San Francisco Bay Area | |
|---|---|
 Location of the Bay Area withinCalifornia. The nine-county Bay Area. Additional counties in the larger fourteen-countycombined statistical area. | |
| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| Subregions | |
| Counties | |
| Core cities | Oakland San Francisco San Jose |
| Other municipalities | |
| Area | |
| • Nine-county | 6,966 sq mi (18,040 km2) |
| • San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland (CSA) | 10,191 sq mi (26,390 km2) |
| Highest elevation | 4,360 ft (1,330 m) |
| Lowest elevation | −13 ft (−4 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
| • Density | 1,100/sq mi (430/km2) |
| • Nine-county | 7.76 million[4] |
| • San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland (CSA) | 9.22 million[4] |
| GDP | |
| • Nine-county | $1.132 trillion (2022) |
| • San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland (CSA) | $1.383 trillion (2022) |
| Time zone | UTC−08:00 (Pacific) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−07:00 (PDT) |
| Area codes | 408/669,415/628,510/341,650,707,925[7] |
| Website | bayareametro |
TheSan Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as theBay Area, is aregion of California surrounding and includingSan Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities ofSan Francisco,Oakland, andSan Jose.[8] TheAssociation of Bay Area Governments defines the Bay Area as including the nine counties that border theestuaries of San Francisco Bay,San Pablo Bay, andSuisun Bay:Alameda,Contra Costa,Marin,Napa,San Mateo,Santa Clara,Solano,Sonoma, andSan Francisco. Other definitions may be either smaller or larger, and may include neighboring counties which are not officially part of the San Francisco Bay Area, such as theCentral Coast counties ofSanta Cruz,San Benito, andMonterey, or theCentral Valley counties ofSan Joaquin,Merced, andStanislaus.[9] The Bay Area is known for its natural beauty, prominent universities, technology companies, and affluence. The Bay Area contains many cities, towns, airports, and associated regional, state, and national parks, connected by a complexmultimodal transportation network.
The earliestarchaeological evidence of human settlements in the Bay Area dates back to 8000–10,000 BC. Theoral tradition of theOhlone andMiwok people suggests they have been living in the Bay Area for several hundreds if not thousands of years.[10][11] The Spanish empire claimed the area beginning in the early period ofSpanish colonization of the Americas. Theearliest Spanish exploration of the Bay Area took place in 1769. The Mexican government controlled the area from 1821 until the 1848Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Also in 1848,James W. Marshall discovered gold innearby mountains, resulting in explosive immigration to the area and theprecipitous decline of the Native population. TheCalifornia gold rush brought rapid growth to San Francisco.[12]California wasadmitted as the 31st state in 1850. Amajor earthquake and fire leveled much of San Francisco in 1906. DuringWorld War II, the Bay Area played a major role in America's war effort in theAsiatic-Pacific Theater, with theSan Francisco Port of Embarkation, of whichFort Mason was one of 14 installations and location of the headquarters, acting as a primary embarkation point for American forces. Since then, the Bay Area has experienced numerous political, cultural, and artistic movements, developing unique local genres in music and art and establishing itself as a hotbed ofprogressive politics. Economically, the post-war Bay Area saw large growth in the financial and technology industries, creating an economy with agross domestic product of over $700 billion. In 2018 it was home to the third-highest concentration ofFortune 500 companies in the United States.[13][14]
The Bay Area is home to approximately 7.52 million people.[15] The larger federal classification, thecombined statistical area of the region which includes 13 counties,[9] is the second-largest in California—after theGreater Los Angeles area—and the fifth-largest in the United States, with over 9 million people.[16] The Bay Area's population is ethnically diverse: roughly three-fifths of the region's residents areHispanic/Latino,Asian,African/Black,Indian, orPacific Islander, all of whom have a significant presence throughout the region. Most of the remaining two-fifths of the population isnon-Hispanic White American. The most populous cities of the Bay Area are San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, the latter of which had a population of 969,655 in 2023, making San Jose the area's largest city and the13th-most populous in the United States.[17][18]
Despite its urban character, San Francisco Bay is one of California's most ecologically sensitive habitats, providing importantecosystem services such as filtering the pollutants and sediments from rivers and supporting a number ofendangered species. In addition, the Bay Area is known for its stands ofcoast redwoods, many of which are protected in state and county parks. The region is additionally known for the complexity of its landforms, the result of millions of years oftectonic plate movements. Because the Bay Area is crossed by six majorearthquake faults, the region is particularly exposed to hazards presented by large earthquakes. The climate is temperate and conducive to outdoor recreational and athletic activities such as hiking, running, and cycling. The Bay Area is host tofive professional sports teams and is a cultural center for music, theater, and the arts. It is also host tonumerous higher education institutions, includingresearch universities such as theUniversity of California, Berkeley, andStanford University, the latter known for helping to create the high tech center calledSilicon Valley. Home to 101 municipalities and 9 counties, governance in the Bay Area involves numerous local and regional jurisdictions, often with broad and overlapping responsibilities.
The Coyote Hills Shell Mound, the earliest known archaeological evidence of human habitation of the Bay Area estuaries, dates to around 10,000 BCE, with evidence pointing to even earlier settlement inPoint Reyes inMarin County.[19] It has been conjectured that the people living in the Bay Area at the time of first European contact were descended fromSiberian tribes who arrived at around 1,000 BCE by sailing over theArctic Ocean and following the salmon migration.[20] However the current academic consensus is compatible with theoral tradition of theOhlone andMiwok peoples, which suggests they have been living in the Bay Area for several hundreds if not thousands of years.[10][11]
At the time of colonization, the Ohlone peoples in the Bay Area primarily lived on the San Francisco Peninsula, in the South Bay and in the East Bay, and the Miwok primarily lived in the North Bay, northern East Bay, and Central Valley.Ohlone villages were spread across the Peninsula, East Bay, South Bay, as well as further south into theMonterey Bay area.[21] There were eight major divisions of Ohlone people, four of which were based in the Bay Area: theKarkin of theCarquinez Strait, theChochenyo of theEast Bay, theRamaytush of theSan Francisco Peninsula, and theTamien of the South Bay. TheMiwok had two major groups in the Bay Area: theBay Miwok ofContra Costa and theCoast Miwok ofMarin andSonoma.
In 1542,Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo explored the Pacific coast near the Bay Area though the expedition did not see theGolden Gate or the estuaries, likely due to fog.Sir Francis Drake became the first European to land in the area and claim it in June 1579, when he landed atDrakes Bay near Point Reyes. Even though he claimed the region forQueen Elizabeth I asNova Albion orNew Albion, the English made no immediate follow up to the claim.[22][23][24]
In 1595,Philip II of Spain taskedSebastião Rodrigues Soromenho with mapping the west coast of the Americas. Soromenho set sail onManila GalleonSan Agustin on July 5, 1595 and in early November they reached land betweenPoint St. George andTrinidad Head, north of the Bay Area, in theLost Coast. The expedition followed the coast southward and on November 7 theSan Agustin anchored in Drakes Bay, and claimed the region asPuerto y Bahía de San Francisco.[25][26][27] In late November, a storm sank theSan Agustin and killed between 7 and 12 people. On December 8, 80 remaining crew members set sail on theSan Buenaventura, alaunch which was partially constructed en route fromthe Philippines. Seeking the fastest route south, the expedition sailed past the Golden Gate, arriving atPuerto de Chacala, Mexico on January 17, 1596.[28]
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The Bay Area estuaries remained unknown to Europeans until members of thePortolá expedition, while trekking along the California coast, encountered them in 1769 when theGolden Gate blocked their continued journey north.[29] Severalmissions were founded in the Bay Area during this period. In 1806, a Spanish expedition led byGabriel Moraga began at the Presidio, traveled south of the bay, and then east to explore theSan Joaquin Valley.[30]
In 1821, Mexicogained its independence from Spain and the Bay Area became part of the Mexican province ofAlta California, a period characterized byranch life and visiting American trappers.[31] Mexico's control of the territory would be short-lived, however, and in 1846 a party of settlersoccupiedSonoma Plaza and proclaimed the independence of the newRepublic of California.[31] That same year, theMexican–American War began, and American captainJohn Berrien Montgomery sailed theUSS Portsmouth into the bay and seized San Francisco, which was then known asYerba Buena, and raised theAmerican flag for the first time overPortsmouth Square.[32]
In 1848,James W. Marshall's discovery of gold in theAmerican River sparked theCalifornia gold rush, and within half a year 4,000 men were panning for gold along the river and finding $50,000 per day.[33] The promise of fabulous riches quickly led to a stampede of wealth-seekers descending onSutter's Mill. The Bay Area's population quickly emptied out as laborers, clerks, waiters, and servants joined the rush to find gold, and California's first newspaper,The Californian, was forced to announce a temporary freeze in new issues due to labor shortages.[33] By the end of 1849, news had spread across the world and newcomers flooded into the Bay Area at a rate of one thousand per week on their way to California's interior,[33] including the first large influx ofChinese immigrants to the U.S.[34] The rush was so great that vessels were abandoned by the hundreds in San Francisco's ports as crews rushed to the goldfields.[35] The unprecedented influx of new arrivals spread the nascent government authorities thin, and the military was unable to prevent desertions. As a result, numerous vigilante groups formed to provide order, but many tasked themselves with forcibly moving or killing localNative Americans, and by the end of the gold rush, two thirds of the indigenous population had been killed.[36]
