Elevation of Berkeley
169ft
above sea level · 52 m
Berkeley is a city in California with 121,911 people, the 53rd most populous in the state. Of the 249 US cities with 100,000 to 250,000 people, it’s the 90th lowest.
By the Mapsfera Team
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Place facts
- Coordinates
- 37.87° N · 122.27° W
- In degrees, minutes and seconds: 37° 52′ 18″ N · 122° 16′ 22″ W
- UTM coordinates
- 10S · 563,962 E · 4,191,817 N
- Zone 10 · NAD83, the official US datum
- Time zone
- Pacific Time
- UTC−8 · UTC−7 in summer (daylight saving time)
- Population (2025)
- 121,911 people
- 10.4 sq mi of land · 11,688 people/sq mi
- Elevation model
- USGS 3DEP, 1 m grid
- Lidar from January 2021: the ground height at the city’s reference point.
Population
Berkeley had 121,911 residents on July 1, 2025, according to Census Bureau estimates, 1.9% fewer than in April 2020, when it had 124,292. Its 10.4 sq mi of land work out to 11,688 people/sq mi; the state average is 253 people/sq mi.
It’s the 53rd most populous of the 1,617 places the Census counts in California (cities, towns and CDPs), after Los Angeles (3,869,089), and holds 0.3% of the state’s population.
It lies entirely within Alameda County. Its reference point in the USGS gazetteer is 1.5 mi from the geographic center the Census gives for the city.
Compared with US cities of 100,000 to 250,000
Berkeley sits at 169 ft (52 m) above sea level. Of the 249 US cities with 100,000 to 250,000 people, the highest is Lakewood (5,520 ft) and the lowest is Fort Lauderdale (3 ft). The average is 862 ft: Berkeley is 693 ft below it.
The state capital, Sacramento, is 65 mi away in a straight line and 142 ft lower than Berkeley.
The nearest city with more than 250,000 people is Oakland, 4.6 mi away in a straight line and 127 ft lower.
Of the 75 cities in California with a page, Berkeley is the 37th highest: the highest is Hesperia (3,178 ft) and the lowest is Stockton (12 ft).
The highest point in California is Mount Whitney, at 14,494 ft according to the USGS: 14,325 ft above Berkeley, 236 mi away in a straight line.
- 160 Berkeley 169 ft
Each color band is 500 m (1,640 ft), the same colors as the map. See the full list
Nearest cities with a page
Tools for this place
Step-by-step guide How to find the elevation of any place
Frequently asked questions
What people most often ask about the elevation of Berkeley.
What is the elevation of Berkeley?
Berkeley is 169 feet (52 m) above sea level. That’s the ground height from the USGS 3DEP elevation model at the city’s reference point in the official gazetteer (GNIS). The city doesn’t have a single elevation: it rises and falls from one neighborhood to another.
What are the coordinates of Berkeley?
Latitude 37.87159 and longitude -122.27275, in decimal degrees (37° 52′ 18″ N · 122° 16′ 22″ W). In UTM, zone 10: 563,962 E and 4,191,817 N, on NAD83.
How does Berkeley rank among the highest US cities of its size?
It’s the 90th lowest of the 249 US cities with 100,000 to 250,000 people. The highest is Lakewood (5,520 ft) and the lowest is Fort Lauderdale (3 ft).
What county is Berkeley in?
Alameda County, California.
Which is higher, Berkeley or Sacramento?
Berkeley. Berkeley sits at 169 ft and Sacramento at 27 ft: a difference of 142 ft, 65 mi apart in a straight line.
How is elevation measured?
Elevation is the height above mean sea level. In the US the official reference is the NAVD88 vertical datum. Summits are surveyed on the ground, with leveling and precise GPS. The USGS 3DEP is an elevation model of the whole country, largely from 1-meter lidar: it gives the ground height at every point. That’s why it can differ by a few feet from the official figure of a sharp summit.
Sources
- USGS 3DEP (EPQS service) The elevation: the ground height at the reference point. Public domain.
- USGS GNIS (official gazetteer) The city’s reference point (“Populated Place”). Public domain.
- U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 estimates Population, land area (2025 Gazetteer) and counties. Public domain.
- TIGERweb (U.S. Census Bureau) Which county and city the point falls in. Public domain.
- timezone-boundary-builder The point’s time zone (ODbL, © OpenStreetMap contributors).
- Terrain Tiles, OpenStreetMap and OpenFreeMap The relief shading and the base map (ODbL).
Methodology and sources · Spotted a mistake? Let us know