California at a glance
| Rule | California, as of 30 September 2026 |
|---|---|
| PSYPACT (psychologists) | No |
| Counseling Compact (counselors) | No |
| Social Work Licensure Compact | No |
| Health-data or health geofencing law | AB 45 health location privacy |
| Privacy law treating health data as sensitive | California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), as amended by the CPRA |
What patients search for in California
Monthly Google searches in the US that name a California city, from Ahrefs (checked 30 September 2026). Each cell is searches a month, then the average cost per click advertisers paid on Google. They are estimates, and a dash means too few searches to measure. Most people search “near me” instead of typing a city, so these are the visible part of the demand, not all of it. The Statewide row counts searches that name the state instead of a city.
| City | Therapist | Psychiatrist | Ketamine | IOP | Weight loss | Functional med. | Concierge | GI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | 800 $9.00 | 1,600 $6.00 | 350 $4.50 | 600 $8.00 | 150 $2.50 | 400 $2.00 | 150 $3.00 | 800 $2.50 |
| San Diego | 800 $10.00 | 600 $5.00 | 250 $4.50 | 250 $6.00 | 150 $4.00 | 150 $2.00 | 150 $2.50 | 400 $1.50 |
| Sacramento | 400 $9.00 | 200 $4.50 | 150 $4.00 | 150 $4.50 | 200 $3.00 | 30 $0.70 | 70 $1.50 | 150 $1.40 |
| San Francisco | 450 $10.00 | 250 $5.00 | 150 $3.00 | 100 $7.00 | 100 $3.00 | 150 $1.90 | 90 $4.00 | 30 $2.00 |
| Fresno | 300 $7.00 | 300 $4.50 | 40 $4.50 | – | – | 20 $2.00 | 30 $1.50 | 300 $1.10 |
| San Jose | 450 $9.00 | 200 $3.50 | 80 $7.00 | 40 | 100 $2.50 | 60 | – | 50 $1.10 |
| Orange County | 200 $8.00 | 200 $5.00 | 20 $5.00 | 150 $10.00 | 20 $3.00 | 50 $0.90 | 50 $0.60 | 200 $1.90 |
| Long Beach | 150 $8.00 | 150 $4.50 | 50 | 60 | 60 $2.00 | 50 $0.80 | – | 200 $3.00 |
| Bay Area | 150 $8.00 | 150 $5.00 | 200 $4.00 | – | 30 $3.00 | 100 $1.80 | 80 | – |
| Statewide | 150 $6.00 | 200 $3.50 | 100 $5.00 | 100 $9.00 | 30 $2.00 | 10 $0.90 | – | – |
| Bakersfield | 300 $7.00 | 60 $3.50 | 20 | 10 | 30 | 10 | – | 150 $1.30 |
| Irvine | 150 $8.00 | 50 $4.50 | 100 | 10 | 20 | 10 $1.30 | 10 | 200 $2.00 |
| Riverside | 150 $7.00 | 150 $4.00 | 10 | 40 | – | – | 30 | 70 $1.70 |
| Oakland | 100 $5.00 | 150 $4.50 | 80 $5.00 | – | – | 40 $0.90 | – | 10 |
| Santa Clarita | 80 | 100 $4.50 | – | 10 | 40 | 20 $0.90 | – | 100 $1.50 |
| Anaheim | 50 $8.00 | 40 | – | 80 | 10 $3.50 | – | – | 150 $2.00 |
| Fremont | 200 $4.00 | 70 $3.00 | – | – | 20 | – | – | 10 $1.60 |
| Modesto | 100 $7.00 | 100 $3.00 | 10 | – | – | 40 | – | 10 |
| Stockton | 150 $7.00 | 50 $2.50 | – | – | 10 | – | – | 10 $1.50 |
| Chula Vista | 80 $2.00 | 70 $3.00 | – | – | – | – | – | 70 $1.20 |
| San Bernardino | 100 $4.50 | 70 $3.50 | – | – | – | – | 10 | 40 $1.40 |
| Santa Ana | 70 $3.50 | 90 | – | 20 | – | – | – | 10 $1.90 |
| Moreno Valley | 60 $8.00 | 40 | – | – | – | – | – | 10 |
| Fontana | 40 $4.00 | 20 $3.50 | – | – | 20 $2.00 | – | – | – |
The largest is Los Angeles, where “psychiatrist los angeles” gets about 1,600 searches a month. To turn a cost per click into a cost per booked patient, put your own numbers into the patient acquisition cost calculator.
