143,254 people were living with diagnosed HIV in California at the end of 2023, a prevalence rate of 355.0 per 100,000, according to the California Department of Public Health[1]. California recorded 4,948 new HIV diagnoses in 2023, and 66.5% of people with diagnosed HIV were virally suppressed[1].
California's current count
CDPH's California HIV Surveillance Report — 2023 reports 143,254 people living with diagnosed HIV statewide, a prevalence rate of 355.0 per 100,000, and 4,948 new HIV diagnoses in 2023 (12.3 per 100,000)[1]. On care outcomes, 107,606 people (75.1%) were in care and 95,199 (66.5%) were virally suppressed[1]. The CDPH report reviewed for this page does not publish a statewide estimate that adds undiagnosed HIV to the diagnosed count, so no total PLHIV figure including undiagnosed infections is given here.
California has the largest state count of people living with diagnosed HIV in the country: 145,781 in CDC's December 2023 residence-based table, ahead of New York's 125,192[5]. The small gap between CDPH's 143,254 and CDC's 145,781 comes from differences in age scope, residence assignment, and data close dates rather than any disagreement about the epidemic.
Where in California people are living with HIV
People living with diagnosed HIV by local health jurisdiction in 2023: Los Angeles County 52,247 (1,631 new diagnoses), San Diego 14,406 (393), San Francisco 11,621 (187), Riverside 11,263 (300), Orange 7,780 (262), Alameda 6,250 (196), San Bernardino 5,550 (296), Sacramento 4,869 (186), Santa Clara 4,064 (166), and Long Beach 3,973 (98)[1]. Los Angeles County alone holds about 36% of the state total.
Los Angeles County's own health department estimates 56,600 people aged 13+ living with HIV, diagnosed and undiagnosed, at year-end 2023 (95% confidence interval 54,900–58,400), including about 4,900 people with undiagnosed HIV — meaning 91% knew their status. It counted 52,130 people of all ages living with diagnosed HIV at year-end 2024, with 66% virally suppressed and 1,635 new diagnoses in 2023[2]. San Francisco reported 15,544 people living with diagnosed HIV at year-end 2023 (provisional) with 133 new diagnoses[3]; the Getting to Zero SF coalition cites the following year's report at 15,400 people living with HIV, 146 new diagnoses, and 308 deaths among people with HIV/AIDS[4].
California's eight EHE priority counties
California has 8 of the 48 federal EHE priority counties: Alameda, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, Sacramento, San Bernardino, San Diego, and San Francisco[6]. Together they held 113,986 of the state's 143,254 people living with diagnosed HIV, about 80% in 2023 — a sum computed from the county table in the CDPH report[1].
CDPH measures itself against the 2025 national EHE goals of 95% in care and 95% virally suppressed. California's 2023 actuals were 75.1% in care and 66.5% virally suppressed — real progress, and a real gap[1]. Closing it is mostly about keeping people connected to care, not about finding new medicines.
The trend line, statewide and in San Francisco
People living with diagnosed HIV in California rose every year from 137,777 (2019) to 139,317 (2020), 140,842 (2021), 142,589 (2022), and 143,254 (2023) — a 2.5% increase in the prevalence rate[1]. New diagnoses dipped from 4,669 (2019) to 4,174 (2020), then climbed to 4,638 (2021), 4,927 (2022), and 4,948 (2023) — 6.0% above 2019[1].
San Francisco runs the other direction. New diagnoses there fell from 326 in 2014 to 133 in 2023, and people living with diagnosed HIV declined from 15,996 (2019) to 15,544 (2023), with viral suppression at 74% of everyone living with diagnosed HIV and 94% among those who had a viral load test in 2023[3]. In Los Angeles County, estimated new infections were 1,400 in 2023 and new diagnoses were roughly flat — 1,649 in 2022 versus 1,635 in 2023[2].
Related questions
Which California county has the most people living with HIV?
Los Angeles County, with 52,247 people living with diagnosed HIV in 2023 — about 36% of the state total. San Diego (14,406), San Francisco (11,621), and Riverside (11,263) follow.
Is San Francisco's Getting to Zero effort working?
New HIV diagnoses in San Francisco fell from 326 in 2014 to 133 in 2023, and the number of people living with diagnosed HIV in the city declined from 15,996 in 2019 to 15,544 in 2023. Getting to Zero SF cites 15,400 people living with HIV and 146 new diagnoses in the following year's report.
How many Californians with HIV are virally suppressed?
95,199 people, or 66.5% of those with diagnosed HIV, in 2023 — well short of the 95% national EHE goal. Another 107,606 people (75.1%) were in care.
Are new HIV diagnoses rising in California?
Modestly. There were 4,948 new diagnoses in 2023 versus 4,669 in 2019, a 6.0% increase, after a dip to 4,174 in 2020.
Related from RiseUpToHIV
References & Sources
- CDPH Office of AIDS — California HIV Surveillance Report 2023. Statewide and county counts of people living with diagnosed HIV, new diagnoses, care continuum, EHE benchmarks, and multi-year trends. ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩
- LA County DHSP — Annual HIV Surveillance Report (2024). Los Angeles County estimates of people living with HIV including undiagnosed, diagnosed count, viral suppression, and estimated new infections. ↩ ↩
- SFDPH — HIV Epidemiology Annual Report 2023. San Francisco counts of people living with diagnosed HIV, new diagnoses, and viral suppression, plus the 2014–2023 trend. ↩ ↩
- Getting to Zero San Francisco. Coalition homepage citing the following year's San Francisco figures. ↩
- CDC — HIV and AIDS data through December 2023 (state tables). Federal residence-based state counts, with California the largest at 145,781. ↩
- HIV.gov — EHE Priority Jurisdictions. Confirms California's eight EHE priority counties. ↩
Community publications like POZ, Positively Aware, and TheBody inform framing and lived-experience context on RiseUpToHIV. Every clinical, epidemiological, or public-health claim above is anchored to a primary source.