Bank routing numbers in California

About banking in California

California is home to 505 chartered banks and credit unions registered with the Federal Reserve's FedACH Participant directory. The list above includes national banks operating local branches, state-chartered community banks, federally insured credit unions, savings institutions, and the local Federal Reserve servicing branches that clear payments for the region. Each institution maintains at least one routing transit number (RTN) — and many of the larger national brands carry several distinct numbers within a single state to reflect the legacy charters they absorbed through past mergers.

The routing number listed for a given California bank is the number you would use for ACH credits and debits — including direct deposit of payroll, automatic bill-pay, IRS tax refunds, Social Security payments, and electronic payments to vendors. For domestic wire transfers, larger banks may publish a separate national wire-routing number; always confirm the correct wire RTN with the bank before sending an irreversible Fedwire payment.

Common California banking tasks

• Setting up direct deposit — give your employer the routing number listed for the bank where your account was opened, plus your account number. The routing number does not change if you move to another state, even if the bank also operates there.
• Receiving a federal tax refund — the IRS uses the same ACH routing number as direct deposit. Double-check the number on your tax return before filing; refunds sent to a wrong routing number can take 6–12 weeks to recover.
• Linking external accounts — services like Venmo, PayPal, Cash App, Zelle, and brokerage transfers all rely on the ABA routing number to verify ownership of your account through micro-deposits.
• Closing on real estate — wire instructions provided by a title company should always be confirmed by phone using a number you found independently. Wire fraud targeting California homebuyers is one of the most common high-value scams reported to the FBI.

Top cities for banking in California

Within California, FedACH-registered offices are concentrated in the metro centers where the state's largest banks and credit unions maintain their headquarters or operations centers. The city pages linked below list every routing number registered to an institution at that city's address — useful when you're confirming a local community bank or credit union by location rather than by brand.

• Los Angeles — 101 routing numbers across 46 institutions
• San Diego — 61 routing numbers across 16 institutions
• Irvine — 47 routing numbers across 11 institutions
• Carlsbad — 29 routing numbers across 3 institutions
• El Monte — 27 routing numbers across 7 institutions
• Ontario — 27 routing numbers across 5 institutions
• San Francisco — 26 routing numbers across 21 institutions
• Downey — 21 routing numbers across 6 institutions

Federal Reserve coverage

Payments originating from California are settled through one of the twelve Federal Reserve districts. The first two digits of the routing number for any local bank tell you which district handles the clearing — for example, numbers beginning with 12 settle through the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, while numbers beginning with 02 settle through New York. This is invisible to you as a customer, but it is the reason an ACH transfer initiated late in the day in one part of the country can post a full business day after one initiated earlier elsewhere.