San Francisco

San Francisco
Consolidated city-county
City and County of San Francisco
Golden Gate Bridgeand San Francisco skyline as seen from the Marin Headlands Palace of Fine Arts Alcatraz Island The Embarcadero San Francisco City Hall
Flag Seal
Nicknames: See list [1]
Motto(s): Oro en Paz, Fierro en Guerra ( Spanishfor 'Gold in Peace, Iron in War')
Anthem: Official song:Theme fromSan Francisco("open your Golden Gate") Official ballad:"I Left My Heart in San Francisco"[2][3]
Interactive map outlining San Francisco
San Francisco Location within California Show map of California San Francisco Location within the United States Show map of the United States
Coordinates:37°46′39″N122°24′59″W / 37.77750°N 122.41639°W /37.77750; -122.41639
Country	United States
State	California
County	San Francisco
Metro	San Francisco–Oakland–Hayward
CSA	San Jose–San Francisco–Oakland
Mission	June 29, 1776(248 years ago)(June 29, 1776)[4]
Incorporated	December 16, 1848(175 years ago)(December 16, 1848)[5]
Founded by	Juan Bautista de Anza José Joaquín Moraga Francisco Palóu
Named for	St. Francis of Assisi
Government
• Type	Strong mayor–council
• Body	Board of Supervisors
•Mayor	London Breed(D)[6]
•Supervisors[10]	List Connie Chan(D) Catherine Stefani(D) Aaron Peskin(D) Joel Engardio(D) Dean Preston(D) Matt Dorsey(D) Myrna Melgar(D) Rafael Mandelman(D) Hillary Ronen(D) Shamann Walton(D) Ahsha Safaí(D)
•Assembly members[11][12]	Matt Haney(D) Phil Ting(D)
•State senator	Scott Wiener(D)[7]
•United States Representatives	Nancy Pelosi(D)[8] Kevin Mullin(D)[9]
Area [13]
• City and county	231.89 sq mi (600.59 km2)
• Land	46.9 sq mi (121.48 km2)
• Water	184.99 sq mi (479.11 km2) 80.00%
• Metro	3,524.4 sq mi (9,128 km2)
Elevation [14]	52 ft (16 m)
Highest elevation [15]( Mount Davidson)	934 ft (285 m)
Lowest elevation [15](Pacific Ocean)	0 ft (0 m)
Population ( 2020) [16]
• City and county	873,965
• Estimate (2022) [16]	808,437
• Rank	39thin North America 17thin the United States 4thin California
• Density	18,634.65/sq mi (7,194.88/km2)
•Urban [17] [α]	3,515,933 (US:14th)
• Urban density	6,843.0/sq mi (2,642.1/km2)
•Metro [18]	4,566,961 (US:13th)
•CSA [19]	9,225,160 (US:5th)
Demonym	San Franciscan[20]
GDP [21]
• City and county	$252.2 billion (2022)
•Metro	$729.1 billion (2022)
•CSA	$1.318 trillion (2022)
Time zone	UTC–08:00(PST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC–07:00(PDT)
ZIP Codes[22]	List 94102–94105 94107–94112 94114–94134 94137 94139–94147 94151 94158–94161 94163–94164 94172 94177 94188
Area codes	415/628[23]
FIPS code	06-67000
GNISfeature IDs	277593,2411786
Website	sf.gov
^Urban area population/density are for the San Francisco–Oakland, CA urban area as of the 2020 Census.

San Francisco,^[24]officially theCity and County of San Francisco, is the commercial,financial, andculturalcenter ofNorthern California. With a population of 808,437 residents as of 2022,^[25]San Francisco is thefourth most populous cityin theU.S. stateofCaliforniabehindLos Angeles,San Diego, andSan Jose. The city covers a land area of 46.9 square miles (121 square kilometers)^[26]at the upper end of theSan Francisco Peninsula, making it the second-most densely populated major U.S. city behindNew York Cityand thefifth-most densely populated U.S. county, behind four of New York City'sboroughs. Among the 92 U.S. cities proper with over 250,000 residents, San Francisco is ranked first by per capita income and sixth by aggregate income as of 2022.^[27]As of 2023, theSan Jose–San Francisco–Oakland, CA CSAis the 5th largest in the nation, with an approximate population of over 9,001,024.

Prior toEuropean settlement, the modern city proper was inhabited by theYelamu, who spoke a language now referred to asRamaytush Ohlone. On June 29, 1776,settlers from New Spainestablished thePresidio of San Franciscoat theGolden Gate, and theMission San Francisco de Asísa few miles away, both named forFrancis of Assisi.^[4]TheCalifornia gold rushof 1849 brought rapid growth, transforming an unimportant hamlet into a busy port, making it the largest city on theWest Coastat the time; between 1870 and 1900, approximately one quarter of California's population resided in the city proper.^[27]In 1856, San Francisco became aconsolidated city-county.^[28]After three-quarters of the city was destroyed by the1906 earthquake and fire,^[29]it was quickly rebuilt, hosting thePanama–Pacific International Expositionnine years later. InWorld War II, it was a major port of embarkation fornaval servicemembers shipping out to thePacific Theater.^[30]In 1945, theUnited Nations Charterwas signed in San Francisco, establishing theUnited Nationsand in 1951, theTreaty of San Franciscore-established peaceful relations between Japan and theAllied Powers.^[31][32][33]After the war, the confluence of returning servicemen, significantimmigration, liberalizing attitudes, the rise of thebeatnikandhippiecountercultures, thesexual revolution, thepeace movementgrowing fromopposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War, and other factors led to theSummer of Loveand thegay rightsmovement, cementing San Francisco as a center ofliberal activism in the United States.

San Francisco and the surroundingSan Francisco Bay Areaare a global center of economic activity and the arts and sciences,^[34][35]spurred byleading universities,^[36]high-tech, healthcare, finance, insurance, real estate, and professional services sectors.^[37]As of 2020^[update], the metropolitan area, with 6.7 million residents, ranked 5th by GDP ($874 billion) and 2nd by GDP per capita ($131,082) across theOECDcountries, ahead ofglobal citieslikeParis,London, andSingapore.^[38][39][40]San Francisco anchors the13th most populous metropolitan statistical area in the United Stateswith 4.6 million residents, and the fourth-largest by aggregate income and economic output, with a GDP of $729 billion in 2022^[update].^[41]The widerSan Jose–San Francisco–Oakland Combined Statistical Areais the nation's fifth-most populous, with around nine million residents, and the third-largest by economic output, with a GDP of $1.32 trillion in 2022^[update]. In the same year, San Francisco proper had a GDP of $252.2 billion, and a GDP per capita of $312,000.^[41]San Francisco was ranked fifth in the world and second in the United States on theGlobal Financial Centres Indexas of September 2023^[update].^[42]Despite acontinuing exodus of businessesfrom the downtown area of San Francisco,^[43][44]the city is still home tonumerous companiesinside and outside of technology, includingSalesforce,Uber,Airbnb,Levi's,Gap,Dropbox, andLyft.

In 2022, San Francisco had more than 1.7 million international visitors – the fifth-most visited city from abroad in the United States after New York City,Miami,Orlando, and Los Angeles – and approximately 20 million domestic visitors for a total of 21.9 million visitors.^[45][46]The city is known for its steep rollinghillsandeclectic mix of architectureacrossvaried neighborhoods, as well as its cooling summers,fog, and notable landmarks, including theGolden Gate Bridge,cable cars, andAlcatraz, along with theChinatownandMissiondistricts.^[47]The city is home to a number of educational and cultural institutions, such as theUniversity of California, San Francisco, theUniversity of San Francisco,San Francisco State University, theSan Francisco Conservatory of Music, thede Young Museum, theSan Francisco Museum of Modern Art, theSan Francisco Symphony, theSan Francisco Ballet, theSan Francisco Opera, theSFJAZZ Center, and theCalifornia Academy of Sciences. Twomajor leaguesports teams, theSan Francisco Giantsand theGolden State Warriors, play their home games within San Francisco proper.San Francisco International Airport(SFO) offers flights to over 125 destinations, whilea light rail and bus network, in tandem with theBARTandCaltrainsystems, connects nearly every part of San Francisco with the wider region.^[48][49]

San Francisco, which is Spanish for "Saint Francis," takes its name fromMission San Francisco de Asís, which in turn was named afterSaint Francis of Assisi. The mission received its name in 1776, when it was founded by the Spanish under the leadership of PadreFrancisco Palóu. The city has officially been known as San Francisco since 1847, whenWashington Allon Bartlett, then serving asthe city's alcalde, renamed it fromYerba Buena(Spanish for "Good Herb"), which had been name used throughout the Spanish and Mexican eras since approximately 1776. The name Yerba Buena continues to be used in locations in the city, such as onYerba Buena Islandand in theYerba Buena Center for the ArtsandYerba Buena Gardens.

While people residing outside the San Francisco Bay Area use nicknames including "Frisco" and "San Fran", local residents in the Bay Area sometimes refer to San Francisco as "the City" or "SF".^[1][50]The choice of nickname a person uses is a common way for locals to distinguish long-time residents from tourists and recent arrivals. "San Fran" and "Frisco" are sometimes considered controversial as nicknames among San Francisco residents.^[51][52][50]

The earliestarcheological evidenceofhuman habitationof the territory of San Francisco dates to 3000 BCE.^[53]TheYelamugroup of theRamaytushpeople resided in a few small villages when an overlandSpanish exploration partyarrived on November 2, 1769, the first documented European visit toSan Francisco Bay.^[54]TheOhlonename for San Francisco wasAhwaste, meaning, "place at the bay."^[55]The arrival of Spanish colonists, and the implementation of their Mission system, marked the beginning of the genocide of the Ramaytush people, and the deprivation of their language and culture.^[56][57][58]

TheSpanish Empireclaimed San Francisco as part ofLas Californias, a province of theViceroyalty of New Spain. The Spanish first arrived in what is now San Francisco on November 2, 1769, when thePortolá expeditionled by DonGaspar de PortoláandJuan Crespíarrived atSan Francisco Bay. Having noted the strategic benefits of the area due to its large natural harbor, the Spanish dispatchedPedro Fagesin 1770 to find a more direct route to theSan Francisco PeninsulafromMonterey, which would become part of theEl Camino Realroute. By 1774,Juan Bautista de Anzahad arrived to the area to select the sites for amissionandpresidio. The first European maritime presence in San Francisco Bay occurred on August 5, 1775, when the Spanish shipSan Carlos, commanded byJuan Manuel de Ayala, became the first ship to anchor in the bay.^[59]

Soon after, on March 28, 1776, Anza established thePresidio of San Francisco. On October 9,Mission San Francisco de Asís, also known as Mission Dolores, was founded by PadreFrancisco Palóu.^[4]In 1794, the Presidio established theCastillo de San Joaquín, a fortification on the southern side of theGolden Gate, which later came to be known as Fort Point.

