That dollar amount represents a 4.6% increase in spending from $469.8 billion in 2021, and a 9.2% year-over-year advance from $450.2 billion for 2023.
California is America’s biggest imports-spending state well ahead of Texas, Illinois, Michigan, New York state, New Jersey and Georgia.
The value of California’s imports equals 14.6% of the overall value of goods imported into the United States of America for 2024, up from 14.2% in 2023.
Based on California’s population of 39.5 million people, its total $491.5 billion in 2024 imports translates to roughly $12,400 for every consumer living in “The Golden State”. That dollar metric surpasses the per capita average of $11,500 one year earlier in 2023.
Another key economic indicator, California’s jobless rate was 5.3% at May 2025 up from 5.2% in one year earlier, per YCharts.
California’s Top 15 Imports
The following import products represent the highest dollar value in California’s international purchases during 2024. Also shown is the percentage share each import category represents in terms of overall imports into California.
Figures are shown at the more granular six-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level, for more precise product identification.
- Computer parts and accessories: US$25.6 billion (5.2% of California’s total imports)
- Crude petroleum oils: $25.5 billion (5.2%)
- Small portable digital computers: $19.8 billion (4%)
- Mid-sized automobiles (piston engine): $18.1 billion (3.7%)
- Modems, similar reception/transmission devices: $12.5 billion (2.5%)
- Smartphones: $9.7 billion (2%)
- Miscellaneous digital processing units: $9.6 billion (1.9%)
- Lithium ion batteries: $9 billion (1.8%)
- Solid-state semiconductor storage devices: $7.5 billion (1.5%)
- Vehicles powered by electric motor only: $7.3 billion (1.5%)
- Color TV reception equipment: $6.9 billion (1.4%)
- Electronic integrated circuits (processors, controllers): $5.9 billion (1.2%)
- Large automobiles (piston engine): $5.7 billion (1.2%)
- Photovoltaic cells in solar modules, panels: $5.2 billion (1.1%)
- Wheeled toys (tricycles, scooters, pedal cars, doll carriages): $5 billion (1%)
California’s top 15 imports represented over one-third (35.3%) of the overall value of the state’s global shipments.
Year over year, the product imported into California that appreciated the most in cost from 2023 to 2024 were solid-state semiconductor storage devices (up 128.7%).
Double-digit gains were recorded for California’s imports of computer parts and accessories (up 82.4% from 2023), miscellaneous digit processing units (up 58.7%), processors and controllers for electronic integrated circuits (up 34.8%), vehicles powered by electric motors (up 31.3%) and small portable digital computers (up 24.4%).
The severest decliners among California’s leading imports were photovoltaic cells in solar modules and panels (down -13.5% from 2023) then smartphones (down -13.4%).
More Key Facts about California’s International Trade
California racked up an overall -US$308.1 billion deficit exporting and importing products during 2024. That dollar amount reflects a 13.5% year-over-year expansion from -$271.5 billion in red ink for 2023.
Another way of saying surplus or deficit is positive or negative net exports. In a nutshell, the term “net exports” quantifies the amount by which foreign spending on a state’s goods or services exceeds or lags that same state’s spending on foreign goods or services.
Below are California’s top 10 export products highlighting the state’s highest revenue makers from international sales during 2024.
- Civilian aircraft including engines, parts: US$6.5 billion (3.5% of Florida’s total exports)
- Computer parts and accessories: $6.1 billion (3.3%)
- Modems, similar reception/transmission devices: $5.3 billion (2.9%)
- Electronic integrated circuits: $3.9 billion (2.1%)
- Refined petroleum oils excluding biodiesel: $3.7 billion (2%)
- Machinery parts, accessories for making semi-conductor devices: $3.6 billion (2%)
- Shelled almonds: $3.5 billion (1.9%)
- Miscellaneous digit processing units: $2.9 billion (1.6%)
- Diagnostic or laboratory reagents: $2.8 billion (1.5%)
- Medical, dental or veterinarian appliances: $2.6 billion (1.4%)
In contrast to the above listed items, California has notably negative net imports in the international trade of crude oil, automobiles, small portable digital computers, smartphones. In turn, these cashflows indicate California’s strong competitive disadvantages under these product categories thus highlighting the strong impact of these foreign-made goods have on California’s global balance sheet.
Best Import Suppliers for California
The following list shows the top 10 countries that supply over three-quarters (77.3%) worth of the total value of products imported into California during 2024.
- mainland China $122.8 billion (25% of California’s total imports)
- Mexico $64.3 billion (13.1%)
- Taiwan $40.5 billion (8.2%)
- Vietnam $38.5 billion (7.8%)
- South Korea $30.9 billion (6.3%)
- Japan $27.7 billion (5.6%)
- Canada $16.3 billion (3.3%)
- Thailand $15.1 billion (3.1%)
- Germany $14.4 billion (2.9%)
- Malaysia $12.4 billion (2.5%)
California’s top trade partners in North America, Canada and Mexico, accounted for 16.4% of the overall value of products imported into the Golden State.
That percentage falls far below the nearly three-fifths (58.5%) for leading Asian suppliers that furnish products to Californian importers (mainland China, Taiwan, Vietnam, South Korea, Japan, Thailand and Malaysia).
Major Californian Import Companies
Fifty-three of California-headquartered corporations rank among America’s leading companies showcased on the Fortune 500 listing. Selected examples are listed below, sorted by highest revenues.
- Apple Inc. (computer hardware, software)
- McKesson Corporation (pharmaceuticals, medical technology)
- Chevron Corporation (petroleum, natural gas, petrochemicals)
- Wells Fargo (multinational financial services)
- Alphabet Inc (technology, autonomous cars, software)
- Intel Corporation (microprocessors, chips, mobile phones, flash memories)
- Hewlett-Packard (computer hardware, software)
- Cisco Systems (telecom equipment, networking hardware)
- Oracle (servers, workstations, storage devices, middleware)
- Gilead Sciences (pharmaceuticals, biotechnology products)
Shown within brackets for each company is a summary of the international trade-related product categories for the main industry in which each business operates.
California’s capital city is Sacramento, nicknamed “The City of Trees” and “Sactown”.
See also America’s Top 20 Export States, United States Top 10 Imports and California’s Top 10 Exports
Research Sources:
FlagPictures.org, Flags of US States. Accessed on July 14, 2025
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on July 14, 2025
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International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on July 14, 2025
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Los Angeles Times, The new Fortune 500 list is out. These California companies made the cut. Accessed on July 14, 2025
United States Census Bureau, Foreign Trade (State by 6-Digit HS Code). Accessed on July 14, 2025
United States Census Bureau, QuickFacts: California. Accessed on July 14, 2025
USA Trade Online, Official Source of Trade Statistics. Accessed on July 14, 2025
Wikipedia, California. Accessed on July 14, 2025
Wikipedia, Economy of California (GDP). Accessed on July 14, 2025
Wikipedia, List of California Companies. Accessed on July 14, 2025
Wikipedia, List of U.S. states and territories by GDP. Accessed on July 14, 2025
YCharts, Regional and State Employment and Unemployment Report. Accessed on July 14, 2025