Hi -
The average wait time for a decision tends to vary from state to state, and as I don't work in California my numbers may be a little off.

And, of course, every case varies, but on average in my experience once you apply it takes 2-3 weeks for the social security office to get your case transferred to the disability office where it is assigned to your disability examiner. The medical review portion generally takes between 60-90 days barring unforeseen events (if you are hospitalized, have surgery, etc are examples of what might prolong a case). After that, you would generally receive your letter with the determination within a week of the examiner closing the case unless it has been selected for review (a certain percentage of cases are randomly chose for review by our review board) and this can add another 4-6 weeks

I have been able to close cases in 2 weeks and I have had cases last 6 months. But the above numbers are the average in my experience. The best way to help your case go as quickly as possible is to complete and return your function reports as quickly as possible (you'll get those in the mail once your case is assigned to an examiner) and keep your examiner informed of any hospital visits, etc.

Hope this helps!