$128 Find Cheap Flights from New Jersey to California - Compare and Save

1 adult
1 adult, Economy, 0 bags

Save 19% or more on flights. Compare deals from all over the web.

Never overpay with our price tracking tools.

Filter searches by price, airline and more to find your best flights.

Good to know

Low season

January

Cheapest flight

$128
Best time to beat the crowds with an average 15% drop in price.
Most popular time to fly with an average 4% increase in price.
Flight from Newark Liberty Airport to John Wayne (Santa Ana)

Flights from New Jersey to California: the best tips from KAYAK users

Insights shared by verified travelers who flew the route from New Jersey to California 
MitchellFlew with United Airlines-Apr 2026
security access line for Premier access was very reasonable, process was less than 10-15 minutes. Leave time for dropping off a rental car - is a bit of a walk and then AirTrain transfer due to the current construction - so allow time for less stress. take advantage of the tables in the boarding area for charging devices or doing work.
Verified travelerFlew with Alaska Airlines-Mar 2026
This flight is very convenient, it should be noted that the security at Newark seems quite understaffed and not the most efficient so passing through it will always take at least half an hour.
AnjaliFlew with Spirit Airlines-Dec 2025
look out for landing in the new terminal that is then a bus ride away from your luggage
Verified travelerFlew with Alaska Airlines-Dec 2025
Bring your own food and in flight activity since they don’t supply any.
AracelyFlew with Spirit Airlines-Dec 2024
Bring snacks and your own water bottle to stay hydrated.
Verified travelerFlew with Alaska Airlines-Feb 2025
My flight was not delayed, but my family had a flight earlier in the week that was, by 5 hours. My daughter says she'll never book a late afternoon flight as they seem most likely to be delayed. I personally like the timing and usually they cost less. Also, get on the plan with fully charged devices or a non-electronic form on entertainment.
Verified travelerFlew with Alaska Airlines-Jun 2024
Make sure to get food before you get to the airport. Bring chargers for ur phone or your technological device.
BerniceFlew with Alaska Airlines-Jun 2024
Give yourself plenty of time to get through security.
Verified travelerFlew with Alaska Airlines-Apr 2024
There are buses from Time Square Bus Terminal to Newark for $18 direct no stops you are there in 30 minutes.
MasakoFlew with Alaska Airlines-Apr 2024
Newark has few food options so pack something if you can. It’s not worth getting food at Newark.
Verified travelerFlew with Alaska Airlines-Feb 2024
Allow time for TSA (I had) or figure out the priority boarding (I didn't but will look into it for future flights), I thought they were pretty inefficient. A guy behind me was freaking out because he was going to miss his flight and a bunch of us let him cut the line in hopes he could make it.
SridharFlew with Spirit Airlines-Dec 2023
Fly light. Get seats in front. Make sure you get here before 10 - rental car place closes prior.

FAQs for booking flights from New Jersey to California

  • How does KAYAK find such low prices on flights from New Jersey 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 New Jersey to California.

  • How does KAYAK's flight Price Forecast tool help me choose the right time to buy my flight ticket from New Jersey to California?

    KAYAK’s flight Price Forecast tool uses historical data to determine whether the price for a flight from New Jersey 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 New Jersey 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 New Jersey 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 New Jersey 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 New Jersey to California up to 3 days before/after your preferred dates. You can then pick the flights that suit you best.

  • How many airports are there in California?

    There are 28 airports in California. The busiest airport is Los Angeles Airport (LAX), with 42% of all flights arriving there.

  • Which is the cheapest airport to fly into in California?

    Prices will differ depending on the departure airport, but generally, the cheapest airport to fly to in California is San Diego Airport (SAN), with an average flight price of $358.

  • What is the cheapest day to fly to California?

    Based on KAYAK data, the cheapest day to fly to California is Friday where round-trip tickets can be as cheap as $482. On the other hand, the most expensive day to fly is Monday, where round-trip prices are $613 on average.

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

    The cheapest time of day to fly to California is generally at night, when round-trip flights cost $463 on average. Morning departures are around 23% 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 $663.

  • What is the cheapest flight to California?

    The cheapest ticket to California from New Jersey found in the last 5 days was to San Diego, at $268 round-trip. The most popular route is Newark Airport (EWR) to Los Angeles (LAX) and the cheapest round-trip airline ticket found on this route in the last 5 days was $357.

  • How far in advance should I book a flight from New Jersey to California?

    To get a below average price on the flight from New Jersey to California, you should book around 4 weeks before departure, which saves you about 36% compared to booking last minute. For the absolute cheapest price, our data suggests you should book 16 weeks before departure.

  • How long is the flight to California?

    An average nonstop flight from New Jersey to California takes 7h 14m, covering a distance of 2430 miles. The shortest route is Philadelphia (PHL) to Las Vegas (LAS) with an average flight time of 5h 20m.

  • What are the most popular destinations in California?

