The California Current is a biologically and climatologically important site of strong air-sea exchanges of momentum, moisture, and heat. To assess the latter, a seasonal upper-ocean heat budget is constructed along a San Francisco to Honolulu vertical section. The heat content of this section is derived from volunteer observing ship temperature profiles. The transport terms of the heat budget are estimated from satellite observations (SST, wind stress, and SSH), while the heat exchanged with the atmosphere is obtained from different available satellite-based and operational heat flux products. The ability of these products to close the oceanic heat balance is compared. A key feature of the seasonal heat content is a cross-shore shift in phase, which is the signature of oceanic heat transport. Further offshore (> 500 km), the heat content is dominated by the surface flux contribution.