We evaluated more than 100 California banks on metrics including interest rates, product mix, online and mobile banking, and customer service quality. But only 10 earned a spot on our list of the best banks in California.
Whether you prefer an intimate community banking experience or the anytime, anywhere convenience of a major national bank, Californians can find the best match for their needs.
The Golden State has dozens of homegrown financial institutions, many of which serve only parts of this vast state. California also has a special connection to some of the biggest banks in the country.
Best Banks in California According to Customer Satisfaction
J.D. Power Annually completes a U.S. Retail Banking Satisfaction Study, and according to the 2023 results, here are the top four best banks in California for customer satisfaction.
| Bank | Customer Satisfaction Rating (1,000 Point Scale) |
| U.S. Bank | 667 |
| Chase Bank | 646 |
| Citibank | 634 |
| Bank of America | 628 |
10 Best Banks in California
Here are the top banks in California.
1. U.S. Bank
- Headquarters: Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Number of Branches in California: 594
U.S. Bank has more than just hundreds of branches to offer California residents. It was awarded first place in J.D. Powers U.S. Retail Banking Satisfaction Study for 2023, and is the 5th largest bank in the U.S. according to total assets.
Offering a wide variety of financial products from checking and savings accounts to home and car loans – U.S. Bank is sure to have what you are looking for.
2. Chase Bank
- Headquarters: New York City, New York
- Number of Branches in California: 906
Chase Bank offers over 900 branches for California residents and ranked second place in J.D. Powers U.S. Retail Banking Satisfaction Study for 2023. It is also the largest bank in the U.S. with more than $3.395 Trillion in assets.
Chase Bank offers pretty much any banking need you may have including the following:
- Checking Accounts
- Savings Accounts
- CD’s
- Credit Cards
3. Citibank
- Headquarters: New York City, New York
- Number of Branches in California: 272
While Citibank does not have as large of a physical branch presence in California as U.S. Bank and Chase, it ranked 3rd in J.D. Powers U.S. Retail Banking Satisfaction Study for 2023 for California – and we all know customer satisfaction goes a long way.
Their mobile app for online banking is highly rated with a 4.9 out of 5 stores on the App Store and a 4.7 out of 5 on the Google Play Store – so if you are not near a branch – you will still be able to easily access your account online.
4. Bank of America
- Headquarters: Charlotte, North Carolina
- Number of Branches in California: 740
Bank of America is a massive American bank with strong California roots. A century on from its low-key origins in San Francisco, BofA has grown into the top banking choice.
As a full-service bank, Bank of America can handle just about all of your financial needs.
Opening a checking and savings account, choose from multiple rewards credit cards with no annual fees, acquire or tap real estate equity with the bank’s mortgage loans or home equity loans and lines of credit, enjoy competitive rates on auto loans, and invest in stocks, exchange-traded funds, and more with Merrill, a BofA subsidiary.
5. Oak Valley Community Bank
- Headquarters: Oakdale, California
- Number of Branches in California: 19
- Areas Served: Central Valley, Sacramento
Oak Valley Community Bank is California’s premier community bank, which is quite a distinction in a big state full of small hometown banks. As a smaller community institution, its greatest strength is also its greatest weakness: If you don’t live somewhere between Sacramento and Modesto, you’re uncomfortably far from an Oak Valley branch.
But if you do live nearby, Oak Valley has everything you could want from a small bank:
- Branches staffed by friendly industry veterans
- Multiple checking accounts, some of which are high-interest accounts
- Health savings accounts, which are uncommon in the community banking world
- Mortgage loans and home equity products
- An impressive lineup of commercial accounts and loans
And if life or business takes you outside Oak Valley Community Bank’s home territory, you can count on its mobile apps and mobile-responsive website to stay connected.
6. First Citizens Bank
- Headquarters: Raleigh, North Carolina
- Number of Branches in California: 120
- Areas Served: 56 cities in CA
North Carolina-based First Citizens Bank barreled into California with the acquisition of OneWest Bank, a beloved southern California institution.
