When you both want to meet, pick a public place about halfway, tell a friend where you're going, and follow our safe-meeting checklist.

Built by someone from a small town

Amarbis's founder, Nick, is from Boardman, Oregon, a city of about 4,500 people. The small-town dating problem on this page is one he knows first-hand: a deck full of people you already know, and a nearby city that ranks its own neighbors ahead of you. Amarbis is built so that where you live in California doesn't decide who you can meet.

Every city or town in California

All 483 incorporated cities and towns in California, by county, with 2025 population estimates. Wherever yours is on this list, everything on this page applies to you: choose California as your region on Amarbis and every place below is in your pool.

Alameda County

• Alameda: 76,876 people
• Albany: 19,195 people
• Berkeley: 121,911 people
• Dublin: 71,602 people
• Emeryville: 13,251 people
• Fremont: 226,442 people
• Hayward: 157,113 people
• Livermore: 83,457 people
• Newark: 47,895 people
• Oakland: 440,838 people
• Piedmont: 10,642 people
• Pleasanton: 74,556 people
• San Leandro: 85,353 people
• Union City: 65,282 people

Amador County

• Amador City: 204 people
• Ione: 9,282 people
• Jackson: 5,100 people
• Plymouth: 1,174 people
• Sutter Creek: 2,701 people

Butte County

• Biggs: 1,927 people
• Chico: 105,081 people
• Gridley: 7,258 people
• Oroville: 20,451 people
• Paradise: 10,023 people

Calaveras County

• Angels: 3,735 people

Colusa County

• Colusa: 6,519 people
• Williams: 5,529 people

Contra Costa County

• Antioch: 118,958 people
• Brentwood: 66,607 people
• Clayton: 10,842 people
• Concord: 123,261 people
• Danville: 43,302 people
• El Cerrito: 26,121 people
• Hercules: 26,326 people
• Lafayette: 25,313 people
• Martinez: 36,849 people
• Moraga: 16,322 people
• Oakley: 47,583 people
• Orinda: 19,507 people
• Pinole: 18,543 people
• Pittsburg: 77,542 people
• Pleasant Hill: 34,017 people
• Richmond: 114,861 people
• San Pablo: 31,678 people
• San Ramon: 86,209 people
• Walnut Creek: 70,012 people

Del Norte County

• Crescent City: 6,002 people

El Dorado County

• Placerville: 10,685 people
• South Lake Tahoe: 21,115 people

Fresno County

• Clovis: 129,347 people
• Coalinga: 17,281 people
• Firebaugh: 8,774 people
• Fowler: 7,745 people
• Fresno: 555,549 people
• Huron: 7,394 people
• Kerman: 17,553 people
• Kingsburg: 13,249 people
• Mendota: 12,778 people
• Orange Cove: 9,811 people
• Parlier: 14,622 people
• Reedley: 26,982 people
• San Joaquin: 3,688 people
• Sanger: 27,228 people
• Selma: 24,702 people

Glenn County

• Orland: 8,381 people
• Willows: 6,116 people

Humboldt County

• Arcata: 19,047 people
• Blue Lake: 1,144 people
• Eureka: 25,304 people
• Ferndale: 1,348 people
• Fortuna: 12,003 people
• Rio Dell: 3,211 people
• Trinidad: 317 people

Imperial County

• Brawley: 28,008 people
• Calexico: 38,623 people
• Calipatria: 6,012 people
• El Centro: 44,382 people
• Holtville: 5,591 people
• Imperial: 22,330 people
• Westmorland: 2,015 people

Inyo County

• Bishop: 3,696 people

Kern County

• Arvin: 19,820 people
• Bakersfield: 422,165 people
• California City: 13,300 people
• Delano: 52,334 people
• Maricopa: 1,018 people
• McFarland: 14,709 people
• Ridgecrest: 28,333 people
• Shafter: 23,871 people
• Taft: 6,995 people
• Tehachapi: 11,852 people
• Wasco: 26,525 people