In 1804, the province ofAlta Californiawas created, which includedYerba Buena,which was the former name of San Francisco. At its peak in 1810–1820, the average population at the Mission Dolores settlement was about 1,100 people.^[60]

In 1821, theCaliforniaswereceded to Mexicoby Spain. The extensiveCalifornia mission systemgradually lost its influence during the period ofMexican rule. Agricultural land became largely privatized asranchos, as was occurring in other parts of California. Coastal trade increased, including a half-dozenbarquesfrom various Atlantic ports which regularly sailed in California waters.^[62][63]

Yerba Buena(after a native herb), a trading post with settlements between the Presidio and Mission grew up around thePlaza de Yerba Buena. The plaza was later renamedPortsmouth Square(now located in the city'sChinatownandFinancial District). The Presidio was commanded in 1833 by CaptainMariano G. Vallejo.^[62]

In 1833,Juana Briones de Mirandabuilt herranchonearEl Polín Spring, founding the first civilian household in San Francisco, which had previously only been comprised by the military settlement at the Presidio and the religious settlement at Mission Dolores.^[61]

In 1834,Francisco de Harobecame the firstAlcaldeof Yerba Buena. De Haro was a native of Mexico, from that nation's west coast city ofCompostela, Nayarit. A land survey of Yerba Buena was made by the Swiss immigrantJean Jacques Viogetas prelude to the city plan. The second AlcaldeJosé Joaquín Estudillowas aCaliforniofrom a prominentMontereyfamily. In 1835, while in office, he approved the first land grant in Yerba Buena: toWilliam Richardson, a naturalized Mexican citizen of English birth. Richardson had arrived in San Francisco aboard awhaling shipin 1822. In 1825, he married Maria Antonia Martinez, eldest daughter of the CalifornioYgnacio Martínez.^[64][a]

Yerba Buena began to attract American and European settlers; an 1842 census listed 21 residents (11%) born in the United States or Europe, as well as one Filipino merchant.^[65]Following theBear Flag Revoltin Sonoma and the beginning of theU.S. Conquest of California, American forces under the command ofJohn B. Montgomerycaptured Yerba Buena on July 9, 1846, with little resistance from the local Californio population. At the end of the month, theBrooklynarrived with a group of Mormon settlers, who had departed New York City six months earlier. Following the capture, U.S. forces appointed bothJosé de Jesús NoéandWashington Allon Bartlettto serve as co-alcaldes(mayors), while the conquest continued on in the rest of California. Following theTreaty of Guadalupe Hidalgoin 1848,Alta Californiawasceded from Mexico to the United States.

Despite its attractive location as a port and naval base, post-Conquest San Francisco was still a small settlement with inhospitable geography.^[66]Its 1847 population was said to be 459.^[62]

TheCalifornia gold rushbrought a flood of treasure seekers (known as "forty-niners," as in "1849"). With theirsourdough breadin tow,^[67]prospectors accumulated in San Francisco over rivalBenicia,^[68]raising the population from 1,000 in 1848 to 25,000 by December 1849.^[69]The promise of wealth was so strong that crews on arriving vessels deserted and rushed off to the gold fields, leaving behind a forest ofmastsin San Francisco harbor.^[70]Some of these approximately 500 abandoned ships were used at times asstoreships,saloons, and hotels; many were left to rot, and some were sunk to establish title to the underwater lot. By 1851, the harbor was extended out into the bay by wharves while buildings were erected on piles among the ships. By 1870,Yerba Buena Covehad been filled to create new land. Buried ships are occasionally exposed when foundations are dug for new buildings.^[71]

California was quicklygranted statehoodin 1850, and the U.S. military builtFort Pointat theGolden Gateand a fort onAlcatraz Islandto secure the San Francisco Bay. San Francisco County was one of the state's 18 original counties established at California statehood in 1850.^[72]Until 1856, San Francisco's city limits extended west toDivisadero Streetand Castro Street, and south to 20th Street. In 1856, the California state government divided the county. A straight line was then drawn across the tip of the San Francisco Peninsula just north ofSan Bruno Mountain. Everything south of the line became the new San Mateo County while everything north of the line became the new consolidated City and County of San Francisco.^[73]

The California Gold Rush triggered a wave of entrepreneurial activity as individuals sought to capitalize on the newfound wealth. The discovery of silver deposits, notably the Comstock Lode in Nevada in 1859, further fueled rapid population growth and economic expansion.^[75]

San Francisco, as the gateway to the goldfields, experienced a surge in population and commercial activity. However, the influx of fortune seekers also brought challenges. Lawlessness was rampant, and theBarbary Coastdistrict became synonymous with vice, attracting criminals, prostitutes, and illicit activities, including but not limited to prostitution,bootlegging, and gambling.^[76]

One of the most influential figures of this era wasWilliam Chapman Ralston. A shrewd banker and investor, Ralston amassed considerable wealth and influence in San Francisco. He gained control over a significant portion of theComstock Lode's gold and silver mines, establishing a virtual monopoly. Using his incredible clout, Ralston was able to generate millions of dollars for San Francisco during its heady boom years.^[77]He founded theBank of California, the first bank in the Western United States, and built the opulent Palace Hotel, a symbol of San Francisco's newfound prosperity and the largest hotel in the country at the time.^[78]His financial empire, however, collapsed in 1875 as a result of thePanic of 1873, triggering a major economic crisis in San Francisco.

Development of thePort of San Franciscoand the establishment in 1869 of overland access to the eastern U.S. rail system via the newly completedPacific Railroad(the construction of which the city only reluctantly helped support^[79]) helped make the Bay Area a center for trade. Catering to the needs and tastes of the growing population,Levi Straussopened adry goodsbusiness andDomingo Ghirardellibegan manufacturing chocolate. Chinese immigrants made the city a polyglot culture, drawn to "Old Gold Mountain," creating the city'sChinatownquarter. By 1880, Chinese made up 9.3% of the population.^[80]

The firstcable carscarried San Franciscans upClay Streetin 1873. The city's sea ofVictorian housesbegan to take shape, and civic leaders campaigned for a spacious public park, resulting in plans forGolden Gate Park. San Franciscans built schools, churches, theaters, and all the hallmarks of civic life. ThePresidiodeveloped into the most important American military installation on the Pacific coast.^[81]By 1890, San Francisco's population approached 300,000, making it theeighth-largest cityin the United States at the time. Around 1901, San Francisco was a major city known for its flamboyant style, stately hotels, ostentatious mansions onNob Hill, and a thriving arts scene.^[82]The first North American plague epidemic was theSan Francisco plague of 1900–1904.^[83]

At 5:12 am on April 18, 1906, a majorearthquake struck San Franciscoand northern California. As buildings collapsed from the shaking, rupturedgas linesignited fires that spread across the city and burned out of control for several days. Withwater mainsout of service, thePresidioArtillery Corps attempted to contain theinfernoby dynamiting blocks of buildings to create firebreaks.^[84]More than three-quarters of the city lay in ruins, including almost all of the downtown core.^[29]Contemporary accounts reported that 498 people died, though modern estimates put the number in the several thousands.^[85]More than half of the city's population of 400,000 was left homeless.^[86]Refugeessettled temporarily in makeshift tent villages in Golden Gate Park, the Presidio, on the beaches, and elsewhere. Many fled permanently to theEast Bay.Jack Londonis remembered for having famously eulogized the earthquake: "Not in history has a modern imperial city been so completely destroyed. San Francisco is gone."^[87]

Rebuilding was rapid and performed on a grand scale. Rejecting calls to completely remake the street grid, San Franciscans opted for speed.^[88]Amadeo Giannini'sBank of Italy, later to becomeBank of America, provided loans for many of those whose livelihoods had been devastated. The influentialSan Francisco Planning and Urban Research Associationor SPUR was founded in 1910 to address the quality of housing after the earthquake.^[89]The earthquake hastened development of western neighborhoods that survived the fire, includingPacific Heights, where many of the city's wealthy rebuilt their homes.^[90]In turn, the destroyed mansions of Nob Hill became grand hotels.City Hallrose again in theBeaux Artsstyle, and the city celebrated its rebirth at thePanama–Pacific International Expositionin 1915.^[91]

During this period, San Francisco built some of its most important infrastructure. Civil EngineerMichael O'Shaughnessywas hired by San Francisco MayorJames Rolphas chief engineer for the city in September 1912 to supervise the construction of the Twin Peaks Reservoir, theStockton Street Tunnel, theTwin Peaks Tunnel, theSan Francisco Municipal Railway, theAuxiliary Water Supply System, and new sewers. San Francisco's streetcar system, of which theJ,K,L,M, andNlines survive today, was pushed to completion by O'Shaughnessy between 1915 and 1927. It was theO'Shaughnessy Dam,Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, andHetch Hetchy Aqueductthat would have the largest effect on San Francisco.^[92]An abundant water supply enabled San Francisco to develop into the city it has become today.

In ensuing years, the city solidified its standing as a financial capital; in the wake of the1929 stock market crash, not a single San Francisco-based bank failed.^[93]Indeed, it was at the height of theGreat Depressionthat San Francisco undertook two great civil engineering projects, simultaneously constructing theSan Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridgeand theGolden Gate Bridge, completing them in 1936 and 1937, respectively. It was in this period that the island ofAlcatraz, a former military stockade, began its service as a federal maximum security prison, housing notorious inmates such asAl Capone, andRobert Franklin Stroud, the Birdman of Alcatraz. San Francisco later celebrated its regained grandeur with aWorld's fair, theGolden Gate International Expositionin 1939–40, creatingTreasure Islandin the middle of the bay to house it.^[94]

DuringWorld War II, the city-ownedSharp ParkinPacificawas used as aninternment campto detainJapanese Americans.^[95]Hunters Point Naval Shipyardbecame a hub of activity, andFort Masonbecame the primary port of embarkation for service members shipping out to thePacific Theater of Operations.^[30]The explosion of jobs drew many people, especiallyAfrican Americans from the South, to the area. After the end of the war, many military personnel returning from service abroad and civilians who had originally come to work decided to stay. TheUnited Nations Chartercreating theUnited Nationswas drafted and signed in San Francisco in 1945 and, in 1951, theTreaty of San Franciscore-established peaceful relations between Japan and theAllied Powers.^[96]

Urban planning projects in the 1950s and 1960s involved widespread destruction and redevelopment of west-side neighborhoods and the construction of newfreeways, of which only a series of short segments were built before being halted bycitizen-led opposition.^[97]The onset ofcontainerizationmade San Francisco's small piers obsolete, and cargo activity moved to the largerPort of Oakland.^[98]The city began to lose industrial jobs and turned to tourism as the most important segment of its economy.^[99]The suburbs experienced rapid growth, and San Francisco underwent significant demographic change, as large segments of the white population left the city, supplanted by an increasing wave ofimmigrationfrom Asia and Latin America.^[100][101]From 1950 to 1980, the city lost over 10 percent of its population.

