About Fresno

Fresno (/frzno/) is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about 115 square miles (300km2) and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, making it the fifth-most populous city in California, the most populous inland city in California, and the 34th-most populous city in the nation.[11][12] The Metro population of Fresno is 1,008,654 as of 2022. [13]

Named for the abundant ash trees lining the San Joaquin River, Fresno was founded in 1872 as a railway station of the Central Pacific Railroad before it was incorporated in 1885. It has since become an economic hub of Fresno County and the San Joaquin Valley, with much of the surrounding areas in the Metropolitan Fresno region predominantly tied to large-scale agricultural production. Fresno is near the geographic center of California, approximately 220 miles (350km) north of Los Angeles, 170 miles (270km) south of the state capital, Sacramento, and 185 miles (300km) southeast of San Francisco. Yosemite National Park is about 60 miles (100km) to the north, Kings Canyon National Park 60 miles (100km) to the east, and Sequoia National Park 75 miles (120km) to the southeast.

Fresno is also the third-largest majority-Hispanic city in the United States; 50.5% of its population was Hispanic in 2020.[14] Since 2010, statewide droughts in California have further strained both Fresno's and the entire Central Valley's water security.[15][16]
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