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During this same time, aconstitutional convention was called to determine California's application forstatehood into the United States. After statehood was granted, the capital city moved between three cities in the Bay Area: San Jose (1849–1851),Vallejo (1851–1852), andBenicia (1852–1853) before permanently settling inSacramento in 1854.[37] As the gold rush subsided, wealth generated from the endeavor led to the establishment ofWells Fargo Bank and theBank of California, and immigrant laborers attracted by the promise of wealth transformed the demographic makeup of the region. Construction of theFirst transcontinental railroad from theOakland Long Wharf attracted so manylaborers from China that by 1870, eight percent of San Francisco's population was of Asian origin.[38] The completion of the railroad connected the Bay Area with the rest of the United States, established a truly national marketplace for the trade of goods, and accelerated the urbanization of the region.[39]
In the early morning of April 18, 1906,a large earthquake with an epicenter near the city of San Francisco hit the region.[40] Immediate casualty estimates by theU.S. Army's relief operations were 498 deaths in San Francisco, 64 deaths inSanta Rosa, and 102 in or near San Jose, for a total of about 700. More recent studies estimate the total death count to be over 3,000, with over 28,000 buildings destroyed.[41] Rebuilding efforts began immediately.Amadeo Peter Giannini, owner of theBank of Italy (now known as theBank of America), had managed to retrieve the money from his bank's vaults before fires broke out through the city and was the only bank withliquid funds readily available and was instrumental in loaning out funds for rebuilding efforts.[42] Congress immediately approved plans for a reservoir inHetch Hetchy Valley inYosemite National Park, a plan they had denied a few years earlier, which now provides drinking water for 2.4 million people in the Bay Area. By 1915, the city had been sufficiently rebuilt and advertised itself to the world during thePanama Pacific Exposition that year, although the effects of the quake hastened the loss of the region's dominant status in California to theLos Angeles metropolitan area.[42]
During the1929 stock market crash and subsequenteconomic depression, not a single San Francisco-based bank failed,[43] while the region attempted to spur job growth by simultaneously undertaking two large infrastructure projects: construction of theGolden Gate Bridge, which would connect San Francisco withMarin County,[44] and theBay Bridge, which would connect San Francisco with Oakland and the East Bay.[45] After the United States joinedWorld War II in 1941, the Bay Area became a major domestic military and naval hub, with large shipyards constructed inSausalito and across the East Bay to build ships for the war effort.[46] The Army's San Francisco Port of Embarkation was the primary origin for Army forces shipping out to thePacific Theater of Operations.[47][48] That command consisted of fourteen installations including Fort Mason, theOakland Army Base,Camp Stoneman andFort McDowell in San Francisco Bay and the sub port of Los Angeles.[49]
After World War II, theUnited Nations was chartered in San Francisco, and in September 1951, theTreaty of San Francisco to re-establish peaceful relations between Japan and theAllied Powers was signed in San Francisco, entering into force a year later.[50] In the years immediately following the war, the Bay Area saw a huge wave of immigration as populations increased across the region. Between 1950 and 1960, San Francisco welcomed over 100,000 new residents, inland suburbs in the East Bay saw their populations double,Daly City's population quadrupled, andSanta Clara's population quintupled.[46]
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By the early 1960s, the Bay Area and the rest ofNorthern California became the center of thecounterculture movement.Telegraph Avenue inBerkeley and theHaight-Ashbury neighborhood in San Francisco were seen as centers of activity,[51] with the hit Americanpop songSan Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair) further enticing like-minded individuals to join the movement in the Bay Area and leading to theSummer of Love.[52] In the proceeding decades, the Bay Area would cement itself as a hotbed ofNew Left activism,student activism,opposition to the Vietnam War and otheranti-war movements, theblack power movement, and thegay rights movement.[51] At the same time, parts of San Mateo and Santa Clara counties began to rapidly develop from anagrarian economy into a hotbed of thehigh-tech industry.[53]Fred Terman, the director of a top-secret research project atHarvard University during World War II, joined the faculty atStanford University in order to reshape the university's engineering department. His students, includingDavid Packard andWilliam Hewlett, would later help usher in the region's high-tech revolution.[46] In 1955,Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory opened for business in Mountain View near Stanford, and although the business venture was a financial failure, it was the firstsemiconductor company in the Bay Area, and the talent that it attracted to the region eventually led to a high-tech cluster of companies later known asSilicon Valley.[54]
In 1989, in the middle of aWorld Series game between two Bay Area baseball teams, theLoma Prieta earthquake struck and caused widespread infrastructural damage, including the failure of theBay Bridge, a major link between San Francisco andOakland.[55] Even so, the Bay Area's technology industry continued to expand and growth in Silicon Valley accelerated: theUnited States census confirmed that year that San Jose had overtaken San Francisco in terms of population.[56] The commercialization of theInternet in the middle of the decade rapidly created aspeculative bubble in the high-tech economy known as thedot-com bubble. This bubble began collapsing in the early 2000s and the industry continued contracting for the next few years, nearly wiping out the market. Companies likeAmazon.com andGoogle managed to weather the crash however, and following the industry's return to normalcy, their market value increased significantly.[57]
Even as the growth of the technology sector transformed the region's economy,progressive politics continued to guide the region's political environment. By the turn of the millennium,non-Hispanic whites, the largest ethnic group in the United States, were only half of the population in the Bay Area as immigration among minority groups accelerated.[58] During this time, the Bay Area was the center of theLGBT rights movement: in 2004, San Francisco began issuingmarriage licenses to same-sex couples, a first in the United States,[59] and four years later a majority of voters in the Bay Area rejected CaliforniaProposition 8, which sought to constitutionally restrict marriage to opposite-sex couples but ultimately passed statewide.[60]
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The Bay Area was also the center of contentious protests concerning racial andeconomic inequality. In 2009, anAfrican-American man namedOscar Grant was fatally shot byBay Area Rapid Transit police officers, precipitating widespread protests across the region and even riots in Oakland.[61] His name was symbolically tied to theOccupy Oakland protests two years later that sought to fight against social and economic inequality.[62] By August 2023, San Francisco was in such severe decline that MayorMatt Mahan of San Jose joked that one day the region might be renamed the "San Jose Bay Area", after its largest and most prosperous city.[63]
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The borders of the San Francisco Bay Area are not officially delineated, and the unique development patterns influenced by the region'stopography, as well as unusualcommute patterns caused by the presence of three central cities and employment centers located in various suburban locales, has led to considerable disagreement between local and federal definitions of the area.[64] Because of this, professor ofgeography at theUniversity of California, Berkeley Richard Walker claimed that "no other U.S. city-region is as definitionally challenged [as the Bay Area]."[64]
When the region began to rapidly develop during and immediately afterWorld War II, local planners settled on a nine-county definition for the Bay Area, consisting of the counties that directly border theSan Francisco,San Pablo, andSuisunestuaries:Alameda,Contra Costa,Marin,Napa,San Francisco,San Mateo,Santa Clara,Solano, andSonoma counties.[65] Today, this definition is accepted by most local governmental agencies includingSan Francisco Regional Water Quality Control Board,[66]Bay Area Air Quality Management District,[67] theSan Francisco Bay Restoration Authority,[68] theMetropolitan Transportation Commission,[69] and theAssociation of Bay Area Governments,[70] the latter two of which partner to deliver a Bay Area Census using the nine-county definition.[71]
VariousU.S. Federal government agencies use definitions that differ from their local counterparts' nine-county definition. For example, theFederal Communications Commission (FCC) which regulates broadcast, cable, and satellite transmissions, includes nearbyColusa,Lake andMendocino counties in their "San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose"media market, but excludes eastern Solano County.[72] On the other hand, the United StatesOffice of Management and Budget, which designatesmetropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) andcombined statistical areas (CSA) for populated regions across the country, has five MSAs which include, wholly or partially, areas within the nine-county definition, and one CSA which includes eight Bay Area counties (excludingSonoma), but including neighboringSan Benito,Santa Cruz,San Joaquin,Merced, andStanislaus counties.[9]
The Association of Bay Area Health Officers (ABAHO), an organization that has fought local outbreaks ofHIV/AIDS in 1980s and withCOVID-19 pandemic andDeltacron hybrid variant (2020–22), consists of the public health officers of 9 Bay Area counties, in addition to theCentral Coast counties ofSanta Cruz,San Benito, andMonterey and the city ofBerkeley.
| County | 2022 estimate | 2020–22 change | 2020 Population | 2010 Population | 2010–20 change | 2020 Density (per sq mi) | MSA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alameda | 1,628,997 | -3.2% | 1,682,353 | 1,510,271 | +11.4% | 2,281.3 | San Francisco–Oakland–Berkeley‡ |
| Contra Costa | 1,156,966 | -0.8% | 1,165,927 | 1,049,025 | +11.1% | 1,626.3 | |
| Marin | 256,018 | -2.4% | 262,321 | 252,409 | +3.9% | 504.1 | |
| San Francisco | 808,437 | -7.5% | 873,965 | 805,235 | +8.5% | 18,629.1 | |
| San Mateo | 729,181 | -4.6% | 764,442 | 718,451 | +6.4% | 1,704.0 | |
| San Benito | 67,579 | +5.3% | 64,209 | 55,269 | +16.2% | 46.2 | San Jose–Sunnyvale–Santa Clara |
| Santa Clara | 1,870,945 | -3.4% | 1,936,259 | 1,781,642 | +8.7% | 1,499.7 | |
| Napa | 134,300 | -2.7% | 138,019 | 136,484 | +1.1% | 184.4 | Napa |
| Solano | 448,747 | -1.0% | 453,491 | 413,344 | +9.7% | 551.8 | Vallejo–Fairfield |
| Sonoma† | 482,650 | -1.3% | 488,863 | 483,878 | +1.0% | 310.3 | Santa Rosa–Petaluma |
| Merced | 290,014 | +3.1% | 281,202 | 255,793 | +9.9% | 145.1 | Merced |
| Santa Cruz | 264,370 | -2.4% | 270,861 | 262,382 | +3.2% | 608.5 | Santa Cruz–Watsonville |
| San Joaquin | 793,229 | +1.3% | 779,233 | 685,306 | +13.7% | 559.6 | Stockton–Lodi |
| Stanislaus | 551,275 | -0.3% | 552,878 | 514,453 | +7.5% | 369.6 | Modesto |
| Bay Area counties colored red †Sonoma County was separated from the CSA in 2023.[9] ‡Renamed to San Francisco–Oakland–Fremont in 2023.[9] | |||||||
Among locals, the nine-county Bay Area is divided into five sub-regions: theEast Bay,North Bay,Peninsula, city ofSan Francisco, andSouth Bay.
