San Francisco, which is Spanish for "Saint Francis," takes its name from Mission San Francisco de Asís, which in turn was named after Saint Francis of Assisi. The mission received its name in 1776, when it was founded by the Spanish under the leadership of Padre Francisco Palóu. The city has officially been known as San Francisco since 1847, when Washington Allon Bartlett, then serving as the city's alcalde, renamed it from Yerba Buena (Spanish for "Good Herb"), which had been the name of the first civilian pueblo in San Francisco, as well as the name of Yerba Buena Cove, which the pueblo was on the shore of. Earlier in San Francisco's history, the uninhabited area on the northeastern side of San Francisco was called El Paraje de Yerba Buena, after the herb that was growing abundantly there. The name Yerba Buena continues to be used in locations in the city, such as on Yerba Buena Island and in the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts and Yerba 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 earliest archeological evidence of human habitation of the territory of San Francisco dates to 3000 BCE.[53] The Yelamu group of the Ramaytush people resided in a few small villages when an overland Spanish exploration party arrived on November 2, 1769, the first documented European visit to San Francisco Bay.[54] The Ohlone name for San Francisco was Ahwaste, meaning, "place at the bay."[55] The arrival of Spanish colonists, and the implementation of their Mission system, marked the beginning of the assimilation of the Ramaytush people, and the decline of their language and culture.[56][57][58]
In 1804, the province of Alta California was created, which included San Francisco. At its peak in 1810–1820, the average population at the Mission Dolores settlement was about 1,100 people.[60]
In 1821, the Californias were ceded to Mexico by Spain. The extensive California mission system gradually lost its influence during the period of Mexican rule, although it was not until 1833 that the missions would be secularized. Agricultural land became largely privatized as ranchos, as was occurring in other parts of California. Coastal trade increased, including a half-dozen barques from various Atlantic ports which regularly sailed in California waters.[62][63]
With the enactment of the Mexican Secularization Act of 1833, the missions were made to divest themselves of their extensive landholdings and emancipate the indigenous people under their control. As part of the process of secularization, Governor José Figueroa opened up San Francisco to civilian settlement. Prior to secularization, the only settlements in San Francisco had been the military settlement at the Presidio and the religious settlement at Mission Dolores.[61] In 1835, the Presidio garrison, commanded by Mariano Vallejo, relocated to the Presidio of Sonoma, which was regarded as needing a greater military presence due the proximity of the Russian settlement at Fort Ross. Only a small detachment remained at the Presidio of San Francisco.[64] Mission Dolores sold most of its property in 1836, retaining only the church and related structures.[65]
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.[68]
Following the Bear Flag Revolt in Sonoma and the beginning of the U.S. Conquest of California, American forces from the USS Portsmouth under the command of John B. Montgomery captured Yerba Buena on July 9, 1846, with little resistance from the local Californio population, raising the American flag over Yerba Buena plaza (later renamed Portsmouth Square in commemoration of this event).
