$62 Find Cheap Flights from Chicago O'Hare Airport to California

This is the cheapest one-way flight price found by a KAYAK user in the last 72 hours by searching for a flight from O'Hare Intl to California departing on 1/4. Fares are subject to change and may not be available on all flights or dates of travel. Click the price to replicate the search for this deal.
1 adult
1 adult, Economy, 0 bags

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These are the airlines KAYAK users have selected most often from within our search results in flight searches from Chicago to California.
These are the airlines KAYAK users have selected most often from within our search results in flight searches from Chicago to California.
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Cheap Flights from O'Hare Intl to California

Cheapest round-trip prices found by our users on KAYAK in the last 72 hours
Los Angeles
Los Angeles2 stops$148
San Francisco
San Francisco1 stop$252
San Diego
San Diego1 stop$162
San Jose
San Jose1 stop$222
Palm Springs
Palm Springs1 stop$265
Fresno
Fresno1 stop$201
San Luis Obispo
San Luis Obispo1 stop$254
Bakersfield
Bakersfield1 stop$259
Arcata
Arcata1 stop$284
Redding
Redding1 stop$272
Merced
Merced2 stops$575
Reno
Reno1 stop$134
Sacramento
Sacramento1 stop$234
Los Angeles
Los Angeles2 stops$148
San Francisco
San Francisco1 stop$252
San Diego
San Diego1 stop$162
San Jose
San Jose1 stop$222
Palm Springs
Palm Springs1 stop$265
Fresno
Fresno1 stop$201
San Luis Obispo
San Luis Obispo1 stop$254
Bakersfield
Bakersfield1 stop$259
Arcata
Arcata1 stop$284
Redding
Redding1 stop$272
Merced
Merced2 stops$575
Reno
Reno1 stop$134
Sacramento
Sacramento1 stop$234

Book Cheap O'Hare Intl to California Plane Tickets

 
Here are some of the best deals found on KAYAK recently from the most popular airlines for round-trip flights from O'Hare Intl to California that are departing in the next months. While these flights were available on KAYAK in the last 72 hours, prices and availability are subject to change and deals may expire.
Discover the best prices for you by selecting your travel dates on KAYAK.

Recent round-trip flight deals from O'Hare Intl to California

Fri, Dec 12 - Sun, Dec 14
Frontier Logo
12:59 pm - 3:15 pmORD-LAS
4h 16mnonstop
Frontier Logo
12:59 am - 12:12 amLAS-ORD
21h 13m1 stop
$128Frontier
Find Deal
Mon, Jan 19 - Thu, Jan 22
Frontier Logo
10:00 pm - 9:17 pmORD-ONT
25h 17m1 stop
Frontier Logo
6:00 am - 6:46 pmONT-ORD
10h 46m1 stop
$129Frontier
Find Deal
Wed, Dec 10 - Mon, Dec 15
United Airlines Logo
7:44 pm - 9:58 pmORD-LAS
4h 14mnonstop
United Airlines Logo
11:59 pm - 5:33 amLAS-ORD
3h 34mnonstop
$131United Airlines
Find Deal
Sun, Dec 7 - Sat, Dec 13
American Airlines Logo
6:55 pm - 9:13 pmORD-LAS
4h 18mnonstop
American Airlines Logo
7:00 am - 12:50 pmLAS-ORD
3h 50mnonstop
$132American Airlines
Find Deal
Thu, Nov 27 - Tue, Dec 2
Spirit Airlines Logo
4:58 pm - 7:04 pmORD-LAS
4h 06mnonstop
Spirit Airlines Logo
11:59 pm - 5:32 amLAS-ORD
3h 33mnonstop
$133Spirit Airlines
Find Deal
Wed, Dec 3 - Thu, Dec 11
United Airlines Logo
7:44 pm - 9:58 pmORD-LAS
4h 14mnonstop
United Airlines Logo
5:03 pm - 10:45 pmLAS-ORD
3h 42mnonstop
$136United Airlines
Find Deal
Mon, Nov 24 - Wed, Nov 26
Spirit Airlines Logo
4:58 pm - 7:04 pmORD-LAS
4h 06mnonstop
Spirit Airlines Logo
7:45 pm - 12:00 pmLAS-ORD
14h 15m1 stop
$150Spirit Airlines
Find Deal
Mon, Dec 1 - Thu, Dec 4
American Airlines Logo
6:55 pm - 9:13 pmORD-LAS
4h 18mnonstop
American Airlines Logo
7:00 am - 12:50 pmLAS-ORD
3h 50mnonstop
$160American Airlines
Find Deal
Thu, Dec 18 - Mon, Dec 29
Alaska Airlines Logo
8:39 am - 11:27 amORD-SAN
4h 48mnonstop
Alaska Airlines Logo
5:31 pm - 11:59 pmSAN-ORD
4h 28mnonstop
$167Alaska Airlines
Find Deal
Sat, Jan 24 - Wed, Jan 28
Alaska Airlines Logo
8:00 am - 5:20 pmORD-SAN
11h 20m1 stop
Alaska Airlines Logo
8:00 am - 2:29 pmSAN-ORD
4h 29mnonstop
$177Alaska Airlines
Find Deal
Booking Insights