The "East Bay" is the densest region of the Bay Area outside of San Francisco and includes cities and towns inAlameda andContra Costa counties centered aroundOakland. As one of the larger subregions, the East Bay includes a variety of enclaves, including the suburbanTri-Valley area and the highly urban western part of the subregion that runs alongside the bay, including Oakland.[74]
The "North Bay" includesMarin,Sonoma,Napa, andSolano counties, and is the geographically largest and least populated subregion. The western counties of Marin and Sonoma are encased by thePacific Ocean on the west and the bay on the east and are characterized by their mountainous and woody terrain. Sonoma and Napa counties are known internationally for their grape vineyards andwineries, and Solano County to the east, centered aroundVallejo, is the fastest growing region in the Bay Area.[75]
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The "Peninsula" subregion includes the cities and towns on the San Francisco Peninsula, excluding the titular city of San Francisco. Its eastern half, which runs alongside the Bay, is highly populated, while its less populated western coast traces the coastline of the Pacific Ocean and is known for its open space and hiking trails. Roughly coinciding with the borders ofSan Mateo County, it also includes the northwesternSanta Clara County cities ofPalo Alto,Mountain View, andLos Altos.[76]
Although geographically located on the tip of the San Francisco Peninsula, the city ofSan Francisco is not considered part of the "Peninsula" subregion, but as a separate entity.[77][78]
The term "South Bay" has different meanings to different groups: Writing in 1959 for theArmy Corps of Engineers, theUnited States Department of Commerce defined the South Bay as comprising five counties, corresponding to their two-way division of the bay into north and south regions.[79] In 1989, the federalEnvironmental Protection Agency defined the South Bay as the northern part of Santa Clara County and the southeastern part of San Mateo County.[80]
The Bay Area is located in thewarm-summer Mediterranean climate zone (KöppenCsb) that is a characteristic of California's coast, featuring mild to cool winters with occasional rainfall, and warm to hot, dry summers.[81] It is largely influenced by the coldCalifornia Current, which penetrates the natural mountainous barrier along the coast by traveling through various gaps.[82] In terms ofprecipitation, this means that the Bay Area has pronounced seasons. The winter season, which roughly runs between November and March, is the source of about 82% of annual precipitation in the area. In the South Bay and further inland, while the winter season is cool and mild, the summer season is characterized by warm sunny days,[82] while in San Francisco and areas closer to the Golden Gate strait, the summer season is periodically affected by fog.[83]
Due to the Bay Area's diversetopographic relief (itself the result of the clashingtectonic plates), the region is home to numerousmicroclimates that lead to pronounced differences in climate and temperature over short distances.[81][84] Within the city of San Francisco, natural and artificial topographical features direct the movement of wind and fog, resulting in startlingly varied climates between city blocks. Along theGolden Gate Strait, oceanic wind and fog from the Pacific Ocean are able to penetrate the mountain barriers inland into the Bay Area.[84]
During the summer, rising hot air in California's interior valleys creates a low pressure area that draws winds from theNorth Pacific High through the Golden Gate, which creates the city'scharacteristic cool winds and fog.[83] The microclimate phenomenon is most pronounced during this time, when fog penetration is at its maximum in areas near the Golden Gate strait,[84] while the South Bay and areas further inland are sunny and dry.[82]
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Along the San Francisco peninsula, gaps in theSanta Cruz Mountains, one south ofSan Bruno Mountain and another in Crystal Springs, allow oceanic weather into the interior, causing a cooling effect for cities along the Peninsula and even as far south as San Jose. This weather pattern is also the source for delays atSan Francisco International Airport. In Marin county north of the Golden Gate strait, two gaps north ofMuir Woods bring cold air across theMarin Headlands, with the cooling effect reaching as far north asSanta Rosa.[84] Further inland, the East Bay receives oceanic weather that travels through the Golden Gate strait, and further diffuses that air through theBerkeley Hills,Niles Canyon and the Hayward Pass into theLivermore Valley andAltamont Pass. Here, the resulting breeze is so strong that it is home to one of the world's largest array ofwind turbines. Further north, theCarquinez Strait funnels the ocean weather into theSan Joaquin River Delta, causing a cooling effect inStockton andSacramento, so that these cities are also cooler than theirCentral Valley counterparts in the south.[84]
| City | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fairfield[85] | 55 / 39 (13 / 4) | 61 / 42 (16 / 6) | 66 / 45 (19 / 7) | 71 / 47 (22 / 8) | 78 / 52 (26 / 11) | 85 / 56 (29 / 13) | 90 / 58 (32 / 14) | 89 / 57 (32 / 14) | 86 / 56 (30 / 13) | 78 / 51 (26 / 11) | 65 / 44 (18 / 7) | 55 / 39 (13 / 4) |
| Oakland[86] | 58 / 44 (14 / 7) | 67 / 47 (19 / 8) | 64 / 49 (18 / 9) | 66 / 50 (19 / 10) | 69 / 53 (21 / 12) | 72 / 55 (22 / 13) | 72 / 56 (22 / 13) | 73 / 58 (23 / 14) | 74 / 57 (23 / 14) | 72 / 54 (22 / 12) | 65 / 49 (18 / 9) | 58 / 45 (14 / 7) |
| San Francisco[87] | 57 / 46 (14 / 8) | 60 / 48 (16 / 9) | 62 / 49 (17 / 9) | 63 / 49 (17 / 9) | 64 / 51 (18 / 11) | 66 / 53 (19 / 12) | 66 / 54 (19 / 12) | 68 / 55 (20 / 13) | 70 / 55 (21 / 13) | 69 / 54 (21 / 12) | 63 / 50 (17 / 10) | 57 / 46 (14 / 8) |
| San Jose[88] | 58 / 42 (14 / 6) | 62 / 45 (17 / 7) | 66 / 47 (19 / 8) | 69 / 49 (21 / 9) | 74 / 52 (23 / 11) | 79 / 56 (26 / 13) | 82 / 58 (28 / 14) | 82 / 58 (28 / 14) | 80 / 57 (27 / 14) | 74 / 53 (23 / 12) | 64 / 46 (18 / 8) | 58 / 42 (14 / 6) |
| Santa Rosa[89] | 59 / 39 (15 / 4) | 63 / 41 (17 / 5) | 67 / 43 (19 / 6) | 70 / 45 (21 / 7) | 75 / 48 (24 / 9) | 80 / 52 (27 / 11) | 82 / 52 (28 / 11) | 83 / 53 (28 / 12) | 83 / 52 (28 / 11) | 78 / 48 (26 / 9) | 67 / 43 (19 / 6) | 59 / 39 (15 / 4) |
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The Bay Area is home to a diverse array ofwildlife and, along with the connectedSan Joaquin River Delta represents one of California's most important ecological habitats.[90] California'sDungeness crab, Pacifichalibut, and the Californiascorpionfish are all significant components of the bay'sfisheries.[91] The bay'ssalt marshes now represent most of California's remaining salt marsh and support a number of endangeredspecies and provide key ecosystem services such as filtering pollutants andsediments from the rivers.[92] Most famously, the bay is a key link in thePacific Flyway and with millions ofshorebirds annually visiting the bay shallows as a refuge, is the most important component of the flyway south ofAlaska.[93] Manyendangered species of birds are also found here: theCalifornia least tern, theCalifornia clapper rail, thesnowy egret, and theblack crowned night heron.[94]
There is also a significant diversity ofsalmonids present in the bay.Steelhead populations in California have dramatically declined due to human and natural causes; in the Bay Area, all naturally spawnedanadromous steelhead populations below natural and manmade impassable barriers in California streams from theRussian River toAptos Creek, and the drainages of San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bays are listed as threatened under theFederal Endangered Species Act.[95] The Central California Coastcoho salmon population is the most endangered of the many troubled salmon populations on thewest coast of the United States, including populations residing intributaries to San Francisco Bay.[96] California CoastChinook salmon were historically native to theGuadalupe River in San Francisco Bay, and Chinook salmon runs persist today in the Guadalupe River,Coyote Creek,Napa River, andWalnut Creek.[97] Industrial, mining, and other uses ofmercury have resulted in a widespread distribution of that poisonous metal in the bay, with uptake in the bay'sphytoplankton and contamination of itssportfish.[98]
Aquatic mammals are also present in the bay. Before 1825, Spanish, French, English, Russians and Americans were drawn to the Bay Area to harvest prodigious quantities ofbeaver,river otter, marten, fisher, mink, fox, weasel, harbor andfur seals andsea otter. This early fur trade, known as theCalifornia Fur Rush, was more than any other single factor, responsible for opening up the West and the San Francisco Bay Area, in particular, to world trade.[99] By 1817 sea otter in the area were practically eliminated.[100] Since then, theCalifornia golden beaver re-established a presence inAlhambra Creek, followed by the Napa River andSonoma Creek in the north, and the Guadalupe River and Coyote Creek in the south.[101] TheNorth American river otter which was first reported inRedwood Creek atMuir Beach in 1996,[102] has since been spotted in the North Bay'sCorte Madera Creek, the South Bay'sCoyote Creek,[103] as well as in 2010 in San Francisco Bay itself at theRichmond Marina. Other mammals include the internationally famoussea lions who began inhabiting San Francisco'sPier 39 after the1989 Loma Prieta earthquake[104] and the locally famousHumphrey the Whale, ahumpback whale who entered San Francisco Bay twice on errant migrations in the late 1980s and early 1990s.[105]Bottlenose dolphins andharbor porpoises have recently returned to the bay, having been absent for many decades. Historically, this was the northern extent of their warm-water species range.[106]
In addition to the many species of marine birds that can be seen in the Bay Area, many other species of birds make the Bay Area their home, making the region a popular destination forbirdwatching.[107] Many birds are listed asendangered species despite once being common in the region.