First Citizens Bank offers three different checking accounts, including one that’s totally free, CD and savings accounts, a handful of credit card options, and competitively priced mortgage and auto loans.
First Citizens Bank is one of the few regional banks that sells insurance (specifically auto, property, life, and umbrella liability) and offers pet health insurance quotes through Embrace Pet Insurance. It has a deep roster of commercial and small-business financing options, including vehicle financing, debt restructuring, working capital, and equipment financing. It offers in-house financial planning and investment management through First Citizens Wealth Management, its full-service wealth management arm.
7. Farmers & Merchants Bank (Southern California)
- Headquarters: Long Beach, California
- Number of Branches: 27
- Areas Served: Long Beach/Los Angeles, Orange County
The best bank in the Los Angeles area is based in Long Beach, but that’s close enough. It’s Farmers & Merchants Bank — not to be confused with Lodi-based F&M Bank, the initials of which also stand for “farmers and merchants”.
For a 27-branch bank, Farmers & Merchants has an unusually diverse personal account lineup: checking accounts, savings accounts (including a Christmas Club account), CDs, and youth accounts for high school and college students.
Business owners can count on business checking accounts, multiple business credit cards, and a business lending arm specializing in commercial real estate.
8. F&M Bank (Central/Northern California)
- Headquarters: Lodi, California
- Number of Branches: 33
- Areas Served: Central Valley, East Bay, Sacramento
The other F&M Bank has a similar number of branches a couple hundred miles north of LA and Long Beach, mostly in the Central Valley south of Sacramento.
True to its tagline — “Where Banking is Easy!” — F&M Bank has a user-friendly desktop banking interface and slick mobile app that replicates the experience on a smaller screen. All of its physical branches are full-service, meaning you don’t have to travel farther to speak with a mortgage loan officer, investment advisor, or ag loan specialist. And those branches are conveniently located, with at least one in every big town between Merced and Roseville.
F&M’s lending department reflects its rural, heavily agricultural setting, with multiple loan options for farm real estate and equipment, livestock, vineyard and winemaking equipment, and other farm-y functions. But don’t worry: If you don’t own a farm or vineyard, you can still get a regular-old mortgage loan here, plus unsecured personal loans with flexible terms.
9. Bank of Southern California
- Headquarters: San Diego, California
- Number of Branches: 13
- Areas Served: San Diego, Orange County, Los Angeles
Though it has operations in Orange County and southern LA County, Bank of Southern California focuses most of its attention on San Diego, where most of its branches are located.
On the consumer side, the standout VIP Checking account reimburses up to $25 in domestic and international ATM fees per statement cycle and pays tiered interest rates depending on your balance. The consumer savings products aren’t particularly noteworthy, but there’s a nice CD term spread at least: 90 days to five years, perfect for building a multi-CD ladder.
Bank of Southern California’s real strength is its business deposit account lineup, which features several distinct business checking accounts — from Basic Business Checking (ideal for freelancers and sole proprietors) to Analyzed Business Checking (ideal for growing businesses with high transaction volumes).
If you’re coming over from another institution, use Bank of Southern California’s consumer Switch Kit to reduce the time and hassle of changing banks.
10. Santa Cruz County Bank
- Headquarters: Santa Cruz, California
- Number of Branches: 8
- Areas Served: Santa Cruz, San Jose
Santa Cruz County Bank has the fewest locations of any bank on this list. But it’s one of the few homegrown banks that operates in the San Jose area (in Cupertino, home of Apple Inc.) That makes it a strong choice for Silicon Valley residents seeking a local alternative to big, faceless financial institutions.
For such a small bank, Santa Cruz County Bank has an impressive lineup of deposit accounts and loan options. Notably, two of its four checking accounts waive monthly service charges with recurring direct deposits. The other two have relatively manageable minimum balance requirements to waive their monthly fees.
