San Francisco, which is Spanish for "Saint Francis", takes its name fromMission San Francisco de Asís, which in turn was named afterSaint Francis of Assisi. The mission received its name in 1776, when it was founded by the Spanish under the leadership of PadreFrancisco Palóu. The city has officially been known as San Francisco since 1847, whenWashington Allon Bartlett, then serving asthe city's alcalde, renamed it fromYerba Buena (Spanish for "Good Herb"), which had been the name of the first civilianpueblo in San Francisco. Earlier in San Francisco's history, the uninhabited area on the northeastern side of San Francisco was calledEl Paraje de Yerba Buena, after the herb that was growing abundantly there. The name Yerba Buena continues to be used in locations in the city, such as onYerba Buena Island.
When using a nickname or abbreviation, local residents most commonly refer to San Francisco as "the City" or "SF."[21][41] Although the nickname "Frisco" has a local pedigree dating at least to 1850 and has been used by some local residents in every generation since then, the uses of both "Frisco" and the historically more recent "San Fran" tend to elicit sharp divisions among residents.[41][42][43]
TheCalifornia Cantonese who came for theCalifornia Gold Rush named California and specifically San Francisco金山,Gāmsāan, "Gold Mountain".When gold was discovered inBendigo, Victoria, Australia, it was named "New Gold Mountain" (Yue Chinese:新金山,Sān Gāmsāan) and California and San Francisco as "Old Gold Mountain" (舊金山,Gāu Gāmsāan).[44]
The earliestarcheological evidence ofhuman habitation of the territory of San Francisco dates to 3000 BCE.[45] TheYelamu group of theRamaytush people resided in a few small villages when an overlandSpanish exploration party arrived on November 2, 1769, the first documented European visit toSan Francisco Bay.[46] TheOhlone name for San Francisco wasAhwaste, meaning "place at the bay".[47] The arrival of Spanish colonists, and the implementation of their Mission system, marked the beginning of the assimilation of the Ramaytush people, and the decline of their language and culture.[48][49][50]
In 1774,Juan Bautista de Anza arrived to the area to select the sites for amission andpresidio. The first European maritime presence in San Francisco Bay occurred on August 5, 1775, when the Spanish shipSan Carlos, commanded byJuan Manuel de Ayala, became the first ship to anchor in the bay.[52]
In 1804, the province ofAlta California was created, which included San Francisco. At its peak in 1810–1820, the average population at the Mission Dolores settlement was about 1,100 people.[53]
In 1821, theCalifornias wereceded to Mexico by Spain. The extensiveCalifornia mission system gradually lost its influence during the period ofMexican rule, although it was not until 1833 that the missions would be secularized. Agricultural land became largely privatized asranchos, as was occurring in other parts of California. Coastal trade increased, including a half-dozenbarques from various Atlantic ports which regularly sailed in California waters.[55][56]
With the enactment of theMexican Secularization Act of 1833, the missions were made to divest themselves of their extensive landholdings and emancipate the indigenous people under their control. As part of the process of secularization, GovernorJosé Figueroa opened up San Francisco to civilian settlement. Prior to secularization, the only settlements in San Francisco had been the military settlement at the Presidio and the religious settlement at Mission Dolores.[54] In 1835, the Presidio garrison, commanded byMariano Vallejo, relocated to thePresidio of Sonoma, which was regarded as needing a greater military presence due the proximity of the Russian settlement atFort Ross. Only a small detachment remained at the Presidio of San Francisco.[57] Mission Dolores sold most of its property in 1836, retaining only the church and related structures.[58]
Francisco de Haro became the firstalcalde of Yerba Buena. In 1835, the second alcalde,José Joaquín Estudillo, approved the first land grant in Yerba Buena: toWilliam Richardson.[55] Yerba Buena began to attract American and European settlers; an 1842 census listed 21 residents (11%) born in the United States or Europe, as well as one Filipino merchant.[61] Following theBear Flag Revolt in Sonoma and the beginning of theU.S. Conquest of California, American forces from theUSS Portsmouth under the command ofJohn B. Montgomery captured Yerba Buena on July 9, 1846, with little resistance from the local Californio population, raising the American flag over Yerba Buena plaza (later renamed Portsmouth Square in commemoration of this event).
Following the capture, U.S. forces appointed bothJosé de Jesús Noé andWashington Allon Bartlett to serve as co-alcaldes (mayors), while the conquest continued on in the rest of California. On January 30, 1847, Mayor Bartlett ordained that the city should officially change its name from "Yerba Buena" to "San Francisco", as the former name was only locally recognized and the latter name was in use on international maps.[62] There was also concern that a new town being planned by General Vallejo on theCarquinez Strait was to be called "Francisca", after the first name of his wife. After the name change to "San Francisco", the name of Vallejo's town was changed toBenicia, after his wife's middle name. Following theTreaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848,Alta California wasceded from Mexico to the United States.
Despite its attractive location as a port and naval base, San Francisco under American sovereignty was still a small settlement with inhospitable geography.[63] Situated at the tip of a windswept peninsula without water or firewood, San Francisco lacked most of the basic facilities for a 19th-century settlement. Its 1847 population was said to be 459.[55]
TheCalifornia gold rush brought a flood of treasure seekers. Prospectors accumulated in San Francisco over rivalBenicia,[64] raising the population from 1,000 in 1848 to 25,000 by December 1849.[65] The promise of wealth was so strong that crews on arriving vessels deserted and rushed off to the gold fields, leaving behind a forest ofmasts in San Francisco harbor.[66] Some of these approximately 500 abandoned ships were used at times asstoreships,saloons, and hotels; many were left to rot, and some were sunk to establish title to the underwater lot. By 1851, the harbor was extended out into the bay by wharves while buildings were erected on piles among the ships. By 1870,Yerba Buena Cove had been filled to create new land. Buried ships are occasionally exposed when foundations are dug for new buildings.[67]
California was quicklygranted statehood in 1850, and the U.S. military builtFort Point at theGolden Gate and a fort onAlcatraz Island to secure San Francisco Bay. San Francisco County was one of the state's 18 original counties established at California statehood in 1850.[68] Until 1856, San Francisco's city limits extended west toDivisadero Street and Castro Street, and south to 20th Street. In 1856, the California state government divided the county. A straight line was then drawn across the tip of the San Francisco Peninsula just north ofSan Bruno Mountain. Everything south of the line became the new San Mateo County while everything north of the line became the new consolidated City and County of San Francisco.[69]
The California gold rush triggered a wave of entrepreneurial activity as individuals sought to capitalize on the newfound wealth. The discovery of silver deposits, notably the Comstock Lode in Nevada in 1859, further fueled rapid population growth and economic expansion.[71]
San Francisco, as the gateway to the goldfields, experienced a surge in population and commercial activity. However, the influx of fortune seekers also brought challenges. Lawlessness was rampant, and theBarbary Coast district became synonymous with vice, attracting criminals, prostitutes, and illicit activities, including but not limited to prostitution,bootlegging, and gambling.[72] The rapidly growing population, with its lawlessness, gambling and other vices, and the fact that there were no churches to be found, prompted missionaries likeWilliam Taylor to come to San Francisco where he began preaching in the streets, using an upright barrel as his pulpit. Taylor garnered enough generous donations from successful gold miners to build a church.[73]
One of the most influential figures of this era wasWilliam Chapman Ralston. A shrewd banker and investor, Ralston amassed considerable wealth and influence in San Francisco. He gained control over a significant portion of theComstock Lode's gold and silver mines, establishing a virtual monopoly. Using his incredible clout, Ralston was able to generate millions of dollars for San Francisco during its heady boom years.[74] He founded theBank of California, the first bank in the Western United States, and built the opulent Palace Hotel, a symbol of San Francisco's newfound prosperity and the largest hotel in the country at the time.[75] His financial empire, however, collapsed in 1875 as a result of thePanic of 1873, triggering a major economic crisis in San Francisco.
