2026 Per Diem Calculator for California

Planning a business trip to California

California’s per-diem table covers many separate business markets, and the lodging allowance can change by destination and month. Start with the city or county where the traveler will actually sleep rather than the airport they use or the office they visit. If a destination is not listed separately, use the standard-rate row shown in the calculator and then compare that benchmark with the company’s booking rules.

That comparison matters because the federal benchmark and an employer’s approved budget do not always serve the same purpose. The rate table helps establish a planning reference; the company policy determines what the traveler may book and how an eligible business expense should be documented.

Where business travelers stay in California

The best location depends on the purpose of the trip. Convention attendees in Long Beach can compare hotels near Long Beach Convention Center instead of treating the Los Angeles area as one hotel market. Keeping the hotel close to the meeting venue can reduce daily ground transportation and make the full trip budget easier to estimate.

Palm Springs requires a separate decision. Travelers attending an event there should evaluate hotels near Palm Springs Convention Center against the Palm Springs rate in the table, not a Los Angeles or statewide average. The same principle applies throughout California: match the lodging location to the applicable destination before judging whether a room fits the trip budget.

For an early departure, late arrival, or short overnight connection, hotels near LAX may be more practical than a downtown stay. For meetings elsewhere in Southern California, the airport area may add unnecessary travel time, so the traveler should choose the hotel around the work itinerary rather than the arrival point alone.

Conferences, meetings, and longer stays

Large California markets can have several reasonable hotel zones. Before booking, identify the fixed point in the itinerary—the convention center, office, airport, or offsite venue—and check how often the traveler must return there. A slightly lower room price can be a false economy if it creates repeated rideshare or parking costs that fall outside the lodging allowance.

For multi-city trips, calculate each overnight separately. A traveler moving from Los Angeles to Palm Springs or the Bay Area should not assume that one destination’s lodging benchmark applies to the entire trip. Dates matter as well: where the table shows seasonal changes, use the rate for the night of the stay rather than a yearly average.

Using per diem and documenting expenses

Keep the lodging allowance separate from meals and incidental expenses when reviewing the trip budget. Travelers should also check whether taxes, parking, destination fees, and ground transportation are handled inside or outside the employer’s lodging limit.

After the trip, retain the records required by company policy and submit each cost under the correct destination and date. A complete expense report should make it clear which charges were lodging, meals, transportation, or other approved costs. If the booked hotel exceeded the planning benchmark, include the business reason and any required approval rather than treating the per-diem table as automatic reimbursement authority.

Some of the Biggest Companies:

• Apple Inc. (Cupertino): Renowned technology company known for its consumer electronics and software.
• Alphabet Inc. (Mountain View): Parent company of Google, a major player in Internet services and technology.
• Meta Platforms, Inc. (Menlo Park): Operates some of the largest social media platforms in the world.
• Walt Disney Company (Burbank): Major entertainment conglomerate with interests in film, television, and theme parks.
• Chevron Corporation (San Ramon): A leading global energy company involved in oil and gas exploration and production.
• Intel Corporation (Santa Clara): Semiconductor manufacturer known for its computer processors.
• Netflix, Inc. (Los Gatos): A major streaming service and production company known for original content.

Salesforce (San Francisco): Cloud-based software company specializing in customer relationship management (CRM).