KAYAK's insights & trends for O'Hare Intl to California flights

Get data-powered insights and trends into flights from O'Hare Intl to California to help you find the cheapest flights, the best time to fly and much more.

What is the cheapest Chicago O'Hare Intl Airport to California flight route?

Data is based on round-trip flight searches on KAYAK over the past month.

The cheapest ticket to California from Chicago O'Hare Intl Airport found in the last 72 hours was to Los Angeles, at $144 round-trip. The most popular route is from Chicago O'Hare Intl Airport (ORD) to Los Angeles (LAX), and the cheapest round-trip airline ticket found on this route in the last 72 hours was $144.

Can I save money by flying with a layover from Chicago O'Hare Intl Airport to California?

The average round-trip price for all non-stop flights, flights with one layover, and flights with two layovers for the route found by users searching on KAYAK in the last 2 weeks.

No, with an average price for the route of $398, prices are generally cheapest when you fly direct.

What is the cheapest month to fly from Chicago O'Hare Intl Airport to California?

To calculate monthly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each month over the last year for round-trip flights from Chicago O'Hare Intl Airport to California, removes the top 0.1% to account for outliers, and then takes the median of all values for each month.

The cheapest month for flights from Chicago O'Hare Intl Airport to California is September, when tickets cost $213 (return) on average. On the other hand, the most expensive months are March and December, when the average cost of round-trip tickets is $342 and $334 respectively.

What’s the cheapest day of the week to fly from Chicago O'Hare Airport to California?

The average price of all round-trip flights from Chicago O'Hare Intl Airport to California clicked on KAYAK for each day over the last 12 months.

If your flying dates are flexible, you should consider flying to California on a Thursday, as we generally find the cheapest rates on that day for this route. On the other hand, Monday is the most expensive day to fly from Chicago O'Hare Airport to California. For your return ticket, we recommend flying on a Thursday and avoiding Sundays for the best deals.

How far in advance should I book a flight from Chicago O'Hare Intl Airport to California?

To calculate weekly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each week before departure over the last year for round-trip flights from Chicago O'Hare Intl Airport to California, removes the top 0.1% to account for outliers, and then takes the average of all the values for each week.

To get a below average price on the flight from Chicago O'Hare Intl Airport to California, you should book around 3 weeks before departure, which saves you about 39% compared to booking last minute. For the absolute cheapest price, our data suggests you should book 5 weeks before departure.

Good to know

Low seasonSeptember
Cheapest flight$62
Best time to beat the crowds with an average 15% drop in price.
Flight from Chicago O'Hare Airport to Burbank

FAQs - booking California flights

  • How does KAYAK find such low prices on flights from Chicago O'Hare Airport to California?

    KAYAK is a travel search engine. That means we look across the web to find the best prices we can find for our users. With over 2 billion flight queries processed yearly, we are able to display a variety of prices and options on flights from Chicago O'Hare Airport to California.

  • How does KAYAK's flight Price Forecast tool help me choose the right time to buy my flight ticket from Chicago O'Hare Airport to California?

    KAYAK’s flight Price Forecast tool uses historical data to determine whether the price for a flight from Chicago O'Hare Airport to California is likely to change within 7 days, so travelers know whether to wait or book now.

  • What is the Hacker Fare option on flights from Chicago O'Hare Airport to California?

    Hacker Fares allow you to combine one-way tickets in order to save you money over a traditional round-trip ticket. You could then fly from Chicago O'Hare Airport to California with an airline and back with another airline.