Development of thePort of San Francisco and the establishment in 1869 of overland access to the eastern U.S. rail system via the newly completedPacific Railroad (the construction of which the city only reluctantly helped support[76]) helped make the Bay Area a center for trade. Catering to the needs and tastes of the growing population,Levi Strauss opened adry goods business andDomingo Ghirardelli began manufacturing chocolate. Chinese immigrants made the city a polyglot culture, drawn to "Old Gold Mountain", creating the city'sChinatown quarter. By 1880, Chinese made up 9.3% of the population.[77]
A view of the city in 1878
The firstcable cars carried San Franciscans upClay Street in 1873. The city's sea ofVictorian houses began to take shape, and civic leaders campaigned for a spacious public park, resulting in plans forGolden Gate Park. San Franciscans built schools, churches, theaters, and all the hallmarks of civic life. ThePresidio developed into the most important American military installation on the Pacific coast.[78]
In 1890, San Francisco's population approached 300,000, making it theeighth-largest city in the United States at the time. Around 1901, San Francisco was a major city known for its flamboyant style, stately hotels, ostentatious mansions onNob Hill, and a thriving arts scene.[79] The first North American plague epidemic was theSan Francisco plague of 1900–1904.[80]
At 5:12 am on April 18, 1906, a majorearthquake struck San Francisco and northern California. As buildings collapsed from the shaking, rupturedgas lines ignited fires that spread across the city and burned out of control for several days. Withwater mains out of service, thePresidio Artillery Corps attempted to contain theinferno by dynamiting blocks of buildings to create firebreaks.[81] More than three-quarters of the city lay in ruins, including almost all of the downtown core.[26] Contemporary accounts reported that 498 people died, though modern estimates put the number in the several thousands.[82] More than half of the city's population of 400,000 was left homeless.[83]Refugees settled temporarily in makeshift tent villages in Golden Gate Park, the Presidio, on the beaches, and elsewhere. Many fled permanently to theEast Bay.Jack London is remembered for having famously eulogized the earthquake: "Not in history has a modern imperial city been so completely destroyed. San Francisco is gone."[84]
Rebuilding was rapid and performed on a grand scale. Rejecting calls to completely remake the street grid, San Franciscans opted for speed.[85]Amadeo Giannini'sBank of Italy, later to becomeBank of America, provided loans for many of those whose livelihoods had been devastated. The influentialSan Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association or SPUR was founded in 1910 to address the quality of housing after the earthquake.[86] The earthquake hastened development of western neighborhoods that survived the fire, includingPacific Heights, where many of the city's wealthy rebuilt their homes.[87] In turn, the destroyed mansions of Nob Hill became grand hotels.City Hall rose again in theBeaux Arts style, and the city celebrated its rebirth at thePanama–Pacific International Exposition in 1915.[88]
In ensuing years, the city solidified its standing as a financial capital; in the wake of the1929 stock market crash, not a single San Francisco-based bank failed.[90] Indeed, it was at the height of theGreat Depression that San Francisco undertook two great civil engineering projects, simultaneously constructing theSan Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge and theGolden Gate Bridge, completing them in 1936 and 1937, respectively. It was in this period that the island ofAlcatraz, a former military stockade, began its service as a federal maximum security prison, housing notorious inmates such asAl Capone andRobert Franklin Stroud, the Birdman of Alcatraz. San Francisco later celebrated its regained grandeur with aWorld's fair, theGolden Gate International Exposition in 1939–40, creatingTreasure Island in the middle of the bay to house it.[91]
Urban planning projects in the 1950s and 1960s involved widespread destruction and redevelopment of west-side neighborhoods and the construction of newfreeways, of which only a series of short segments were built before being halted bycitizen-led opposition.[94] The onset ofcontainerization made San Francisco's small piers obsolete, and cargo activity moved to the largerPort of Oakland.[95] The city began to lose industrial jobs and turned to tourism as the most important segment of its economy.[96] The suburbs experienced rapid growth, and San Francisco underwent significant demographic change, as large segments of the white population left the city, supplanted by an increasing wave ofimmigration from Asia and Latin America.[97][98] From 1950 to 1980, the city lost over 10 percent of its population.
Bank of America, now based inCharlotte,North Carolina, was founded in San Francisco; the bank completed555 California Street in 1969. TheTransamerica Pyramid was completed in 1972,[103] igniting a wave of "Manhattanization" that lasted until the late 1980s, a period of extensive high-rise development downtown.[104] The 1980s also saw a dramatic increase in the number of homeless people in the city, an issue that remains today, despite many attempts to address it.[105]
The three recent decades have seen booms driven by the internet industry. During thedot-com boom of the late 1990s,startup companies invigorated the San Francisco economy. Large numbers of entrepreneurs and computer application developers moved into the city, followed by marketing, design, and sales professionals, changing the social landscape as once poorer neighborhoods became increasinglygentrified.[107] Demand for new housing and office space ignited a second wave of high-rise development, this time in the South of Market district.[108] By 2000, the city's population reached new highs, surpassing the previous record set in 1950. When the bubble burst in 2001, many of these companies folded and their employees were laid off. Yet high technology and entrepreneurship remain mainstays of the San Francisco economy. By the mid-2000s (decade), thesocial media boom had begun, with San Francisco becoming a popular location for tech offices and a common place to live for people employed inSilicon Valley companies such asApple andGoogle.[a]
The early 2020s saw a reduction of tech companies' presence in Downtown San Francisco in the wake of theCOVID-19 pandemic, increased popularity of working at home, and struggles with homelessness. Although some observers have raised the possibility that office vacancies and declining tax revenues could cause San Francisco to enter an economicdoom loop,[110][111] other sources have refuted this broad-based characterization of the city as a whole, asserting that the issues of concern are restricted primarily to the urban core of San Francisco.[112][113]
San Francisco is located on theWest Coast of the United States, at the north end of theSan Francisco Peninsula and includes significant stretches of the Pacific Ocean andSan Francisco Bay within its boundaries. Several picturesqueislands—Alcatraz,Treasure Island and the adjacentYerba Buena Island, and small portions ofAlameda Island,Red Rock Island, andAngel Island—are part of the city. Also included are the uninhabitedFarallon Islands, 27 miles (43 km) offshore in the Pacific Ocean. The mainland within the city limits roughly forms a "seven-by-seven-mile square", a common local colloquialism referring to the city's shape, though its total area, including water, is nearly 232 square miles (600 km2).
A satellite view of San Francisco
There are more than 50 hills within the city limits.[115] Some neighborhoods are named after the hill on which they are situated, includingNob Hill,Potrero Hill, andRussian Hill. Near the geographic center of the city, southwest of the downtown area, are a series of less densely populated hills.Twin Peaks, a pair of hills forming one of the city's highest points, forms an overlook spot. San Francisco's tallest hill,Mount Davidson, is 928 feet (283 m) high and is capped with a 103-foot (31 m) tall cross built in 1934.[116] Dominating this area isSutro Tower, a large red and white radio and television transmission tower reaching 1,811 ft (552 m) above sea level.