Western burrowing owls were originally listed as aspecies of special concern by theCalifornia Department of Fish and Game in 1979. California's population declined 60% from the 1980s to the early 1990s, and continues to decline at roughly 8% per year.[108] A 1992–93 survey reported little to no breeding burrowing owls in most of the western counties in the Bay Area, leaving onlyAlameda,Contra Costa, andSolano counties as remnants of a once large breeding range.[109]
Bald eagles were once common in the Bay Area, but habitat destruction and thinning of eggs fromDDT poisoning reduced the California state population to 35 nesting pairs. Bald eagles disappeared from the Bay Area in 1915, and only began returning in recent years.[110] In the 1980s an effort to re-introduce the species to the area began with the Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group and theSan Francisco Zoo importing birds and eggs fromVancouver Island and northeastern California,[111] and there are now nineteen nesting couples in eight of the Bay Area's nine counties.[110] Other once absent species that have returned to the Bay Area includeSwainson's hawk,white tailed kite, and theosprey.[110]
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In 1927,zoologistJoseph Grinnell wrote that osprey were only rare visitors to the San Francisco Bay Area, although he noted records of one or two used nests in the broken tops ofredwood trees along theRussian River.[112] In 1989, the southern breeding range of the osprey in the Bay Area wasKent Lake, although osprey were noted to be extending their range further south in the Central Valley and the Sierra Nevada.[113] In 2014, a Bay Area-wide survey found osprey had extended their breeding range southward with nesting sites as far south asHunters Point in San Francisco on the west side andHayward on the east side, while further studies have found nesting sites as far south as theLos Gatos Creek watershed, indicating that the nesting range now includes the entire length of San Francisco Bay.[114] Most nests were built on man-made structures close to areas of human disturbance, likely due to lack of mature trees near the Bay.[115] Thewild turkey population was introduced in the 1960s by state game officials, and by 2015 have become a common sight in East Bay communities.[116]
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The Bay Area is well known for the complexity of its landforms that are the result of the forces ofplate tectonics acting over of millions of years, since the region is located in the middle of a meeting point between two plates.[117] Nine out of eleven distinctassemblages have been identified in a single county, Alameda.[118] Diverse assemblages adjoin in complex arrangements due to offsets along the many faults (both active and stable) in the area. As a consequence, many types of rock and soil are found in the region. The oldest rocks aremetamorphic rocks that are associated with granite in theSalinian Block west of theSan Andreas Fault. These were formed fromsedimentary rocks ofsandstone,limestone, andshale in uplifted seabeds.[119] Volcanic deposits also exist in the Bay Area, left behind by the movement of the San Andreas Fault, whose movement sliced a subduction plate and allowed magma to briefly flow to the surface.[120]
The region has considerable vertical relief in its landscapes that are not in thealluvial plains leading to the bay or in the inland valleys. The topography, and geologic history, of the Bay Area can largely be attributed to the compressive forces between the Pacific Plate and the North American plate.[121]
The three major ridge structures in the Bay Area, part of thePacific Coast Range, are all roughly parallel to the majorfaults. TheSanta Cruz Mountains along the San Francisco Peninsula and theMarin Hills in Marin County follow theSan Andreas fault, TheBerkeley Hills,San Leandro Hills and their southern ridgeline extension throughMission Peak roughly follow theHayward fault, and theDiablo Range, which includesMount Diablo andMount Hamilton and runs along theCalaveras fault.[122]
In total, the Bay Area is traversed by seven majorfault systems with hundreds of related faults, all of which are stressed by the relative motion between thePacific Plate and theNorth American Plate or by compressive stresses between these plates. The fault systems include theHayward Fault Zone,Concord-Green Valley Fault,Calaveras Fault,Clayton-Marsh Creek-Greenville Fault,Rodgers Creek Fault, and theSan Gregorio Fault.[123] Significant blindthrust faults (faults with near vertical motion and no surface ruptures) are associated with portions of theSanta Cruz Mountains and the northern reaches of theDiablo Range andMount Diablo. These "hidden" faults, which are not as well known, pose a significant earthquake hazard.[124] Among the more well-understood faults, as of 2014, scientists estimate a 72% probability of amagnitude 6.7 earthquake occurring along either the Hayward, Rogers Creek, or San Andreas fault, with an earthquake more likely to occur in the East Bay's Hayward Fault.[125] Two of the largest earthquakes in recent history were the1906 San Francisco earthquake and the1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.
The Bay Area is home to a complex network of watersheds, marshes, rivers, creeks, reservoirs, and bays that predominantly drain into theSan Francisco Bay and Pacific Ocean. The largest bodies of water in the Bay Area are theSan Francisco,San Pablo, andSuisun estuaries. Major rivers of theNorth Bay include theNapa River, thePetaluma River, theGualala River, and theRussian River; the former two drain intoSan Pablo Bay, the latter two into the Pacific Ocean. In the South Bay, theGuadalupe River drains intoSan Francisco Bay nearAlviso.[126] There are also several lakes present in the Bay Area, including man-made lakes likeLake Berryessa[127] and natural albeit heavily modified lakes likeLake Merritt.[128]
Prior to the introduction of European agricultural methods, the shores of San Francisco Bay consisted mostly of tidal marshes.[129] Today, the bay has been significantly altered heavily re-engineered to accommodate the needs of water delivery, shipping, agriculture, and urban development, with side effects including the loss of wetlands and the introduction of contaminants andinvasive species.[130] Approximately 85% of those marshes have been lost or destroyed, but about 50 marshes and marsh fragments remain.[129] Huge tracts of the marshes were originally destroyed by farmers for agricultural purposes, then repurposed to serve assalt evaporation ponds to produce salt for food and other purposes.[131] Today, regulations limit the destruction of tidal marshes, and large portions are currently being rehabilitated to their natural state.[129]
Over time,droughts andwildfires have increased in frequency and become less seasonal and more year-round, further straining the region'swater security.[132][133][134]
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1860 | 114,074 | — | |
| 1870 | 265,808 | 133.0% | |
| 1880 | 422,128 | 58.8% | |
| 1890 | 547,618 | 29.7% | |
| 1900 | 658,111 | 20.2% | |
| 1910 | 925,708 | 40.7% | |
| 1920 | 1,182,911 | 27.8% | |
| 1930 | 1,578,009 | 33.4% | |
| 1940 | 1,734,308 | 9.9% | |
| 1950 | 2,681,322 | 54.6% | |
| 1960 | 3,638,939 | 35.7% | |
| 1970 | 4,628,199 | 27.2% | |
| 1980 | 5,179,784 | 11.9% | |
| 1990 | 6,023,577 | 16.3% | |
| 2000 | 6,783,760 | 12.6% | |
| 2010 | 7,150,739 | 5.4% | |
| 2020 | 7,765,640 | 8.6% | |
| Note: Nine-County Population Totals[58] | |||
According to the2010 United States Census, the population of the nine-county Bay Area was 7.15 million, with 49.6% male and 50.4% female.[58] Of these, approximately 2.3 million (32%) are foreign born.[135] In 2010 the racial makeup of the nine-county Bay Area was 52.5%White (42.4% werenon-Hispanic and 10.1% wereHispanic), 23.3%Asian, 6.7% non-Hispanic Black orAfrican American, 0.7%Native American orAlaska Native, 0.6%Pacific Islander, 5.4% fromtwo or more races and 10.8% from other races.[136]Hispanic or Latino residents of any race formed 23.5% of the population.
The Bay Area cities ofVallejo,Suisun City,Oakland,San Leandro,Fairfield, andRichmond are among the most ethnically diverse cities in the United States.[137]
Non-Hispanic whites form majorities of the population inMarin,Napa, andSonoma counties.[58] Whites also make up the majority in the eastern regions of theEast Bay centered around theLamorinda andTri-Valley areas.[58] San Francisco'sNorth Beach district is considered theLittle Italy of the city, and was once home to a significant Italian-American community. San Francisco, Marin County[138] and the Lamorinda area[139] all have substantialJewish communities. There is aLittle Russia community in northwestern San Francisco, and there are Russian communities throughout the Bay Area, especially in San Mateo County and Santa Clara County; there are also Eastern European American groups such as Ukrainians and Poles in dozens of thousands to hundreds of thousands especially in San Francisco and in the Peninsula, including recent immigrants and American-born citizens of Eastern European descent. There are numerous Russian-, Ukrainian-, and Polish-speaking churches in San Francisco, the South Bay, the East Bay, and on the Peninsula.
Like much of the U.S., the Bay Area has a large Irish population and this is reflected in theRichmond District area of San Francisco. San Jose has aLittle Portugal.