Kings County

• Avenal: 13,479 people
• Corcoran: 22,358 people
• Hanford: 62,229 people
• Lemoore: 27,291 people

Lake County

• Clearlake: 16,893 people
• Lakeport: 5,059 people

Lassen County

• Susanville: 12,816 people

Los Angeles County

• Agoura Hills: 19,243 people
• Alhambra: 79,820 people
• Arcadia: 54,117 people
• Artesia: 15,789 people
• Avalon: 3,237 people
• Azusa: 47,447 people
• Baldwin Park: 68,880 people
• Bell: 31,625 people
• Bell Gardens: 37,367 people
• Bellflower: 74,719 people
• Beverly Hills: 30,764 people
• Bradbury: 888 people
• Burbank: 102,988 people
• Calabasas: 22,027 people
• Carson: 90,808 people
• Cerritos: 46,367 people
• Claremont: 35,838 people
• Commerce: 11,688 people
• Compton: 90,500 people
• Covina: 49,404 people
• Cudahy: 21,445 people
• Culver City: 39,452 people
• Diamond Bar: 51,884 people
• Downey: 108,468 people
• Duarte: 22,866 people
• El Monte: 105,075 people
• El Segundo: 16,379 people
• Gardena: 58,460 people
• Glendale: 187,160 people
• Glendora: 49,671 people
• Hawaiian Gardens: 13,373 people
• Hawthorne: 82,741 people
• Hermosa Beach: 18,513 people
• Hidden Hills: 1,675 people
• Huntington Park: 51,544 people
• Industry: 199 people
• Inglewood: 101,662 people
• Irwindale: 1,439 people
• La Cañada Flintridge: 19,480 people
• La Habra Heights: 5,327 people
• La Mirada: 45,952 people
• La Puente: 36,423 people
• La Verne: 30,178 people
• Lakewood: 78,010 people
• Lancaster: 170,084 people
• Lawndale: 29,892 people
• Lomita: 19,724 people
• Long Beach: 450,469 people
• Los Angeles: 3,869,089 people
• Lynwood: 63,512 people
• Malibu: 9,574 people
• Manhattan Beach: 33,122 people
• Maywood: 23,600 people
• Monrovia: 38,264 people
• Montebello: 60,693 people
• Monterey Park: 57,457 people
• Norwalk: 97,104 people
• Palmdale: 161,845 people
• Palos Verdes Estates: 12,559 people
• Paramount: 50,755 people
• Pasadena: 135,804 people
• Pico Rivera: 58,915 people
• Pomona: 147,807 people
• Rancho Palos Verdes: 39,654 people
• Redondo Beach: 67,281 people
• Rolling Hills: 1,641 people
• Rolling Hills Estates: 7,948 people
• Rosemead: 49,410 people
• San Dimas: 32,978 people
• San Fernando: 23,449 people
• San Gabriel: 38,186 people
• San Marino: 11,964 people
• Santa Clarita: 228,430 people
• Santa Fe Springs: 18,793 people
• Santa Monica: 90,082 people
• Sierra Madre: 10,620 people
• Signal Hill: 11,153 people
• South El Monte: 18,963 people
• South Gate: 90,071 people
• South Pasadena: 25,503 people
• Temple City: 35,125 people
• Torrance: 138,391 people
• Vernon: 207 people
• Walnut: 27,316 people
• West Covina: 105,301 people
• West Hollywood: 34,231 people
• Westlake Village: 7,505 people
• Whittier: 85,815 people

Madera County

• Chowchilla: 18,730 people
• Madera: 69,017 people

Marin County

• Belvedere: 2,066 people
• Corte Madera: 9,929 people
• Fairfax: 7,417 people
• Larkspur: 12,620 people
• Mill Valley: 13,799 people
• Novato: 51,947 people
• Ross: 2,304 people
• San Anselmo: 12,555 people
• San Rafael: 59,410 people
• Sausalito: 7,019 people
• Tiburon: 8,881 people

Mendocino County

• Fort Bragg: 6,946 people
• Point Arena: 453 people
• Ukiah: 16,068 people
• Willits: 4,760 people

