California college students (1,864 students from 15 colleges) were compared with students who participated in the Harvard School of Public Health College Alcohol Study, which surveyed 17,592 students in 140 colleges nationwide. California college students, in comparison with the remainder of the nation, were less frequent drinkers; less frequent binge drinkers; exhibited fewer personal problems and risks associated with heavy episodic drinking, including drinking and driving; and reported fewer "secondhand" effects of binge drinking, such as being physically assaulted or experiencing an unwanted sexual advance. Many of these differences appear to be related to the California college students' being older, more likely to be married, and less likely to live on campus than those in the Harvard study. The findings suggest that, in developing programs tailored to local needs, there is significant value in augmenting national surveillance of college student health risk behaviors with the development of regional, state, and local surveillance systems.