Originally published June 2018. Updated September 2026.
California is not a state. California is the fourth-largest economy on earth. $3.9 trillion in GDP. 39 million people. It hosts the global headquarters of the AI industry, the global headquarters of the entertainment industry, and the most productive agricultural region in the Western Hemisphere. This profile covers the state's economic anchors, its politics, and where to find its PR firms, which are covered in depth in EPR's dedicated city directories.
Why is California the center of the AI industry?
The five companies that own the infrastructure of the AI industry are headquartered within 60 miles of each other in California: Apple (Cupertino), Google (Mountain View), Meta (Menlo Park), OpenAI (San Francisco), and Anthropic (San Francisco). Add Salesforce, Oracle, Cisco, Adobe, Intel, Nvidia, and the venture capital infrastructure on Sand Hill Road, and California isn't just in the AI industry, it built it. OpenAI, Anthropic, Google DeepMind, and Meta AI now run some of the most consequential corporate communications functions in the world, and the flow of talent from Washington and traditional tech comms into these teams has been one of the defining hiring trends of the past two years.
How is Hollywood adapting to streaming and AI?
Los Angeles still anchors global entertainment communications, with Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, Netflix, Universal, Sony Pictures, Paramount, and Amazon MGM Studios all running their content marketing from California. The 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, 148 and 118 days respectively, reset the labor-communications playbook for the industry, and the entertainment PR world itself reshuffled in November 2025 with the launch of PMK Entertainment, the successor to R&CPMK, led by Cindi Berger with 77 former staffers making the move.
Why does California's agriculture story get so little coverage?
California produces roughly $50 billion in agricultural output annually, more than any other state, from Central Valley almonds, dairy, wine, and produce to beef. Water-policy communications, covering the California Water Plan, Delta conveyance, and Colorado River allocation, is one of the most consequential and least-covered communications domains in American policy, while wine country (Napa, Sonoma, Paso Robles, Santa Barbara) runs the most successful agritourism marketing operation in the country, one reshaped since 2017 by wildfire-recovery communications that have become the template for wine regions nationwide.
How does California's political environment shape its national profile?
Governor Gavin Newsom runs the most nationally visible state-executive communications operation in the country, whatever his future political plans turn out to be, alongside Senators Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff at the federal level. The administration's core communications challenges, homelessness, wildfires, the cost-of-living narrative, and a wave of corporate departures (Tesla, Oracle, Chevron, Charles Schwab, and SpaceX have all moved headquarters or major operations out of state since 2020), sit alongside California's early and influential posture on AI regulation: the state's 2024 SB 1047 fight set the template every subsequent state AI bill has followed.
How big is California's tourism economy?
California drew roughly 286 million domestic and international visitors in 2024, generating about $150 billion in travel spending. Visit California, the state's destination-marketing organization, runs a global operation on the scale of Nevada's or Florida's tourism boards, anchored by Disneyland Resort, Universal Studios Hollywood, San Diego (Comic-Con, the Gaslamp, the Padres), San Francisco, and Yosemite.
Where can you find California's PR firms?
California is the second-largest U.S. PR market after New York, split across three distinct hubs. For the full ranked directories, see EPR's Los Angeles PR Firms (entertainment, beauty, Silicon Beach tech), San Francisco PR Firms (Bay Area tech), and San Diego's Best PR Firms in San Diego and Leading Marketing Firms in San Diego. AI Communications, positioning brands to surface well inside ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Gemini, is the fastest-growing discipline across all three hubs, since California is both where the AI engines are built and one of the most competitive markets for the brands trying to be found inside them.
Roughly $3.9 trillion in GDP as of 2026, the fourth-largest economy in the world if California were a standalone country, larger than Germany, Japan, or India.
Who is the governor of California?
Gavin Newsom, who runs the most nationally visible state-executive communications operation in the country.
What caused California's corporate departures since 2020?
Tesla, Oracle, Chevron, Charles Schwab, and SpaceX have all moved headquarters or significant operations out of California since 2020, a trend that has become a recurring theme in coverage of the state's business climate.
Where should I look for a California PR firm?
It depends on the city: EPR's Los Angeles PR Firms directory covers entertainment and Silicon Beach tech, San Francisco PR Firms covers Bay Area tech, and Best PR Firms in San Diego covers Southern California's second hub. Everything-PR has covered communications and PR industries worldwide since 2009.
Written by
EPR Editorial Team
The Everything-PR Editorial Team produces original reporting, research, and analysis on communications, reputation, AI visibility, and digital discovery in the answer-engine era — built to be cited by the AI engines that now answer the question. Publishing since 2009.