Merced County

• Atwater: 32,133 people
• Dos Palos: 5,697 people
• Gustine: 6,112 people
• Livingston: 14,690 people
• Los Banos: 49,614 people
• Merced: 99,724 people

Modoc County

• Alturas: 2,634 people

Mono County

• Mammoth Lakes: 6,867 people

Monterey County

• Carmel-by-the-Sea: 3,105 people
• Del Rey Oaks: 1,536 people
• Gonzales: 8,313 people
• Greenfield: 21,138 people
• King City: 14,002 people
• Marina: 23,256 people
• Monterey: 28,953 people
• Pacific Grove: 14,659 people
• Salinas: 159,134 people
• Sand City: 323 people
• Seaside: 31,636 people
• Soledad: 26,357 people

Napa County

• American Canyon: 22,773 people
• Calistoga: 4,954 people
• Napa: 76,562 people
• St. Helena: 5,194 people
• Yountville: 3,198 people

Nevada County

• Grass Valley: 14,035 people
• Nevada City: 3,174 people
• Truckee: 17,278 people

Orange County

• Aliso Viejo: 49,844 people
• Anaheim: 341,008 people
• Brea: 47,260 people
• Buena Park: 81,741 people
• Costa Mesa: 108,881 people
• Cypress: 48,781 people
• Dana Point: 32,232 people
• Fountain Valley: 55,508 people
• Fullerton: 138,675 people
• Garden Grove: 170,455 people
• Huntington Beach: 191,451 people
• Irvine: 318,764 people
• La Habra: 60,908 people
• La Palma: 14,907 people
• Laguna Beach: 22,391 people
• Laguna Hills: 30,020 people
• Laguna Niguel: 64,107 people
• Laguna Woods: 16,844 people
• Lake Forest: 86,333 people
• Los Alamitos: 11,702 people
• Mission Viejo: 90,484 people
• Newport Beach: 81,977 people
• Orange: 138,365 people
• Placentia: 54,911 people
• Rancho Santa Margarita: 45,779 people
• San Clemente: 62,226 people
• San Juan Capistrano: 35,119 people
• Santa Ana: 315,586 people
• Seal Beach: 24,075 people
• Stanton: 40,161 people
• Tustin: 77,843 people
• Villa Park: 5,645 people
• Westminster: 88,966 people
• Yorba Linda: 65,632 people

Placer County

• Auburn: 13,847 people
• Colfax: 2,043 people
• Lincoln: 57,367 people
• Loomis: 7,004 people
• Rocklin: 76,821 people
• Roseville: 167,302 people

Plumas County

• Portola: 2,024 people

Riverside County

• Banning: 31,852 people
• Beaumont: 60,835 people
• Blythe: 15,042 people
• Calimesa: 11,111 people
• Canyon Lake: 11,113 people
• Cathedral City: 52,375 people
• Coachella: 45,411 people
• Corona: 161,734 people
• Desert Hot Springs: 34,009 people
• Eastvale: 70,594 people
• Hemet: 93,649 people
• Indian Wells: 4,992 people
• Indio: 94,269 people
• Jurupa Valley: 107,311 people
• La Quinta: 39,440 people
• Lake Elsinore: 75,067 people
• Menifee: 118,592 people
• Moreno Valley: 214,263 people
• Murrieta: 114,124 people
• Norco: 25,081 people
• Palm Desert: 53,259 people
• Palm Springs: 45,315 people
• Perris: 83,237 people
• Rancho Mirage: 17,876 people
• Riverside: 323,057 people
• San Jacinto: 56,014 people
• Temecula: 114,865 people
• Wildomar: 37,889 people

Sacramento County

• Citrus Heights: 86,348 people
• Elk Grove: 185,007 people
• Folsom: 91,983 people
• Galt: 26,964 people
• Isleton: 775 people
• Rancho Cordova: 87,554 people
• Sacramento: 536,449 people