TheLatino population is spread throughout the Bay Area, but among the nine counties, the greatest number live in Santa Clara County, while Contra Costa County has seen the highest growth rate.[140] The largest Hispanic or Latino groups were those ofMexican (17.9%),Salvadoran (1.3%),Guatemalan (0.6%),Puerto Rican (0.6%) andNicaraguan (0.5%) ancestry.Mexican Americans make up the largest share of Hispanic residents in Napa county,[141] while Central Americans make up the largest share in San Francisco, many of whom live in theMission District which is home to many residents ofSalvadoran andGuatemalan descent.[142]
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TheAsian-American population in the Bay Area is one of the largest in North America.Asian-Americans make up the plurality in two major counties in the Bay Area:Santa Clara County andAlameda County.[143] The largest Asian-American groups were those ofChinese (7.9%),Filipino (5.1%),Indian (3.3%),Vietnamese (2.5%), andJapanese (0.9%) heritage. Asian Americans also constitute a majority inCupertino,Fremont,Milpitas,Union City and significant populations inDublin,Foster City,Hercules,Millbrae,San Ramon,Saratoga,Sunnyvale andSanta Clara. The cities of San Jose andSan Francisco had the third and fourth most Asian-American residents in the United States.[144] In San Francisco,Chinese Americans constitute 21.4% of the population and constitute the single largest ethnic group in the city.[145] The Bay Area is home to over 382,950Filipino Americans, one of the largest communities of Filipino people outside of thePhilippines with the largest proportion of Filipino Americans concentrating themselves withinAmerican Canyon,Daly City,Fairfield,Hercules,South San Francisco,Union City andVallejo.[146] Santa Clara county, and increasingly the East Bay, house a significantIndian American community.[147] There are more than 100,000 people ofVietnamese ancestry residing withinSan Jose city limits, the largest Vietnamese population of any city proper in the world outside ofVietnam.[148] In addition, there is a sizable community ofKorean Americans in Santa Clara county, where San Jose is located.[149] East Bay cities such asRichmond, San Pablo, and Oakland, and the North Bay city ofSanta Rosa, have plentiful populations ofLaotian andCambodians in certain neighborhoods.[150]
Pacific Islanders such asSamoans andTongans have the largest presence inEast Palo Alto, where they constitute over 7% of the population.[151] San Bruno also has a large Tongan population and so does San Mateo and South San Francisco, which also have smaller communities of Samoans. The Visitacion Valley has a designated Pacific Islander district and Samoan and Tongans have a presence in Southeast San Francisco and Daly City's Bayshore neighborhood.
TheAfrican-American population of San Francisco was formerly substantial, had a thrivingjazz scene and was known as "Harlem of the West." While black residents formed one-seventh of the city's population in 1970, today they have mostly moved to parts of the East Bay and North Bay, includingAntioch,[152]Fairfield and out of the Bay Area entirely.[153] The South Park neighborhood ofSanta Rosa was once home to a primarily black community until the 1980s, when many Latino immigrants settled in the area.[154] Other cities with large numbers of African Americans includeVallejo (28%),[155]Richmond (26%),[156] East Palo Alto (17%)[151] and theCDP ofMarin City (38%).[157] Suisun City and Vacaville both have African American populations that have accelerated in population since the 2000s. There are also Eritrean, Ethiopian and Nigerian communities.
There is also a significant Middle Eastern and Balkan population. There are 4,000Armenians in San Francisco, and some in the San Jose area. The San Jose area, especially the Campbell area and some areas off of San Jose's Stevens Creek Blvd contain a Bosnian community. There are several thousand Turks in San Francisco, and a Palestinian population is concentrated in Daly City and San Francisco.
Since the economy of the Bay Area heavily relies on innovation and high-tech skills, a relatively educated population exists in the region. Roughly 87.4% of Bay Area residents have attained a high school degree or higher,[158] while 46% of adults in the Bay Area have earned a post-secondary degree or higher.[159]
| Counties by population and ethnicity | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| County | Type | Population | White | Other | Asian | African | Native | Hispanic |
| Alameda | County | 1,494,876 | 46.2% | 13.8% | 26.2% | 12.5% | 1.3% | 22.2% |
| Contra Costa | County | 1,037,817 | 63.2% | 12.5% | 14.3% | 9.1% | 0.5% | 23.9% |
| Marin | County | 250,666 | 79.9% | 11.0% | 5.6% | 3.0% | 0.2% | 14.0% |
| Napa | County | 135,377 | 81.3% | 8.9% | 6.8% | 2.0% | 0.3% | 31.5% |
| San Francisco | City and county | 870,887 | 48.5% | 11.3% | 33.3% | 6.1% | 0.9% | 15.1% |
| San Mateo | County | 711,622 | 59.6% | 11.1% | 24.6% | 2.9% | 1.8% | 24.9% |
| Santa Clara | County | 1,762,754 | 50.9% | 13.8% | 31.8% | 2.6% | 0.4% | 26.6% |
| Solano | County | 411,620 | 52.1% | 17.6% | 14.4% | 14.6% | 1.4% | 23.6% |
| Sonoma | County | 478,551 | 81.6% | 11.3% | 4.0% | 1.2% | 1.5% | 24.3% |
| Counties by population and income | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| County | Type | Population | Per capita income | Median household income | Median family income |
| Alameda | County | 1,494,876 | $34,937 | $70,821 | $87,012 |
| Contra Costa | County | 1,037,817 | $38,141 | $79,135 | $93,437 |
| Marin | County | 250,666 | $54,605 | $89,605 | $113,826 |
| Napa | County | 135,377 | $35,309 | $68,641 | $79,884 |
| San Francisco | City and county | 870,887 | $46,777 | $72,947 | $87,329 |
| San Mateo | County | 711,622 | $45,346 | $87,633 | $104,370 |
| Santa Clara | County | 1,762,754 | $40,698 | $89,064 | $103,255 |
| Solano | County | 411,620 | $29,367 | $69,914 | $79,316 |
| Sonoma | County | 478,551 | $33,119 | $64,343 | $78,227 |
The Bay Area is the wealthiest region per capita in the United States, due, primarily, to the economic power engines ofSan Jose, San Francisco, andOakland. The Bay Area city ofPleasanton has the second-highest household income in the country afterNew Canaan, Connecticut. However, discretionary income is very comparable with the rest of the country, primarily because the higher cost of living offsets the increased income.[160]
There are 285,000 millionaires living in the region, the third-highest among the world's metropolitan areas afterNew York City andTokyo as of 2022.[161]The amount of wealth held by Bay Area residents is about $2.6 trillion, the second-highest in the world after New York City, and just ahead of Tokyo as of 2021.[162]
By 2014, the Bay Area'swealth gap was considerable: the top ten percent of income-earners took home over eleven times as much as the bottom ten percent,[163] and aBrookings Institution study found theSan Francisco metro area, which excludes four Bay Area counties, to be the third most unequalurban area in the country.[164] Among the wealthy, forty-seven Bay Area residents madeForbes magazine's 400 richest Americans list, published in 2007.
Statistics regarding crime rates in the Bay Area generally fall into two categories:violent crime andproperty crime. Historically, violent crime has been concentrated in a few cities in the East Bay, namelyOakland,Richmond,Martinez, andAntioch, but also inEast Palo Alto within the Peninsula,Vallejo in the North Bay, andSan Francisco.[165] Nationally, Oakland's murder rate ranked 18th among cities with over 100,000 residents, and third for violent crimes per capita.[166] According to a 2015Federal Bureau of Investigation report, Oakland was also the source of the most violent crime in the Bay Area, with 16.9 reported incidents per thousand people. Vallejo came in second, at 8.7 incidents per thousand people, while San Pablo, Antioch, and San Francisco rounded out the top five. East Palo Alto, which used to have the Bay Area's highest murder rate, saw violent crime incidents drop 65% between 2013 and 2014, while Oakland saw violent crime incidents drop 15%.[165] Meanwhile,San Jose, which was one of the safest large cities in the United States in the early 2000s, has seen its violent crime rates trend upwards.[167] Cities with the lowest rate of violent crime include the Peninsula cities ofLos Altos andFoster City, East Bay cities ofSan Ramon andDanville, and southern foothill cities ofSaratoga andCupertino. In 2015, 45 Bay Area cities counted zero homicides, the largest of which wasDaly City.[165]
In 2015, Oakland also saw the highest rates of property crime in the Bay Area, at 59.4 incidents per thousand residents, with San Francisco following close behind at 53 incidents per thousand residents. The East Bay citiesPleasant Hill,Berkeley, andSan Leandro rounded out the top five.Saratoga andWindsor saw the least rates of property crime.[165] Additionally, San Francisco saw the most reports of arson.[166]
Several street gangs operate in the Bay Area, including theSureños andNorteños in San Francisco'sMission District.[168] Oakland, which also sees organized gang violence, implementedOperation Ceasefire in 2012 in an effort to reduce the violence,[169] with limited success.
