Huntington Beach is a city in Orange County, California, United States. The city was originally called Pacific City, but it was changed in 1903 to be named after American businessman Henry E. Huntington. The population was 198,711 as of the 2020 United States census, making it the fourth most populous city in Orange County, the most populous beach city in Orange County, and the seventh most populous city in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area. Located southeast of Downtown Los Angeles, it is bordered by Bolsa Chica Basin State Marine Conservation Area on the west, the Pacific Ocean on the southwest, by Seal Beach on the northwest, by Westminster on the north, by Fountain Valley on the northeast, by Costa Mesa on the east, and by Newport Beach on the southeast.
Huntington Beach has a long stretch of sandy beach, mild climate, conditions considered ideal for surfing, and a strong beach culture. Swells generated predominantly from the North Pacific in winter and from a combination of Southern Hemisphere storms and cyclones in the summer focus on Huntington Beach, creating consistent surf all year long, hence the nickname "Surf City". Bolsa Chica was one of the areas where the Tongva would settle during the winter. The nearby village of Genga, shared with the Acjachemen, was located across the Santa Ana River in what became Newport Beach and Costa Mesa.
American era
The main thoroughfare of Huntington Beach, Beach Boulevard, was originally a cattle route for the main industry of the Rancho. Once it was known as Shell Beach, the town of Smeltzer, and then Gospel Swamp for the revival meetings that were held in the marshland where the community college Golden West College stands. Later it became known as Fairview and then Pacific City, as it developed into a tourist destination. In order to secure access to the Pacific Electric Red Car lines that used to criss-cross Los Angeles and ended in Long Beach, Pacific City ceded enormous power to railroad magnate Henry E. Huntington, and thus became a city whose name has been written into corporate sponsorship, and like much of the history of Southern California, boosterism.
20th century
The original Huntington Beach Pier was built in 1904 and was a . Huntington Beach was incorporated on February 17, 1909, during the tenure of its first mayor, Ed Manning. Its first developer was Huntington Beach Company (formerly the West Coast Land and Water Company), a real-estate development firm owned by Henry Huntington. The Huntington Beach Company is still a major land-owner in the city, and owns most of the local mineral rights. The company is wholly owned by the Chevron Corporation.
At one time, an encyclopedia company gave away free parcels of land (with the purchase of a complete set for $126) in the Huntington Beach area. The lucky buyers got more than they had bargained for when oil was discovered in the area, and enormous development of the oil reserves followed. Though many of the old reserves are depleted, and the price of land for housing has pushed many of the rigs off the landscape, oil pumps still dot the city.
Huntington Beach was primarily agricultural in its early years with crops such as lima beans, asparagus, peppers, celery and sugar beets. Holly Sugar was a major employer with a large processing plant in the city that was later converted into an oil refinery.
The city's first high school, Huntington Beach High School, located on Main Street, was built in 1906. The school's team, the Oilers, is named after the city's original natural resource.
Meadowlark Airport, a small general-aviation airport, existed in Huntington Beach from the 1940s until 1989.
Huntington Beach Speedway, a racetrack designed for midget car racing, existed from 1946 until 1958.
21st century
In 2023, Huntington Beach became involved in a lawsuit against California governor Gavin Newsom. In March 2023, the state sued Huntington Beach for failing to comply with state housing regulations. The suit brought by the state argued that the city’s ban on the processing of Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) applications violated state housing laws. The state law required Huntington Beach to zone for 13,368 units to be built inside the city limits from October 2021 to 2029. The state had submitted and amended a complaint as of April 10, 2023, arguing that the city is in violation of the Housing Element Law. The state was seeking both penalties and injunctive relief. In addition to relief, the state was seeking the suspension of the city’s permitting authority and mandating the approval of certain projects. On September 12, 2025, the Fourth Circuit of the California Courts of Appeal ruled against Huntington Beach's claim of exemption from consequences, and ordered the trial court to impose a 120-day deadline for the city to update its plan as well as state preemption of city permitting and zoning laws until the city complies with the law.
The city responded to the state's lawsuit with a federal countersuit that argued it is not subject to state housing laws. Huntington Beach's lawsuit describes overturning the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) which determines how housing needs are allocated, and challenged RHNA on federal constitutional grounds. Huntington Beach council members have argued that local zoning should be left in control of the city. The state filed a motion on June 22, 2023, to dismiss the city’s federal lawsuit. As of November 15, 2023, a federal judge has dismissed Huntington Beach’s lawsuit against the state over housing mandates, and a petition by the city for an en banc rehearing of the case was denied by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on April 21, 2025.
Geography
thumb|Gull on [[Huntington Beach Pier]]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of . of it is land and of it (4.71%) is water. The climate is generally sunny, dry and cool, although evenings can be excessively damp. In the morning and evening, strong breezes often reach . Ocean water temperatures average . In the summer, temperatures rarely exceed . In the winter, temperatures rarely fall below , even on clear nights. There are about of rain, almost all in mid-winter. Frost occurs only rarely, on the coldest winter nights. The area is annually affected by a marine layer caused by the cool air of the Pacific Ocean meeting the warm air over the land. This results in overcast and foggy conditions in May and June.
Natural resources
Between Downtown Huntington Beach and Huntington Harbour lies a large marshy wetland, much of which is protected within the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve. A $110 million restoration of the wetlands was completed in 2006. The reserve is popular with bird watchers and photographers.
South of Downtown, the Talbert, Brookhurst and Magnolia Marshes, which lie across the street from Huntington State Beach, had restoration completed in 2010.
The northern and southern beaches (Bolsa Chica State Beach and Huntington State Beach, respectively) are state parks. Only the city maintains the central beach (Huntington City Beach). Camping and RVs are permitted here, and popular campsites for the Fourth of July and the Surfing Championships must be reserved many months in advance. Bolsa Chica State Beach is actually a sand bar fronting the Bolsa Bay and Bolsa Chica State Ecological Reserve.
The Orange County run Sunset Marina Park next to is part of Anaheim Bay. It is suitable for light craft, and includes a marina, launching ramp, basic services, a picnic area and a few restaurants. The park is in Seal Beach, but is only reachable from Huntington Harbour. The Sunset/Huntington Harbour area is patrolled by the Orange County Sheriff's Harbor Patrol.
The harbor entrance for Anaheim Bay is sometimes restricted by the United States Navy, which loads ships with munitions at the Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station to the north of the main channel.