Over this period, San Francisco became a magnet for America'scounterculture movement.Beat Generationwriters fueled theSan Francisco Renaissanceand centered on theNorth Beachneighborhood in the 1950s.^[102]Hippiesflocked toHaight-Ashburyin the 1960s, reaching a peak with the 1967Summer of Love.^[103]In 1974, theZebra murdersleft at least 16 people dead.^[104]In the 1970s, the city became a center of thegay rights movement, with the emergence ofThe Castroas an urbangay village, the election ofHarvey Milkto theBoard of Supervisors, and hisassassination, along with that of MayorGeorge Moscone, in 1978.^[105]

Bank of America, now based inCharlotte,North Carolina, was founded in San Francisco; the bank completed555 California Streetin 1969. TheTransamerica Pyramidwas completed in 1972,^[106]igniting a wave of "Manhattanization" that lasted until the late 1980s, a period of extensive high-rise development downtown.^[107]The 1980s also saw a dramatic increase in the number of homeless people in the city, an issue that remains today, despite many attempts to address it.^[108]

The1989 Loma Prieta earthquakecaused destruction and loss of life throughout the Bay Area. In San Francisco, the quake severely damaged structures in theMarinaandSouth of Marketdistricts and precipitated the demolition of the damagedEmbarcadero Freewayand much of the damagedCentral Freeway, allowing the city to reclaimThe Embarcaderoas its historic downtown waterfront and revitalizing theHayes Valleyneighborhood.^[109]

The two recent decades have seen booms driven by the internet industry. During thedot-com boomof the late 1990s,startup companiesinvigorated the San Francisco economy. Large numbers of entrepreneurs and computer application developers moved into the city, followed by marketing, design, and sales professionals, changing the social landscape as once poorer neighborhoods became increasinglygentrified.^[110]Demand for new housing and office space ignited a second wave of high-rise development, this time in the South of Market district.^[111]By 2000, the city's population reached new highs, surpassing the previous record set in 1950. When the bubble burst in 2001 and again in 2023, many of these companies folded and their employees were laid off. Yet high technology and entrepreneurship remain mainstays of the San Francisco economy. By the mid-2000s (decade), thesocial media boomhad begun, with San Francisco becoming a popular location for tech offices and a common place to live for people employed inSilicon Valleycompanies such asAppleandGoogle.^[112]

The early 2020s featured an exodus of tech companies from Downtown San Francisco in the wake of theCOVID-19 pandemicand struggles with homelessness and public drug use. Although some observers have raised the possibility that office vacancies and declining tax revenues could cause San Francisco to enter an economicdoom loop,^[113][114]other sources have refuted this broad-based characterization of the city as a whole, asserting that the issues of concern are restricted primarily to the urban core of San Francisco.^[43][115]As of March 2024,Union Squarewas in "sorry shape" and had lost its traditional position as the Bay Area's regional shopping hub^[116]toWestfield Valley Fairin San Jose.^[117]

TheFerry Station Post Office Building,Armour & Co. Building,Atherton House, andYMCA Hotelare historic buildings among dozens of historical landmarks in the city, according to theNational Register of Historic Places listings in San Francisco.^[118]

San Francisco is located on theWest Coast of the United States, at the north end of theSan Francisco Peninsulaand includes significant stretches of the Pacific Ocean andSan Francisco Baywithin its boundaries. Several picturesqueislands—Alcatraz,Treasure Islandand the adjacentYerba Buena Island, and small portions ofAlameda Island,Red Rock Island, andAngel Island—are part of the city. Also included are the uninhabitedFarallon Islands, 27 miles (43 km) offshore in the Pacific Ocean. The mainland within the city limits roughly forms a "seven-by-seven-mile square," a common local colloquialism referring to the city's shape, though its total area, including water, is nearly 232 square miles (600 km²).

There are more than 50 hills within the city limits.^[119]Some neighborhoods are named after the hill on which they are situated, includingNob Hill,Potrero Hill, andRussian Hill. Near the geographic center of the city, southwest of the downtown area, are a series of less densely populated hills.Twin Peaks, a pair of hills forming one of the city's highest points, forms an overlook spot. San Francisco's tallest hill,Mount Davidson, is 928 feet (283 m) high and is capped with a 103-foot (31 m) tall cross built in 1934.^[120]Dominating this area isSutro Tower, a large red and white radio and television transmission tower reaching 1,811 ft (552 m) above sea level.

The nearbySan AndreasandHayward Faultsare responsible for much earthquake activity, although neither physically passes through the city itself. The San Andreas Fault caused the earthquakes in 1906 and 1989. Minor earthquakes occur on a regular basis. The threat of major earthquakes plays a large role in the city's infrastructure development. The city constructed anauxiliary water supply systemand has repeatedly upgraded its building codes, requiring retrofits for older buildings and higher engineering standards for new construction.^[121]However, there are still thousands of smaller buildings that remain vulnerable to quake damage.^[122]USGS has released theCaliforniaearthquake forecast which models earthquake occurrence in California.^[123]

San Francisco's shoreline has grown beyond its natural limits. Entire neighborhoods such as theMarina,Mission Bay, andHunters Point, as well as large sections of theEmbarcadero, sit on areas oflandfill. Treasure Island was constructed from material dredged from the bay as well as material resulting from the excavation of theYerba Buena TunnelthroughYerba Buena Islandduring the construction of the Bay Bridge. Such land tends to be unstable during earthquakes. The resultingsoil liquefactioncauses extensive damage to property built upon it, as was evidenced in the Marina district during the1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.^[124]A few natural lakes and creeks (Lake Merced,Mountain Lake,Pine Lake,Lobos Creek,El Polin Spring) are within parks and remain protected in what is essentially their original form, but most of the city's natural watercourses, such asIslais CreekandMission Creek, have been partially or completelyculvertedand built over. Since the 1990s, however, thePublic Utilities Commissionhas been studying proposals to daylight or restore some creeks.^[125]

The historic center of San Francisco is the northeast quadrant of the city anchored byMarket Streetand the waterfront. Here theFinancial Districtis centered, withUnion Square, the principal shopping and hotel district, and theTenderloinnearby.Cable carscarry riders up steep inclines to the summit ofNob Hill, once the home of the city's business tycoons, and down to the waterfront tourist attractions ofFisherman's Wharf, andPier 39, where many restaurants featureDungeness crabfrom a still-active fishing industry. Also in this quadrant areRussian Hill, a residential neighborhood with the famously crookedLombard Street;North Beach, the city'sLittle Italyand the former center of theBeat Generation; andTelegraph Hill, which featuresCoit Tower. Abutting Russian Hill and North Beach is San Francisco'sChinatown, the oldestChinatownin North America.^{[126][127][128][129]}TheSouth of Market, which was once San Francisco's industrial core, has seen significant redevelopment following the construction ofOracle Parkand an infusion ofstartup companies. New skyscrapers, live-work lofts, and condominiums dot the area. Further development is taking place just to the south inMission Bayarea, a former railroad yard, which now has a second campus of theUniversity of California, San FranciscoandChase Center, which opened in2019as the new home of theGolden State Warriors.^[130]

West of downtown, acrossVan Ness Avenue, lies the largeWestern Additionneighborhood, which became established with a large African American population afterWorld War II. The Western Addition is usually divided into smaller neighborhoods includingHayes Valley,the Fillmore, andJapantown, which was once the largest Japantown in North America but suffered when itsJapanese Americanresidents wereforcibly removed and internedduring World War II. The Western Addition survived the1906 earthquakewith itsVictorianslargely intact, including the famous "Painted Ladies," standing alongsideAlamo Square. To the south, near the geographic center of the city isHaight-Ashbury, famously associated with 1960shippieculture.^[131]The Haight is now^[timeframe?]home to some expensive boutiques^{[132][better source needed]}and a few controversial chain stores,^[133]although it still retains^{[timeframe?][citation needed]}somebohemiancharacter.

North of the Western Addition isPacific Heights, an affluent neighborhood that features the homes built by wealthy San Franciscans in the wake of the 1906 earthquake. Directly north of Pacific Heights facing the waterfront is theMarina, a neighborhood popular with young professionals that was largely built on reclaimed land from the Bay.^[134]

In the southeast quadrant of the city is theMission District—populated in the 19th century byCaliforniosand working-class immigrants from Germany, Ireland, Italy, and Scandinavia. In the 1910s, a wave of Central American immigrants settled in the Mission and, in the 1950s, immigrants fromMexicobegan to predominate.^[135]In recent years, gentrification has changed the demographics of parts of the Mission from Latino, totwenty-somethingprofessionals.Noe Valleyto the southwest andBernal Heightsto the south are both increasingly popular among young families with children. East of the Mission is thePotrero Hillneighborhood, a mostly residential neighborhood that features sweeping views of downtown San Francisco. West of the Mission, the area historically known asEureka Valley, now popularly calledthe Castro, was once a working-class Scandinavian and Irish area. It has become North America's firstgay village, and is now the center ofgaylife in the city.^[136]Located near the city's southern border, theExcelsior Districtis one of the most ethnically diverse neighborhoods in San Francisco. TheBayview-Hunters Pointin the far southeast corner of the city is one of the poorest neighborhoods, though the area has been the focus of several revitalizing andurban renewalprojects.

The construction of theTwin Peaks Tunnelin 1918 connected southwest neighborhoods to downtown via streetcar, hastening the development ofWest Portal, and nearby affluentForest HillandSt. Francis Wood. Further west, stretching all the way to the Pacific Ocean and north toGolden Gate Parklies the vastSunset District, a large middle-class area with a predominantly Asian population.^[137]

The northwestern quadrant of the city contains theRichmond, a mostly middle-class neighborhood north of Golden Gate Park, home to immigrants from other parts of Asia as well as manyRussianandUkrainianimmigrants. Together, these areas are known asThe Avenues. These two districts are each sometimes further divided into two regions: the Outer Richmond and Outer Sunset can refer to the more western portions of their respective district and the Inner Richmond and Inner Sunset can refer to the more eastern portions.

Many piers remained derelict for years until the demolition of theEmbarcadero Freewayreopened the downtown waterfront, allowing for redevelopment. The centerpiece of the port, theFerry Building, while still receiving commuter ferry traffic, has been restored and redeveloped as a gourmet marketplace.

San Francisco has awarm-summer Mediterranean climate(Köppen:Csb), characteristic of California's coast, with moist winters and dry summers.^[138]San Francisco's weather is strongly influenced by thecool currentsof the Pacific Ocean on the west side of the city, and the water ofSan Francisco Bayto the north and east. This moderates temperature swings and produces a remarkably mild year-round climate with little seasonal temperature variation.^[139]

Among major U.S. cities, San Francisco has the coolest daily mean, maximum, and minimum temperatures for June, July, and August.^[140]During the summer, rising hot air in California's interior valleys creates a low-pressure area that draws winds from theNorth Pacific Highthrough theGolden Gate, which creates the city'scharacteristic cool winds and fog.^[141]The fog is less pronounced in eastern neighborhoods and during the late summer and early fall. As a result, the year's warmest month, on average, is September, and on average, October is warmer than July, especially in daytime.