The three principal cities of the Bay Area represent separate employment clusters and are dominated by different but commingled industries. San Francisco is home to the region'stourism,financial industry, and is host to numerous conventions. The East Bay, centered around Oakland, is home to heavy industry,metalworking, oil, and shipping, while San Jose is the heart ofSilicon Valley where a major pole of economic activity around thetechnology industry resides. Furthermore, the North Bay is a major player in the country'sagriculture and wine industry.[64] In all, the Bay Area is home to the second-highest concentration ofFortune 500 companies, second only to theNew York metropolitan area, with thirty such companies based throughout the region.[170]
In 2019, the greater fourteen-county statistical area had a GDP of $1.086 trillion, the third-highest amongcombined statistical areas.[172] The smaller nine-county Bay Area had a GDP of $995 billion in the same year, which nonetheless would rank it fifthamong U.S. states and 17thamong countries.[172]
TheCOVID-19 pandemic caused an exodus of businesses from the downtown cores of San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland, as remote work became more widespread, especially in the tech and retail industries, and the area's locational relevance declined.[173][174][175] Some observers have warned that this could lead to an economicdoom loop for Bay Area cities, particularly San Francisco,[176] while others have argued that these concerns are restricted to the downtown cores.[177] Many retailers in Downtown San Francisco and Downtown Oakland have closed since 2020,[173][178] with some citing complex challenges with visible homelessness and crime in the area.[179] Additionally noted is the Bay Area's steadily decreasing lead in the geographically dispersing high technology field, and its relative geographical isolation from most North American and international commercial markets.[180][181]
Despite this exodus, Bay Area is still the home tofour of the world's ten largest companies by market capitalization; and several major corporations are still headquartered in the Bay Area, includingGoogle,Facebook,Apple Inc.,Clorox,Hewlett-Packard,Intel,Adobe Inc.,Applied Materials,eBay,Cisco Systems,Symantec,Netflix,Sony Interactive Entertainment,Electronic Arts, andSalesforce;energy companyPG&E; financial service companyVisa Inc.;apparel retailersGap Inc.,Levi Strauss & Co., andRoss Stores;aerospace and defense contractorLockheed Martin; localgrocerSafeway; and biotechnology companiesGenentech andGilead Sciences.[179][182] The largest manufacturers includeTesla Inc.,Lam Research,Bayer, andCoca-Cola.[183] ThePort of Oakland is the fifth-largestcontainer shipping port in the United States, and Oakland is also a majorrail terminus.[184] In research,NASA'sAmes Research Center and the federal research facilityLawrence Livermore National Laboratory are based inMountain View andLivermore, respectively. In the North Bay, Napa and Sonoma counties are well known for their wineries, includingFantesca Estate & Winery,Domaine Chandon California, andD'Agostini Winery.[185]
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In spite of the San Francisco Bay Area's industries contributing to the aforementioned economic growth, there is a significant level of poverty in the region. Rising housing prices and gentrification in the San Francisco Bay Area are often framed as symptomatic of high-income tech workers moving in to previously low-income, underserved neighborhoods.[186] Two notable policy strategies to prevent eviction due to rising rents include rent control and subsidies such asSection 8 and Shelter Plus Care.[187] Moreover, in 2002, then San Francisco Supervisor Gavin Newsom introduced the "Care Not Cash" initiative, diverting funds away from cash handouts (which he argued encouraged drug use) to housing. This proved controversial, with some suggesting his rhetoric criminalized poverty, while others supporting the prioritizing of housing as a solution.[188]
Contrary to historical patterns of low incomes within the inner city, poverty rates in the Bay Area are shifting such that they are increasing more rapidly in suburban areas than in urban areas.[189] It is not yet clear whether the suburbanization of poverty is due to the relocation of poor populations or shifting income levels in the respective regions. However, the mid-2000s housing boom encouraged city dwellers to move into the newly cheap houses in suburbs outside of the city, and these suburban housing developments were then most affected by the 2008 housing bubble burst. As such, people in poverty experience decreased access to transportation due to underdeveloped public transport infrastructure in suburban areas. Suburban poverty is most prevalent among Hispanics and Blacks, and affects native-born people more significantly than foreign-born.[189][190]
As greater proportions of their incomes are spent on rent, many impoverished populations in the San Francisco Bay Area also facefood insecurity and health setbacks.[191][192]
The Bay Area is the most expensive location to live in the United States outside ofManhattan.[193] Strong economic growth has created hundreds of thousands of new jobs, but coupled with severe zoning restrictions on building new housing units,[194] has resulted in anextreme housing shortage. For example, from 2012 to 2017, the San Francisco metropolitan area added 400,000 new jobs, but only 60,000 new housing units.[195] As of 2016, the entire Bay Area had 3.6 M jobs, and 2.6 M housing units, for a ratio of 1.4 jobs per housing unit,[196] significantly above the ratio for the US as a whole, which stands at 1.1 jobs per housing unit. (152M jobs, 136M housing units[197][198])
As of 2017, the average income needed in order to purchase a house in the region was $179,390, while the median price for a house was $895,000 and the average cost of a home in the Bay Area being $440,000 - more than twice the national average, while the average monthly rent is $1,240 - 50 percent more than the national average.[199][200] In 2018, a Bay Area household income of $117,000 was classified as "low income" by theDepartment of Housing and Urban Development.[201]
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With high costs of living, many Bay Area residents allocate large amounts of their income towards housing. 20 percent of Bay Area homeowners spend more than half their income on housing, while roughly 25 percent of renters in the Bay Area spend more than half of their incomes on rent.[202] Expending an average of more than $28,000 per year on housing in addition to roughly $13,400 on transportation, Bay Area residents spend around $41,420 per year to live in the region. This combined total of housing and transportation signifies 59 percent of the Bay Area's median household income, conveying the extreme costs of living.[202]
The high rate ofhomelessness in the Bay Area can be attributed to the high cost of living.[203] No approximate number of homeless people living in the Bay Area can be determined due to the difficulty of tracking homeless residents.[203] However, according to San Francisco's Department of Public Health, the number of homeless people in San Francisco alone is 9,975.[204] Additionally, San Francisco was revealed to have the most unsheltered homeless people in the country.[204]
Because of the high cost of housing, many workers in the Bay Area live far from their place of employment, contributing to one of the highest percentages ofextreme commuters in the United States, or commutes that take over ninety minutes in one direction. For example, about 50,000 people commute from neighboringSan Joaquin County into the nine-county Bay Area daily,[205] and more extremely, some workers commute semimonthly by flying.[206]
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The Bay Area is home to a large number of colleges and universities. The first institution of higher education in the Bay Area,Santa Clara University, was founded byJesuits in 1851,[207] who also founded theUniversity of San Francisco in 1855.[208]San Jose State University was founded in 1857 and is the oldest public college on theWest Coast of the United States.[209] According to theBrookings Institution, 45% of residents of the two-county San Jose metro area have a college degree, and 43% of residents in the five-county San Francisco metro area have a college degree, the second and fourth-highest ranked metro areas in the country for higher educational attainment.[210]
As of 2024[update],Stanford University is the highest ranked university in the Bay Area byU.S. News & World Report,[211] and its business school is ranked No. 1 in the US, Canada, Europe and Asia byBloomberg Businessweek.[212] TheUniversity of California, Berkeley has been among the two highest-ranked public universities in the country for over two decades.[213] Additionally,San Jose State University andSonoma State University were ranked 3rd and 12th, respectively, among public colleges in the West Coast byU.S. News & World Report in 2024.[214]
The city of San Francisco is host to two additionalUniversity of California schools, neither of which conferundergraduate degrees. TheUniversity of California, San Francisco, is entirely dedicated to graduate education in health and biomedical sciences. It is ranked among the top five medical schools in the United States[215] and operates theUCSF Medical Center, which is the highest-ranked hospital in California.[216] TheUniversity of California, College of the Law, founded inCivic Center in 1878, is the oldest law school in California and claims more judges on the state bench than any other institution.[217] The city is also host to aCalifornia State University school,San Francisco State University.[218] Additional campuses of theCalifornia State University system in the Bay Area areCal State East Bay inHayward andCal Maritime inVallejo.
California Community Colleges System also operates a number ofcommunity colleges in the Bay Area. According toCNNMoney, the Bay Area community college with the highest "success" rate isDe Anza College inCupertino, which is also the tenth-highest ranked in the nation. Other relatively well-ranked Bay Area community colleges includeFoothill College,City College of San Francisco,West Valley College,Diablo Valley College, andLas Positas College.[219]
Many scholars have pointed out the overlap of education and the economy within the Bay Area. According to multiple reports, research universities such as Stanford University, University of California - Santa Cruz and University of California - Berkeley, are essential to the culture and economy in the area.[159] These universities also provide public programs for people to learn and enhance skills relevant to the local economies. These opportunities not only provide educational services to the community, but also generate significant amounts of revenue.[159]
Public primary and secondary education in the Bay Area is provided through school districts organized through three structures (elementary school districts, high school districts, or unified school districts) and are governed by an elected board. In addition, many Bay Area counties and the city of San Francisco operate "special service schools" that are geared towards providing education to students with handicaps orspecial needs.[220]
An alternative public educational setting is offered bycharter schools, which may be established with a renewable charter of up to five years by third parties. The mechanism for charter schools in the Bay Area is governed by the California Charter Schools Act of 1992.[221]
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According to rankings compiled byU.S. News & World Report, the highest-ranked high school in California is thePacific Collegiate School, located inSanta Cruz and part of the greater Bay Area. Within the traditional nine-county boundaries, the highest ranked high school isKIPP San Jose Collegiate in San Jose. Among the top twenty high schools in California includeLowell High School in San Francisco,Monta Vista High School inCupertino,Lynbrook High School in San Jose, theUniversity Preparatory Academy in San Jose,Mission San Jose High School inFremont,Oakland Charter High School in Oakland,Henry M. Gunn High School inPalo Alto,Gilroy Early College Academy inGilroy, andSaratoga High School inSaratoga.[222]