  • What is KAYAK's "flexible dates" feature and why should I care when looking for a flight from Chicago O'Hare Airport to California?

    Sometimes travel dates aren't set in stone. If your preferred travel dates have some wiggle room, flexible dates will show you all the options when flying from Chicago O'Hare Airport to California up to 3 days before/after your preferred dates. You can then pick the flights that suit you best.

  • What is the cheapest time of day to fly to California?

    The cheapest time of day to fly to California is generally in the morning, when round-trip flights cost $319 on average. Morning departures are around 62% cheaper than evening flights, on average. The most expensive time of day to fly to California is generally in the evening, which is peak travel time and where the average cost of a ticket is $835.

Top tips for finding cheap flights to California

  • Looking for a cheap flight? 25% of our users found tickets from Chicago O'Hare Airport to the following destinations at these prices or less: Las Vegas $88 one-way - $184 round-trip; Los Angeles $133 one-way - $254 round-trip

Reviews of the top 5 airlines serving from O'Hare Intl to California

 
See real verified KAYAK customer reviews for airlines flying from Chicago to California. Airline scores are aggregated from all reviews left by passengers on KAYAK after flying with an airline. KAYAK doesn’t show reviews that are older than 5 years. Learn how KAYAK collects reviews.
Need help choosing which airline to fly with from O'Hare Intl to California? KAYAK airline reviews give an overall score for each airline based on loads of factors, including comfort, boarding, in-flight entertainment and more, to make your decision easier. See airline scores according to verified KAYAK customer reviews.
8.0
Alaska AirlinesOverall score based on 11243 reviews
7.0Entertainment
8.1Boarding
8.5Crew
7.1Food
7.8Comfort
Airline reviews

Overall the flight was on-time and plane ride very comfortable. The free snacks not so good - only a small bag of pretzels and no milk. I wanted milk. There was not entertainment on the plane unless I wanted to download their APP. But I would consider flying with them again and be more prepared on my part with food and entertainment.

10.0 ExcellentSara, Oct 2025JFK - SFO
Read more Alaska Airlines reviews

Overall the flight was on-time and plane ride very comfortable. The free snacks not so good - only a small bag of pretzels and no milk. I wanted milk. There was not entertainment on the plane unless I wanted to download their APP. But I would consider flying with them again and be more prepared on my part with food and entertainment.

Waiting 2 hours after landing to arrive at a gate was ridiculous.

Almost 3 hr delay in Settle with very little information available to passengers. They boarded the plane and we waited for a long time inside the plane as well.

I was delayed several times. Missed a very important event. The airline only provided a $12 voucher after being delayed 3 times.

I was a pilot with EAL so my input maters more than the average traveler. The crew at the ticket counter were amazing. I was traveling with a frozen 20 pound turkey from our farm in Oxford Florida and they were over the top in helping me get through TSA. The gate personnel were likewise accommodating. You and Jet Blue are my favorite airlines . Would love to do an add for Alaska Airlines. Nels Siverson

Online check in didn't work. Somehow ended up with 2 Alaska rewards numbers and 1 for Hawaiian. No one at check in could figure out what to do. No one at check in could help me confirm an upcoming flight on Hawaiian Airlines.

This was more with the third party booking through Kayak but my KTN for Pre-TSA, even though I entered it, wasn't assigned to my ticket when I got to the airport. I had to go through regular security. Also the Alaska app had trouble loading my ticket in the first place and I had to ask for it to be printed. Alaska Airlines was great but wanted you to know about this hiccup in the ticketing interface.

The flight was fine, but the Kayak app is terrible. I could not input my flight. I couldn’t use it for anything and it would not even let me try to add a seat once you purchased the ticket you might as well. Delete the Kayak app as far as I’m concerned. I’m done with kayak. Com

My flight got canceled never left san diego and miss out my fam event

Food and entertainment not applicable - standard drinks and cinnamon cookies; crew did not do a song and dance for us so no entertainment. I like the slightly better leg room than American Airlines - at least it felt that way. Flight crew and atmosphere seemed more welcoming than American, too.

Excellent flight. Smooth, efficient boarding. Quick flight. Arrived early at STL.

