The color is incandescent brownish to yellowish on the back becoming silvery below. The fins are yellow to white. They can be distinguished from the California corbina and yellowfin croaker by the absence of a single fleshy projection, or barbel, at the tip of the lower jaw. The 12 to 15 spines in the first dorsal fin serve to distinguish white croakers from all the other croakers with sub- terminal mouths, since none of these has more than 11 spines in this fin. White croakers have been taken from Magdalena Bay, Baja California, to Vancouver Island, British Columbia, but are not abundant north of San Francisco.
White croakers swim in loose schools at or near the bottom of sandy areas.
Sometimes they aggregate in the surf zone or in shallow bays and lagoons. Most of the time they are found in offshore areas at depths of 10 to 100 feet. On rare occasions they are fairly abundant at depths as great as 600 feet. While the ages of white croakers have not been determined conclusively, it is thought that some live as long as 15 or more years. Some spawn for the first time when they are between 2 and 3 years old.