Lake Merced, located in southwestern San Francisco
The nearbySan Andreas andHayward Faults are responsible for much earthquake activity, although neither physically passes through the city itself. The San Andreas Fault caused the earthquakes in 1906 and 1989. Minor earthquakes occur on a regular basis. The threat of major earthquakes plays a large role in the city's infrastructure development. The city constructed anauxiliary water supply system and has repeatedly upgraded its building codes, requiring retrofits for older buildings and higher engineering standards for new construction.[117] However, there are still thousands of smaller buildings that remain vulnerable to quake damage.[118] USGS has released theCalifornia earthquake forecast which models earthquake occurrence in California.[119]
San Francisco's shoreline has grown beyond its natural limits. Entire neighborhoods such as theMarina,Mission Bay, andHunters Point, as well as large sections of theEmbarcadero, sit on areas oflandfill. Treasure Island was constructed from material dredged from the bay as well as material resulting from the excavation of theYerba Buena Tunnel throughYerba Buena Island during the construction of the Bay Bridge. Such land tends to be unstable during earthquakes. The resultingsoil liquefaction causes extensive damage to property built upon it, as was evidenced in the Marina district during the1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.[120]
North of the Western Addition isPacific Heights, an affluent neighborhood that features the homes built by wealthy San Franciscans in the wake of the 1906 earthquake. Directly north of Pacific Heights facing the waterfront is theMarina, a neighborhood popular with young professionals that was largely built on reclaimed land from the Bay.[130]
In the southeast quadrant of the city is theMission District—populated in the 19th century byCalifornios and working-class immigrants from Germany, Ireland, Italy, and Scandinavia. In the 1910s, a wave of Central American immigrants settled in the Mission and, in the 1950s, immigrants fromMexico began to predominate.[131] In recent years, gentrification has changed the demographics of parts of the Mission from Latino, totwenty-something professionals.Noe Valley to the southwest andBernal Heights to the south are both increasingly popular among young families with children.
East of the Mission is thePotrero Hill neighborhood, a mostly residential neighborhood that features sweeping views of downtown San Francisco. West of the Mission, the area historically known asEureka Valley, now popularly calledthe Castro, was once a working-class Scandinavian and Irish area. It has become North America's firstgay village, and is now the center ofgay life in the city.[132]
Located near the city's southern border, theExcelsior District is one of the most ethnically diverse neighborhoods in San Francisco. TheBayview-Hunters Point in the far southeast corner of the city is one of the poorest neighborhoods, though the area has been the focus of several revitalizing andurban renewal projects.
TheWest Side of the city remained largely undeveloped until the early 20th century, due to the region being isolated from downtown because of the rugged terrain of Twin Peaks, Mount Sutro and Mount Davidson. Vast sand dunes made up the costal plain with the uninhibited area being dubbed theOutside Lands. The creation of Golden Gate Park in 1870–1900 contributed to the area being developed. The construction of theTwin Peaks Tunnel in 1918 connected southwest neighborhoods to downtown via streetcar, hastening the development ofWest Portal, and nearby affluentForest Hill andSt. Francis Wood. Further west, stretching all the way to the Pacific Ocean and north toGolden Gate Park lies the vastSunset District, a large middle-class area with a predominantly Asian population.[133]
The northwestern quadrant of the city contains theRichmond, a mostly middle-class neighborhood north of Golden Gate Park, home to immigrants from other parts of Asia as well as manyRussian andUkrainian immigrants. Together, these areas are known asThe Avenues.
Many piers remained derelict for years until the demolition of theEmbarcadero Freeway reopened the downtown waterfront, allowing for redevelopment. The centerpiece of the port, theFerry Building, while still receiving commuter ferry traffic, has been restored and redeveloped as a gourmet marketplace.
San Francisco has awarm-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen:Csb,Trewartha:Csll), characteristic of California's coast, with moist winters and dry summers.[134] San Francisco's weather is strongly influenced by thecool currents of the Pacific Ocean on the west side of the city, and the water ofSan Francisco Bay to the north and east. This moderates temperature swings and produces a remarkably mild year-round climate with little seasonal temperature variation.[135]
Among major U.S. cities, San Francisco has the coolest daily mean, maximum, and minimum temperatures for June, July, and August.[136] During the summer, rising hot air in California's interior valleys creates a low-pressure area that draws winds from theNorth Pacific High through theGolden Gate, which creates the city'scharacteristic cool winds and fog.[137] The fog is less pronounced in eastern neighborhoods and during the late summer and early fall. The year's warmest month, on average, is September, and on average, October is warmer than July, especially in daytime.
Temperatures reach or exceed 80 °F (27 °C) on an average of only 21 and 23 days a year at downtown andSan Francisco International Airport (SFO), respectively.[138] The dry period of May to October is mild to warm, with the normal monthly mean temperature peaking in September at 62.7 °F (17.1 °C).[138] The rainy period of November to April is slightly cooler, with the normal monthly mean temperature reaching its lowest in January at 51.3 °F (10.7 °C).[138]
On average, there are 73 rainy days a year, and annual precipitation averages 23.65 inches (601 mm).[138] Variation in precipitation from year to year is high. Above-average rain years are often associated with warmEl Niño conditions in the Pacific while dry years often occur in cold waterLa Niña periods. In 2013 (a "La Niña" year), a record low 5.59 in (142 mm) of rainfall was recorded at downtown San Francisco, where records have been kept since 1849.[138] Snowfall in the city is very rare, with only 10 measurable accumulations recorded since 1852, most recently in 1976 when up to 5 inches (13 cm) fell on Twin Peaks.[139][140]
The highest recorded temperature at the officialNational Weather Service downtown observation station[b] was 106 °F (41 °C) on September 1, 2017.[142] During that hot spell, the warmest ever night of 71 °F (22 °C) was also recorded.[143] The lowest recorded temperature was 27 °F (−3 °C) on December 11, 1932.[144]
During an average year between 1991 and 2020, San Francisco recorded a warmest night at 64 °F (18 °C) and a coldest day at 49 °F (9 °C).[138] The coldest daytime high since the station's opening in 1945 was recorded in December 1972 at 37 °F (3 °C).[138]
As a coastal city, San Francisco will be heavily affected byclimate change. As of 2021[update], sea levels are projected to rise by as much as 5 feet (1.5 m), resulting in periodic flooding, rising groundwater levels, and lowland floods from more severe storms.[145]
San Francisco falls under theUSDA 10b Planthardiness zone, though some areas, particularly downtown, border zone 11a.[146][147]
Historically,tule elk were present in San Francisco County, based on archeological evidence of elk remains in at least five differentNative American shellmounds: at Hunter's Point, Fort Mason, Stevenson Street, Market Street, and Yerba Buena.[153][154] Perhaps the first historical observer record was from theDe Anza Expedition on March 23, 1776.Herbert Eugene Bolton wrote about the expedition camp at Mountain Lake, near the southern end of today'sPresidio: "Round about were grazing deer, and scattered here and there were the antlers of large elk."[155]
San Francisco is amajority minority city, asnon-Hispanic White residents comprise less than half of the population; in 1940 they formed 92.5% of the population.[157]
In 2010, residents ofChinese ethnicity constituted the largest single ethnic minority group in San Francisco at 21% of the population; other large Asian groups includeFilipinos (5%) andVietnamese (2%), withJapanese,Koreans and many other Asian and Pacific Islander groups represented in the city.[158] The population of Chinese ancestry is most heavily concentrated in Chinatown and theSunset andRichmond Districts.Filipinos are most concentrated inSoMa and theCrocker-Amazon; the latter neighborhood shares a border withDaly City, which has one of the highest concentrations of Filipinos in North America.[158][159] TheTenderloin District is home to a large portion of the city's Vietnamese population as well as businesses and restaurants, which is known as the city's Little Saigon.[158]
The principalHispanic groups in the city were those ofMexican (7%) andSalvadoran (2%) ancestry. The Hispanic population is most heavily concentrated in theMission District, Tenderloin District, andExcelsior District.[160] The city's percentage of Hispanic residents is less than half of that of the state.
