California cell towers at a glance
The FCC records list 6,567 cell towers and other antenna sites in California: every registered antenna structure that is built and still standing, plus the licensed cellular transmitter sites too short to need registration. That ranks California 2nd of the 51 states and DC by number of registered sites. The most common structure is the tower, with 1,909 sites (29%). Los Angeles has the most listed sites of any city, at 231.
To see the ones near you, tap Find towers near me above or type a California ZIP code. The list ranks sites by distance and shows the direction to each, its height and its owner.
Carriers on the record in California
T-Mobile is named on the most California sites, 658 of them (10%). A carrier is named only when it owns the structure or its cellular licence lists the site, so these counts are a floor, not a total. Most towers in California are owned by tower companies that rent space to several carriers without naming them.
| Carrier | Sites naming it | Share of California sites |
|---|---|---|
| Verizon | 308 | 4.7% |
| AT&T | 413 | 6.3% |
| T-Mobile | 658 | 10% |
Who owns the towers in California
The largest single owner name in California is Los Angeles SMSA Limited Partnership, with 481 sites (7.3%). Tower companies file under several subsidiary names, so one company can appear more than once below. Our guide to who owns cell towers explains which names belong together.
| Owner as filed | Sites | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles SMSA Limited Partnership | 481 | 7.3% |
| SBA 2012 TC Assets, LLC | 479 | 7.3% |
| American Towers LLC | 418 | 6.4% |
| T-Mobile West LLC | 409 | 6.2% |
| CCATT LLC | 390 | 5.9% |
| AT&T Mobility Spectrum LLC | 254 | 3.9% |
| T-Mobile West Tower LLC | 211 | 3.2% |
| PACIFIC GAS & ELECTRIC COMPANY | 210 | 3.2% |
Types of structure
| Structure | Sites | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Tower | 1,909 | 29% |
| Pole | 1,500 | 23% |
| Monopole | 1,246 | 19% |
| Lattice tower | 636 | 9.7% |
| Disguised tree (monopine) | 212 | 3.2% |
| Antenna on a building | 175 | 2.7% |
See types of cell towers for how to recognise each one.
Cities with the most listed sites
By the city named on each FCC filing. Filings use the nearest town, so rural towers count toward it. Each link opens the tower finder at the middle of that city's sites.
| City | Sites | |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | 231 | Towers around Los Angeles |
| San Diego | 197 | Towers around San Diego |
| Sacramento | 121 | Towers around Sacramento |
| Fresno | 120 | Towers around Fresno |
| Riverside | 119 | Towers around Riverside |
| Bakersfield | 104 | Towers around Bakersfield |
| San Jose | 103 | Towers around San Jose |
| Ontario | 93 | Towers around Ontario |
| Corona | 68 | Towers around Corona |
| Hayward | 53 | Towers around Hayward |
Tallest registered structures in California
The tallest is a guyed tower near Walnut Grove at 2,051 feet (625 m) overall, owned by SACRAMENTO TOWER JOINT VENTURE. Structures this tall are usually broadcast masts or buildings rather than cell sites, but many carry cell antennas partway up.
| Height | Type | City | Owner | ASR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2,051 ft | Guyed tower | Walnut Grove | SACRAMENTO TOWER JOINT VENTURE | 1011404 |
| 2,001 ft | Tower | Walnut Grove | Hearst Stations Inc. | 1015686 |
| 1,998 ft | Tower | Walnut Grove | Tribune Media Company | 1012278 |
| 1,552 ft | Tower | Watsonville | Mount Madonna Tower Owners Association | 1018359 |
| 997 ft | Lattice tower | Red Bluff | California TV, LLC | 1049183 |
What is not counted
FCC registration is required only for structures over 200 feet or near airports, so shorter monopoles, rooftop antennas and small cells in California are mostly missing unless a cellular licence lists them. Why a tower is missing from the map explains the gap. The data is rebuilt monthly from the FCC's bulk files.