The lending side is biased toward business customers, with just a handful of consumer credit cards. But if you do own a business in greater San Jose or Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz County Bank probably has the type of financing you need to grow it. Choose from short- and long-term asset-based loans, unsecured lines of credit, multiple Small Business Administration loan types, real estate loans, and specialty loans for agricultural and winemaking businesses. You can run your small-business retirement plans (including SEP and SIMPLE IRAs) through Santa Cruz County Bank and/or open tax-advantaged personal savings accounts (traditional and Roth IRAs, Coverdell education savings accounts) here too.
Methodology: How We Select the Best Banks in California
More than 100 homegrown and national banks operate in California. That gives locals lots of choice, but it also makes it tough to decide which are truly the best.
To narrow this list, we evaluated California banks on quality factors like product mix, rates and yields, digital and real-world convenience, and customer service quality.
Product Lineup
While there’s no rule against having more than one bank, we understand that many consumers and small-business owners prefer to do all their banking in the same place. That’s why we give preference to California banks with comprehensive product and service lineups, regardless of size or branch count. You won’t find financial institutions that focus on just one or two account types on this list.
Rates and Yields
Few banks offer the best loan rates and account yields from top to bottom. Most have some areas where they excel and others where they fall short. That being the case, all of the banks on this list offer competitive rates and terms on at least some of their deposit accounts and loan products.
Online and Mobile Banking Capabilities
Every bank on this list has a high-quality online banking interface that allows users to do most of their daily money management without walking into a branch or sidling up to an ATM. Most have mobile banking apps as well, and those that don’t at least have mobile-friendly websites.
Areas Served
All of the banks on this list meet at least one of two geographic criteria:
- Comprehensiveness, meaning they serve several regions of California or have statewide branch coverage
- Depth, meaning they have lots of branches and ATMs in narrower geographic areas
One isn’t necessarily better than the other. But if you value in-person financial services, it’s nice not to have to drive an hour each way to meet with your banker.
Customer Service Ratings
While we take user-generated reviews with a grain of salt, we give preference to banks that have clearly built up good will with the folks they serve. That’s true whether they’re thousand-branch behemoths or community institutions with just a few outposts in one corner of California or another.
ATM Access
Even the smaller banks on this list belong to larger ATM networks that offer low- or no-cost withdrawals at tens of thousands or more machines nationwide. That’s important for people whose work or leisure travels take them outside their banks’ home territories.
How to Choose a Bank in California
Overwhelmed by the sheer number of banks in California? Unsure how to narrow down your list of choices any further? Take a step back and think about what you value most in a bank.
- Coverage and Access: Unless you’re confident you’ll never need to walk into a branch or use an ATM, you want a bank that’s accessible where (and how) you live. Look for banks with branches and ATMs in your neighborhood or hometown — or at least within easy reach.
- Account and Service Fees: Look for banks that offer free checking accounts, no-annual-fee credit cards, and other low- or no-cost financial products for your everyday needs. If you must choose a bank that charges monthly maintenance fees, at least ensure you know how to get those fees waived. And avoid banks with complicated fee schedules that seem designed to squeeze you for more of your hard-earned money.
- Personal Service (or Lack Thereof): If you value personalized, one-on-one service, choose your bank accordingly. Most banks pay lip service to the concept, but it shouldn’t take long to spot the ones that really just treat you like a number.
- Deposit Account Options: Even if you have no problem maintaining accounts at multiple institutions, it’s nice to have the option to deepen your relationship with your hometown bank. So choose one with a wide variety of deposit account options rather than just one or two.
- Credit Options: Maybe you’re not in the market for a loan or credit card right now, but chances are you will be in the future. Choose a bank that offers a range of loans to save yourself the hassle of switching later — and ensure you qualify for existing-customer loan perks and rate or fee discounts when you’re ready.
- Technology: No matter how much you love your bank, you don’t have time to visit in person every time you need to get cash or pay a bill. Make sure the banks on your shortlist have online or mobile banking capabilities comprehensive enough to handle all your daily money management needs.