Unlike many other Western cities, San Francisco has a significantIrish American population. Drawn by the California Gold Rush, the Irish were one of the first major White immigrant groups to arrive in California, settling in the city of San Francisco.[162] The Irish historically settled inIrish Hill, which was razed followingWorld War II.[163] Despite this, San Francisco is still one of only three counties in the entireWestern United States whose White population is plurality (20.6%) Irish.[164][165]
The city has long been home to a significant Jewish community; in 2018Jewish Americans made up an estimated 10% (80,000) of the city's population. It the third-largest Jewish community in proportional terms in the United States, behind only those of New York City, and Los Angeles, respectively, and it is also relatively young compared to other major U.S. cities.[166] The Jewish community resides throughout the city, but theRichmond District is home to an ethnic enclave of mostlyRussian Jews.[167] TheFillmore District was formerly a mostly Jewish neighborhood from the 1920s until the 1970s, when many of its Jewish residents moved to other neighborhoods of the city as well as the suburbs of nearbyMarin County.[168]
A racial distribution map of San Francisco, 2010 U.S. Census. Each dot is 25 people:⬤ White⬤ Black⬤ Asian⬤ Hispanic⬤ Other
In a 2018 study by the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, Jews make up 10% (80,000) of the city's population, making Judaism the second-largest religion in San Francisco after Christianity.[166] In a 2014 study by thePew Research Center, the largest religious groupings in San Francisco'smetropolitan area are Christians (48%), followed by those ofno religion (35%), Hindus (5%), Jews (3%), Buddhists (2%), Muslims (1%) and a variety of other religions have smaller followings. In 2014, about 20% of residents in the area areProtestant, and 25% professingRoman Catholic beliefs. 10% of the residents in metropolitan San Francisco identify asagnostics, while 5% identify asatheists.[170][171]
In 2010, 55% (411,728) of San Francisco residents spoke only English at home, while 19% (140,302) spoke avariety of Chinese (mostlyTaishanese andCantonese[172][173]), 12% (88,147) Spanish, 3% (25,767)Tagalog, and 2% (14,017) Russian. In total, 45% (342,693) of San Francisco's population spoke a language at home other than English.[174]
San Francisco has several prominent Chinese, Mexican, and Filipino neighborhoods includingChinatown andthe Mission District. In 2017, more than half of the Asian population in San Francisco was either Chinese-born (40.3%) or Philippine-born (13.1%). Of the Mexican population, 21% were Mexican-born.[175] Between 1990 and 2000, the number of foreign-born residents increased from 33% to nearly 40%.[175] During this same period, the San Francisco metropolitan area received 850,000 immigrants, ranking third in the United States after Los Angeles and New York.[175]
Sea Cliff is one of the city's most expensive neighborhoods.[176]
Of all major cities in the United States, San Francisco has the second-highest percentage of residents with a college degree, second only toSeattle. Over 44% of adults have a bachelor's or higher degree.[177] San Francisco had the highest rate at 7,031 per square mile, or over 344,000 total graduates in the city's 46.7 square miles (121 km2).[178]
San Francisco has the highest estimated percentage of gay and lesbian individuals of any of the 50 largest U.S. cities, at 15%.[179] San Francisco also has the highest percentage of same-sex households of any American county, with the Bay Area having a higher concentration than any othermetropolitan area.[180]
San Francisco ranks third of American cities in median household income[181] with a 2007 value of $65,519.[182] Median family income is $81,136.[182] An emigration of middle-class families has left the city with a lower proportion of children than any other large American city,[183] with the dog population cited as exceeding the child population of 115,000, in 2018.[184] In 2007, San Francisco'spoverty rate was 12%, lower than the national average.[185]Homelessness has been a chronic problem for San Francisco since the early 1970s.[186]The city is believed to have the highest number of homeless inhabitants per capita of any major U.S. city.[187][188]
There are 345,811 households in the city. 133,366 households (39%) were individuals, 109,437 (32%) wereopposite-sex married couples, 63,577 (18%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 21,677 (6%) wereunmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 10,384 (3%) weresame-sex married couples or partnerships. The average household size was 2.26. The average family size was 3.11. 452,986 people (56%) lived in rental housing units. 327,985 people (41%) lived in owner-occupied housing units. The median age is 38 years.
San Francisco declared itself asanctuary city in 1989. City officials strengthened the stance in 2013 with its 'Due Process for All' ordinance. The law declared local authorities could not hold immigrants for immigration offenses if they had no violent felonies on their records and did not currently face charges.[189] The city issues aResident ID Card regardless of the applicant's immigration status.[190]
In 2019, 8,035 homeless people were counted in San Francisco's point-in-time street and shelter count. This was an increase of more than 17% over the 2017 count of 6,858 people. 5,180 of the people were living unsheltered on the streets and in parks.[192] 26% of respondents in the 2019 count identified job loss as the primary cause of their homelessness, 18% cited alcohol or drug use, and 13% cited being evicted from their residence.[192]
The city of San Francisco has been dramatically increasing its spending to service the growing population homelessness crisis: spending jumped by $241 million in 2016–17 to total $275 million, compared to a budget of just $34 million the previous year. In 2017–18 the budget for combatting homelessness stood at $305 million.[193] In the 2019–2020 budget year, the city budgeted $368 million for homelessness services. In the proposed 2020–2021 budget, the city budgeted $850 million for homelessness services.[194]
In January 2018, a United Nations special rapporteur on homelessness, Leilani Farha, stated that she was "completely shocked" by San Francisco's homelessness crisis during a visit to the city. She compared the "deplorable conditions" of the homeless camps she witnessed on San Francisco's streets to those she had seen inMumbai.[193] In May 2020, San Francisco officially sanctionedhomelessencampments.[195]
In 2024, according to San Francisco's Point-in-Time (PIT) count, the homeless population was approximately 8,323 individuals. Additionally, over 20,000 people in the city were seeking homeless services.[196]
San Francisco's violent crime rate is low compared to other major cities.