Telehealth across California's borders
California is not in PSYPACT, so a psychologist licensed here needs a license in each other state where they want to treat clients by telehealth, and ads should stay inside those states.
California has not enacted the Counseling Compact, so a counselor licensed here needs a separate license for each other state.
Physicians, psychiatrists included, need a license in each state they treat patients in; the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact can speed that up where a state takes part.
For marketing, that sets the map: an ad for online therapy or telepsychiatry should only run where the clinician can legally see the person who clicks it. Our guide to PSYPACT and Counseling Compact states lists every member state and how to set up ad targeting around them.
Practices near a state line often see clients from next door. Oregon, Nevada and Arizona each have their own page.
Health data, tracking and California law
California's AB 45, in effect since January 1, 2026, bans geofencing around in-person health care facilities (within 1,850 feet) to track people, collect their data or send them ads, and bars collecting personal information from people at or near family planning centers.
California's privacy law, the CCPA as amended by the CPRA, also treats health information as sensitive personal information.
Wherever the practice is, our rule is the same: no health information goes to ad platforms, and booking pages ask for nothing clinical. None of this is legal advice; your counsel decides what applies to your practice.
For how these laws compare across states, and the website setup that works under all of them, see our guide to the My Health My Data Act and other state health-data laws.
Your boards' advertising rules
Ads, websites and directory profiles all count as advertising to a licensing board. These are the California rules we check copy against, with links to the official text. Boards update their rules, so read the current version before you rely on a summary.
California Board of Behavioral Sciences (LMFT, LCSW, LPCC, LEP)
- From 1 April 2026, every advertisement must include the licensee's full name (first and last, plus any middle name or suffix) and their license or registration number. (16 CCR 1811)
All California healing-arts licensees, psychologists and physicians included
- No false, misleading or deceptive public communication, online included, such as testimonials that leave out material facts or claims likely to create unjustified expectations of results. (Business and Professions Code 651)
How we work with California practices
We're a remote US healthcare marketing agency, so there's no California office to visit. We work by video with practices across California, including Los Angeles, San Diego, Sacramento and San Francisco. The ads run in your own accounts, the booking page takes the appointment, and we count booked appointments, not clicks. Most practices start with the 30-day Proof Pilot, which opens with an audit.
Ads stop when the budget does, so we pair them with healthcare SEO: the work that gets a practice found when people in Los Angeles and San Diego search, without paying for each click.
The specialties we run, each with its own page: mental and behavioral health, therapy and counseling, psychiatry, ketamine and Spravato, IOP and PHP, medical weight loss, functional medicine, concierge and DPC and gastroenterology.
Sources
- PSYPACT, compact map, checked 30 September 2026
- Counseling Compact, member map, checked 30 September 2026
- Counseling Compact, Pennsylvania becomes the 40th member, checked 30 September 2026
- Social Work Licensure Compact, enacted in 35 states, checked 30 September 2026
- Interstate Medical Licensure Compact, participating states, checked 30 September 2026
- IAPP, US State Privacy Legislation Tracker, checked 30 September 2026
- Ahrefs Keywords Explorer, US search volumes and cost per click, checked 30 September 2026
- California Legislative Information, AB 45 (2025), checked 30 September 2026
- California Board of Behavioral Sciences (LMFT, LCSW, LPCC, LEP), checked 30 September 2026
- All California healing-arts licensees, psychologists and physicians included, checked 30 September 2026