California Incorporated City Boundaries from 2009 to 2022

California's complete list of incorporated cities includes the boundary and name of each city. The dataset was maintained by CAL FIRE from 2009 to 2022, processing annexation data from the state Board of Equalization.

Use Cases

• Map city boundaries for spatial analysis of incorporated areas in California.
• Analyze historical annexation patterns by tracking boundary changes from 2009 to 2022.
• Integrate city polygon features with demographic or economic data for regional planning.

Strengths

• Covers all incorporated cities within the state of California.
• Provides a 13-year temporal range from 2009 to 2022.
• Data is processed to maintain consistency with traditional state boundaries and previous formats.

Limitations

• The dataset excludes unincorporated areas, limiting analysis to city jurisdictions only.
• Specific processing steps like erasing areas spanning the Bay Area may affect boundary continuity for some regions.

Provenance

Source

State of California, Board of Equalization and CAL FIRE.

Collection Method

CAL FIRE processed and digitally captured annexation data from the Board of Equalization; since 2022, data is sourced directly from BOE.

Time Range

2009 to 2022

Freshness

Last updated on July 23, 2025.

Geography

State of California