---
title: "Where are Most Unicorns Headquartered?"
description: "Discover where billion-dollar startups cluster: 63% of US unicorns call California home, controlling 79% of total unicorn market cap. Data-driven analysis of startup hubs."
categories: ["data analysis","trends","startups"]
keywords: ["unicorn startups","California unicorns","venture capital","startup hubs","Tomasz Tunguz","unicorn market cap","Silicon Valley","data analysis","billion-dollar startups","M\u0026A trends"]
ai_summary: "63% of US unicorns are based in California, controlling 79% of the market cap, highlighting the state's dominance in startup ecosystems."
date: 2020-05-28
lastmod: 2026-07-17
canonical_url: https://www.tomtunguz.com/california-houses-more-unicorns/
author: "Tomasz Tunguz"
---

Earlier this week, I wrote [Californian Dreaming - Is Silicon Valley Still the Best Place to Start a Company](https://tomtunguz.com/is-california-still-the-best-place-to-start-a-company/), where I analyzed the IPO and M&A trends of venture-backed companies by state. Those metrics are lagging indicators of startup distribution. How will the distribution change with time?

While we can't know the future M&A and IPO of any company in particular, we can try to divine the future by looking at current unicorn distributions. 

![image](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzawgnnlr/image/upload/v1590686960/unicorns_by_state_2020-05-28.png)

I pulled the unicorn valuation list and analyzed US startups by state. 63% of current unicorns, startup companies valued at $1B or more, are headquartered in California.

![image](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzawgnnlr/image/upload/v1590686960/unicorn_market_cap_by_state_2020-05-28.png)

79% of unicorn market capitalization accrues to startups headquartered in California. (Unicorn market cap is the last known valuation of the companies).

If recent history has taught us anything, it's that valuations can change on a dime. Barring some sudden shift, these data suggest California's share of significant exit events should at least sustain current levels; and an optimist could argue, further concentrate in California.