California — 2025 Year in Review
Land use and zoning activity from city and county planning meetings in California during 2025.
California indexed 85,473 projects with decisions in 2025 across 58 counties, with 123,831 approved and 890 denied actions (99.3% approval rate). Los Angeles County led with 14,016 projects (16% of the state), followed by Riverside County (4,649) and Alameda County (4,583). Together those three counties accounted for 27% of indexed activity.
Read the Complete California Planning Commission Guide for context on how planning decisions work in California.
“Projects with decisions” counts unique projects. “Approved” and “Denied” count individual actions (one project can have multiple actions across meetings).
By county
| County | Projects | Approved actions | Denied actions | Approval % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alameda | 4,583 | 7,326 | 43 | 99.4% |
| Alpine | 561 | 709 | 5 | 99.3% |
| Amador | 748 | 895 | 16 | 98.2% |
| Butte | 1,861 | 2,623 | 13 | 99.5% |
| Calaveras | 211 | 274 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Colusa | 196 | 256 | 6 | 97.7% |
| Contra Costa | 2,246 | 3,020 | 31 | 99.0% |
| Del Norte | 294 | 396 | 0 | 100.0% |
| El Dorado | 111 | 151 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Fresno | 2,140 | 3,261 | 32 | 99.0% |
| Glenn | 230 | 326 | 1 | 99.7% |
| Humboldt | 808 | 1,743 | 2 | 99.9% |
| Imperial | 1,119 | 1,476 | 8 | 99.5% |
| Inyo | 155 | 190 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Kern | 2,617 | 3,407 | 18 | 99.5% |
| Kings | 915 | 1,346 | 4 | 99.7% |
| Lake | 223 | 337 | 7 | 98.0% |
| Lassen | 164 | 221 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Los Angeles | 14,016 | 20,753 | 177 | 99.2% |
| Madera | 1,689 | 2,310 | 3 | 99.9% |
| Marin | 803 | 1,072 | 8 | 99.3% |
| Mariposa | 1,252 | 1,571 | 9 | 99.4% |
| Mendocino | 800 | 1,077 | 3 | 99.7% |
| Merced | 895 | 1,295 | 14 | 98.9% |
| Modoc | 850 | 1,007 | 3 | 99.7% |
| Mono | 61 | 65 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Monterey | 2,057 | 2,550 | 22 | 99.1% |
| Napa | 1,110 | 1,261 | 2 | 99.8% |
| Nevada | 323 | 477 | 1 | 99.8% |
| Orange | 4,006 | 6,121 | 64 | 99.0% |
| Placer | 1,646 | 2,863 | 56 | 98.1% |
| Plumas | 1,459 | 1,750 | 7 | 99.6% |
| Riverside | 4,649 | 6,315 | 19 | 99.7% |
| Sacramento | 1,282 | 1,859 | 22 | 98.8% |
| San Benito | 50 | 70 | 1 | 98.6% |
| San Bernardino | 4,007 | 6,833 | 46 | 99.3% |
| San Diego | 1,751 | 3,018 | 10 | 99.7% |
| San Francisco | 1 | 1 | 0 | 100.0% |
| San Joaquin | 2,412 | 3,561 | 16 | 99.6% |
| San Luis Obispo | 421 | 595 | 4 | 99.3% |
| San Mateo | 2,575 | 3,403 | 19 | 99.4% |
| Santa Barbara | 697 | 957 | 6 | 99.4% |
| Santa Clara | 4,021 | 6,003 | 54 | 99.1% |
| Santa Cruz | 2,205 | 3,336 | 21 | 99.4% |
| Shasta | 429 | 769 | 1 | 99.9% |
| Sierra | 571 | 732 | 2 | 99.7% |
| Siskiyou | 1,176 | 1,622 | 8 | 99.5% |
| Solano | 967 | 1,247 | 10 | 99.2% |
| Sonoma | 721 | 964 | 3 | 99.7% |
| Stanislaus | 2,010 | 2,890 | 34 | 98.8% |
| Sutter | 229 | 394 | 1 | 99.7% |
| Tehama | 370 | 501 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Trinity | 798 | 1,022 | 2 | 99.8% |
| Tulare | 2,219 | 3,184 | 9 | 99.7% |
| Tuolumne | 28 | 44 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Ventura | 2,353 | 3,413 | 40 | 98.8% |
| Yolo | 643 | 950 | 1 | 99.9% |
| Yuba | 463 | 565 | 13 | 97.8% |
Data from public meeting documents processed by Boardwalk. Coverage varies by jurisdiction. Not all cities and counties are included.