Transportation in the San Francisco Bay Area is reliant on a complex multimodal infrastructure consisting of roads, bridges, highways, rail, tunnels, airports, ferries, and bike and pedestrian paths. The development, maintenance, and operation of these different modes of transportation are overseen by various agencies, including the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans),San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, and theMetropolitan Transportation Commission.[223] These and other organizations collectively manage severalinterstate highways andstate routes, twosubway networks, threecommuter rail agencies, eight trans-bay bridges, transbay ferry service, localbus service,[224] threeinternational airports (San Francisco,San Jose, andOakland),[225] and an extensive network of roads, tunnels, and paths such as theSan Francisco Bay Trail.[226]
The Bay Area hosts an extensive freeway and highway system that is particularly prone totraffic congestion, with one study byInrix concluding that the Bay Area's traffic was the fourth worst in the world.[227] There are some city streets in San Francisco where gaps occur in the freeway system, partly the result of theFreeway Revolt, which prevented a freeway-only thoroughfare through San Francisco between theSan Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge, the western terminus ofInterstate 80, and the southern terminus of the Golden Gate Bridge (U.S. Route 101).[228] Additional damage that occurred in the wake of the 1989Loma Prieta earthquake resulted in freeway segments being removed instead of being reinforced or rebuilt, leading to the revitalization of neighborhoods such as San Francisco'sEmbarcadero and Hayes Valley.[229] The greater Bay Area contains the three principal north–south highways in California:Interstate 5,U.S. Route 101, andCalifornia State Route 1. U.S. 101 and State Route 1 directly serve the traditional nine-county region, while Interstate 5 bypasses to the east in San Joaquin County to provide a more directLos Angeles–Sacramento route. Additional local highways connect the various subregions of the Bay Area together.[230]
There are over two dozenpublic transit agencies in the Bay Area with overlapping service areas that utilize differentmodes, with designated connection points between the various operators.Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), aheavy rail/metro system, operates in five counties and connects San Francisco and Oakland via theTransbay Tube. Othercommuter rail systems link San Francisco with the Peninsula and San Jose (Caltrain), San Jose with theTri-Valley Area and San Joaquin County (ACE), and Sonoma with Marin County (SMART).[224]
In addition,Amtrak provides frequent commuter service between San Jose and the East Bay withSacramento, and long-distance service to other parts of the United States.[231]Muni Metro operates a hybridstreetcar/subway system within the city of San Francisco, andVTA operates alight rail system in Santa Clara County. These rail systems are supplemented by numerous bus agencies and transbayferries such asGolden Gate Ferry and theSan Francisco Bay Ferry. Most of these agencies accept theClipper Card, a reloadablecontactless smart card, as a universal electronic payment system.[224]
Government in the San Francisco Bay Area consists of multiple actors, including 101 city and nine county governments, a dozen regional agencies, and a large number of single-purposespecial districts such asmunicipal utility districts andtransit districts.[232] Incorporated cities are responsible for providing police service, zoning, issuing building permits, and maintaining public streets among other duties.[233] County governments are responsible for elections and voter registration, vital records, property assessment and records, tax collection, public health, agricultural regulations, and building inspections, among other duties.[234][235] Public education is provided by independent school districts, which may be organized as elementary districts, high school districts, unified school districts combining elementary and high school grades, or community college districts, and are managed by an elected school board.[220] A variety of special districts also exist and provide a single purpose, such as delivering public transit in the case of theBay Area Rapid Transit District,[236] or monitoring air quality levels in the case of theBay Area Air Quality Management District.[67]
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Politics in the Bay Area is widely regarded as one of the mostliberal inCalifornia and in the United States.[237][238] Since the late 1960s, the Bay Area has cemented its role as the most liberal region in California politics, giving greater support for thecenter-leftDemocratic Party's candidates than any other region of the state, even as California trended towards the Democratic Party over time.[239] According to research by thePublic Policy Institute of California, the Bay Area and theNorth Coast counties ofHumboldt andMendocino were the most consistently and strongly liberal areas in California.[239]
According to theCalifornia Secretary of State, the Democratic Party holds a voter registration advantage in everycongressional district,State Senate district,State Assembly district,State Board of Equalization district, all nine counties, and all of the 101 incorporated municipalities in the Bay Area. On the other hand, thecenter-rightRepublican Party holds a voter registration advantage in only one State Assembly sub-district (the portion of the4th inSolano County).[240] According to theCook Partisan Voting Index (CPVI), the Bay Area's districts tend to favor Democratic candidates by roughly 40 to 50 percentage points, considerably above the mean for California and the nation overall.[241]
| County | Population[242] | Registered voters[243] | Democratic[243] | Republican[243] | D–R spread[243] | American Independent[243] | Green[243] | Libertarian[243] | Peace and Freedom[243] | Americans Elect[243] | Other[243] | No party preference[243] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alameda | 1,494,876 | 87.97% | 60.03% | 10.93% | +49.1% | 2.16% | 0.56% | 0.64% | 0.4% | 0.0% | 0.60% | 24.67% |
| Contra Costa | 1,037,817 | 93.24% | 53.26% | 18.51% | +34.75% | 3.2% | 0.4% | 0.86% | 0.39% | 0.0% | 0.4% | 22.6% |
| Marin | 250,666 | 97.66% | 61.42% | 12.63% | +48.79% | 2.66% | 0.6% | 0.78% | 0.2% | 0.0% | 0.48% | 20.95% |
| Napa | 135,377 | 94.51% | 50.02% | 21.39% | +28.63% | 3.59% | 0.57% | 1.15% | 0.38% | 0.0% | 0.68% | 21.78% |
| San Francisco | 870,887 | 78.56% | 62.67% | 6.74% | +55.94 | 1.71% | 0.54% | 0.58% | 0.34% | 0.0% | 0.3% | 25.92% |
| San Mateo | 711,622 | 88.59% | 55.54% | 14.12% | +41.42% | 2.43% | 0.39% | 0.72% | 0.31% | 0.0% | 0.58% | 25.34% |
| Santa Clara | 1,762,754 | 85.68% | 50.44% | 16.64% | +33.81% | 2.41% | 0.36% | 0.81% | 0.39% | 0.0% | 0.29% | 28.63% |
| Solano | 411,620 | 89.5% | 48.59% | 22.09% | +26.5% | 3.56% | 0.39% | 1.04% | 0.5% | 0.0% | 0.62% | 22.88% |
| Sonoma | 478,551 | 91.4% | 56.56% | 17.57% | +38.99% | 3.08% | 0.73% | 1.11% | 0.35% | 0.0% | 0.52% | 19.4% |
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InU.S. Presidential elections since 1960, the nine-county Bay Area voted forRepublican candidates only two times, in both cases voting for a Californian: in1972 forRichard Nixon and again in1980 forRonald Reagan. The last county to vote for a Republican presidential candidate wasNapa county in 1988 forGeorge H. W. Bush. Since then, all nine Bay Area counties have voted consistently for the Democratic candidate.[244] Currently, both of California'sU.S. Senators are Democrats, and all twelveU.S. congressional districts located wholly or partially in the Bay Area are represented by a Democratic representative. Additionally, every Bay Area member of theCalifornia State Senate and theCalifornia State Assembly is a registered Democrat.
The Bay Area's association with progressive politics has led to the term "San Francisco values" being used byconservative commentators in a pejorative sense to describe the secular progressive culture in the area.[245]
TheAssociation of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) is the principalmetropolitan planning organization for the Bay Area. TheMetropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) is the region's transportation planning agency, which has functionally merged with ABAG through staff consolidation. ABAG and MTC developedPlan Bay Area, which is the area'sregional transportation plan, in 2013 and with its goal date for 2040.
Other regional governance agencies include theBay Area Air Quality Management District,Bay Area Toll Authority,Bay Restoration Authority, and theBay Conservation & Development Commission.
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The Bay Area was a hub of theAbstract Expressionism movement of painting. It is associated with the works ofClyfford Still, who began teaching at theCalifornia School of Fine Arts (now theSan Francisco Art Institute) in 1946, leaving a lasting influence on the artistic styles of Bay Area painters up to the present day.[246] A few years later, Abstract Expressionist painterDavid Park paintedKids on Bikes in 1950, which retained many aspects of abstract expressionism but with original distinguishing features that would later lead to theBay Area Figurative Movement.[247]
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While both the Figurative Movement and the Abstract Expressionism movement arose from art schools,Funk art would later rise out of the region's underground and was characterized by informal sharing of technique among groups of friends and art showcases in "cooperative" galleries instead of formal museums. Later, the Bay Area art movement would be heavily influenced by thecounterculture movement in the 1960s, and art produced during this time reflected the political environment.[248]
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TheSan Francisco Renaissance was an era ofpoetic activity centered on San Francisco and poets such asGary Snyder,Allen Ginsberg,Lawrence Ferlinghetti, which brought it to prominence as a hub of theAmerican poetry avant-garde in the 1950s. The movement, which often included visual and performing arts, was heavily influenced by cross-cultural interests, particularlyBuddhism,Taoism, and a general interest inEast Asian cultures.[249]
The Bay Area is presently home to a thriving computer animation industry[250] led byPixar Animation Studios andIndustrial Light & Magic. Pixar, based inEmeryville, produced the first fullycomputer animated feature film,Toy Story, with software it designed in-house and whose computer animation films have since garnered 26Academy Awards and critical acclaim.[251] Industrial Light & Magic, which is based in thePresidio in San Francisco, was created in 1975 to help create visual effects for theStar Wars series has since been involved with creating visual effects for over three hundred Hollywood films.[252]
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Throughout its recent history, the Bay Area has been home to several musical movements that left lasting influences on the genres they affected. San Francisco, in particular, was the center of thecounterculture movement in the 1960s, which directly led to the rise of several notable musical acts:The Grateful Dead, which formed in 1965, andJefferson Airplane andJanis Joplin; all three would be closely associated with the 1967Summer of Love.[253]Jimi Hendrix also had strong connections to the movement and the Bay Area, as he lived in Berkeley for a brief time as a child and played in many local venues in that decade.[254][253] By the 1970s, San Francisco had developed a vibrant jazz scene, earning the moniker, "Harlem of the West".[152] TheVietnam War was being fought at the time, and Bay Area bands such asCreedence Clearwater Revival ofEl Cerrito became known for their political and socially-conscious lyricsagainst the conflict.[255]Carlos Santana rose to fame in the early 1970s with hisSantana band and would later be inducted into theRock and Roll Hall of Fame.[256] Two former members ofSantana,Neal Schon andGregg Rolie would later lead the formation of the bandJourney.[257]
