Fresno ( ), the
county seat of
Fresno County, is a
city in the
U.S. state of
California. As of 2015, the city's population was 520,159, making it the
fifth largest city in California, the largest inland city in California and the
34th largest in the nation. Fresno is in the center of the
San Joaquin Valley and is the largest city in the
Central Valley, which contains the San Joaquin Valley. It is approximately north west of
Los Angeles, south of the state capital,
Sacramento, or south of
San Francisco. The name
Fresno means '
ash tree' in Spanish, and an ash leaf is featured on the city's flag.