The Central Coast is an area of California, United States, roughly spanning the coastal region between Point Mugu and Monterey Bay. It lies northwest of Los Angeles County and south of San Mateo and Santa Clara County counties.[1] Six counties make up the Central Coast: from south-to-north, Ventura, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz.

The Central Coast is the location of the Central Coast American Viticultural Area.

Geographically, the actual midpoint of the California coast lies north of Santa Cruz, near Año Nuevo State Park in San Mateo County.[4] Neither the popular use of the term Central Coast nor that of the California North Coast include the San Francisco Peninsula counties of San Mateo and San Francisco.