In 2011, 50 murders were reported, which is 6.1 per 100,000 people.[197] There were about 134 rapes, 3,142 robberies, and about 2,139 assaults. There were about 4,469 burglaries, 25,100 thefts, and 4,210 motor vehicle thefts.[198] TheTenderloin area has the highest crime rate in San Francisco: 70% of the city's violent crimes, and around one-fourth of the city's murders, occur in this neighborhood. The Tenderloin also sees high rates of drug abuse, gang violence, and prostitution.[199]
Another area with high crime rates is theBayview-Hunters Point area. In the first six months of 2015 there were 25 murders, compared to 14 in the first six months of 2014. However, the murder rate is still much lower than in past decades.[200] That rate rose again by the close of 2016. According to the San Francisco Police Department, there were 59 murders in the city in 2016, an annual total that marked a 13.5% increase in the number of homicides (52) from 2015.[201] The city has also gained a reputation for car break-ins, with over 19,000 car break-ins occurring in 2021.[202]
During the first half of 2018, human feces on San Francisco sidewalks were the second-most-frequent complaint of city residents, with about 65 calls per day. The city has formed a "poop patrol" to attempt to combat the problem.[203]
African-American street gangs familiar in other cities, including theBloods,Crips, and their sets, have struggled to establish footholds in San Francisco,[206] while police and prosecutors have been accused of liberally labeling young African-American males as gang members.[207]
CriminalTriad groups, such as theWo Hop To, were active in San Francisco in the 20th century.[208]
According to statistics released by SFPD in April 2024, the crime figures were down in the first 100 days of the year, namely in terms of robberies, burglaries and larceny.[209] In the first half of 2024, San Francisco experienced a 32% decrease in overall crime compared to the previous year. Personal property theft saw a 41% reduction, and violent crimes, including gun-related incidents, decreased by 30%.[210]
The city has a diversifiedservice economy, with employment spread across a wide range of professional services, includingtourism,financial services, andhigh technology.[211] In 2016, approximately 27% of workers were employed in professional business services; 14% in leisure and hospitality; 13% in government services; 12% in education and health care; 11% in trade, transportation, and utilities; and 8% in financial activities.[211] In 2023, GDP in the five-countySan Francisco metropolitan area grew 3.4% in real terms to $779 billion.[35] Additionally, in 2023 the 14-countySan Jose–San Francisco–Oaklandcombined statistical area had a GDP of $1.397 trillion, ranking 3rd amongCSAs, and ahead of all but15 countries. As of 2023[update], San Francisco County ranked 11th by income per capita among U.S. counties, with a per capita personal income of $164,807.[14]Marin County, directly to the north over theGolden Gate Bridge, andSan Mateo County, directly to the south on thePeninsula, were the 7th and 9th highest-income counties respectively.
According to academic Rob Wilson, San Francisco is aglobal city, a status that pre-dated the city's popularity during theCalifornia gold rush.[226] However, theCOVID-19 pandemic has led to high office vacancy rates and the accelerating evacuation of many retail and tech businesses out of the downtown core of San Francisco.[112][227][228][229] Attributed causes include a shift toremote work in the technology and professional services sectors, as well as high levels ofhomelessness, drug use, and crime in areas around downtown San Francisco, such as theTenderloin andMid-Market neighborhoods.[230][231]
The top employer in San Francisco is the city government itself, employing 5.6% (35,000+ people) of the city's workforce, followed byUCSF with over 29,000 employees.[232] The largest private-sector employer isSalesforce, with 11,953 employees, as of 2024[update]. Small businesses with fewer than 10 employees and self-employed firms made up 85% of city establishments in 2006,[233] and the number of San Franciscans employed by firms of more than 1,000 employees has fallen by half since 1977.[234] The growth of nationalbig box andformula retail chains into the city has been made intentionally difficult by political and civic consensus. In an effort to buoy small privately owned businesses in San Francisco and preserve the unique retail personality of the city, the Small Business Commission started a publicity campaign in 2004 to keep a larger share of retail dollars in the local economy,[235] and the Board of Supervisors has used the planning code to limit the neighborhoods where formula retail establishments can set up shop,[236] an effort affirmed by San Francisco voters.[237] However, by 2016, San Francisco was rated low by small businesses in a Business Friendliness Survey.[238]
Like many U.S. cities, San Francisco once had a significant manufacturing sector employing nearly 60,000 workers in 1969, but nearly all production left for cheaper locations by the 1980s.[239] As of 2014[update], San Francisco has seen a small resurgence in manufacturing, with more than 4,000 manufacturing jobs across 500 companies, doubling since 2011. The city's largest manufacturing employer isAnchor Brewing Company, and the largest by revenue isTimbuk2.[239]
San Francisco became a hub for technology-driven economic growth during theinternet boom of the 1990s, and still holds an important position in the world city network today.[175][241] Intense redevelopment towards the "new economy" makes business more technologically minded. Between the years of 1999 and 2000, the job growth rate was 4.9%, creating over 50,000 jobs in technology firms and internet content production.[175] However, the technology industry has become geographically dispersed.[242][243]
In the second technological boom driven by social media in the mid-2000s, San Francisco became a location for companies such asApple,Google,Ubisoft,Facebook, andTwitter (now known asX) to base their tech offices and for their employees to live.[109]
The final wave of technology materialized as AI companies have either been founded in the city or moved there attracted to a large talent pool, proximity to venture capital, and serendipitous connections.[244]
TheSunset Reservoir Solar Project, completed in 2010, installed 24,000 solar panels on the roof of the reservoir. The 5-megawatt plant more than tripled the city's 2-megawatt solar generation capacity when it opened in December 2010.[245][246]
Tourism is one of San Francisco's most important private-sector industries, accounting for more than one out of seven jobs in the city.[217][247] The city'sfrequent portrayal in music, film, and popular culture has made the city and its landmarks recognizable worldwide. In 2016, it attracted the fifth-highest number of foreign tourists of any city in the United States.[248] More than 25 million visitors arrived in San Francisco in 2016, adding US$9.96 billion to the economy.[249]With a large hotel infrastructure and a major convention facility in theMoscone Center, San Francisco is a popular destination for annual conventions and conferences.[250]
San Francisco also offers tourists varied nightlife in its neighborhoods.[252][253]
The new Terminal Project at Pier 27 opened September 25, 2014, as a replacement for the old Pier 35.[254]
A heightened interest in conventioneering in San Francisco, marked by the establishment of convention centers such as Yerba Buena, acted as a feeder into the local tourist economy and resulted in an increase in the hotel industry: "In 1959, the city had fewer than thirty-three hundred first-class hotel rooms; by 1970, the number was nine thousand; and by 1999, there were more than thirty thousand."[255] Thecommodification of theCastro District has contributed to San Francisco's tourist economy.[256]
Although theFinancial District,Union Square, andFisherman's Wharf are well known around the world, San Francisco is also characterized by its numerous culturally rich streetscapes featuringmixed-use neighborhoods anchored aroundcentral commercial corridors to which residents and visitors alike can walk.[citation needed] Because of these characteristics,[original research?] San Francisco is ranked the "most walkable" city in the United States byWalk Score.[257] Many neighborhoods feature a mix of businesses, restaurants and venues that cater to the daily needs of local residents while also serving many visitors and tourists. Some neighborhoods are dotted with boutiques, cafés and nightlife such as Union Street inCow Hollow, 24th Street inNoe Valley,Valencia Street in theMission, Grant Avenue inNorth Beach, and Irving Street in theInner Sunset. This approach especially has influenced the continuing South of Market neighborhood redevelopment with businesses and neighborhood services rising alongside high-rise residences.[258][failed verification]
Since the 1990s, the demand for skilledinformation technology workers from local startups and nearbySilicon Valley has attractedwhite-collar workers from all over the world and created a high standard of living in San Francisco.[259] Many neighborhoods that were onceblue-collar, middle, and lower class have beengentrifying, as many of the city's traditional business and industrial districts have experienced a renaissance driven by the redevelopment of theEmbarcadero, including the neighborhoodsSouth Beach andMission Bay. The city's property values and household income have risen to among the highest in the nation,[260][261][262] creating a large and upscale restaurant, retail, and entertainment scene. According to a 2014 quality of life survey of global cities, San Francisco has thehighest quality of living of any U.S. city.[263] However, due to the exceptionally high cost of living, many of the city's middle and lower-class families have been leaving the city for the outer suburbs of theBay Area, or for California'sCentral Valley.[264] By June 2, 2015, the median rent was reported to be as high as $4,225.[265] The high cost of living is due in part to restrictive planning laws which limit new residential construction.[266]
The international character that San Francisco has enjoyed since its founding is continued today by large numbers of immigrants from Asia and Latin America. With 39% of its residents born overseas,[234] San Francisco has numerous neighborhoods filled with businesses and civic institutions catering to new arrivals. In particular, the arrival of many ethnic Chinese, which began to accelerate in the 1970s, has complemented the long-established community historically based inChinatown throughout the city and has transformed the annualChinese New Year Parade into the largest event of its kind on theWest Coast.[citation needed]
Since 1993, the San Francisco Department of Public Health has distributed 400,000free syringes every month aimed at reducing HIV and other health risks for drug users, as well as providing disposal sites and services.[272][273][274]
San Francisco also has had a very active environmental community. Starting with the founding of theSierra Club in 1892 to the establishment of the non-profitFriends of the Urban Forest in 1981, San Francisco has been at the forefront of many global discussions regarding the environment.[275][276] The 1980San Francisco Recycling Program was one of the earliest curbside recycling programs.[277] The city's GoSolarSF incentive promotes solar installations and theSan Francisco Public Utilities Commission is rolling out theCleanPowerSF program to sell electricity from local renewable sources.[278][279] SF Greasecycle is a program to recycle used cooking oil for conversion to biodiesel.[280]
San Francisco has long had anLGBTQ-friendlyhistory. It was home to the first lesbian-rights organization in the United States,Daughters of Bilitis; the first openly gay person to run for public office in the United States,José Sarria; the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California,Harvey Milk; the first openly lesbian judge appointed in the U.S.,Mary C. Morgan; and the firsttransgender police commissioner,Theresa Sparks. The city's large gay population has created and sustained a politically and culturally active community over many decades, developing a powerful presence in San Francisco's civic life.[281] Survey data released in 2015 byGallup places the proportion of LGBTQ adults in the San Francisco metro area at 6.2%, which is the highest proportion of the 50 most populous metropolitan areas as measured by the polling organization.[282]
Thegay pride flag was originally developed in San Francisco.