Temperatures reach or exceed 80 °F (27 °C) on an average of only 21 and 23 days a year at downtown andSan Francisco International Airport(SFO), respectively.^[142]The dry period of May to October is mild to warm, with the normal monthly mean temperature peaking in September at 62.7 °F (17.1 °C).^[142]The rainy period of November to April is slightly cooler, with the normal monthly mean temperature reaching its lowest in January at 51.3 °F (10.7 °C).^[142]On average, there are 73 rainy days a year, and annual precipitation averages 23.65 inches (601 mm).^[142]Variation in precipitation from year to year is high. Above-average rain years are often associated with warmEl Niñoconditions in the Pacific while dry years often occur in cold waterLa Niñaperiods. In 2013 (a "La Niña" year), a record low 5.59 in (142 mm) of rainfall was recorded at downtown San Francisco, where records have been kept since 1849.^[142]Snowfall in the city is very rare, with only 10 measurable accumulations recorded since 1852, most recently in 1976 when up to 5 inches (13 cm) fell on Twin Peaks.^[143][144]

The highest recorded temperature at the officialNational Weather Servicedowntown observation station^[b]was 106 °F (41 °C) on September 1, 2017.^[146]During that hot spell, the warmest ever night of 71 °F (22 °C) was also recorded.^[147]The lowest recorded temperature was 27 °F (−3 °C) on December 11, 1932.^[148]

During an average year between 1991 and 2020, San Francisco recorded a warmest night at 64 °F (18 °C) and a coldest day at 49 °F (9 °C).^[142]The coldest daytime high since the station's opening in 1945 was recorded in December 1972 at 37 °F (3 °C).^[142]

As a coastal city, San Francisco will be heavily affected byclimate change. As of 2021^[update], sea levels are projected to rise by as much as 5 feet (1.5 m), resulting in periodic flooding, rising groundwater levels, and lowland floods from more severe storms.^[149]

San Francisco falls under theUSDA10b Planthardiness zone, though some areas, particularly downtown, border zone 11a.^[150][151]

Historically,tule elkwere present in San Francisco County, based on archeological evidence of elk remains in at least five differentNative Americanshellmounds: at Hunter's Point, Fort Mason, Stevenson Street, Market Street, and Yerba Buena.^[157][158]Perhaps the first historical observer record was from theDe Anza Expeditionon March 23, 1776.Herbert Eugene Boltonwrote about the expedition camp at Mountain Lake, near the southern end of today'sPresidio: "Round about were grazing deer, and scattered here and there were the antlers of large elk."^[159]Also, whenRichard Henry Dana Jr.visited San Francisco Bay in 1835, he wrote about vast elk herds near the Golden Gate: on December 27 ."..we came to anchor near the mouth of the bay, under a high and beautifully sloping hill, upon which herds of hundreds and hundreds of red deer [note: "red deer" is the European term for "elk"], and the stag, with his high branching antlers, were bounding about...," although it is not clear whether this was the Marin side or the San Francisco side.^[160]

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1848	1,000	—
1849	25,000	+2400.0%
1852	34,776	+39.1%
1860	56,802	+63.3%
1870	149,473	+163.1%
1880	233,959	+56.5%
1890	298,997	+27.8%
1900	342,782	+14.6%
1910	416,912	+21.6%
1920	506,676	+21.5%
1930	634,394	+25.2%
1940	634,536	+0.0%
1950	775,357	+22.2%
1960	740,316	−4.5%
1970	715,674	−3.3%
1980	678,974	−5.1%
1990	723,959	+6.6%
2000	776,733	+7.3%
2010	805,235	+3.7%
2020	873,965	+8.5%
2023	808,988	−7.4%
https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/s-f-exodus-population-recovery-data-18564064.php

The2020 United States censusshowed San Francisco's population to be 873,965, an increase of 8.5% from the2010 census.^[16]With roughly one-quarter the population density ofManhattan, San Francisco is thesecond-most densely populated large American city, behind only New York City among cities greater than 200,000 population, and thefifth-most densely populated U.S. county, following only four of the five New York Cityboroughs.

San Francisco is part of the five-countySan Francisco–Oakland–Hayward, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area, a region of 4.7 million people (13th most populous in the U.S.), and has served as its traditional demographic focal point. It is also part of the greater 14-countySan Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA Combined Statistical Area, whose population is over 9.6 million, making it thefifth-largest in the United Statesas of 2018^[update].^{[161][failed verification]}

As of the 2020^[update]census, the racial makeup and population of San Francisco included: 361,382Whites(41.3%), 296,505Asians(33.9%), 46,725African Americans(5.3%), 86,233Multiracial Americans(9.9%), 6,475Native AmericansandAlaska Natives(0.7%), 3,476Native Hawaiiansand otherPacific Islanders(0.4%) and 73,169 persons of other races (8.4%). There were 136,761Hispanic or Latinoresidents of any race (15.6%).

San Francisco is amajority minoritycity, asnon-Hispanic Whiteresidents comprise less than half of the population; in 1940 they formed 92.5% of the population.^[162]

In 2010, residents ofChinese ethnicityconstituted the largest single ethnic minority group in San Francisco at 21% of the population; other large Asian groups includeFilipinos(5%) andVietnamese(2%), withJapanese,Koreansand many other Asian and Pacific Islander groups represented in the city.^[163]The population of Chinese ancestry is most heavily concentrated in Chinatown and theSunsetandRichmond Districts.Filipinosare most concentrated inSoMaand theCrocker-Amazon; the latter neighborhood shares a border withDaly City, which has one of the highest concentrations of Filipinos in North America.^[163][164]TheTenderloin Districtis home to a large portion of the city's Vietnamese population as well as businesses and restaurants, which is known as the city's Little Saigon.^[163]

The principalHispanicgroups in the city were those ofMexican(7%) andSalvadoran(2%) ancestry. The Hispanic population is most heavily concentrated in theMission District, Tenderloin District, andExcelsior District.^[165]The city's percentage of Hispanic residents is less than half of that of the state.

African Americansconstituted about 5% of San Francisco's population in 2020; their share of the city's population has been decreasing since the 1970s.^[166]The majority ofthe city's Black residentslive in the neighborhoods ofBayview-Hunters Point,Visitacion Valley, and theFillmore District.^[165]There are smaller Black communities inDiamond Heights,Glen Park, andMission District.

The city has long been home to a significant Jewish community; in 2018Jewish Americansmade up an estimated 10% (80,000) of the city's population. It the third-largest Jewish community in proportional terms in the United States, behind only those of New York City, and Los Angeles, respectively, and it is also relatively young compared to other major U.S. cities.^[167]The Jewish community resides throughout the city, but theRichmond Districtis home to an ethnic enclave of mostlyRussian Jews.^[168]TheFillmore Districtwas formerly a mostly Jewish neighborhood from the 1920s until the 1970s, when many of its Jewish residents moved to other neighborhoods of the city as well as the suburbs of nearbyMarin County.^[169]

Demographic profile[170] 1860 1880 1920 1960 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020[171] Non-Hispanic Whitealone 90.2% 87.7% 93.5% 72.7% 52.8% 46.9% 43.5% 41.7% 39.1% Non-Hispanic Asianalone 4.6% 9.3% 2.7% 7.9% 21.3% 28.0% 30.7% 33.1% 33.7% —Chinese American 4.6% 9.3% 1.5% 5.1% 12.1% 17.6% 20.0% 19.8% 21.0% —Filipino American — — 0.2% 1.5% 5.2% 5.4% 5.0% 4.9% 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, any race(s) 3.0% 2.4% 3.4% 9.4% 12.6% 13.3% 14.2% 15.2% 15.6% —Mexican American 1.8% 1.4% 1.5% 5.1% 5.0% 5.2% 6.0% 7.5% 7.9% Non-Hispanic Blackalone 2.1% 0.6% 0.4% 9.7% 12.3% 10.7% 7.6% 6.0% 5.1% Non-Hispanic Pacific Islanderalone — — <0.1% — 0.2% 0.4% 0.4% 0.5% 0.3% Non-Hispanic Native Americanalone <0.1% <0.1% <0.1% 0.1% 0.4% 0.4% 0.3% 0.3% 0.2% Non-Hispanic other — — — 0.2% 0.4% 0.2% 0.3% 0.3% 0.8% Non-Hispanictwo or more races — — — — — — 3.0% 2.9% 5.2% Foreign-born[e] 50.2% 44.5% 30.1% 20.2% 29.5% 35.4% 38.4% 38.2% 34.2% See also: Demographics of San Francisco § Historical estimates Source: U.S. Census and IPUMS USA[170]

According to a 2018 study by the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, Jews make up 10% (80,000) of the city's population, making Judaism the second-largest religion in San Francisco after Christianity.^[167]A prior 2014 study by thePew Research Center, the largest religious groupings in San Francisco'smetropolitan areaare Christians (48%), followed by those ofno religion(35%), Hindus (5%), Jews (3%), Buddhists (2%), Muslims (1%) and a variety of other religions have smaller followings. According to the same study by thePew Research Center, about 20% of residents in the area areProtestant, and 25% professingRoman Catholicbeliefs. Meanwhile, 10% of the residents in metropolitan San Francisco identify asagnostics, while 5% identify asatheists.^[172][173]

As of 2010^[update], 55% (411,728) of San Francisco residents spoke only English at home, while 19% (140,302) spoke avariety of Chinese(mostlyTaishaneseandCantonese^[174][175]), 12% (88,147) Spanish, 3% (25,767)Tagalog, and 2% (14,017) Russian. In total, 45% (342,693) of San Francisco's population spoke a language at home other than English.^[176]

San Francisco has several prominent Chinese, Mexican, and Filipino neighborhoods includingChinatownandthe Mission District. Research collected on the immigrant clusters in the city show that more than half of the Asian population in San Francisco is either Chinese-born (40.3%) or Philippine-born (13.1%), and of the Mexican population 21% were Mexican-born, meaning these are people who recently immigrated to the United States.^[177]Between the years of 1990 and 2000, the number of foreign-born residents increased from 33% to nearly 40%.^[177]During this same time period, the San Francisco metropolitan area received 850,000 immigrants, ranking third in the United States after Los Angeles and New York.^[177]

Of all major cities in the United States, San Francisco has the second-highest percentage of residents with a college degree, second only toSeattle. Over 44% of adults have a bachelor's or higher degree.^[179]San Francisco had the highest rate at 7,031 per square mile, or over 344,000 total graduates in the city's 46.7 square miles (121 km²).^[180]

San Francisco has the highest estimated percentage of gay and lesbian individuals of any of the 50 largest U.S. cities, at 15%.^[181]San Francisco also has the highest percentage of same-sex households of any American county, with the Bay Area having a higher concentration than any othermetropolitan area.^[182]

San Francisco ranks third of American cities in median household income^[183]with a 2007 value of $65,519.^[184]Median family income is $81,136.^[184]An emigration of middle-class families has left the city with a lower proportion of children than any other large American city,^[185]with the dog population cited as exceeding the child population of 115,000, in 2018.^[186]The city'spoverty rateis 12%, lower than the national average.^[187]Homelessness has been a chronic problem for San Franciscosince the early 1970s.^[188]The city is believed to have the highest number of homeless inhabitants per capita of any major U.S. city.^[189][190]

There are 345,811 households in the city, out of which: 133,366 households (39%) were individuals, 109,437 (32%) wereopposite-sex married couples, 63,577 (18%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 21,677 (6%) wereunmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 10,384 (3%) weresame-sex married couples or partnerships. The average household size was 2.26; the average family size was 3.11. 452,986 people (56%) lived in rental housing units, and 327,985 people (41%) lived in owner-occupied housing units. The median age of the city population is 38 years.

