Home toSilicon Valley, Santa Clara County is an economic center forhigh technology, and had the third-highest gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in the world as of 2015 behindZürich andOslo, according to theBrookings Institution.[6][7] Located on the southern coast ofSan Francisco Bay, the urbanizedSanta Clara Valley within Santa Clara County contains most of the county's population. More recently, extensivedroughts in California, further complicated by drainage of the Anderson reservoir within the county for seismic repairs, have strained the county'swater security.[8][9]
In the early 20th century, the area was promoted as the "Valley of the Heart's Delight" due to its natural beauty, including a significant number oforchards.[14] The region was also memorably referred to as the "sun-kissed Santa Clara Valley" in Jack London's 1903Call of the Wild.[15]
The first major technology company to be based in the area wasHewlett-Packard, founded in a garage in Palo Alto in 1939.IBM selected San Jose as its West Coast headquarters in 1943.Varian Associates,Fairchild Semiconductor, and other early innovators were in the county by the late 1940s and 1950s. TheU.S. Navy had a large presence in the area and began giving large contracts to Silicon Valley electronics companies. The term "Silicon Valley" was coined in 1971. The trend accelerated in the 1980s and 1990s, and agriculture has since been nearly eliminated from the northern part of the county.
Santa Clara County is the headquarters for about 6500 high-technology companies, including many of the world's largest such companies, includingAMD,Nvidia,Cisco Systems, andIntel, computer and consumer electronics companiesApple Inc. and Hewlett-Packard, and internet companieseBay,Google, andYahoo!. Most of what is considered to be Silicon Valley is within the county, although some adjoining tech regions inSan Mateo (e.g.,Meta),Alameda, andSanta Cruz counties are also considered part of Silicon Valley.
Threetule elk just north of U. S. Highway 101 in Basking Ridge Park. The freeway is a barrier to elk migration to theCoast Range.
Bothtule elk (Cervus canadensis nannodes) andpronghorn (Antilocapra americana) were historicallynative to Santa Clara County. In June 1776, Lieutenant Commander DonJosé Joaquín Moraga led a group of soldiers and colonists from the Presidio of Monterey to establishMission San Francisco de Asis and encountered both tule elk and pronghorn, and clearly distinguished these two species from deer.[17] The deer in California beingCalifornia mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus).
Regarding elk, Moraga wrote: "In the great plain called San Bernardino (theSanta Clara Valley which stretches from south San Jose toGilroy), while the expedition was strung out at length, we descried in the distance a herd of large animals that looked like cattle, but we could not imagine where they belonged or from whence they had come...with horns similar in shape to those of the deer, but so large that they measured sixteen palms from tip to tip." Upon measurement, Morago reported the elk horns as four varas [11 feet (3.4 m)] across... "These animals [elk] are calledciervos in order to differentiate them from the ordinary Spanish variety of deer, here calledvenados, which also exist in abundance and of large size in the vicinity."[17]
Regarding pronghorn, Moraga reported: "In the said plains of San Bernardino (Santa Clara Valley)…there is another species of deer about the size of three-year-old sheep. They are similar in appearance to the deer, except they have short horns and also short legs like the sheep. They live in the plains where they go in herds of 100, 200, or more. They run all together over the plains so fast that they seem to fly…These animals are calledberrendos and there are many of them also in the southern Missions wherever the country is level."[17]
Herbert Eugene Bolton also wrote of elk reports from another Spanish expedition, from theDe Anza Expedition on March 23, 1776: " In Gilroy Valley (Santa Clara Valley) Moraga 's larder was replenished by three elks which the men killed without leaving the road."[18]General John Bidwell, of the 1841Bartleson-Bidwell Party wrote: "In some of the fertile valleys, such as Napa and Santa Clara, there were elk literally by the thousand."[19]