One of the most popular destinations for gay tourists internationally, the city hostsSan Francisco Pride, one of the largest and oldestpride parades. San Francisco Pride events have been held continuously since 1972. The events are themed and a new theme is created each year.[283] In 2013, over 1.5 million people attended, around 500,000 more than the previous year.[284]Pink Saturday is an annual street party held the Saturday before the pride parade, which coincides with theDyke march.
TheFolsom Street Fair (FSF) is an annualBDSM andleather subculture street fair that is held in September, endcapping San Francisco's "Leather Pride Week".[285] It started in 1984 and is California's third-largest single-day, outdoor spectator event and the world's largest leather event and showcase for BDSM products and culture.[286]
TheSan Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) houses 20th century and contemporary works of art. It moved to its current building in theSouth of Market neighborhood in 1995 and attracted more than 600,000 visitors annually.[294] SFMOMA closed for renovation and expansion in 2013. The museum reopened on May 14, 2016, with an addition, designed bySnøhetta, that has doubled the museum's size.[295]
The NBA's Golden State Warriors have played in the San Francisco Bay Area since moving from Philadelphia in 1962. The Warriors played as the San Francisco Warriors, from 1962 to 1971, before being renamed theGolden State Warriors prior to the 1971–1972 season in an attempt to present the team as a representation of the whole state of California, which had already adopted "The Golden State" nickname.[304] The Warriors' arena,Chase Center, is located in San Francisco.[305] After winning two championships in Philadelphia, they have won five championships since moving to the San Francisco Bay Area,[306] and made five consecutiveNBA Finals from 2015 to 2019, winning three of them. They won again in 2022, the franchise's first championship while residing in San Francisco proper.
Bay to Breakers is an annual foot race known for colorful costumes.
TheBay to Breakers footrace, held annually since 1912, is best known for colorful costumes and a celebratory community spirit.[308] TheSan Francisco Marathon attracts more than 21,000 participants.[309] TheEscape from Alcatraztriathlon has, since 1980, attracted 2,000 top professional and amateur triathletes for its annual race.[310] TheOlympic Club, founded in 1860, is the oldestathletic club in the United States. Its private golf course has hosted theU.S. Open on five occasions. San Francisco hosted the2013 America's Cup yacht racing competition.[311]
With an ideal climate for outdoor activities, San Francisco has ample resources and opportunities for amateur and participatory sports and recreation. There are more than 200 miles (320 km) ofbicycle paths, lanes and bike routes in the city.[312]San Francisco residents have often ranked among the fittest in the country.[313]Golden Gate Park has miles of paved and unpaved running trails as well as agolf course anddisc golf course.Boating, sailing,windsurfing andkitesurfing are among the popular activities on San Francisco Bay, and the city maintains a yacht harbor in theMarina District.
Several of San Francisco's parks and nearly all of its beaches form part of the regionalGolden Gate National Recreation Area, one of the most visited units of theNational Park system in the United States with over 13 million visitors a year. Among the GGNRA's attractions within the city areOcean Beach, which runs along the Pacific Ocean shoreline and is frequented by asurfing community, andBaker Beach, which is located in a cove west of the Golden Gate Bridge, as well as theCalifornia Academy of Sciences, a research institute and natural history museum.
San Francisco is the first city in the U.S. to have a park within a10-Minute Walk of every resident.[325][326] It also ranks fifth in the U.S. for park access and quality in the 2018 ParkScore ranking of the top 100 park systems across the United States, according to the nonprofitTrust for Public Land.[327]
Themayor is also the county executive, and the countyBoard of Supervisors acts as thecity council. The government of San Francisco is acharter city and is constituted of two co-equal branches: the executive branch is headed by the mayor and includes other citywide elected and appointed officials as well as the civil service; the 11-member Board of Supervisors, the legislative branch, is headed by a president and is responsible for passing laws and budgets, though San Franciscans also make use ofdirect ballot initiatives to pass legislation.[328]
The members of the Board of Supervisors are elected as representatives of specific districts within the city.[330] Upon the death or resignation of the mayor, the President of the Board of Supervisors becomes acting mayor until the full Board elects an interim replacement for the remainder of the term. In 2011,Ed Lee was selected by the board to finish the term ofGavin Newsom, who resigned to take office asLieutenant Governor of California.[331] Lee (who won two elections to remain mayor) was temporarily replaced by San Francisco Board of Supervisors PresidentLondon Breed after he died on December 12, 2017. SupervisorMark Farrell was appointed by the Board of Supervisors to finish Lee's term on January 23, 2018.
The municipal budget for fiscal year 2015–16 was $8.99 billion,[334] and is one of the largest city budgets in the United States.[335] The City of San Francisco spends more per resident than any city other than Washington, D.C., over $10,000 in FY 2015–2016.[335] The city employs around 27,000 workers.[336]
One of San Francisco's most notable achievements is its ambitious zero-waste goal, which aims to divert 100% of waste from landfills by 2025. The city has already made significant strides, with widespread recycling and composting programs that encourage residents to minimize waste. San Francisco was one of the first U.S. cities to ban plastic bags and continues to lead in banning single-use plastics, setting a standard for cities across the country.[338]
TheUniversity of California, San Francisco is the sole campus of theUniversity of California system entirely dedicated to graduate education in health and biomedical sciences. It is ranked among the top five medical schools in the United States[339] and operates theUCSF Medical Center, which ranks as the number one hospital in California and the number 5 in the country.[340] UCSF is a major local employer, second in size only to the city and county government.[341][342][343] A 43-acre (17 ha)Mission Bay campus was opened in 2003, complementing its original facility inParnassus Heights. It contains research space and facilities to foster biotechnology and life sciences entrepreneurship and will double the size of UCSF's research enterprise.[344] All in all, UCSF operates more than 20 facilities across San Francisco.[345]
TheUniversity of California College of the Law, San Francisco, founded inCivic Center in 1878, is the oldest law school in California and claims more judges on the state bench than any other institution.[346]San Francisco's two University of California institutions have recently formed an official affiliation in the UCSF/UC Law SF Consortium on Law, Science & Health Policy.[347]
California Institute of Integral Studies, founded in 1968, offers graduate programs in its Schools of Professional Psychology & Health, and Consciousness and Transformation.