Following the capture, U.S. forces appointed both José de Jesús Noé and Washington Allon Bartlett to serve as co-alcaldes (mayors), while the conquest continued on in the rest of California. On January 30, 1847, Mayor Bartlett ordained that the city should officially change its name from "Yerba Buena" to "San Francisco", as the former name was only locally recognized and the latter name was in use on international maps.[69] There was also concern that a new town being planned by General Vallejo on the Carquinez Strait was to be called "Francisca", after the first name of his wife. After the name change to "San Francisco", the name of Vallejo's town was changed to Benicia, after his wife's middle name. Following the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848, Alta California was ceded 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.[70] Situated at the tip of a windswept peninsula without water or firewood, San Francisco lacked most of the basic facilities for a 19th-century settlement. These natural disadvantages forced the town's residents to bring water, fuel and food to the site.[citation needed] Its 1847 population was said to be 459.[62]
The California gold rush brought a flood of treasure seekers (known as "forty-niners," as in "1849"). With their sourdough bread in tow,[71] prospectors accumulated in San Francisco over rival Benicia,[72] raising the population from 1,000 in 1848 to 25,000 by December 1849.[73] The promise of wealth was so strong that crews on arriving vessels deserted and rushed off to the gold fields, leaving behind a forest of masts in San Francisco harbor.[74] Some of these approximately 500 abandoned ships were used at times as storeships, saloons, and hotels; many were left to rot, and some were sunk to establish title to the underwater lot. By 1851, the harbor was extended out into the bay by wharves while buildings were erected on piles among the ships. By 1870, Yerba Buena Cove had been filled to create new land. Buried ships are occasionally exposed when foundations are dug for new buildings.[75]
California was quickly granted statehood in 1850, and the U.S. military built Fort Point at the Golden Gate and a fort on Alcatraz Island to secure San Francisco Bay. San Francisco County was one of the state's 18 original counties established at California statehood in 1850.[76] Until 1856, San Francisco's city limits extended west to Divisadero Street and Castro Street, and south to 20th Street. In 1856, the California state government divided the county. A straight line was then drawn across the tip of the San Francisco Peninsula just north of San 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.[77]
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.[79]
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 the Barbary Coast district became synonymous with vice, attracting criminals, prostitutes, and illicit activities, including but not limited to prostitution, bootlegging, and gambling.[80] The rapidly growing population, with its lawlessness, gambling and other vices, and the fact that there were no churches to be found, prompted missionaries like William Taylor to come to San Francisco where he began preaching in the streets, using an upright barrel as his pulpit. Taylor was able to garner enough generous donations from successful gold miners with which he used to build a church.[81]
One of the most influential figures of this era was William Chapman Ralston. A shrewd banker and investor, Ralston amassed considerable wealth and influence in San Francisco. He gained control over a significant portion of the Comstock 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.[82] He founded the Bank 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.[83] His financial empire, however, collapsed in 1875 as a result of the Panic of 1873, triggering a major economic crisis in San Francisco.
Development of the Port of San Francisco and the establishment in 1869 of overland access to the eastern U.S. rail system via the newly completed Pacific Railroad (the construction of which the city only reluctantly helped support[84]) helped make the Bay Area a center for trade. Catering to the needs and tastes of the growing population, Levi Strauss opened a dry goods business and Domingo Ghirardelli began manufacturing chocolate. Chinese immigrants made the city a polyglot culture, drawn to "Old Gold Mountain," creating the city's Chinatown quarter. By 1880, Chinese made up 9.3% of the population.[85]
View of the city in 1878
The first cable cars carried San Franciscans up Clay Street in 1873. The city's sea of Victorian houses began to take shape, and civic leaders campaigned for a spacious public park, resulting in plans for Golden Gate Park. San Franciscans built schools, churches, theaters, and all the hallmarks of civic life. The Presidio developed into the most important American military installation on the Pacific coast.[86] By 1890, San Francisco's population approached 300,000, making it the eighth-largest city in the United States at the time. Around 1901, San Francisco was a major city known for its flamboyant style, stately hotels, ostentatious mansions on Nob Hill, and a thriving arts scene.[87] The first North American plague epidemic was the San Francisco plague of 1900–1904.[88]