    Based on KAYAK flight searches, the most popular destination is San Francisco (49% of total searches to California). The next most popular destinations are Los Angeles (22%) and Las Vegas (14%). Searches for flights to San Diego (6%), to Ontario (5%) and to John Wayne (Santa Ana) (2%) are also popular.

Reviews of the top 5 airlines serving from New Jersey to California

 
Need help choosing which airline to fly with from New Jersey 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.
7.9
Alaska AirlinesOverall score based on 13037 reviews
8.1Boarding
7.0Food
7.0Entertainment
8.5Crew
7.8Comfort
Airline reviews

Terrible experience with an extremely obese passenger seated directly behind me - who snored and gagged so loudly, even throughout takeoff, that no one within ten rows could have gotten any rest even with earplugs! I get that this poor person has a serious health issue, and that Alaska (maybe) had no way to prepare in advance (though he did occupy two seats). Still there must be a way to take a six-hour flight without feeling like I'm next to a roaring grizzly bear.

2.0 MediocreAnonymous, May 2026
Read more Alaska Airlines reviews

Terrible experience with an extremely obese passenger seated directly behind me - who snored and gagged so loudly, even throughout takeoff, that no one within ten rows could have gotten any rest even with earplugs! I get that this poor person has a serious health issue, and that Alaska (maybe) had no way to prepare in advance (though he did occupy two seats). Still there must be a way to take a six-hour flight without feeling like I'm next to a roaring grizzly bear.

The front desk attendant was rude to everyone in an absolutely careless way.

We left late; had to land in Minneapolis unscheduled to refuel and then landed in interior instead of lax at 2am......

Every thing is on time, boarding, landing nice and smooth. But No tv? No food for 6 hours flight?

First Class seats had no more legroom then Premium Economy. There was no working WiFi or entertainment. I would have rather paid $400 more and flown on United for the 6 hours from EWR to SFO.

No food but only snack was provided during the 6-hour flight from EWR to LAX. I was so hungry during the trip.

Seats are so small now that it's very hard even for a medium-sized person to be comfortable!!!

Good experience on flight. But flight was delayed for takeoff by an hour, and Alaska posted the wrong landing time on its website. So the person who was designated to pick me up arrived 1 hour early and sat waiting for a long time at 11pm at night. This could have been avoided with better text and website communication by Alaska/Hawaiin Airlines

As always to close confinement for passengers not in upgrades. I like that you still get carry on and personal bag.

Flight was delayed for weather, then delayed for mechanical, then just cancelled. Once mechanical problems started I wish you had just started offering rebooking options (at the same airport). I felt my trip was not a priority for you. I called you, I asked for a better option (than changing airports), then I had to literally run around the airport making it happen. Do better.

The cabin and bathroom experience was poor as the cabin and bathroom were dirty and showed signs of an older plane that had not been updated for Customer’s, comfort and health. There was gum on my seat when I arrived and dirt spots around the fan and light controls. The flight was almost entirely full, so there was no way I could be moved from my seat. Th bathroom had the peeling paint.

Great crew. Comfortable seating. Nice overhead bin space. My app didn't allow me to check in for my flight to BOS. When I called Support, they didn't fix it, but just told me to check in at the airport. Seat back entertainment was great. Could be better if the audio could connect to Bluetooth.

I'm 6' 2" and even in economy plenty of leg room

great! appreciated the last minute upgrade to Comfort+ exit row, as well

My seat was changed without my consent. It wasn’t a major deal but annoying.

The Airline Attendant found us in flight and moved us to seats in the front of economy due to the short time we would have to make our connecting flight. We really appreciated it.

DL486 could not get to the gate due to jet bridge malfunction. We moved gates. The connecting flight of LAX to MCO was not communicated with. Even though we were in the same terminal, DL482 left without about 10 of us, including a mother and her 3 children. I got to the gate at 7:34 am which is past the 7:20 am last call for a 7:35 am departure. Had they waited 5 minutes, all of us would have made it on board.

Delta has joint the nickel and diming airlines. The experience is getting worst by the day. 1,000,000 miles for a trip to Asia in Business Class where I got the same thing for just under 90,000 miles through an Asian airline. Where is Richard Anderson? Please come back!

Very bad multiple confusion and miscommunication which i ended up missing my flight.

The experience was bad. Flight was delayed to handle maintenance (understandable) but still there was some dew forming and dropping as droplets on few seats. Internet at best was allowing some browsing but at a snail pace.

The flight was for my mom in wheelchair the staff in Newark wer not friendly took a long time to even get a wheelchair she almost missed her flight because they finally got a chair few minutes before boarding they had to rush her to the gate. They took her carryon and checked it as a bag told her don’t worry free of charge but they charge the credit card anyway. She also told me the seats are not comfortable at all as if they were broken she could feel the bars in the seat SFO staff was much better overall she had the worst experience

My flight got cancelled. Couldn’t get my luggage. It arrived at my destination ahead of me. I didn’t get my preordered meal. Had to spend the night in the airport.