TheCalifornia Culinary Academy had programs in the culinary arts, baking and pastry arts, and hospitality and restaurant management, and is now closed.
The major daily newspaper in San Francisco is theSan Francisco Chronicle, which is currently Northern California's most widely circulated newspaper.[361] The Chronicle is most famous for a former columnist, the lateHerb Caen, whose daily musings attracted critical acclaim and represented the "voice of San Francisco".The San Francisco Examiner, once the cornerstone ofWilliam Randolph Hearst's media empire and the home ofAmbrose Bierce, declined in circulation over the years and now takes the form of a free daily tabloid, under new ownership.[362][363]
Sing Tao Daily claims to be the largest of several Chinese language dailies that serve the Bay Area.[364]SF Weekly is the city'salternative weekly newspaper.San Francisco and7x7 are major glossy magazines about San Francisco. The national newsmagazineMother Jones is also based in San Francisco. San Francisco is home to online-only media publications such asSFist, andAsianWeek.
The San Francisco Bay Area is the sixth-largesttelevision market in the U.S.[365] It is the fourth-largestradio market after that of New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago.[366]
Transit is the most used form of transportation every day in San Francisco. Every weekday, more than 560,000 people travel on Muni's 69 bus routes and more than 140,000 customers ride the Muni Metro light rail system.[370] 32% of San Francisco residents use public transportation for their daily commute to work, ranking it fourth in the United States and first on the West Coast.[371] TheSan Francisco Municipal Railway, primarily known as Muni, is the primary public transit system of San Francisco. As of 2023, Muni is the eighth-largest transit system in the United States.[372] The system operates a combinedlight rail andheavy rail (subway) system, theMuni Metro, as well as large bus andtrolley coach networks.[373] Additionally, it runs ahistoric streetcar line, which runs on Market Street fromCastro Street toFisherman's Wharf.[373] It also operates the famouscable cars,[373] which have been designated as aNational Historic Landmark and are a major tourist attraction.[374]
Amtrak Thruway runs a shuttle bus from three locations in San Francisco to its station across the bay inEmeryville.[375] Additionally, BART offers connections to San Francisco from Amtrak's stations in Emeryville, Oakland andRichmond, and Caltrain offers connections in San Jose andSanta Clara. Thruway service also runs south toSan Luis Obispo with connection to thePacific Surfliner.
To accommodate the large amount of San Francisco citizens who commute to theSilicon Valley daily, employers likeGenentech,Google, andApple have begun to provide private bus transportation for their employees, from San Francisco locations. These buses have quickly become a heated topic of debate within the city, asprotesters claim they block bus lanes and delay public buses.[380]
In 2014, only 41.3% of residents commuted by driving alone or carpooling in private vehicles in San Francisco, a decline from 48.6% in 2000.[381] There are 1,088 miles of streets in San Francisco with 946 miles of these streets being surface streets, and 59 miles of freeways.[381] Due to its unique geography, and thefreeway revolts of the late 1950s,[382]Interstate 80 begins at the approach to theBay Bridge and is the only direct automobile link to the East Bay.U.S. Route 101 connects to the western terminus of Interstate 80 and provides access to the south of the city along San Francisco Bay towardSilicon Valley. Northward, the routing for U.S. 101 uses arterial streets to connect to theGolden Gate Bridge, the only direct automobile link toMarin County and the North Bay.
As part of the retrofitting of the Golden Gate Bridge and installation of a suicide barrier, starting in 2019 the railings on the west side of the pedestrian walkway were replaced with thinner, more flexibleslats in order to improve the bridge's aerodynamic tolerance of high wind to 100 mph (161 km/h). Starting in June 2020, reports were received of a loud hum produced by the new railing slats, heard across the city when a strong west wind was blowing.[383]
State Route 1 also enters San Francisco from the north via the Golden Gate Bridge and bisects the city as the19th Avenue arterial thoroughfare, joining withInterstate 280 at the city's southern border. Interstate 280 continues south from San Francisco, and also turns to the east along the southern edge of the city, terminating just south of the Bay Bridge in theSouth of Market neighborhood. After the1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, city leaders demolished theEmbarcadero Freeway and a portion of theCentral Freeway, converting them into street-level boulevards.[382]
State Route 35 enters the city from the south asSkyline Boulevard and terminates at its intersection with Highway 1.State Route 82 enters San Francisco from the south asMission Street, and terminates shortly thereafter at its junction with 280. The western terminus of the historic transcontinentalLincoln Highway, the first road across America, is in San Francisco'sLincoln Park.
In 2014, San Francisco committed toVision Zero, with the goal of ending all traffic fatalities caused by motor vehicles within the city by 2024.[384] San Francisco's Vision Zero plan calls for investing in engineering, enforcement, and education, and focusing on dangerous intersections. In 2013, 25 people were killed by car and truck drivers while walking and biking in the city and 9 car drivers and passengers were killed in collisions. In 2019, 42 people were killed in traffic collisions in San Francisco.[385]
Though located 13 miles (21 km) south of downtown inunincorporatedSan Mateo County,San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is under the jurisdiction of the City and County of San Francisco. SFO is a hub forUnited Airlines[386] andAlaska Airlines.[387] SFO is a major international gateway to Asia and Europe, with the largest international terminal in North America.[388] In 2011, SFO was the eighth-busiest airport in the U.S. and the 22nd-busiest in the world, handling over 40.9 million passengers.[389]
Cycling is a popular mode of transportation in San Francisco, with 75,000 residents commuting by bicycle each day.[390] In recent years,[when?] the city has installed bettercycling infrastructure such asprotected bike lanes and parking racks.[391]Bay Wheels, previously named Bay Area Bike Share at inception, launched in August 2013 with 700 bikes in downtown San Francisco, selected cities in the East Bay, and San Jose. TheSan Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency andBay Area Air Quality Management District are responsible for the operation with management provided byMotivate.[392] A major expansion started in 2017, along with a rebranding as Ford GoBike; the company received its current name in 2019.[393]Pedestrian traffic is also widespread. In 2021,Walk Score ranked San Francisco the most walkable city in the United States.[394][395][396]
San Francisco has significantly higher rates of pedestrian and bicyclist traffic deaths than the United States on average. In 2013, 21 pedestrians were killed in vehicle collisions, the highest since 2001,[397] which is 2.5 deaths per 100,000 population – 70% higher than the national average of 1.5.[398]
Cycling is becoming increasingly popular in the city. The 2010Municipal Transportation Agency (MTA) annual bicycle count showed the number of cyclists at 33 locations had increased 58% from the 2006 baseline counts.[399] In 2008, the MTA estimated that about 128,000 trips were made by bicycle each day in the city, or 6% of total trips.[400] As of 2019[update], 2.6% of the city's streets have protected bike lanes, with 28 miles of protected bike lanes in the city.[370] Since 2006, San Francisco has received a Bicycle Friendly Community status of "Gold" from theLeague of American Bicyclists.[401] In 2022 a measure on the ballot passed to protect JFK drive in Golden Gate Park as a pedestrian and biking space with 59% of voters in favor.[402]
San Francisco participates in theSister Cities program.[405] A total of 41 consulates general and 23 honorary consulates have offices in the San Francisco Bay Area.[406]
In January 1980, MayorDianne Feinstein signed a sister cities agreement with Shanghai during a visit to China.[407]
^"Another positive trend for the future is San Francisco's highly entrepreneurial, flexible and innovative economy...San Francisco's very high reliance on small business and self-employment is typical of other dynamic, fast-growing, high-technology areas across the country."[109]
^The coordinates of the station are37°46′14″N122°25′37″W / 37.7706°N 122.4269°W /37.7706; -122.4269. Precipitation, high temperature, low temperature, snow, and snow depth records date from October 1, 1849; June 1, 1874; January 1, 1875; January 1, 1876; and January 1, 1922; respectively.