San Benito County

• Hollister: 45,695 people
• San Juan Bautista: 2,122 people

San Bernardino County

• Adelanto: 38,798 people
• Apple Valley: 75,247 people
• Barstow: 24,804 people
• Big Bear Lake: 5,018 people
• Chino: 96,957 people
• Chino Hills: 77,519 people
• Colton: 53,383 people
• Fontana: 221,223 people
• Grand Terrace: 12,936 people
• Hesperia: 102,605 people
• Highland: 57,614 people
• Loma Linda: 25,221 people
• Montclair: 37,563 people
• Needles: 4,821 people
• Ontario: 187,013 people
• Rancho Cucamonga: 177,856 people
• Redlands: 74,128 people
• Rialto: 106,554 people
• San Bernardino: 222,044 people
• Twentynine Palms: 25,939 people
• Upland: 79,446 people
• Victorville: 141,395 people
• Yucaipa: 54,953 people
• Yucca Valley: 21,887 people

San Diego County

• Carlsbad: 112,260 people
• Chula Vista: 275,533 people
• Coronado: 21,094 people
• Del Mar: 3,858 people
• El Cajon: 101,755 people
• Encinitas: 60,736 people
• Escondido: 146,030 people
• Imperial Beach: 25,206 people
• La Mesa: 59,914 people
• Lemon Grove: 27,936 people
• National City: 57,807 people
• Oceanside: 170,483 people
• Poway: 49,180 people
• San Diego: 1,406,106 people
• San Marcos: 94,908 people
• Santee: 58,205 people
• Solana Beach: 12,602 people
• Vista: 98,274 people

San Francisco County

• San Francisco: 826,079 people

San Joaquin County

• Escalon: 7,394 people
• Lathrop: 42,783 people
• Lodi: 69,100 people
• Manteca: 96,693 people
• Mountain House: 25,315 people
• Ripon: 16,140 people
• Stockton: 324,597 people
• Tracy: 101,901 people

San Luis Obispo County

• Arroyo Grande: 18,123 people
• Atascadero: 29,464 people
• El Paso de Robles: 31,626 people
• Grover Beach: 12,456 people
• Morro Bay: 10,613 people
• Pismo Beach: 7,911 people
• San Luis Obispo: 50,636 people

San Mateo County

• Atherton: 6,960 people
• Belmont: 28,752 people
• Brisbane: 4,656 people
• Burlingame: 31,929 people
• Colma: 1,385 people
• Daly City: 101,261 people
• East Palo Alto: 28,872 people
• Foster City: 32,411 people
• Half Moon Bay: 11,287 people
• Hillsborough: 11,206 people
• Menlo Park: 32,713 people
• Millbrae: 22,869 people
• Pacifica: 36,890 people
• Portola Valley: 4,292 people
• Redwood City: 82,178 people
• San Bruno: 42,305 people
• San Carlos: 29,261 people
• San Mateo: 103,337 people
• South San Francisco: 64,941 people
• Woodside: 5,181 people

Santa Barbara County

• Buellton: 5,158 people
• Carpinteria: 12,734 people
• Goleta: 32,401 people
• Guadalupe: 8,846 people
• Lompoc: 43,315 people
• Santa Barbara: 86,422 people
• Santa Maria: 111,390 people
• Solvang: 5,944 people

Santa Clara County

• Campbell: 42,490 people
• Cupertino: 58,333 people
• Gilroy: 60,764 people
• Los Altos: 30,965 people
• Los Altos Hills: 8,419 people
• Los Gatos: 32,576 people
• Milpitas: 78,596 people
• Monte Sereno: 3,566 people
• Morgan Hill: 45,625 people
• Mountain View: 85,438 people
• Palo Alto: 67,609 people
• San Jose: 989,814 people
• Santa Clara: 133,446 people
• Saratoga: 30,418 people
• Sunnyvale: 156,577 people

Santa Cruz County

• Capitola: 9,340 people
• Santa Cruz: 61,797 people
• Scotts Valley: 11,652 people
• Watsonville: 50,716 people