At 5:12 am on April 18, 1906, a major earthquake struck San Francisco and northern California. As buildings collapsed from the shaking, ruptured gas lines ignited fires that spread across the city and burned out of control for several days. With water mains out of service, the Presidio Artillery Corps attempted to contain the inferno by dynamiting blocks of buildings to create firebreaks.[89] 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.[90] More than half of the city's population of 400,000 was left homeless.[91]Refugees settled temporarily in makeshift tent villages in Golden Gate Park, the Presidio, on the beaches, and elsewhere. Many fled permanently to the East Bay. Jack London is remembered for having famously eulogized the earthquake: "Not in history has a modern imperial city been so completely destroyed. San Francisco is gone."[92]
Rebuilding was rapid and performed on a grand scale. Rejecting calls to completely remake the street grid, San Franciscans opted for speed.[93]Amadeo Giannini's Bank of Italy, later to become Bank of America, provided loans for many of those whose livelihoods had been devastated. The influential San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association or SPUR was founded in 1910 to address the quality of housing after the earthquake.[94] The earthquake hastened development of western neighborhoods that survived the fire, including Pacific Heights, where many of the city's wealthy rebuilt their homes.[95] In turn, the destroyed mansions of Nob Hill became grand hotels. City Hall rose again in the Beaux Arts style, and the city celebrated its rebirth at the Panama–Pacific International Exposition in 1915.[96]
In ensuing years, the city solidified its standing as a financial capital; in the wake of the 1929 stock market crash, not a single San Francisco-based bank failed.[98] Indeed, it was at the height of the Great Depression that San Francisco undertook two great civil engineering projects, simultaneously constructing the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge and the Golden Gate Bridge, completing them in 1936 and 1937, respectively. It was in this period that the island of Alcatraz, a former military stockade, began its service as a federal maximum security prison, housing notorious inmates such as Al Capone, and Robert Franklin Stroud, the Birdman of Alcatraz. San Francisco later celebrated its regained grandeur with a World's fair, the Golden Gate International Exposition in 1939–40, creating Treasure Island in the middle of the bay to house it.[99]
Urban planning projects in the 1950s and 1960s involved widespread destruction and redevelopment of west-side neighborhoods and the construction of new freeways, of which only a series of short segments were built before being halted by citizen-led opposition.[102] The onset of containerization made San Francisco's small piers obsolete, and cargo activity moved to the larger Port of Oakland.[103] The city began to lose industrial jobs and turned to tourism as the most important segment of its economy.[104] 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 of immigration from Asia and Latin America.[105][106] From 1950 to 1980, the city lost over 10 percent of its population.
Bank of America, now based in Charlotte, North Carolina, was founded in San Francisco; the bank completed 555 California Street in 1969. The Transamerica Pyramid was completed in 1972,[111] igniting a wave of "Manhattanization" that lasted until the late 1980s, a period of extensive high-rise development downtown.[112] 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.[113]
The two recent decades have seen booms driven by the internet industry. During the dot-com boom of the late 1990s, startup companies invigorated the San Francisco economy. Large numbers of entrepreneurs and computer application developers moved into the city, followed by marketing, design, and sales professionals, changing the social landscape as once poorer neighborhoods became increasingly gentrified.[115] Demand for new housing and office space ignited a second wave of high-rise development, this time in the South of Market district.[116] 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), the social media boom had begun, with San Francisco becoming a popular location for tech offices and a common place to live for people employed in Silicon Valley companies such as Apple and Google.[117]
The early 2020s featured an exodus of tech companies from Downtown San Francisco in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and 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 economic doom loop,[118][119] 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][120] As of March 2024, Union Square was in "sorry shape" and had lost its traditional position as the Bay Area's regional shopping hub[121] to Westfield Valley Fair in San Jose.[122]
San Francisco is located on the West Coast of the United States, at the north end of the San Francisco Peninsula and includes significant stretches of the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay within its boundaries. Several picturesque islands—Alcatraz, Treasure Island and the adjacent Yerba Buena Island, and small portions of Alameda Island, Red Rock Island, and Angel Island—are part of the city. Also included are the uninhabited Farallon 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.[124] Some neighborhoods are named after the hill on which they are situated, including Nob Hill, Potrero Hill, and Russian 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.[125] Dominating this area is Sutro Tower, a large red and white radio and television transmission tower reaching 1,811 ft (552 m) above sea level.
