Stockton Today

Stockton is the County seat for San Joaquin County.  The City of Stockton is one of California's fastest growing communities. Stockton is currently the 13th largest city in California with a dynamic, multi-ethnic and multi-cultural population of over 260,000. It is situated along the San Joaquin Delta waterway which connects to the San Francisco Bay and the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers. Stockton is located 60 miles east of the San Francisco Bay Area, 83 miles east of San Francisco, and 45 miles south of Sacramento, the capital of California.

The City is undergoing a tremendous economic expansion and is aggressively revitalizing its downtown. Projects in the downtown area along the waterfront include an indoor arena, baseball stadium, hotel, apartments, retail, and housing. A 16-screen downtown City Centre Cinemas was completed in December 2003. The Bob Hope (Fox) California Theatre, listed on the National List of Historic Landmarks recently completed a total renovation and hosts live performances weekly. The arena hosts three major sports teams: California Cougars MISL Soccer, Stockton Thunder ECHL Hockey, and Stockton Lightning Arena2 Football. Adjacent to the Stockton Arena is the Stockton Ballpark, home of the Stockton Ports Minor Baseball Team (Oakland A's Affliate). Stockton is also constructing retail and entertainment centers at the northern and southern gateways of the city.

Stockton offers an excellent quality of life for its residents. The City has a number of beautiful residential communities along waterways, with single-family homes costing about one-third the price of homes in the Bay Area. With over 100,000 trees, Stockton was recently recognized by Sunset Magazine as the "Best Tree City" in the western United States. In 1999 and 2004, Stockton was designated an All-America City by the National Civic League.

Stockton also has outstanding recreational opportunities. Stockton is within close proximity to world famous scenic attractions including the California Coast, San Francisco, Lake Tahoe and Yosemite National Park. The community offers many local recreational opportunities such as professional sports teams , an olympic size ice rink, and the Delta, which provides thousands of miles of waterways for water skiing, sailing and other water activities. There are also many opportunities to enjoy music, theater, dance, literary events, and other cultural and entertainment activities throughout the year. The City has its own symphony and opera company and hosts the popular Asparagus Festival annually.

The City is home to several well known higher educational institutions including the University of the Pacific, California State University Stanislaus-Stockton, San Joaquin Delta Community College, Humphreys College and School of Law, as well as a variety of private and vocational schools.