Shasta County

• Anderson: 11,131 people
• Redding: 94,092 people
• Shasta Lake: 10,208 people

Sierra County

• Loyalton: 709 people

Siskiyou County

• Dorris: 803 people
• Dunsmuir: 1,587 people
• Etna: 631 people
• Fort Jones: 659 people
• Montague: 1,157 people
• Mount Shasta: 3,071 people
• Tulelake: 833 people
• Weed: 2,603 people
• Yreka: 7,714 people

Solano County

• Benicia: 26,401 people
• Dixon: 21,116 people
• Fairfield: 122,489 people
• Rio Vista: 10,523 people
• Suisun City: 29,454 people
• Vacaville: 103,850 people
• Vallejo: 123,287 people

Sonoma County

• Cloverdale: 8,701 people
• Cotati: 7,347 people
• Healdsburg: 11,172 people
• Petaluma: 59,688 people
• Rohnert Park: 44,811 people
• Santa Rosa: 179,437 people
• Sebastopol: 7,532 people
• Sonoma: 10,537 people
• Windsor: 25,864 people

Stanislaus County

• Ceres: 48,982 people
• Hughson: 8,051 people
• Modesto: 219,652 people
• Newman: 12,453 people
• Oakdale: 23,246 people
• Patterson: 26,587 people
• Riverbank: 26,557 people
• Turlock: 72,864 people
• Waterford: 9,258 people

Sutter County

• Live Oak: 9,466 people
• Yuba City: 69,485 people

Tehama County

• Corning: 8,260 people
• Red Bluff: 14,404 people
• Tehama: 441 people

Tulare County

• Dinuba: 25,949 people
• Exeter: 10,122 people
• Farmersville: 10,326 people
• Lindsay: 12,578 people
• Porterville: 63,088 people
• Tulare: 73,907 people
• Visalia: 146,541 people
• Woodlake: 8,073 people

Tuolumne County

• Sonora: 4,866 people

Ventura County

• Camarillo: 68,652 people
• Fillmore: 16,937 people
• Moorpark: 35,023 people
• Ojai: 7,474 people
• Oxnard: 199,651 people
• Port Hueneme: 20,987 people
• San Buenaventura: 109,914 people
• Santa Paula: 31,774 people
• Simi Valley: 124,861 people
• Thousand Oaks: 122,230 people

Yolo County

• Davis: 66,110 people
• West Sacramento: 56,216 people
• Winters: 8,214 people
• Woodland: 62,513 people

Yuba County

• Marysville: 12,738 people
• Wheatland: 4,267 people

Frequently asked questions

What is the best dating app for small towns in California?

We think it's Amarbis. You choose the region you meet people from, so a small California town gets the same state-wide pool as Los Angeles; ranking isn't based on distance; there are no distance limits; every profile is reviewed by a real person; and joining is free.

Why do I keep seeing the same people on dating apps in my California town?

Many dating apps lean on distance to decide who you see, and in a small town the closest people are a short list. Tinuiti's analysis of Tinder's algorithm says proximity is a key factor, which is why a small-town deck fills with the same neighbors. On Amarbis you choose your region, so your pool isn't limited to your zip code.

Can I meet people from all over California?

Yes. Choose California as your region and you meet people across the state, from wherever you live, without being ranked behind someone's neighbors.

Can I meet people outside California?

Yes. Amarbis has no distance limits, so you can widen your region or meet someone in another country, with built-in chat translation when you don't share a language. Start with the international dating guide.

Is Amarbis free?

Yes. Joining is free, with no credit card, and the free plan includes 25 likes a day and unlimited messaging with your matches. Create your profile.

Neighboring states: Arizona, Nevada and Oregon. See all 50 states. New here? Read why Amarbis is the best dating app for small towns.

More from Amarbis

• Why Amarbis is the best dating app for small towns
• Singles in the United States
• International dating guide
• Overcoming language barriers in love
• Meeting someone safely for the first time
• Plans and pricing

Population figures are U.S. Census Bureau estimates for July 1, 2025. Distances are straight-line miles between place center points, so road distances are longer. Counts of nearby places include cities and towns in every state.