Lake Merced, located in southwestern San Francisco
The nearby San Andreas and Hayward Faults are responsible for much earthquake activity, although neither physically passes through the city itself. The San Andreas Fault caused the earthquakes in 1906 and 1989. Minor earthquakes occur on a regular basis. The threat of major earthquakes plays a large role in the city's infrastructure development. The city constructed an auxiliary water supply system and has repeatedly upgraded its building codes, requiring retrofits for older buildings and higher engineering standards for new construction.[126] However, there are still thousands of smaller buildings that remain vulnerable to quake damage.[127] USGS has released the California earthquake forecast which models earthquake occurrence in California.[128]
San Francisco's shoreline has grown beyond its natural limits. Entire neighborhoods such as the Marina, Mission Bay, and Hunters Point, as well as large sections of the Embarcadero, sit on areas of landfill. Treasure Island was constructed from material dredged from the bay as well as material resulting from the excavation of the Yerba Buena Tunnel through Yerba Buena Island during the construction of the Bay Bridge. Such land tends to be unstable during earthquakes. The resulting soil liquefaction causes extensive damage to property built upon it, as was evidenced in the Marina district during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.[129] 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 as Islais Creek and Mission Creek, have been partially or completely culverted and built over. Since the 1990s, however, the Public Utilities Commission has been studying proposals to daylight or restore some creeks.[130]
North of the Western Addition is Pacific 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 the Marina, a neighborhood popular with young professionals that was largely built on reclaimed land from the Bay.[141]
In the southeast quadrant of the city is the Mission District—populated in the 19th century by Californios and working-class immigrants from Germany, Ireland, Italy, and Scandinavia. In the 1910s, a wave of Central American immigrants settled in the Mission and, in the 1950s, immigrants from Mexico began to predominate.[142] In recent years, gentrification has changed the demographics of parts of the Mission from Latino, to twenty-something professionals. Noe Valley to the southwest and Bernal Heights to the south are both increasingly popular among young families with children. East of the Mission is the Potrero Hill neighborhood, a mostly residential neighborhood that features sweeping views of downtown San Francisco. West of the Mission, the area historically known as Eureka Valley, now popularly called the Castro, was once a working-class Scandinavian and Irish area. It has become North America's first gay village, and is now the center of gay life in the city.[143] Located near the city's southern border, the Excelsior District is one of the most ethnically diverse neighborhoods in San Francisco. The Bayview-Hunters Point in the far southeast corner of the city is one of the poorest neighborhoods, though the area has been the focus of several revitalizing and urban renewal projects.
The Ferry Building, located in the Embarcadero, the city's eastern waterfront along San Francisco Bay
The construction of the Twin Peaks Tunnel in 1918 connected southwest neighborhoods to downtown via streetcar, hastening the development of West Portal, and nearby affluent Forest Hill and St. Francis Wood. Further west, stretching all the way to the Pacific Ocean and north to Golden Gate Park lies the vast Sunset District, a large middle-class area with a predominantly Asian population.[144]
The northwestern quadrant of the city contains the Richmond, a mostly middle-class neighborhood north of Golden Gate Park, home to immigrants from other parts of Asia as well as many Russian and Ukrainian immigrants. Together, these areas are known as The 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 the Embarcadero Freeway reopened the downtown waterfront, allowing for redevelopment. The centerpiece of the port, the Ferry Building, while still receiving commuter ferry traffic, has been restored and redeveloped as a gourmet marketplace.