San Francisco declared itself asanctuary cityin 1989, and city officials strengthened the stance in 2013 with its 'Due Process for All' ordinance. The law declared local authorities could not hold immigrants for immigration offenses if they had no violent felonies on their records and did not currently face charges."^[191]The city issues aResident ID Cardregardless of the applicant's immigration status.^[192]

Homelessness in San Franciscoemerged as a major issue in the late 20th century and remains a growing problem in modern times.^[193]

8,035 homeless people were counted in San Francisco's 2019 point-in-time street and shelter count. This was an increase of more than 17% over the 2017 count of 6,858 people. 5,180 of the people were living unsheltered on the streets and in parks.^[194]26% of respondents in the 2019 count identified job loss as the primary cause of their homelessness, 18% cited alcohol or drug use, and 13% cited being evicted from their residence.^[194]The city of San Francisco has been dramatically increasing its spending to service the growing population homelessness crisis: spending jumped by $241 million in 2016–17 to total $275 million, compared to a budget of just $34 million the previous year. In 2017–18 the budget for combatting homelessness stood at $305 million.^[195]In the 2019–2020 budget year, the city budgeted $368 million for homelessness services. In the proposed 2020–2021 budget the city budgeted $850 million for homelessness services.^[196]

In January 2018 a United Nations special rapporteur on homelessness, Leilani Farha, stated that she was "completely shocked" by San Francisco's homelessness crisis during a visit to the city. She compared the "deplorable conditions" of the homeless camps she witnessed on San Francisco's streets to those she had seen inMumbai.^[195]In May 2020, San Francisco officially sanctionedhomelessencampments.^[197]

This article needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (March 2024)

San Francisco's violent crime rate is low compared to other major cities, though many residents are still concerned about it.^[198]

In 2011, 50 murders were reported, which is 6.1 per 100,000 people.^[199]There were about 134 rapes, 3,142 robberies, and about 2,139 assaults. There were about 4,469 burglaries, 25,100 thefts, and 4,210 motor vehicle thefts.^[200]TheTenderloinarea has the highest crime rate in San Francisco: 70% of the city's violent crimes, and around one-fourth of the city's murders, occur in this neighborhood. The Tenderloin also sees high rates of drug abuse, gang violence, and prostitution.^[201]Another area with high crime rates is theBayview-Hunters Pointarea. In the first six months of 2015 there were 25 murders compared to 14 in the first six months of 2014. However, the murder rate is still much lower than in past decades.^[202]That rate, though, did rise again by the close of 2016. According to the San Francisco Police Department, there were 59 murders in the city in 2016, an annual total that marked a 13.5% increase in the number of homicides (52) from 2015.^[203]The city has also gained a reputation for car break-ins, with over 19,000 car break-ins occurring in 2021.^[204]

During the first half of 2018, human feces on San Francisco sidewalks were the second-most-frequent complaint of city residents, with about 65 calls per day. The city has formed a "poop patrol" to attempt to combat the problem.^[205]

In January 2022,CBS Newsreported that a single suspect was "responsible for more than half of all reportedhate crimesagainst theAPIcommunity in San Francisco last year," and that he "was allowed to be out of custody despite the number of charges against him."^[206]

Severalstreet gangshave operated in the city over the decades, includingMS-13,^[207]theSureñosandNorteñosin the Mission District.^[208]

African-American street gangs familiar in other cities, including theBloods,Cripsand their sets, have struggled to establish footholds in San Francisco,^[209]while police and prosecutors have been accused of liberally labeling young African-American males as gang members.^[210]

Criminal gangs with shot callers in China, includingTriadgroups such as theWo Hop To, were active in San Francisco in the 20th century.^[211]According to statistics released by SFPD in April 2024, the crime figures were down in the first 100 days of the year, namely in terms of robberies, burglaries and larceny.^[212]In the first half of 2024, San Francisco experienced a 32% decrease in overall crime compared to the previous year. Personal property theft saw a 41% reduction, and violent crimes, including gun-related incidents, decreased by 30%.^[213]

The city has a diversifiedservice economy, with employment spread across a wide range of professional services, includingtourism,financial services, and (increasingly)high technology.^[215]In 2016, approximately 27% of workers were employed in professional business services; 14% in leisure and hospitality; 13% in government services; 12% in education and health care; 11% in trade, transportation, and utilities; and 8% in financial activities.^[215]In 2019, GDP in the five-countySan Francisco metropolitan areagrew 3.8% in real terms to $592 billion.^[216][217]Additionally, in 2019 the 14-countySan Jose–San Francisco–Oaklandcombined statistical areahad a GDP of $1.086 trillion,^[217]ranking 3rd amongCSAs, and ahead of all but16 countries. As of 2019^[update], San Francisco County was the 7th highest-income county in the United States (among 3,142), with a per capita personal income of $139,405.^[218]Marin County, directly to the north over theGolden Gate Bridge, andSan Mateo County, directly to the south on thePeninsula, were the 6th and 9th highest-income counties respectively.

The legacy of the California gold rush turned San Francisco into the principal banking and finance center of theWest Coastin the early twentieth century.^[219]Montgomery Streetin theFinancial Districtbecame known as the "Wall Street of the West," home to theFederal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, and the site of the now-defunctPacific Coast Stock Exchange.^[219]Bank of America, a pioneer in making banking services accessible to the middle class, was founded in San Francisco and in the 1960s, built the landmark modern skyscraper at555 California Streetfor its corporate headquarters, since relocated toCharlotte, North Carolina. Many large financial institutions, multinational banks, and venture capital firms are based in or have regional headquarters in the city. With over 30 international financial institutions,^[220]sixFortune 500companies,^[221]and a large supporting infrastructure of professional services—including law, public relations,architectureand design—San Francisco is designated as anAlpha(-) World City.^[222]The 2017Global Financial Centres Indexranked San Francisco as the sixth-most competitive financial center in the world.^[223]

Beginning in the 1990s, San Francisco's economy diversified away from finance and tourism towards the growing fields of high tech,biotechnology, andmedical research.^[224]Technology jobs accounted for just 1 percent of San Francisco's economy in 1990, growing to 4 percent in 2010 and an estimated 8 percent by the end of 2013.^[225]San Francisco became a center of Internetstart-up companiesduring thedot-com bubbleof the 1990s and the subsequentsocial mediaboom of the late 2000s (decade).^[226]Since 2010, San Francisco proper has attracted an increasing share of venture capital investments as compared to nearbySilicon Valley, attracting 423 financings worth US$4.58 billion in 2013.^{[227][228][229]}In 2004, the city approved a payroll tax exemption for biotechnology companies^[230]to foster growth in theMission Bayneighborhood, site of a second campus and hospital of theUniversity of California, San Francisco(UCSF). Mission Bay hosts theUCSF Medical Center, theCalifornia Institute for Regenerative Medicine,California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences, andGladstone Institutes,^[231]as well as more than 40 private-sector life sciences companies.^[232]

According to academic Rob Wilson, San Francisco is aglobal city, a status that pre-dated the city's popularity during theCalifornia gold rush.^[234]However, theCOVID-19 pandemichas led to high office vacancy rates and the closure of many retail and tech businesses in the downtown core of San Francisco.^[235][236]Attributed causes include a shift toremote workin the technology and professional services sectors, as well as high levels ofhomelessness, drug use, and crime in areas around downtown San Francisco, such as theTenderloinandMid-Marketneighborhoods.^[237][238]

The top employer in San Francisco is the city government itself, employing 5.6% (31,000+ people) of the city's workforce, followed byUCSFwith over 25,000 employees.^[239]The largest private-sector employer isSalesforce, with 8,500 employees, as of 2018^[update].^[240]Small businesses with fewer than 10 employees and self-employed firms made up 85% of city establishments in 2006,^[241]and the number of San Franciscans employed by firms of more than 1,000 employees has fallen by half since 1977.^[242]The growth of nationalbig boxandformula retailchains into the city has been made intentionally difficult by political and civic consensus. In an effort to buoy small privately owned businesses in San Francisco and preserve the unique retail personality of the city, the Small Business Commission started a publicity campaign in 2004 to keep a larger share of retail dollars in the local economy,^[243]and the Board of Supervisors has used the planning code to limit the neighborhoods where formula retail establishments can set up shop,^[244]an effort affirmed by San Francisco voters.^[245]However, by 2016, San Francisco was rated low by small businesses in a Business Friendliness Survey.^[246]

Like many U.S. cities, San Francisco once had a significant manufacturing sector employing nearly 60,000 workers in 1969, but nearly all production left for cheaper locations by the 1980s.^[247]As of 2014^[update], San Francisco has seen a small resurgence in manufacturing, with more than 4,000 manufacturing jobs across 500 companies, doubling since 2011. The city's largest manufacturing employer isAnchor Brewing Company, and the largest by revenue isTimbuk2.^[247]

As of the first quarter of 2022^[update], the median value of homes in San Francisco County was $1,297,030. It ranked third in the U.S. for counties with highest median home value, behindNantucket, MassachusettsandSan Mateo County, California.^[248]

San Francisco became a hub for technological driven economic growth during theinternet boomof the 1990s, and still holds an important position in the world city network today.^[177][249]Intense redevelopment towards the "new economy" makes business more technologically minded. Between the years of 1999 and 2000, the job growth rate was 4.9%, creating over 50,000 jobs in technology firms and internet content production.^[177]However, the technology industry has become geographically dispersed.^[250][251]

In the second technological boom driven by social media in the mid-2000s, San Francisco became a location for companies such asApple,Google,Ubisoft,Facebook, andTwitterto base their tech offices and for their employees to live.^[252]

Tourism is one of San Francisco's most important private-sector industries, accounting for more than one out of seven jobs in the city.^[224][253]The city'sfrequent portrayalin music, film, and popular culture has made the city and its landmarks recognizable worldwide. In 2016, it attracted the fifth-highest number of foreign tourists of any city in the United States.^[254]More than 25 million visitors arrived in San Francisco in 2016, adding US$9.96 billion to the economy.^[255]With a large hotel infrastructure and a major convention facility in theMoscone Center, San Francisco is a popular destination for annual conventions and conferences.^[256]

Some of the most popular tourist attractions in San Francisco, as noted by theTravel Channel, include theGolden Gate BridgeandAlamo Square Park, home to the famous "Painted Ladies." Both of these locations were often used as landscape shots for the hit American television sitcomFull House. There is alsoLombard Street, known for its "crookedness" and extensive views. Tourists also visitPier 39, which offers dining, shopping, entertainment, and views of the bay, sunbathingCalifornia sea lions, theAquarium of the Bay, and the famousAlcatraz Island.^[257]

San Francisco also offers tourists varied nightlife in its neighborhoods.^[258][259]

The new Terminal Project at Pier 27 opened September 25, 2014, as a replacement for the old Pier 35.^[260]Itineraries from San Francisco usually include round-trip cruises to Alaska and Mexico.