^Mean monthly maxima and minima (i.e. the expected highest and lowest temperature readings at any point during the year or given month) calculated based on data at said location from 1991 to 2020.
^Those not born in the 50 states or D.C., excluding California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas before 1850.
^abcO'Day, Edward F. (October 1926)."The Founding of San Francisco".San Francisco Water. Spring Valley Water Authority.Archived from the original on July 27, 2010. RetrievedNovember 24, 2024.
^"San Francisco: Government". SFGov.org. Archived fromthe original on March 16, 2012. RetrievedMarch 8, 2012.San Francisco was incorporated as a City on April 15th, 1850 by act of the Legislature.
^Yip, Liping Wong (2017).From Wah Lee to Chew Keen. FriesenPress.ISBN978-1-4602-9430-7. RetrievedMarch 24, 2025.To distinguish between the two gold fields, the Chinese nicknamed San Francisco as Kui Gum San (Old Gold Mountain) and the Victoria gold fields of Australia, Sun Gum San (New Gold Mountain)
^abcdeSan Francisco News Letter (September 1925)."From the 1820s to the Gold Rush". The Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco.Archived from the original on October 22, 2009. RetrievedNovember 11, 2024.
^Chandler, Robert J (2010)."Bear Flag Revolt (1846): Sonoma". In Danver, Steven L (ed.).Revolts, Protests, Demonstrations, and Rebellions in American History: An Encyclopedia. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. pp. 343–345.ISBN9781598842227.
^Yenne, Bill (2004).The Missions of California. San Diego, California: Thunder Bay Press. pp. 18–19.ISBN1-59223-319-8.
^Filion, Ron S."Buried Ships". SFgenealogy. RetrievedApril 19, 2016.
^Report of Committee on Counties, January 4, 1850, revised to 27 counties on February 18, 1850 –Coy, Owen C. (1923).California County Boundaries. Berkeley: California Historical Survey Commission. pp. 1–2.
^Construction of the Pacific Railroad was partially (albeit reluctantly) funded by theCity and County of San Francisco Pacific Railroad Bond issue under the provisions of"An Act to Authorize the Board of Supervisors of the City and County of San Francisco to take and subscribe One Million Dollars to the Capital Stock of the Western Pacific Rail Road Company and the Central Pacific Rail Road Company of California and to provide for the payment of the same and other matters relating thereto." approved on April 22, 1863, as amended by §5 of the"Compromise Act of 1864" approved on April 4, 1864. The bond issue was objected to by the Mayor and the Board of Supervisors, however, and they were not delivered to the WPRR and CPRR until 1865 after Writs of Mandamus ordering such were issued by the Supreme Court of the State of California in 1864 ("The People of the State of California on the relation of the Central Pacific Railroad Company vs. Henry P. Coon, Mayor; Henry M. Hale, Auditor; and Joseph S. Paxson, Treasurer, of the City and County of San Francisco" 25 Cal 635) and 1865 ("The People ex rel The Central Pacific Railroad Company of California vs. The Board of Supervisors of the City and County of San Francisco, and Wilhelm Lowey, Clerk" 27 Cal 655)
^Kalisch, Philip A. (Summer 1972). "The Black Death in Chinatown: Plague and Politics in San Francisco 1900–1904".Arizona and the West.14 (2):113–136.JSTOR40168068.PMID11614219.
^"1906 Earthquake: Fire Fighting".Golden Gate National Recreation Area. US Department of the Interior. December 24, 2003. RetrievedJune 13, 2008.
^Terplan, Egon (June 7, 2010)."Organizing for Economic Growth – A new approach to business attraction and retention in San Francisco".SPUR Report. RetrievedJanuary 5, 2013.During the 1960s and 1970s San Francisco's historic maritime industry relocated to Oakland. ... San Francisco remained a center for business and professional services (such as consulting, law, accounting and finance) and also successfully developed its tourism sector, which became the leading local industry.
^Fagan, Kevin (August 4, 2006)."S.F.'s Homeless Aging on the Street / Chronic health problems on the rise as median age nears 50".San Francisco Chronicle. RetrievedMarch 6, 2012.The findings support what many social workers have long suspected – that there was a "big bang" homeless population explosion as federal housing programs were slashed and the closing of mental hospitals hit home in the mid-1980s and that this core group constitutes the bulk of the street population.
^Weil, Elizabeth (May 10, 2023)."Spiraling in San Francisco's Doom Loop". Curbed. RetrievedNovember 5, 2023.What it's like to live in a city that no longer believes its problems can be fixed.
^Agricultural Research Center, PRISM Climate Group Oregon State University."USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map".USDA.Archived from the original on February 27, 2014. RetrievedFebruary 24, 2014.
^McCrossin, M. (1982). "Paleoecological inferences from a faunal analysis of CA-SFr-07".Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology.4:138–141.
^Bolton, Herbert Eugene (1930).Anza's California Expeditions. Vol. I. An Outpost of Empire. Berkeley, California: University of California Press. p. 393.
^abcdePamuk, Ayse (Fall 2017). "Geography of immigrant clusters in global cities: a case study of San Francisco".International Journal of Urban and Regional Research.28 (2):287–307.doi:10.1111/j.0309-1317.2004.00520.x.
^"Economic Characteristics".2005–2009 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates – Data Profile Highlights. U.S. Census Bureau. 2007. Archived fromthe original on February 11, 2020. RetrievedJanuary 9, 2015.
^Wilson, Rob (November 2008). "Spectral city: San Francisco as Pacific Rim city and counter-cultural contado".Inter-Asia Cultural Studies.9 (4):583–597.doi:10.1080/14649370802386503.S2CID145302676.
^Hartman, Chester (2002).City for sale: The transformation of San Francisco. University of California Press. p. 24.
^Boyd, Nan Alamilla (2011). "San Francisco's Castro district: from gay liberation to tourist destination".Journal of Tourism and Cultural Change.9 (3):237–248.doi:10.1080/14766825.2011.620122.S2CID143916613.
^"Bicycle Network Facilities".Commuting and Resources. SF Municipal Transportation Authority. May 12, 2008. Archived fromthe original on April 4, 2013. RetrievedJune 15, 2008.
^"Facility Listings".San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department. City and County of San Francisco. Archived fromthe original on August 16, 2010. RetrievedJuly 25, 2010.
^"The Most Visited City Parks"(PDF).Center for City Park Excellence. The Trust for Public Land. October 11, 2007. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on March 18, 2009. RetrievedJune 17, 2008.
^"School Directory August 2010"(PDF). Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco. August 2010. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on November 27, 2010. RetrievedJanuary 23, 2011.
Taylor, William (1895). Ridpath, John (ed.).Story of my life. Toronto: W. Briggs.
Wiley, Peter Booth (2000).National trust guide San Francisco: America's guide for architecture and history travelers. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.ISBN978-0-471-19120-9.OCLC44313415.
Dillon, Richard H. (1998).High Steel: Building the Bridges Across San Francisco Bay. Celestial Arts (Reissue edition).ISBN978-0-88029-428-7.OCLC22719465.
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