I will never book a flight through Cheap fare. They booked me from Portland Main . And would not give me a refund, so I bought 2 tickets one for 299. From Portland Main to ORD. Then I had to buy a ticket from Oregon PDX to ORD that was another 440. So Just so you know they even told me it was there fault but no refund. Bad bussniess. I did inform United but they said they couldn't help me due to the fact I booked through Cheap Tickets. Never again. And I'm spreding the word. I let everyone know at my 50th class reunion

Crew and customer service were excellent. This flight also had plenty of leg room and seat mounted screens for entertainment. A very pleasant flight all around!

It would have been better if the crew has supported my husband's reasons for needing to keep the space clear around his feet, rather than insisting that he put his knapsack in that space.

Subject: Formal Complaint: Discriminatory and Unprofessional Conduct – Request for Immediate Action & Compensation Dear [Airline Customer Relations Team], I am writing to file a formal complaint regarding my recent travel experience with [Airline], which was by far the worst I have ever encountered. What occurred was not only unprofessional, but in several instances discriminatory, unsafe, and unacceptable. On the first leg of my trip, I arrived only four minutes past check-in. Instead of making any attempt to resolve the matter, your representative flatly denied me boarding and made me wait while she attended to passengers who arrived after me. By the time a manager intervened, it was too late to board, costing me time, money, and unnecessary frustration. The second leg of my trip (Chicago–San Francisco) raised even more serious concerns. From the outset, it was apparent that the staff—particularly two attendants—prioritized Caucasian passengers while dismissing African American and minority passengers. • When a Caucasian passenger in the exit row refused to comply with federal safety requirements, I, as a first responder, immediately offered to switch seats and assume the responsibility. My offer was blatantly ignored, and instead, a Caucasian passenger seated further up was chosen. This was discriminatory and deeply insulting, especially as I was actively de-escalating the situation that could have delayed the flight further. • During a lengthy tarmac delay of over 90 minutes, passengers were given conflicting and unreasonable instructions that created unnecessary distress and tension. • Throughout the flight, a visibly intoxicated passenger directly in front of me was disruptive, rude to others, failed to comply with seatbelt and electronic device rules, and yet faced no enforcement from the crew. In stark contrast, I was singled out for repeated compliance checks even though I was following every rule. This unequal treatment was so obvious that multiple passengers around me spoke up in my defense. This pattern of behavior demonstrated a clear lack of professionalism, disregard for passenger safety, and discriminatory treatment. I expect far better from an airline of your stature. As a paying customer subjected to this unacceptable treatment, I am formally requesting: 1. A full investigation into the conduct of the staff on both flights. 2. A written apology acknowledging the discriminatory and unprofessional behavior I endured. 3. Appropriate compensation for the distress, inconvenience, and mishandling of my travel. If this matter is not addressed promptly and thoroughly, I will have no choice but to escalate my complaint further, including filing with the U.S. Department of Transportation and sharing my experience through other channels. I trust [Airline] will take this complaint seriously and provide a timely resolution.

Check in was quick and easy during early hours. Flight was on time, and customer services was a plus.

Once we got in the air the pilot made up some of the time of the delay. So that was really nice.

Excellent flight. Boarding was efficient and departure was on time. Smooth flight with on time arrival. Deplaning was also efficient.

It was delayed instead of departing at 9:20pm, we departed at 11pm… putting us in Columbus after 2am! It was awful. Had I known about the delay, I could have spent some time in the United Lounge… I was starving because I started my journey in Budapest… so I was exhausted and hungry. Plus I had to make new arrangements to be picked up at the airport in Columbus, instead of midnight it was 2:30 am after getting luggage and out of airport. Not feasible. I would have just stayed in Chicago for the night and gotten a morning flight.

It was great, I’m very grateful for the pilots and crew flight attendants for everything.

We loved the steward on the plane. He made the night enjoyable

The plane was late, when we did board the plane was as cold as a freezer. I was freezing the entire flight, no blankets. Lost miserable flight I’ve ever had.

3 hour weather delay followed by 1 hour (and counting) maintenance delay. UGH!

After we'd boarded , they canceled the flight. The crew didn't even know , we just all received text messages. Then after they deplaned us , AA was just like "too bad, go F your self, we sure ain't gonna help you"

After a two hour delay, my flight was CANCELLED! No pilot available. Such BS.

Amazing food, great staff, with one noticable detail missing ...but no seat entertainment in any of aircraft ...I am not a fan

I wish American Airlines would change the airline industry by loading the plane back to front instead of front to back. Planes would board so much more smoothly and quickly.