A heightened interest in conventioneering in San Francisco, marked by the establishment of convention centers such as Yerba Buena, acted as a feeder into the local tourist economy and resulted in an increase in the hotel industry: "In 1959, the city had fewer than thirty-three hundred first-class hotel rooms; by 1970, the number was nine thousand; and by 1999, there were more than thirty thousand."^[261]Thecommodificationof theCastro Districthas contributed to San Francisco's tourist economy.^[262]

Although theFinancial District,Union Square, andFisherman's Wharfare well known around the world, San Francisco is also characterized by its numerous culturally rich streetscapes featuringmixed-useneighborhoods anchored aroundcentral commercial corridorsto which residents and visitors alike can walk.^{[citation needed]}Because of these characteristics,^{[original research?]}San Francisco is ranked the "most walkable" city in the United States by Walkscore.com.^[263]Many neighborhoods feature a mix of businesses, restaurants and venues that cater to the daily needs of local residents while also serving many visitors and tourists. Some neighborhoods are dotted with boutiques, cafés and nightlife such as Union Street inCow Hollow, 24th Street inNoe Valley,Valencia Streetin theMission, Grant Avenue inNorth Beach, and Irving Street in theInner Sunset. This approach especially has influenced the continuing South of Market neighborhood redevelopment with businesses and neighborhood services rising alongside high-rise residences.^{[264][failed verification]}

Since the 1990s, the demand for skilledinformation technologyworkers from local startups and nearbySilicon Valleyhas attractedwhite-collar workersfrom all over the world and created a high standard of living in San Francisco.^[266]Many neighborhoods that were onceblue-collar, middle, and lower class have beengentrifying, as many of the city's traditional business and industrial districts have experienced a renaissance driven by the redevelopment of theEmbarcadero, including the neighborhoodsSouth BeachandMission Bay. The city's property values and household income have risen to among the highest in the nation,^{[267][268][269]}creating a large and upscale restaurant, retail, and entertainment scene. According to a 2014 quality of life survey of global cities, San Francisco has thehighest quality of livingof any U.S. city.^[270]However, due to the exceptionally high cost of living, many of the city's middle and lower-class families have been leaving the city for the outer suburbs of theBay Area, or for California'sCentral Valley.^[271]By June 2, 2015, the median rent was reported to be as high as $4,225.^[272]The high cost of living is due in part to restrictive planning laws which limit new residential construction.^[273]

The international character that San Francisco has enjoyed since its founding is continued today by large numbers of immigrants from Asia and Latin America. With 39% of its residents born overseas,^[242]San Francisco has numerous neighborhoods filled with businesses and civic institutions catering to new arrivals. In particular, the arrival of many ethnic Chinese, which began to accelerate in the 1970s, has complemented the long-established community historically based inChinatownthroughout the city and has transformed the annualChinese New Year Paradeinto the largest event of its kind on theWest Coast.

With the arrival of the"beat"writers and artists of the 1950s and societal changes culminating in theSummer of Lovein theHaight-Ashburydistrict during the 1960s, San Francisco became a center ofliberalactivism and of thecounterculturethat arose at that time. TheDemocratsand to a lesser extent theGreen Partyhave dominatedcity politicssince the late 1970s, after thelast seriousRepublicanchallenger for city officelost the 1975 mayoral electionby a narrow margin. San Francisco has not voted more than 20% for aRepublicanpresidential or senatorial candidate since1988.^[274]In 2007, the city expanded itsMedicaidand otherindigentmedical programs into theHealthy San Franciscoprogram,^[275]whichsubsidizescertain medical services for eligible residents.^{[276][277][278]}

Since 1993, the San Francisco Department of Public Health has distributed 400,000free syringesevery month aimed at reducing HIV and other health risks for drug users, as well as providing disposal sites and services.^{[279][280][281]}

San Francisco also has had a very active environmental community. Starting with the founding of theSierra Clubin 1892 to the establishment of the non-profitFriends of the Urban Forestin 1981, San Francisco has been at the forefront of many global discussions regarding the environment.^[282][283]The 1980San Francisco Recycling Programwas one of the earliest curbside recycling programs.^[284]The city's GoSolarSF incentive promotes solar installations and theSan Francisco Public Utilities Commissionis rolling out theCleanPowerSFprogram to sell electricity from local renewable sources.^[285][286]SF Greasecycle is a program to recycle used cooking oil for conversion to biodiesel.^[287]

TheSunset ReservoirSolar Project, completed in 2010, installed 24,000 solar panels on the roof of the reservoir. The 5-megawatt plant more than tripled the city's 2-megawatt solar generation capacity when it opened in December 2010.^[288][289]

San Francisco has long had anLGBT-friendlyhistory. It was home to the first lesbian-rights organization in the United States,Daughters of Bilitis; the first openly gay person to run for public office in the United States,José Sarria; the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California,Harvey Milk; the first openly lesbian judge appointed in the U.S.,Mary C. Morgan; and the firsttransgenderpolice commissioner,Theresa Sparks. The city's large gay population has created and sustained a politically and culturally active community over many decades, developing a powerful presence in San Francisco's civic life.^[290]Survey data released in 2015 byGallupplaces the proportion of LGBT adults in the San Francisco metro area at 6.2%, which is the highest proportion of the 50 most populous metropolitan areas as measured by the polling organization.^[291]

One of the most popular destinations for gay tourists internationally, the city hostsSan Francisco Pride, one of the largest and oldestpride parades. San Francisco Pride events have been held continuously since 1972. The events are themed and a new theme is created each year.^[292]In 2013, over 1.5 million people attended, around 500,000 more than the previous year.^[293]Pink Saturdayis an annual street party held the Saturday before the pride parade, which coincides with theDyke march.

TheFolsom Street Fair(FSF) is an annualBDSMandleather subculturestreet fair that is held in September, endcapping San Francisco's "Leather Pride Week."^[294]It started in 1984 and is California's third-largest single-day, outdoor spectator event and the world's largest leather event and showcase for BDSM products and culture.^[295]

San Francisco'sWar Memorial and Performing Arts Centerhosts some of the most enduring performing arts companies in the country. TheWar Memorial Opera Househouses theSan Francisco Opera, the second-largest opera company in North America^[296]as well as theSan Francisco Ballet, while theSan Francisco Symphonyplays inDavies Symphony Hall. Opened in 2013, theSFJAZZ Centerhosts jazz performances year round.^[297]

The Fillmoreis a music venue located in theWestern Addition. It is the second incarnation of the historic venue that gained fame in the 1960s, housing the stage where now-famous musicians such as theGrateful Dead,Janis Joplin,Led Zeppelin, andJefferson Airplanefirst performed, fostering theSan Francisco Sound.^[298]It closed its doors in 1971 with a final performance bySantanaand reopened in 1994 with a show bythe Smashing Pumpkins.^[299]

San Francisco has a large number oftheaters and live performance venues. Local theater companies have been noted for risk taking and innovation.^[300]TheTony Award-winning non-profitAmerican Conservatory Theater(A.C.T.) is a member of the nationalLeague of Resident Theatres. Other local winners of theRegional Theatre Tony Awardinclude theSan Francisco Mime Troupe.^[301]San Francisco theaters frequently host pre-Broadwayengagements and tryout runs,^[302]and some original San Francisco productions have later moved to Broadway.^[303]

TheSan Francisco Museum of Modern Art(SFMOMA) houses 20th century and contemporary works of art. It moved to its current building in theSouth of Marketneighborhood in 1995 and attracted more than 600,000 visitors annually.^[304]SFMOMA closed for renovation and expansion in 2013. The museum reopened on May 14, 2016, with an addition, designed bySnøhetta, that has doubled the museum's size.^[305]

ThePalace of the Legion of Honorholds primarily European antiquities and works of art at itsLincoln Parkbuilding modeled after itsParisian namesake. Thede Young Museumin Golden Gate Park features American decorative pieces and anthropological holdings from Africa, Oceania and the Americas, while Asian art is housed in theAsian Art Museum. Opposite the de Young stands theCalifornia Academy of Sciences, a natural history museum that also hosts theMorrison PlanetariumandSteinhart Aquarium. Located on Pier 15 on the Embarcadero, theExploratoriumis an interactive science museum. TheContemporary Jewish Museumis a non-collecting institution that hosts a broad array of temporary exhibitions. On Nob Hill, theCable Car Museumis a working museum featuring the cable car powerhouse, which drives the cables.^[306]Wattis Institute for Contemporary Artswas founded in 1998 and is part of the California College of the Arts.^[307]

Major League Baseball'sSan Francisco Giantshave played in San Francisco since moving from New York in 1958. The Giants play atOracle Park, which opened in 2000.^[308]The Giants wonWorld Seriestitles in2010,2012, and in2014. The Giants have boasted stars such asWillie Mays,Willie McCovey, andBarry Bonds(MLB'scareer home run leader). In 2012, San Francisco was ranked No. 1 in a study that examined which U.S. metro areas have produced the most Major Leaguers since 1920.^[309]

TheSan Francisco 49ersof theNational Football League(NFL) began playing in 1946 as anAll-America Football Conference(AAFC) league charter member, moved to the NFL in 1950 and intoCandlestick Parkin 1971. The team left San Francisco in 2014, moving approximately 50 miles south toSanta Clara, and began playing its home games atLevi's Stadium,^[310][311]Despite this, the 49ers are still branded as a San Francisco team, and when the team hostedSuper Bowl 50events were hosted in San Francisco such as The annualNFL Experiencewhich was held at theMoscone Centerand "Super Bowl City" which opened on January 30 at Justin Herman Plaza onThe Embarcadero.^[312][313]The 49ers have won fiveSuper Bowltitles between 1982 and 1995.

The NBA's Golden State Warriors have played in the San Francisco Bay Area since moving from Philadelphia in 1962. The Warriors played as the San Francisco Warriors, from 1962 to 1971, before being renamed theGolden State Warriorsprior to the 1971–1972 season in an attempt to present the team as a representation of the whole state of California, which had already adopted "The Golden State" nickname.^[314]The Warriors' arena,Chase Center, is located in San Francisco.^[315]After winning two championships in Philadelphia, they have won five championships since moving to the San Francisco Bay Area,^[316]and made five consecutiveNBA Finalsfrom 2015 to 2019, winning three of them. They won again in 2022, the franchise's first championship while residing in San Francisco proper.