In 1978,California Department of Fish and Game warden Henry Coletto urged the department to choose theMount Hamilton area as one of California's relocation sites under a new statewide effort to restore tule elk. While other ranchers refused, tech pioneersBill Hewlett andDavid Packard allowed Coletto and state biologists to translocate the initial 32 tule elk from theOwens Valley in the easternSierra onto the 28,000-acre (11,000 ha)San Felipe Ranch, which the families jointly own, in the hills east ofMorgan Hill.[20] From the three original 1978–1981 translocations (totaling 65 animals) to the Mount Hamilton region of theDiablo Range, there are multiple herds in different locations including the Isabel Valley,San Antonio Valley, Livermore area, San Felipe Ranch, Metcalf Canyon,Coyote Ridge,Anderson Lake, and surrounding areas such as theSunol andCottonwood Creek (nearSan Luis Reservoir in westernMerced County, California) herds.[21] As of 2012[update], an estimated 400 tule elk roam 724 square miles (1,875 km2) in northeastern Santa Clara County and southeasternAlameda County.[22] In March 2014CDFW translocated nine bull elk from theSan Luis National Wildlife Refuge to add genetic diversity to the San Antonio Valley Ecological Reserve herd inSan Antonio Valley in extreme eastern Santa Clara County.[23] As of 2017 there were four herds in the Coyote Ridge area, often visible from U. S. Highway 101, according to Craige Edgerton, recently retired executive director of the Silicon Valley Land Conservancy and local naturalist Michael Hundt.[24] In 2019, a fifth herd of tule elk was documented by local naturalist Roger Castillo, likely having split from the Coyote Ridge herd and established itself in Silver Creek Valley around the closed Ranch Golf Club.[25] The elk herds in eastern Santa Clara County are blocked from dispersal to the west by U.S. Highway 101, with environmentalists advocating re-purposing the Metcalf Road bridge at the Coyote Gap into a wildlife overcrossing.[21] This would enable elk to recolonize rural southwestern Santa Clara County, as well asSanta Cruz andSan Mateo Counties.
In 1990, theCalifornia Department of Fish and Game's Henry Coletto translocated excess pronghorn fromModoc County to six locations in California, including 51 animals to the San Felipe Ranch in Santa Clara County, where the swift-footed ungulates had not lived for generations.[26] The animals left the San Felipe Ranch for theIsabel andSan Antonio Valleys, as well as an area nearLake Del Valle inAlameda County may now be extirpated by poaching, highway vehicle collisions, and insufficient numbers to defend pronghorn fawns against coyote predation.[27] As of 2012, the Isabel Valley Ranch herd had dwindled to 3 animals, and the Lake del Valle herd to 13.[28] Currently, iNaturalist.org has zero observer records of pronghorn in Santa Clara County.[29]
The Nature Conservancy "Mount Hamilton Project" has acquired or put under conservation easement 100,000 acres (40,000 ha) of land towards its 500,000 acres (200,000 ha) goal for habitat conservation within a 1,200,000 acres (490,000 ha) area encompassing much of eastern Santa Clara County as well as portions of southern Alameda County, westernMerced andStanislaus Counties, and northernSan Benito County. Acquisitions to date include the 1,756-acre (711 ha)Rancho Cañada de Pala, straddling theAlameda Creek andCoyote Creek watersheds for California tiger salamander habitat; a conservation easement on the 3,259-acreBlue Oak Ranch Reserve, which abuts the north side ofJoseph D. Grant County Park; a conservation easement on the 28,359-acre San Felipe Ranch, connecting Joseph D. Grant County Park withHenry W. Coe State Park; the 2,899-acre South Valley Ranch which protects a tule elk herd in the San Antonio Valley, and other properties.[30][31]
As of 1980, Santa Clara County had the highest number ofSuperfund Sites of any county in the United States, accounting for 25 polluted locations requiring a long-term response to clean up hazardous material contaminations.[32][33] As of 2019[update], Santa Clara County has 23 active Superfund Sites, still more than any other county in the United States.[34] The vast majority of these Superfund sites were caused by firms associated with the high tech sector inSilicon Valley.[35]
Santa Clara County, California – Racial and ethnic composition Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
The2010 United States census reported that Santa Clara County had a population of 1,781,642. Theracial makeup of Santa Clara County was 836,616 (47.0%) White, 46,428 (2.6%) African American, 12,960 (0.7%) Native American, 7,060 (0.4%) Pacific Islander, 570,524 (32.0%) Asian, 220,806 (12.4%) from other races, and 87,248 (4.9%) from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 479,210 persons (26.9% of the population).[60]
As of thecensus[62] of 2000, 1,682,585 people, 565,863 households, and 395,538 families were residing in the county. Thepopulation density was 503/km2 (1,300/sq mi). The 579,329 housing units had an average density of 173/km2 (450/sq mi). The ethnic makeup of the county was 53.8% White, 2.8% African American, 0.7% Native American, 25.6% Asian, 0.3% Pacific Islander, 12.1% from other races, and 4.7% from two or more races. About 24.0% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
Of the 565,863 households, 34.9% had children under 18 living with them, 54.9% were married couples living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.1% were not families. About 21.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.9% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.92, and the average family size was 3.41.
