Additionally, California's Silicon Valley is home to some of the world's most valuable technology companies, including Apple, Alphabet, and Nvidia.

In 1847, California was controlled (with much difficulty due to deserters leaving to look for gold) by a U.S. Army-appointed military governor and an inadequate force of a little over 600 troops.

Prior to 1850, the government was judged inadequate and poorly run, and statehood status was sought to start trying to remedy this problem.

The loading of such cars with oranges, at Los Angeles on February 14, 1886, started an economic boom in the citrus industry of Southern California, by making deliveries of perishable fruits and vegetables to the eastern United States possible.

[citation needed] Early farming in the state was primarily concentrated near the coast, and the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta in the Central Valley.

Water for agricultural and municipal purposes was captured in the spring from snow melt in the Sierra Nevada (U.S.) and stored for later irrigation use with an extensive system of dams and canals.

The California Aqueduct, developed at the cost of several billion dollars, helps store and transport water from the Feather River Basin to agricultural and municipal users statewide.

In the extensive fields of the Imperial Valley, irrigation is facilitated in part by the All-American Canal—part of the Colorado River Aqueduct project.

Agriculture is one of the prominent elements of the state's economy: California leads the nation in the production of fruits, vegetables, wines and nuts.

California's farms are highly productive as a result of good soil, a long growing season, the use of modern agricultural methods and extensive irrigation.

The first paddle steamer, the SS California, arrived in the port of San Francisco on February 28, 1849,[20] with over 400 passengers trying to get to the gold rush territory.

California led in the number of merchant ships built at the Kaiser shipyards in Richmond and the Los Angeles areas.

Mare Island Naval Shipyard (now closed) in the San Francisco Bay built submarines as well as repaired many of the ships used by the U.S. Navy Pacific Fleet in World War II.

The idea of combining motion pictures with recorded sound is nearly as old as film itself, but because of the technical challenges involved, synchronized dialogue was only made practical in the late 1920s with the perfection of the Audion amplifier tube and the introduction of the Vitaphone system.

Cheap land, good year-round climate and large natural spaces prompted the growing film industry to begin migrating to Southern California in the early part of the 20th century.

By 1912, most major film companies had set up movie production facilities in Southern California near or in Los Angeles because of the region's favorable year-round weather and the rapidly growing supply of "talent" both before and behind the cameras.

Stanford University, its affiliates, and graduates played a major role in the development of California's electronics and high-tech industry.

[23] During the 1940s and 1950s, Frederick Terman, as Stanford's dean of engineering and provost, encouraged faculty and graduates to start their own companies.

He is credited with nurturing Hewlett-Packard, Varian Associates, Fairchild Semiconductor, Intel Corporation and later other high-tech firms such as Apple Inc., Google, etc.

California also pioneered numerous innovations in retailing during the mid-20th century, particularly fast food restaurants and credit cards.

Nationwide fast food chains A&W Restaurants (1919), McDonald's (1940), Taco Bell (1961), and Panda Express (1983) were all founded in California.

[32] Compared to other states, California has a large agriculture industry (including fruit, vegetables, dairy, and wine production),[33][34] The total economic contribution is likely more than double this value (see below).

[54] The 8.4 percent "average" sales tax assessed by the state and local governments of California is one of the highest in the nation and varies by city and county from a low of 7.25% to 10.0%.

In addition to having a clear title, a passed smog and emission inspection on the vehicle plus proof of insurance are needed before a car can be registered.

[54] California property tax rates are ranked 17th highest in the nation[56] having been capped by the Proposition 13 overwhelmingly passed in 1978.

Under Proposition 13, the maximum amount of tax on real estate in California is limited to 1.0% plus local voter-approved surcharges for "extras".

[61] Since they re-purposed much of the state and federal fuel taxes there are now complaints that there is not enough money in the transportation funds to do all the required highway upgrades and maintenance.

The unemployment insurance rate, paid by the employer, is experienced based and averages about 1.0%–6.0% of the first $7,000 of worker's income—employers with high turnovers pay more.

The Great Recession resulted in a high unemployment rate, causing California to borrow about $10 billion from the federal government.

[63] Various real estate markets in California experienced sharp increases in value in the early 2000s, followed by declines in 2007 and 2008, as a housing bubble burst.