Stockton is a city in California and the seat of San Joaquin County (the fifth largest agricultural county in the United States). Stockton's population estimate for 2008-01-01, according to the California Department of Finance, is 289,927. Stockton is the fifth largest inland city in California, behind Fresno, Sacramento, Bakersfield, and Riverside.

Encompassing Interstate 5, State Route 99 and State Route 4, Stockton is located about 90 miles inland of San Francisco bay. Stockton is surrounded by the rich and fertile lands of the California Central Valley and is home to the first inland seaport in California. In and around Stockton are thousands of miles of waterways and rivers that make up the California Delta.

Over the past decade, Stockton and the nearby cities of Tracy and Manteca have experienced a population boom. This is largely due to thousands of people settling in the area to escape the relatively high cost of living of the San Francisco Bay Area. This influx of new residents, however, resulted in a sharp increase in the cost of living of Stockton, although it is still significantly lower than any Bay Area city of comparable size.