United did nit provide any updated on flight crew not bein available until boarding time started. It was bad. Itws alate night flight and there no proactive communication and iha d an important meeting that i missed due to thus

Flight left on time, arrived early, pleasant staff provided water, coffee, etc. access to bathrooms was reasonable and were well maintained. blankets were available, lots of entertainment options. LUGGAGE SERVICE WAS GREAT. I got my one checked bag quickly and was able to make a bus connection for a 2 hour bus ride saving me from waiting another 1.5 hours.

Plane boarded early a quickly, was mostly full. We left close to on time. And landed early.

Flight was timely, relatively comfortable, with decent entertainment and food served. Only problem encountered was with the free messaging which I highly appreciate, but it did not work from iphone to non-iphones.

Generally good. The aisles have gotten narrower which can slow down boarding. Flight crew was great! Healthier complimentary snacks would be appreciated. Due to earthquake in San Francisco we had to circle in air space for a bit but then had a smooth landing. I laud the flight crew for their patience ;)

Everything good until we waited for jet bridge at SFO. Then pilot gets on speaker & said it won’t reach plane- too short, need to go to different gate. Then 5 min later, adjusted plane/jetbridge & all ok?!?

Haven’t used United in a while. Was surprised with the free blanket and earphones. Service was great. Huge plane. 9/.row.

Boarding was efficient. Crew was not pleasant and skipped me during a round of beverage service. Older plane with no seat back screens and I couldn’t connect to wifi or their entertainment offerings.

Thought the economy premium experience would match that of the Amsterdam to Boston flight. Aircraft was older: chair didn’t lean back. I had to buy a blanket, which on the flight over was complimentary. Flight crew seemed disinterested all around.

The plane was filthy and worn - the seat pockets were stuffed with tattered food and torn pamphlets. The cleaning crew that came on as we were deboarding were grabbing handfulls of trash and perfunctorily wiping down tables with dishrags. It's been a while since I flew Jetblue and it used to be a great experience. After this flight I will avoid flying Jetblue again if there is any alternative.

JFK is the worst airport and JetBlue is the worst airline

A more comfortable seat. Padding would be really helpful but I've read the airlines don't want customers to be satisfied with economy seats.

Everything was good except checking bags . I had paid for two bags but it didn’t show so we had to do it again while people waited and we were struggling to get to our flight

Flight delayed 4 times on a non-stop from BOS to SFO. Then when landed in SFO had to wait for 30 mins for a gate AT 3:30AM.

The security line at JFK was one of the longest I’ve ever experienced - probably 45 minutes. I don’t know if JetBlue has control over it, but it detracted from the overall experience. Entertainment had good options, but the volume control was a bit small to tap on and the screen had a fair amount of interference blips. Clearer picture would have been better.

Whole experience was poor. Delayed 2 hours. Lied about the delays. Was all jet blues fault and tried to blame on air traffic control. Sent out other let trips and wouldn't allow people to switch aircraft.

It was fine for what it was. It’s not luxury travel but it was efficient, for the most part. Having my carry-on transferred into luggage however, was unwelcome.

I was seated next to an autistic child who was out of control and had a child behind me kicking my seat for most of the trip. I will never fly JetBlue again. Ever. I don't care how cheap it is. It's terrible.

The crew in the Vegas airport clearly was having a bad day … they moved on and the crew that checked us in for boarding was great, as was the flight crew. I did get the wheel of my carry on stuck in the overhead bin. Amazing team effort to include the flight attendants, the pilot, and another pilot who was on the flight as a passenger. Finally got it unstuck ✅

Staff are polite,and even offer us to tag our baggages upon seeing us from the entry

The guy sitting in front of me kept pushing hard his sit against my legs… very uncomfortable

Food was horrid. In my opinion inedible. They did offer some sorbet and one small dish of fruit. Stewards were super stingy with water, coffee, etc.

On-time, direct flight is great. Having one bathroom out of order was unfortunate.

I am absolutely furious with American. they shut the door in my face when I was trying to board the flight and kicked me off of it. They made no attempt to call my name or contact me or anything. They just said they gave my seat away. The customer service response has been atrocious. I will never fly this airline again as long as I live.

The WiFi was out gr entire flight. Had to Diane for almost 1 hour to wait for a gate to open up for plane to dock. Very bad experience.

Not too much it was pretty good all the way around

American Airlines put the food on the wrong plane which had already taken off by the time we took off so we had no food on the plane.

This was a horrible experience. For a first class experience, my chair was held together by 3M tape - and I have a photo. The crew weren’t very attentive, somewhat dismissive and forgot my drink and snack, the chair reclined about 3 inches on a 6-hour cross country flight. I was also not informed that there was no lounge available in Newark airport because of renovations, so all around this was one of the worst experiences and I would actively avoid both American and Alaska Air going forward.

More options for your flight to California

Complete your trip to California with a hotel stay or car rental