I have long legs, my foot was out in the aisle and when a flight attendant came walking by and I didn't notice, instead of saying "excuse me" or anything like that, she kicked my foot. Extremely rude

Excellent! The gate agents were kind enough to rebook me on an earlier flight saving me from a 6 hour layover. Even my luggage made it despite the fact that the connection was technically too narrow. The flight itself was very comfortable, roomy, and clean. Plenty of space for my carryon items with plugs to charge my phone. After a long international flight of 14 hours, this was an excellent way to end my travels!

Great experience. Flight boarded easily. Departed early. Smooth flight. Great arrival in DC--almost no taxing! Almost direct to gate from runway. Crew was terrific. Same cookies and beverages in main cabin. I did not use the entertainment system on this flight.

Always comes in handy when I want a quick weekend getaway.

My luggage didn’t arrive at LAX, so that wasn’t a good experience.

I was never aware that I had to pay $100 per luggage to them on the plane that are simply carry-ons. This is discriminatory and I’m going to be alerting my entire family and friends and my Instagram following up over 75,000 of this issue and misunderstanding, including mismanaging.

No Tumberlence smooth flight. Try to change the menu on Snacks.

Cancelled my flight last minute and did not help me rebook. It was a horrible experience.

Late departure by 1:45min. No explanation why. During boarding inconsistent policing of their baggage rules. Before takeoff and lamdimg strange obsession with window shade and armrest positions. Don't know why they care. 15 min tarmac delay on arrival, they blamed airport congestion but we were the o lh flight waiting, it was clear it was due to poor staff planning (only one ground crew to receive airplanes and multiple arrivals) Got there but was rrally lame the whole trip.

It was very bad it got delayed by 2 hours.Never going to travel with spirit airlines in future.

The flight times got delayed multiple times due to weather which is understandable, but later the time got prepared 30min. Made to the flight barely but got stressed too much.

Boarding was a breeze, however, two of the flights that I boarded with Spirit did not have Wi-Fi available.

Very good. Nothing more or less than expected. No complaints.

There was no one at the counter to assist with our check in. The app didn’t work, so I arrived at the airport with time to check in and I couldn’t because no employees were there. When I finally got someone on the phone, it was inside the 60min rule and they said I could no longer check in and they could sell me another ticket. We had to scramble and pay an additional $800 for tickets and THEN AFTER (about 60 min from my original convo with customer service and 10min after original departure time) I had boarded my new flight, there was email saying my original flight from Frontier was delayed and leaving 2hr 50min later, but I STILL wouldn’t have been able to check in. Which means customer service should have been able to see it and let me check in because I was well within my check in time. When I call Frontier, they hang up on me. So their app didn’t work and they employees left and they take zero responsibility or assistance with their “customer service”

Terrible. Flight cancelled with no reasoning and no flights to rebook. Employees were useless and did nothing to help. Did not even know where to retrieve luggage from the cancelled flight. Flyers beware.

No fault of Frontier staff: plane was very late, reached Orlando at 1 am, took a while to get luggage. Weather, gov financial shutdown impact on TSA, air controllers seemed to have multiple flights backed up. Frontier staff seemed to cope as gracefully as possible. It did reassure me that I and my new hip could adapt to travel challenges. Food/entertainment were irrelevant to my trip.

Terrible. The canceled my entire flight when I requested a refund for a trip frontier canceled trip one way.

Boarding was on time and plane departed as scheduled. There are obviously no amenities (food, drink, entertainment) on Frontier, but there also didn't seem to be any issues with luggage space either.

Inbound plane was on time and flight departed on time with no issues while boarding.

I knew going into this that Frontier, being a low cost carrier, would be pretty bare bones and charge for most extras but this was made up for by the fact that the airplane was a reasonably new Airbus, every employee was great and best of all, Everett Washington is an amazing airport - thanks Frontier for flying there!!!

i was unable to check in the flight. refund requested

It was well done. It was my first time flying with them and I was nervous b/c I have heard of many cancelled and/or delray flights. Everything went smoothly.

Just know that everything, and I mean everything is “ala cart”. 60$ just to put something in the overhead bin. I will never fly Frontier again nor do I recommend them to anyone else.

Everything you need to know for your flight from O'Hare Intl to California

Information on your arrival and departure airports