In the county, the age distribution was 24.7% under 18, 9.3% from 18 to 24, 35.4% from 25 to 44, 21.0% from 45 to 64, and 9.5% who were 65 or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.80 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 101.90 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $74,335, and for a family was $81,717. Males had a median income of $56,240 versus $40,574 for females. Theper capita income for the county was $32,795. About 4.9% of families and 7.5% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 8.4% of those under age 18 and 6.4% of those age 65 or over.
Santa Clara County is among the most religiously diverse counties in the US. A 2020 census by thePublic Religion Research Institute (unconnected to the official US census) calculates a religious diversity score of 0.876 for Santa Clara County, where 1 represents complete diversity (each religious group of equal size) and 0 a total lack of diversity. Only four counties in the US have higher diversity scores than Santa Clara County.[63]
Santa Clara County has five electedsupervisors, elected within their districts. The board appoints the County Executive, who is James R. Williams, J.D.[64] The County Executive is responsible for the administration of the county and appoints almost all other officers and department heads.[65]
The county is one among three counties in California (with Napa and Madera) to establish a separate department, the Santa Clara County Department of Corrections, to deal withcorrections pursuant to California Government Code §23013.
Voters in the county also elect a number of other officials to county-wide positions, including the Santa Clara County District Attorney, the Santa Clara County Sheriff, and a large number of criminal and civil judges that serve in courts throughout the county.
Historically, Santa Clara County was aRepublican stronghold in presidential elections. From1872 through1984, the onlyDemocrats to carry Santa Clara County wereFranklin Roosevelt,Lyndon Johnson, andHubert Humphrey. However,1988 would begin to mark a significant shift in the county's political leanings, starting withMichael Dukakis' narrow win and culminating inBill Clinton's substantial 20-point victory in1992. Since then, the Democratic presidential candidate has won Santa Clara County by large margins, and it also strongly supports Democratic candidates incongressional elections: all politicians representing the county at the state and federal level are members of the party. The last Republican to win a majority in the county wasRonald Reagan in 1984. While Republicans remained competitive at the state and local level throughout the 1990s, there are currently no elected Republicans representing the county above the local level.
United States presidential election results for Santa Clara County, California[69]
According to theCalifornia Secretary of State, as of October 2023, Santa Clara County has 1,021,457 registered voters. Of those, 525,176 (51.41%) are registeredDemocrats, and 167,840 (16.43%) are registeredRepublicans.[70]
In November 2012, all of the cities, towns, and unincorporated areas of Santa Clara County had more registered Democrats than Republicans.[71] In2008,Barack Obama carried every city and town in the county, as well as the unincorporated areas.[72]
Following the passage ofProposition 8, Santa Clara County joinedSan Francisco andLos Angeles in alawsuit, becoming, along with San Francisco and Los Angeles, the first governmental entities in the world to sue for same-sex marriage.[73]
The following table includes the number of incidents reported in 2009 and the rate per 1,000 persons for each type of offense. Law Enforcement in Santa Clara County is handled by theSanta Clara County Sheriff's Office and local police departments.
