That dollar amount represents a -4% decrease in spending from $508.4 billion in 2022, and a -0.7% year-over-year slowdown from $491.5 billion for 2024.
California is America’s biggest state in terms of importing products from around the world, well ahead of Texas, Illinois, New York state, Michigan, Indiana and Georgia.
The value of California’s imports equals 13.9% of the overall value of goods imported into the United States of America for 2025, down from 14.6% in 2024.
Based on California’s population of 39.53 million people, its total US$488.2 billion in 2025 imports translates to roughly $12,350 for every consumer living in “The Golden State”. That dollar metric lags the per capita average of $12,400 one year earlier in 2024.
California’s unemployment rate was 5.5% at December 2025 same as 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 2025. 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, accessories: US$41.5 billion (8.5% of California’s total imports)
- Miscellaneous digital processing units: $23.5 billion (4.8%)
- Crude petroleum oils: $20.8 billion (4.3%)
- Small portable digital computers: $17.9 billion (3.7%)
- Modems, similar reception/transmission devices: $17.6 billion (3.6%)
- Mid-sized automobiles (piston engine): $14.8 billion (3%)
- Smartphones: $8.4 billion (1.7%)
- Lithium ion batteries: $7.7 billion (1.6%)
- Color TV reception equipment: $7.2 billion (1.5%)
- Solid-state semiconductor storage devices: $6.4 billion (1.3%)
- Automobiles (piston & electric engines): $6.2 billion (1.3%)
- Electronic integrated circuits (processors, controllers): $5.4 billion (1.1%)
- Large automobiles (piston engine): $5 billion (1%)
- Vehicles powered by electric motor only: $4.2 billion (0.9%)
- Medical, dental, veterinary instruments & appliances: $4.1 billion (0.8%)
California’s top 15 imports represented nearly two-fifths (39%) 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 2024 to 2025 were miscellaneous digital processing units (up 146.5%).
Double-digit gains were recorded for California’s imports of computer parts and accessories (up 62.3% from 2024), modems and similar reception or transmission devices (up 40.8%) and automobiles powered by both piston and electric engines (up 30.3%).
The severest decliners among California’s leading imports were vehicles powered by electric motor only (down -42.6% from 2024), mid-sized automobiles with piston engine (down -18.5%), crude petroleum oils (also down -18.5%), solid-state semiconductor storage devices (down -15.3%), lithium ion batteries (down -14.7%) then smartphones (down -13.4%).
More Key Facts about California’s International Trade
California incurred an overall -US$299.8 billion deficit exporting and importing products during 2025. That dollar amount reflects a -2.5% year-over-year reduction from -$307.5 billion in red ink for 2024.
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 2025.
- Computer parts, accessories: US$11.4 billion (6% of California’s total exports)
- Civilian aircraft, full or engines or other parts: $7.2 billion (3.8%)
- Voice, image and data machines: $5.4 billion (2.9%)
- Digital computer systems: $4.5 billion (2.4%)
- Shelled almonds: $4.4 billion (2.3%)
- Miscellaneous digital computer processing units: $4 billion (2.1%)
- Refined petroleum oils excluding biodiesel: $3.3 billion (1.7%)
- Diagnostic or laboratory reagents: $2.8 billion (1.5%)
- Machinery parts, accessories for making semi-conductors: $2.54 billion (1.3%)
- Medical, dental or veterinarian appliances: $2.51 billion (1.3%)
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 2025.
- mainland China: US$75.9 billion (15.6% of California’s total imports)
- Taiwan: $63.5 billion (13%)
- Mexico: $61.6 billion (12.6%)
- Vietnam: $56.3 billion (11.5%)
- South Korea: $29.5 billion (6%)
- Japan: $28.9 billion (5.9%)
- Thailand: $20.6 billion (4.2%)
- Canada: $15.4 billion (3.2%)
- Germany: $12.8 billion (2.6%)
- Malaysia: $12.3 billion (2.5%)
California’s top trade partners in North America, Canada and Mexico, accounted for 15.8% of the overall value of products imported into the Golden State.
That percentage falls far below the nearly three-fifths (58.8%) for the listed 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 March 26, 2026
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on March 26, 2026
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IBIS World, State Economic Profile (including GDP). Accessed on March 26, 2026
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on March 26, 2026
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on March 26, 2026
Los Angeles Times, The new Fortune 500 list is out. These California companies made the cut. Accessed on March 26, 2026
United States Census Bureau, Foreign Trade (State by 6-Digit HS Code). Accessed on March 26, 2026
United States Census Bureau, QuickFacts: California. Accessed on March 26, 2026
USA Trade Online, Official Source of Trade Statistics. Accessed on March 26, 2026
Wikipedia, California. Accessed on March 26, 2026
Wikipedia, Economy of California (GDP). Accessed on March 26, 2026
Wikipedia, List of California Companies. Accessed on March 26, 2026
Wikipedia, List of U.S. states and territories by GDP. Accessed on March 26, 2026
YCharts, Regional and State Employment and Unemployment Report. Accessed on March 26, 2026