Abstract In this article, a collection of deep water (>100 m) wave records was assessed to create a long-term, statistically reliable data set. These wave data were derived from buoy data of the Coastal Information Data Program (CDIP) at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), Scripps Institute of Oceanography; the National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA); and other sources. From this data set, long-term annual averages and monthly wave probability distributions were analyzed for 10 one-degree-latitude bins, bounded by the 100-m and 1000-m depth contours seaward of the California coast. The probability distributions were used to quantify the potential for useful energy extraction from the coastal waves of California. Optimal locations for developing wave energy installations are specified. South of Point Conception, California, the wave energy arriving from North Pacific storms is efficiently blocked by the significant change in the California coast orientation south of Point Conception and the Channel Islands. The near-coastal Southern California (SOCAL) region has a significantly reduced wave resource compared with the California coast north of Point Conception.