The county's economy is heavily services-based. Technology, both hardware and software, dominates the service sector by value, but like any other county, Santa Clara has its share of retail and office support workers.
The San Jose/Sunnyvale/Santa Clara metropolitan region, comprising Santa Clara County and San Benito County, was ranked as the highest performing metropolitan area in the US in 2012, ahead ofAustin, Texas andRaleigh, North Carolina, according to theMilken Institute.[77] The GDP of the metro area reached $176.7 billion in 2011, or $94,587 per capita,[78] roughly on par withQatar in both total GDP and per capita (nominal).[79] GDP grew 7.7% in 2011, and in contrast with most of California, GDP and per capita GDP (nominal) was well above levels during the2008 financial crisis. Despite relative wealth vis a vis other regions nationally, a large underclass exists whose income is roughly equivalent to that elsewhere in the country, despite extreme land prices. The surge in metro GDP is highly correlated with home prices, which for average single-family homes passed $1 million ($1,017,528) in August 2013.[80] As of the fourth quarter of 2021, the median value of homes in Santa Clara County was $1,253,400, an increase of 11.9% from the prior year, and ranking fourth in the US for highest median home value.[81]
Santa Clara County Library is a public library system serving the communities and cities of Campbell, Cupertino, Gilroy, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Milpitas, Monte Sereno, Morgan Hill, Saratoga, and allunincorporated areas of the county.[83] Other cities run their own library systems.
The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority is establishing a bicycle network throughout the county. Santa Clara County Bicycle network is part of theSan Francisco Bay AreaRegional Bikeway Network.
Santa Clara County maintains a separateexpressway system. Unlike expressways virtually everywhere else in California, the Santa Clara County expressways were built, signed, and maintained as county roads instead ofCaltrans or another state agency. There are still signed like othercounty routes in California and are patrolled by theCalifornia Highway Patrol.
There is also a large street network dominated by four- and six-lane arterials. Some of the newer boulevards (primarily in the West Valley) are divided with landscaped medians. —
The county has no commercial seaports, although small boats can access San Francisco Bay from several points. Like many other Bay Area counties, it is dependent upon thePort of Oakland for transport of ocean cargo.
Santa Clara County also contains Ulistac Natural Area, a volunteer maintained natural open space. Foreign and invasive species are removed when possible as native plants are introduced. Migratory birds and butterflies often use this area.
To promote friendship and understanding and to build bridges with countries of origin for various ethnic populations in the county, the County of Santa Clara has created a Sister County Commission to coordinate the program. As of 2023, there are twosister counties:[91]
^abcGeorge Ezra Dane; Francisco Palóu (June 1, 1935). "The Founding of the Presidio and Mission of Our Father Saint Francis".California Historical Quarterly.14 (2):102–110.doi:10.2307/25160571.JSTOR25160571.
^Herbert Eugene Bolton (1930).Anza's California Expeditions Volume I. An Outpost of Empire. Berkeley, California: University of California Press. p. 393.
^Rockwell D. Hunt (1942).John Bidwell, Prince of California Pioneers. Caldwell, Idaho: The Caxton Printers, Ltd. p. 75.
^abcdefghijklmnopqU.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B02001.U.S. Census website. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
^abU.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B03003.U.S. Census website. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
^abU.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B19301.U.S. Census website. Retrieved October 21, 2013.
^abU.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B19013.U.S. Census website. Retrieved October 21, 2013.
^abU.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B19113.U.S. Census website. Retrieved October 21, 2013.
^abU.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates.U.S. Census website. Retrieved October 21, 2013.
^U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B01003.U.S. Census website. Retrieved October 21, 2013.
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