At the collegiate level, theSan Francisco Donscompete inNCAA Division I.Bill Russellled the Dons basketball team toNCAA championshipsin 1955 and 1956. There is also theSan Francisco State Gators, who compete inNCAA Division II.^[317]Oracle Park hosted the annualFight Hunger Bowlcollege football game from 2002 through 2013 before it moved to Santa Clara.

There are a handful of lower-league soccer clubs in San Francisco playing mostly from April – June.

Club	Founded	Venue	League	Tier level
El Farolito	1985	Boxer Stadium	NPSL	4
San Francisco City FC	2001	Kezar Stadium	USL League Two	4
San Francisco Glens SC	1961	Skyline College	USL League Two	4
SF Elite Metro	2017	Negoesco Stadium	NISA Nation	5

TheBay to Breakersfootrace, held annually since 1912, is best known for colorful costumes and a celebratory community spirit.^[318]TheSan Francisco Marathonattracts more than 21,000 participants.^[319]TheEscape from Alcatraztriathlonhas, since 1980, attracted 2,000 top professional and amateur triathletes for its annual race.^[320]TheOlympic Club, founded in 1860, is the oldestathletic clubin the United States. Its private golf course has hosted theU.S. Openon five occasions. San Francisco hosted the2013 America's Cupyacht racing competition.^[321]

With an ideal climate for outdoor activities, San Francisco has ample resources and opportunities for amateur and participatory sports and recreation. There are more than 200 miles (320 km) ofbicycle paths, lanesand bike routes in the city.^[322]San Francisco residents have often ranked among the fittest in the country.^[323]Golden Gate Parkhas miles of paved and unpaved running trails as well as agolf courseanddisc golfcourse. Boating, sailing,windsurfingandkitesurfingare among the popular activities on San Francisco Bay, and the city maintains a yacht harbor in theMarina District.

San Francisco also has hadEsportsteams, such as theOverwatch League'sSan Francisco Shock. Established in 2017,^[324]they won two back-to-back championship titles in 2019 and 2020.^[325][326]

Several of San Francisco's parks and nearly all of its beaches form part of the regionalGolden Gate National Recreation Area, one of the most visited units of theNational Park systemin the United States with over 13 million visitors a year. Among the GGNRA's attractions within the city areOcean Beach, which runs along the Pacific Ocean shoreline and is frequented by a vibrantsurfingcommunity, andBaker Beach, which is located in a cove west of the Golden Gate Bridge, as well as theCalifornia Academy of Sciences, a research institute and natural history museum.

ThePresidio of San Franciscois the former 18th century Spanish military base, which today is one of the city's largest parks and home to numerous museums and institutions. Also within the Presidio isCrissy Field, a former airfield that was restored to its naturalsalt marshecosystem. The GGNRA also administersFort Funston,Lands End,Fort Mason, andAlcatraz. The National Park Service separately administers theSan Francisco Maritime National Historical Park– a fleet of historic ships and waterfront property aroundAquatic Park.^{[citation needed]}

There are more than220 parksmaintained by theSan Francisco Recreation & Parks Department.^[328]The largest and best-known city park isGolden Gate Park,^[329]which stretches from the center of the city west to the Pacific Ocean. Once covered in native grasses and sand dunes, the park was conceived in the 1860s and was created by the extensive planting of thousands of non-native trees and plants. The large park is rich with cultural and natural attractions such as theConservatory of Flowers,Japanese Tea GardenandSan Francisco Botanical Garden.^{[citation needed]}

Lake Mercedis a fresh-water lake surrounded by parkland^{[citation needed]}and near theSan Francisco Zoo, a city-owned park that houses more than 250 animal species, many of which are endangered.^[330]The onlyparkmanaged by theCalifornia State Parksystem located principally in San Francisco,Candlestick Pointwas the state's first urban recreation area.^[331]

Most of San Francisco's islands are protected as parkland or nature reserves.Alcatraz Island, operated by theNational Park Service, is open to the public. TheFarallon Islandsare protected wildlife refuges. TheSeal Rocksare protected as part ofGolden Gate National Recreation Area.Red Rock Islandis the only privately owned island in San Francisco Bay, but is uninhabited.Yerba Buena Islandis largely utilized by the military.

San Francisco is the first city in the U.S. to have a park within a10-Minute Walkof every resident.^[332][333]It also ranks fifth in the U.S. for park access and quality in the 2018 ParkScore ranking of the top 100 park systems across the United States, according to the nonprofitTrust for Public Land.^[334]

Themayoris also the county executive, and the countyBoard of Supervisorsacts as thecity council. The government of San Francisco is acharter cityand is constituted of two co-equal branches: the executive branch is headed by the mayor and includes other citywide elected and appointed officials as well as the civil service; the 11-member Board of Supervisors, the legislative branch, is headed by a president and is responsible for passing laws and budgets, though San Franciscans also make use ofdirect ballot initiativesto pass legislation.^[335]

Because of its unique city-county status, the local government is able to exercise jurisdiction over certain property outside city limits.San Francisco International Airport, though located inSan Mateo County, is owned and operated by the City and County of San Francisco. San Francisco's largest jail complex (County Jail No. 5) is located in San Mateo County, in anunincorporated areaadjacent toSan Bruno. San Francisco was also granted a perpetual leasehold over theHetch Hetchy ValleyandwatershedinYosemite National Parkby theRaker Actin 1913.^[336]

The members of the Board of Supervisors are elected as representatives of specific districts within the city.^[337]Upon the death or resignation of the mayor, the President of the Board of Supervisors becomes acting mayor until the full Board elects an interim replacement for the remainder of the term. In 1978,Dianne Feinsteinassumed the office following the assassination ofGeorge Mosconeand was later selected by the board to finish the term.^{[citation needed]}In 2011,Ed Leewas selected by the board to finish the term ofGavin Newsom, who resigned to take office asLieutenant Governor of California.^[338]Lee (who won two elections to remain mayor) was temporarily replaced by San Francisco Board of Supervisors PresidentLondon Breedafter he died on December 12, 2017. SupervisorMark Farrellwas appointed by the Board of Supervisors to finish Lee's term on January 23, 2018.

Most local offices in San Francisco are elected usingranked choice voting.^[339]

San Francisco serves as the regional hub for many arms of the federal bureaucracy, including theU.S. Court of Appeals, theFederal Reserve Bank, and theU.S. Mint. Untildecommissioningin the early 1990s, the city had major military installations at thePresidio,Treasure Island, andHunters Point—a legacy still reflected in the annual celebration ofFleet Week. The State of California uses San Francisco as the home of thestate supreme courtand other state agencies. Foreign governments maintainmore than seventy consulates in San Francisco.^[340]

The municipal budget for fiscal year 2015–16 was $8.99 billion,^[341]and is one of the largest city budgets in the United States.^[342]The City of San Francisco spends more per resident than any city other than Washington, D.C., over $10,000 in FY 2015–2016.^[342]The city employs around 27,000 workers.^[343]

In theCalifornia State Senate, San Francisco is inthe 11th Senate District, represented byDemocratScott Wiener. In theCalifornia State Assembly, it is split betweenthe 17th Assembly District, represented byDemocratMatt Haney, andthe 19th Assembly District, represented byDemocratPhil Ting.^[344]

In theUnited States House of Representatives, San Francisco is split between two congressional districts. Most of the city is in the11th District, represented byNancy Pelosi(D–San Francisco). A sliver in the southwest is part of the15th Districtrepresented byKevin Mullin(D–South San Francisco).^[345]Pelosi served as theHouse Speakerfrom January 3, 2019, to January 3, 2023, a post she also held from 2007 through 2011. She has also held the post ofHouse Minority Leader, from 2003 to 2007 and 2011 to 2019.

TheUniversity of California, San Franciscois the sole campus of theUniversity of California systementirely dedicated to graduate education in health and biomedical sciences. It is ranked among the top five medical schools in the United States^[346]and operates theUCSF Medical Center, which ranks as the number one hospital in California and the number 5 in the country.^[347]UCSF is a major local employer, second in size only to the city and county government.^{[348][349][350]}A 43-acre (17 ha)Mission Baycampus was opened in 2003, complementing its original facility inParnassus Heights. It contains research space and facilities to foster biotechnology and life sciences entrepreneurship and will double the size of UCSF's research enterprise.^[351]All in all, UCSF operates more than 20 facilities across San Francisco.^[352]

TheUniversity of California College of the Law, San Francisco, founded inCivic Centerin 1878, is the oldest law school in California and claims more judges on the state bench than any other institution.^[353]San Francisco's two University of California institutions have recently formed an official affiliation in the UCSF/UC Law SF Consortium on Law, Science & Health Policy.^[354]

San Francisco State Universityis part of theCalifornia State Universitysystem and is located nearLake Merced.^[355]The school has approximately 30,000 students and awards undergraduate, master's and doctoral degrees in more than 100 disciplines.^[355]TheCity College of San Francisco, with its main facility in the Ingleside district, is one of the largest two-yearcommunity collegesin the country. It has an enrollment of about 100,000 students and offers an extensive continuing education program.^[356]

Founded in 1855, theUniversity of San Francisco, a privateJesuituniversity located onLone Mountain, is the oldest institution of higher education in San Francisco and one of the oldest universities established west of the Mississippi River.^[357]Golden Gate Universityis a private, nonsectarian university formed in 1901 and located in theFinancial District.

With an enrollment of 13,000 students, theAcademy of Art Universityis the largest institute of art and design in the nation.^[358]TheCalifornia College of the Arts, located north ofPotrero Hill, has programs in architecture, fine arts, design, and writing.^[359]TheSan Francisco Conservatory of Music, the only independentmusic schoolon the West Coast, grants degrees in orchestral instruments, chamber music, composition, and conducting. TheSan Francisco Art Institute, founded in 1871 and the oldestart schoolwest of the Mississippi,^[360]closed in 2022.

TheCalifornia Culinary Academy, associated with theLe Cordon Bleuprogram, offers programs in the culinary arts, baking and pastry arts, and hospitality and restaurant management.California Institute of Integral Studies, founded in 1968, offers a variety of graduate programs in its Schools of Professional Psychology & Health, and Consciousness and Transformation.

