California has 54 members in Congress: 52 in the U.S. House of Representatives and 2 in the U.S. Senate. At the state level, another 120 legislators serve in Sacramento, split between an 80-member Assembly and a 40-member Senate. So the short answer to how many representatives California has depends on which body you mean, but the totals are 54 federal and 120 state.
California’s Federal Delegation
California holds 52 of the 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, the largest delegation of any state. 1U.S. Census Bureau. Table C1 – Number of Seats in U.S. House of Representatives by State: 1910 to 2020 Texas, the next closest, has 38. Each House member represents a single congressional district and stands for reelection every two years. 2U.S. House of Representatives. The House Explained
Like every other state, California also has two U.S. Senators, currently Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff. 3United States Senate. States in the Senate – California Senators Senators serve six-year terms, staggered so that only one of California’s two seats is on the ballot in any given cycle. Add the two senators to the 52 House members and California’s total federal delegation is 54. 4Ballotpedia. United States Congressional Delegations from California That same figure sets California’s weight in the Electoral College, the most of any state for the 2024 and 2028 presidential elections. 5National Archives. Distribution of Electoral Votes
California’s State Legislature
The California State Legislature has 120 members total, divided between two chambers that meet in Sacramento.
State Assembly: 80 Members
The Assembly is the larger chamber, with 80 members serving two-year terms. 6California State Assembly. Elected Officials Based on 2020 Census redistricting, each Assembly district contains roughly 490,000 people, with individual districts ranging from about 467,000 to over 540,000 depending on geography.
State Senate: 40 Members
The State Senate has 40 members, each representing close to a million Californians. Senators serve four-year terms, with half the seats up for election every two years. 7California State Senate. FAQs Both chambers must approve a bill before it goes to the Governor, and the Senate also confirms gubernatorial appointments.
Why the House Number Can Change
The count of 52 House members isn’t fixed. Every ten years, the federal census counts each state’s population, and Congress reapportions the 435 House seats accordingly. 8Constitution Annotated. ArtI.S2.C3.1 Enumeration Clause and Apportioning Seats in the House of Representatives9U.S. Capitol Visitor Center. The U.S. House of Representatives Faster-growing states pick up seats; slower-growing states lose them.
After the 2020 Census, California’s population grew only about 6 percent, below the national average of 7.4 percent. The state dropped from 53 seats to 52, the first time California had lost a House seat since statehood in 1850. 10U.S. Census Bureau. Table D1 – Number of Seats Gained and Lost in U.S. House of Representatives by State: 2020 Census
Some early projections for the 2030 Census, based on population data through mid-2025, estimate California could lose as many as four more seats, bringing the delegation down to 48. Those projections come with heavy caveats. Immigration patterns, domestic migration, and birth rates over the remaining years before the count could shift the picture substantially.
Who Draws the Districts
After each census, someone has to redraw the district lines to fit the new seat count and population shifts. In California, that work belongs to the Citizens Redistricting Commission, an independent 14-member body established by Proposition 11 in 2008 (the Voters FIRST Act) for state legislative districts and extended to congressional districts by Proposition 20 in 2010. 11LA Law Library. Voters FIRST Act for Congress The commission holds public hearings statewide before adopting final maps, which then govern elections for the next decade.
Districts must be geographically contiguous and, where possible, keep cities, counties, and communities of interest intact. They must also comply with the federal Voting Rights Act, which prohibits lines that dilute the voting power of racial or language minority groups. 12United States Department of Justice. Redistricting Information