During the 1980s and early 1990s, the Bay Area became home to heavy metal and hard rock bands, includingLudicra,[258] and also to one of the largest and most influentialthrash metal scenes in the world, with contributions fromExodus,Testament,Death Angel,Forbidden,Vio-lence,Lȧȧz Rockit,Possessed andBlind Illusion, as well as three of the "Big Four" (Metallica,Slayer andMegadeth); although Metallica, Slayer and Megadeth were all technically from Los Angeles, those bands are often credited for popularizing and contributing to theBay Area thrash metal scene during the 1980s by frequently playing shows there, especially early in their careers and/or before they were signed to a record label.[259][260]
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Thepost-grunge era in the 1990s featured prominent Bay Area bandsThird Eye Blind of San Francisco,Counting Crows of Berkeley, andSmash Mouth of San Jose, and laterpop punk rock bands likeGreen Day.[254]
The 1990s also saw the emergence of the influentialhyphy movement inhip hop, derived from the Oaklandslang for "hyperactive", and pioneered by Bay Area rappersAndre "Mac Dre" Hicks,Mistah Fab, andE-40.[261] Other notable rappers from the Bay Area includeLil B,[262]Tupac Shakur,MC Hammer,Too $hort, andG-Eazy.[263] Today, much of the rap coming out of Oakland and the East Bay is "conscious rap", which concerns itself with social issues and awareness.[263]
The Bay Area is also home to hundreds ofclassical music ensembles, from community choirs to professionalorchestras, such as theSan Francisco Symphony,California Symphony,Fremont Symphony Orchestra,Oakland Symphony and theSan Francisco Chamber Orchestra.[264]
According to the regional theater service organizationTheatre Bay Area, the San Francisco Bay Area is the third largest center of activity fortheater companies and actors in the United States, after theNew York City andChicago metropolitan areas, with 400 companies spread throughout the region.[265] The organization was founded in 1976 by theMagic Theatre andAmerican Conservatory Theater (ACT) in San Francisco and theBerkeley Repertory Theatre in Berkeley.[266] The latter two, along with theSan Francisco Mime Troupe andPalo Alto-basedTheatreworks, have since gone on to win oneRegional Theatre Tony Award each.[267][268]
Several famous actors have arisen from the Bay Area's theatre community, includingDaveed Diggs fromHamilton andDarren Criss fromHedwig,A Very Potter Musical, andGlee.[269] Locally, well-regarded actors includeJames Carpenter, a stage actor who has performed at the ACT, Berkeley Repertory, andSan Jose Repertory Theatre among others, Rod Gnapp of the Magic Theatre Company, Sean San Jose, one of the founders of the Campo Santo theater, and Campo Santo member Margo Hall.[270]
The Bay Area also has an active youth theater scene. ACT and the Berkeley Repertory both run classes and camps for young actors, as do the Peninsula Youth Theater and Willow Glen Children's Theatre in the Peninsula and South Bay, Bay Area Children's Theater and Danville Children's Musical Theater in the East Bay, andMarin Shakespeare in the North Bay, among many others.[271][272]
The San Francisco Bay Area is the tenth-largesttelevision market[273] and the fourth-largestradio market[274] in the U.S. The Bay Area's oldest radio station,KCBS (AM), began as an experimental station in San Jose in 1909, before the beginning of commercial broadcasting.[275]KALW was the Bay Area's firstFM radio station, and first radio station to begin commercial broadcasting west of theMississippi River when it signed on the air in 1941.[276]KPIX, which began broadcasting in 1948, was the first television station to air in the Bay Area and Northern California.[277]
All major U.S. television networks haveaffiliates serving the region, includingKTVU 2 (FOX),KRON-TV 4 (The CW),KPIX 5 (CBS),KGO-TV 7 (ABC),KQED-TV 9 (PBS),KNTV 11 (NBC),KICU-TV 36 (MyNetworkTV),KPYX 44 (Independent),KQEH 54 (PBS), andKKPX 65 (Ion).Bloomberg West, a show that focuses on topics pertaining to technology and business, was launched in 2011 from a studio in and continues to broadcast from San Francisco.[278]
Public broadcasting outlets include both atelevision station and aradio station, both broadcasting under the call letters KQED from a facility near thePotrero Hill neighborhood. KQED-FM is the most-listened-toNational Public Radio affiliate in the country.[279] Another local broadcaster,KPOO, is an independent, African-American owned and operated noncommercial radio station established in 1971.[280]
The largest newspapers in the Bay Area are theSan Francisco Chronicle andSan Jose Mercury News, the highest and second-highest most widely circulated newspaper inNorthern California.[281]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". TheSan 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.[282][283] Most of the Bay Area's local regions and municipalities also have their own newspapers, such as theEast Bay Times andSan Mateo Daily Journal. The national newsmagazineMother Jones is also based in San Francisco.[284] Non-English-language newspapers include severalChinese-language papers such asSing Tao Daily, the largest in the Bay Area by circulation,[285] andEl Mundo, a freeSpanish-language weekly distributed by theMercury News.[286]
The Bay Area is home to five professional major league franchises in men's sports: TheSan Francisco 49ers of theNational Football League (NFL) inAmerican football, theSan Francisco Giants ofMajor League Baseball (MLB), theGolden State Warriors of theNational Basketball Association (NBA), theSan Jose Sharks of theNational Hockey League (NHL), and theSan Jose Earthquakes ofMajor League Soccer (MLS).[287] A professional women's soccer team,Bay FC of theNational Women's Soccer League (NWSL), debuted in 2024,[288] and theGolden State Valkyries will play their first season in theWomen's National Basketball Association (WNBA) in 2025.[289]
Infootball, the49ers play inLevi's Stadium[290] and have won fiveSuper Bowls (XVI,XIX,XXIII,XXIV,XXIX) and lost three (XLVII,LIV, andLVIII).[291] A second NFL team in the Bay Area, theOakland Raiders, played from 1970 to 1981 and 1995 to 2019 at theOakland Coliseum; they won the Super Bowl twice during their tenure in the East Bay.[291][292] The team relocated to Los Angeles from 1982 to 1994 and toLas Vegas in 2020 after plans to play in a new stadium fell through.[292]
Inbaseball, theGiants, who play atOracle Park,[293] have won eightWorld Series titles, three since relocating to San Francisco (2010,2012, and2014) fromNew York in 1958.[294] TheAthletics, who played at the Oakland Coliseum,[295] have won nine World Series titles, four since relocating to Oakland (1972,1973,1974, and1989) fromKansas City in 1968.[294] The team left Oakland in 2024 and will become theLas Vegas Athletics in 2028 after temporarily playing in the Sacramento area.[296]
Inbasketball, theWarriors play atChase Center and have won sevenNBA Finals, five since relocating to the Bay Area (1975,2015,2017,2018 and2022) fromPhiladelphia in 1962.[297] The Warriors own the Valkyries, which will also play at Chase Center.[298]
Inice hockey, theSharks play at theSAP Center. They made their firstStanley Cup Finals appearance in2016 but have not won theStanley Cup.[299]
Insoccer, theEarthquakes play atPayPal Park and have won theMLS Cup twice in2001 and2003.[300] Bay FC joined the Earthquakes at PayPal Park and have competed in NWSL since 2024.[288] The Bay Area hosted matches during the1994 FIFA World Cup atStanford Stadium and will host matches during the2026 FIFA World Cup at Levi's Stadium.[290] The Bay Area hosted some of the soccer competition during the1984 Summer Olympics and will do so again during the2028 Summer Olympics.[301][302]
Outside of major league sports, the Bay Area is home to numerous minor league franchises. In hockey, theSan Jose Barracuda play in theAmerican Hockey League (AHL) and are the top affiliate of the San Jose Sharks, sharing the same rink at theSAP Center in San Jose.[303] In baseball, theSan Jose Giants in theCalifornia League ofMinor League Baseball (MiLB) are the Low-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants, playing out of theSan Jose Municipal Stadium.[304] In soccer, theOakland Roots SC in theUSL Championship, the second division of American soccer, moved to theOakland Coliseum for the 2025 season.[305] In theIndoor Football League, theBay Area Panthers play at the SAP Center.[citation needed]
In terms of collegiate sports, six Bay Area universities are members ofNCAADivision I, the highest level of college sports in the country.[306] All three football-playing schools in the Bay Area are in theFootball Bowl Subdivision, the highest level of NCAAcollege football. TheCalifornia Golden Bears andStanford Cardinal compete in theAtlantic Coast Conference,[307] and theSan Jose State Spartans compete in theMountain West Conference.[308] The Cardinal and Golden Bears are intense rivals, with their football teams competing annually in theBig Game for the Stanford Axe.[309] One of the most famous games in the rivalry occurred in 1982, when theGolden Bears defeated theCardinal on a last-second kickoff return known as "The Play".[310]
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The Bay Area has an ideal climate for outdoor recreation, such that activities like hiking, cycling and jogging are popular among locals.[311][312] San Francisco alone boasts over 200 parks,[313] offering a wide range of green spaces for relaxation and exercise. The city also features more than 200 mi (320 km) ofbicycle paths, lanes and bike routes just within San Francisco,[314] and theEmbarcadero andMarina Green are favored sites forskateboarding. Extensive public tennis facilities are available inGolden Gate Park andDolores Park, as well as at smaller neighborhood courts throughout the city. Boating, sailing,windsurfing andkitesurfing are among the popular activities on San Francisco Bay, and the city maintains a yacht harbor in theMarina District. TheSt. Francis Yacht Club andGolden Gate Yacht Club are located in the Marina Harbor,[315][316] while the South Beach Yacht Club is located next to Oracle Park.[317] The Bay Area was host to the2013 America's Cup. Other Bay Area yacht clubs include the Alameda Yacht Club,[318] Berkeley Yacht Club,[319] Corinthian Yacht Club[320] in Tiburon, Oakland Yacht Club,[321] Presidio Yacht Club,[322] Sausalito Yacht Club and Sequoia Yacht Club[323] in Redwood City.
1980: San Francisco = 678974, San Jose = 629400.1990: San Jose = 782248, San Francisco = 723959
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{{cite book}}:|journal= ignored (help)On any given week in San Francisco, office buildings are at about 40 percent of their prepandemic occupancy.
The Union Square area of downtown has been struggling with an increase in crime in recent years, coupled with losing several big retailers since 2020, including Crate & Barrel, DSW and Gap.
So how can smaller Seattle make so much more housing happen than San Francisco? Developers active in both cities and officials who have worked in both point to structural differences that outweigh the demographic similarities. In San Francisco, development issues are routinely subject to consideration by neighborhood bodies, approval by the city planning commission and often ratification by its board of supervisors, with opportunities for decisions to be appealed. Seattle's approval process is much more streamlined...The city's planning commission is strictly a policy entity. It does not approve or reject projects. The city council weighs in on projects only in rare cases. [In S.F.]...he thinks that the California Environmental Quality Act, known as CEQA, makes it too easy for residents to sue projects, effectively holding them up for years or blocking them.
San Francisco's metropolitan area added 373,000 net new jobs in the last five years—but issued permits for only 58,000 units of new housing. The lack of new construction has exacerbated housing costs in the Bay Area, making the San Francisco metro among the cruelest markets in the U.S. Over the same period, Houston added 346,000 jobs and permitted 260,000 new dwellings, five times as many units per new job as San Francisco.
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