Public schoolsare run by theSan Francisco Unified School District, which covers the entire city and county,^[361]as well as theCalifornia State Board of Educationfor some charter schools.Lowell High School, the oldest public high school in the U.S. west of theMississippi,^[362]and the smallerSchool of the Arts High Schoolare two of San Francisco'smagnet schoolsat the secondary level. Public school students attend schools based on an assignment system rather than neighborhood proximity.^[363]

Just under 30% of the city's school-age population attends one of San Francisco's more than 100privateorparochial schools, compared to a 10% rate nationwide.^[364]Nearly 40 of those schools areCatholic schoolsmanaged by theArchdiocese of San Francisco.^[365]

San Francisco has nearly 300preschoolprograms primarily operated byHead Start,San Francisco Unified School District, private for-profit, private non-profit andfamily child careproviders.^[366]All four-year-old children living in San Francisco are offereduniversal access to preschoolthrough the Preschool for All program.^[367]

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The major daily newspaper in San Francisco is theSan Francisco Chronicle, which is currently Northern California's most widely circulated newspaper.^[368]The Chronicle is most famous for a former columnist, the lateHerb Caen, whose daily musings attracted critical acclaim and represented the "voice of San Francisco."The San Francisco Examiner, once the cornerstone ofWilliam Randolph Hearst's media empire and the home ofAmbrose Bierce, declined in circulation over the years and now takes the form of a free daily tabloid, under new ownership.^[369][370]

Sing Tao Dailyclaims to be the largest of several Chinese language dailies that serve the Bay Area.^[371]SF Weeklyis the city'salternative weeklynewspaper.San Franciscoand7x7are major glossy magazines about San Francisco. The national newsmagazineMother Jonesis also based in San Francisco. San Francisco is home to online-only media publications such asSFist, andAsianWeek.

The San Francisco Bay Area is the sixth-largesttelevision market.^[372]It is the fourth-largestradio marketafter that of New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago.^[373]in the U.S.

All major U.S. television networks haveaffiliatesserving the region, with most of them based in the city.CNN,MSNBC,BBC,Russia Today, andCCTV Americaalso have regional news bureaus in San Francisco.Bloomberg Westwas launched in 2011 from a studio on the Embarcadero andCNBCbroadcasts fromOne Market Plazasince 2015.ESPNuses the local ABC studio for their broadcasting. Theregional sports network,Comcast SportsNet Bay Areaand its sister stationComcast SportsNet California, are both located in San Francisco. ThePac-12 Networkis also based in San Francisco.

Public broadcastingoutlets include both atelevision stationand aradio station, both broadcasting under the call letters KQED from a facility near thePotrero Hillneighborhood. KQED-FM is the most-listened-toNational Public Radioaffiliate in the country.^[374]

KUSFis a student-run radio station by college students from theUniversity of San Francisco.^[375]Another local broadcaster,KPOO, is an independent, African-American owned and operated noncommercial radio station established in 1971.^[376]CNET, founded 1994, andSalon.com, 1995, are based in San Francisco.Sutro Toweris an importantbroadcast towerlocated betweenMount Sutroand theTwin Peaks, built in 1973 forKTVU,KRON, andKPIX.

Transit is the most used form of transportation every day in San Francisco. Every weekday, more than 560,000 people travel on Muni's 69 bus routes and more than 140,000 customers ride the Muni Metro light rail system.^[377]32% of San Francisco residents use public transportation for their daily commute to work, ranking it fourth in the United States and first on the West Coast.^[378]TheSan Francisco Municipal Railway, primarily known as Muni, is the primary public transit system of San Francisco. As of 2023, Muni is the eighth-largest transit system in the United States.^[379]The system operates a combinedlight railand subway system, theMuni Metro, as well as large bus andtrolley coachnetworks.^[380]Additionally, it runs ahistoric streetcar line, which runs on Market Street fromCastro StreettoFisherman's Wharf.^[380]It also operates the famouscable cars,^[380]which have been designated as aNational Historic Landmarkand are a major tourist attraction.^[381]

Bay Area Rapid Transit(BART), a regional Rapid Transit system, connects San Francisco with theEast Bayand San Jose through the underwaterTransbay Tube. The line, which contains all except the Orange Line, runs under Market Street toCivic Centerwhere it turns south to the Mission District, the southern part of the city, and through northernSan Mateo County, to theSan Francisco International Airport, andMillbrae.^[380]BART also shares stations with SFMTAMuni MetrounderMarket Street.

Another commuter rail system,Caltrain, runs from San Francisco along theSan Francisco PeninsulatoSan Jose.^[380]Historically, trains operated bySouthern Pacific Linesran from San Francisco to Los Angeles, viaPalo AltoandSan Jose.

Amtrak Thruwayruns a shuttle bus from three locations in San Francisco to its station across the bay inEmeryville.^[382]Additionally, BART offers connections to San Francisco from Amtrak's stations in Emeryville, Oakland andRichmond, and Caltrain offers connections in San Jose andSanta Clara. Thruway service also runs south toSan Luis Obispowith connection to thePacific Surfliner.

San Francisco was an early adopter ofcarsharingin America. The non-profitCity CarShareopened in 2001^[383]andZipcarclosely followed.^[384]

San Francisco Bay Ferryoperates from theFerry BuildingandPier 39to points inOakland,Alameda,Bay Farm Island,South San Francisco,Richmond, and north toVallejoinSolano County.^[385]TheGolden Gate Ferryis the other ferry operator with service between San Francisco andMarin County.^[386]SolTransruns supplemental bus service between the Ferry Building and Vallejo.

To accommodate the large amount of San Francisco citizens who commute to theSilicon Valleydaily, employers likeGenentech,Google, andApplehave begun to provide private bus transportation for their employees, from San Francisco locations. These buses have quickly become a heated topic of debate within the city, asprotestersclaim they block bus lanes and delay public buses.^[387]

In 2014, only 41.3% of residents commuted by driving alone or carpooling in private vehicles in San Francisco, a decline from 48.6% in 2000.^[388]There are 1,088 miles of streets in San Francisco with 946 miles of these streets being surface streets, and 59 miles of freeways.^[388]Due to its unique geography, and thefreeway revoltsof the late 1950s,^[389]Interstate 80begins at the approach to theBay Bridgeand is the only direct automobile link to the East Bay.U.S. Route 101connects to the western terminus of Interstate 80 and provides access to the south of the city along San Francisco Bay towardSilicon Valley. Northward, the routing for U.S. 101 uses arterial streets to connect to theGolden Gate Bridge, the only direct automobile link toMarin Countyand the North Bay.

As part of the retrofitting of the Golden Gate Bridge and installation of a suicide barrier, starting in 2019 the railings on the west side of the pedestrian walkway were replaced with thinner, more flexibleslatsin order to improve the bridge's aerodynamic tolerance of high wind to 100 mph (161 km/h). Starting in June 2020, reports were received of a loud hum produced by the new railing slats, heard across the city when a strong west wind was blowing.^[390]

State Route 1also enters San Francisco from the north via the Golden Gate Bridge and bisects the city as the19th Avenuearterial thoroughfare, joining withInterstate 280at the city's southern border. Interstate 280 continues south from San Francisco, and also turns to the east along the southern edge of the city, terminating just south of the Bay Bridge in theSouth of Marketneighborhood. After the1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, city leaders demolished theEmbarcadero Freewayand a portion of theCentral Freeway, converting them into street-level boulevards.^[389]

State Route 35enters the city from the south asSkyline Boulevardand terminates at its intersection with Highway 1.State Route 82enters San Francisco from the south asMission Street, and terminates shortly thereafter at its junction with 280. The western terminus of the historic transcontinentalLincoln Highway, the first road across America, is in San Francisco'sLincoln Park.

In 2014, San Francisco committed toVision Zero, with the goal of ending all traffic fatalities caused by motor vehicles within the city by 2024.^[391]San Francisco's Vision Zero plan calls for investing in engineering, enforcement, and education, and focusing on dangerous intersections. In 2013, 25 people were killed by car and truck drivers while walking and biking in the city and 9 car drivers and passengers were killed in collisions. In 2019, 42 people were killed in traffic collisions in San Francisco.^[392]

Though located 13 miles (21 km) south of downtown inunincorporatedSan Mateo County,San Francisco International Airport(SFO) is under the jurisdiction of the City and County of San Francisco. SFO is a hub forUnited Airlines^[393]andAlaska Airlines.^[394]SFO is a major international gateway to Asia and Europe, with the largest international terminal in North America.^[395]In 2011, SFO was the eighth-busiest airport in the U.S. and the 22nd-busiest in the world, handling over 40.9 million passengers.^[396]

Located in theSouth Bay, theSan Jose International Airport(SJC) is the second-busiest airport in the Bay Area, followed bySan Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport, which is a popular, low-cost alternative to SFO. Geographically, San Francisco Bay Oakland Airport is approximately the same distance from downtown San Francisco as SFO, but due to its location acrossSan Francisco Bay, it is greater driving distance from San Francisco.^{[citation needed]}

Cycling is a popular mode of transportation in San Francisco, with 75,000 residents commuting by bicycle each day.^[397]In recent years,^[when?]the city has installed bettercycling infrastructuresuch asprotected bike lanesand parking racks.^[398]Bay Wheels, previously named Bay Area Bike Share at inception, launched in August 2013 with 700 bikes in downtown San Francisco, selected cities in the East Bay, and San Jose. TheSan Francisco Municipal Transportation AgencyandBay Area Air Quality Management Districtare responsible for the operation with management provided byMotivate.^[399]A major expansion started in 2017, along with a rebranding as Ford GoBike; the company received its current name in 2019.^[400]Pedestrian traffic is also widespread. In 2015,Walk Scoreranked San Francisco the second-most walkable city in the United States.^{[401][402][403]}

San Francisco has significantly higher rates of pedestrian and bicyclist traffic deaths than the United States on average. In 2013, 21 pedestrians were killed in vehicle collisions, the highest since 2001,^[404]which is 2.5 deaths per 100,000 population – 70% higher than the national average of 1.5.^[405]

Cyclingis becoming increasingly popular in the city. The 2010Municipal Transportation Agency (MTA)annual bicycle count showed the number of cyclists at 33 locations had increased 58% from the 2006 baseline counts.^[406]In 2008, the MTA estimated that about 128,000 trips were made by bicycle each day in the city, or 6% of total trips.^[407]As of 2019^[update], 2.6% of the city's streets have protected bike lanes, with 28 miles of protected bike lanes in the city.^[377]Since 2006, San Francisco has received a Bicycle Friendly Community status of "Gold" from theLeague of American Bicyclists.^[408]In 2022 a measure on the ballot passed to protect JFK drive in Golden Gate Park as a pedestrian and biking space with 59% of voters in favor.^[409]

TheSan Francisco Police Departmentwas founded in 1849.^[410]The portions of theGolden Gate National Recreation Arealocated within the city, including thePresidioandOcean Beach, are patrolled by theUnited States Park Police.

TheSan Francisco Fire Departmentprovides both fire suppression and emergency medical services to the city.^[411]

San Francisco participates in theSister Citiesprogram.^[412]A total of 41 consulates general and 23 honorary consulates have offices in the San Francisco Bay Area.^[413]

In January 1980, MayorDianne Feinsteinsigned a sister cities agreement with Shanghai during a visit to China.^[414]

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• Heller, Nathan.Bay Watched – How San Francisco's New Entrepreneurial Culture is Changing the Country(article)(October 2013).The New Yorker
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• Lotchin, Roger W. (1997).San Francisco, 1846–1856: From Hamlet to City. University of Illinois Press.ISBN978-0-252-06631-3.OCLC35650934.
• Margolin, Malcolm (1981).The Ohlone Way: Indian Life in the San Francisco-Monterey Bay Area. Heydey Books.ISBN978-0-930588-01-4.OCLC4628382.
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