San Francisco has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen: Csb, Trewartha: Csll), characteristic of California's coast, with moist winters and dry summers.[145] San Francisco's weather is strongly influenced by the cool currents of the Pacific Ocean on the west side of the city, and the water of San Francisco Bay to the north and east. This moderates temperature swings and produces a remarkably mild year-round climate with little seasonal temperature variation.[146]
Among major U.S. cities, San Francisco has the coolest daily mean, maximum, and minimum temperatures for June, July, and August.[147]
During the summer, rising hot air in California's interior valleys creates a low-pressure area that draws winds from the North Pacific High through the Golden Gate, which creates the city's characteristic cool winds and fog.[148] 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 and San Francisco International Airport (SFO), respectively.[149] 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).[149] 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).[149] On average, there are 73 rainy days a year, and annual precipitation averages 23.65 inches (601 mm).[149] Variation in precipitation from year to year is high. Above-average rain years are often associated with warm El Niño conditions in the Pacific while dry years often occur in cold water La Niña periods. In 2013 (a "La Niña" year), a record low 5.59 in (142 mm) of rainfall was recorded at downtown San Francisco, where records have been kept since 1849.[149] 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.[150][151]
The highest recorded temperature at the official National Weather Service downtown observation station[a] was 106 °F (41 °C) on September 1, 2017.[153] During that hot spell, the warmest ever night of 71 °F (22 °C) was also recorded.[154] The lowest recorded temperature was 27 °F (−3 °C) on December 11, 1932.[155]
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).[149] The coldest daytime high since the station's opening in 1945 was recorded in December 1972 at 37 °F (3 °C).[149]
As a coastal city, San Francisco will be heavily affected by climate 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.[156]
San Francisco falls under the USDA 10b Plant hardiness zone, though some areas, particularly downtown, border zone 11a.[157][158]
Historically, tule elk were present in San Francisco County, based on archeological evidence of elk remains in at least five different Native American shellmounds: at Hunter's Point, Fort Mason, Stevenson Street, Market Street, and Yerba Buena.[164][165] Perhaps the first historical observer record was from the De Anza Expedition on March 23, 1776. Herbert Eugene Bolton wrote about the expedition camp at Mountain Lake, near the southern end of today's Presidio: "Round about were grazing deer, and scattered here and there were the antlers of large elk."[166] Also, when Richard 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.[167]
San Francisco is a majority minority city, as non-Hispanic White residents comprise less than half of the population; in 1940 they formed 92.5% of the population.[169]
In 2010, residents of Chinese ethnicity constituted the largest single ethnic minority group in San Francisco at 21% of the population; other large Asian groups include Filipinos (5%) and Vietnamese (2%), with Japanese, Koreans and many other Asian and Pacific Islander groups represented in the city.[170]
The population of Chinese ancestry is most heavily concentrated in Chinatown and the Sunset and Richmond Districts. Filipinos are most concentrated in SoMa and the Crocker-Amazon; the latter neighborhood shares a border with Daly City, which has one of the highest concentrations of Filipinos in North America.[170][171] The Tenderloin District is home to a large portion of the city's Vietnamese population as well as businesses and restaurants, which is known as the city's Little Saigon.[170]
The principal Hispanic groups in the city were those of Mexican (7%) and Salvadoran (2%) ancestry. The Hispanic population is most heavily concentrated in the Mission District, Tenderloin District, and Excelsior District.[172] The city's percentage of Hispanic residents is less than half of that of the state.
The city has long been home to a significant Jewish community; in 2018 Jewish Americans made up an estimated 10% (80,000) of the city's population. It the third-largest Jewish community in proportional terms in the United States, behind only those of New York City, and Los Angeles, respectively, and it is also relatively young compared to other major U.S. cities.[174] The Jewish community resides throughout the city, but the Richmond District is home to an ethnic enclave of mostly Russian Jews.[175] The Fillmore District was formerly a mostly Jewish neighborhood from the 1920s until the 1970s, when many of its Jewish residents moved to other neighborhoods of the city as well as the suburbs of nearby Marin County.[176]
Map of racial distribution in San Francisco, 2010 U.S. Census. Each dot is 25 people: ⬤ White⬤ Black⬤ Asian⬤ Hispanic⬤ Other
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.[174] A prior 2014 study by the Pew Research Center, the largest religious groupings in San Francisco's metropolitan area are Christians (48%), followed by those of no 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 the Pew Research Center, about 20% of residents in the area are Protestant, and 25% professing Roman Catholic beliefs. Meanwhile, 10% of the residents in metropolitan San Francisco identify as agnostics, while 5% identify as atheists.[179][180]
As of 2010[update], 55% (411,728) of San Francisco residents spoke only English at home, while 19% (140,302) spoke a variety of Chinese (mostly Taishanese and Cantonese[181][182]), 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.[183]
Ethnic clustering
San Francisco has several prominent Chinese, Mexican, and Filipino neighborhoods including Chinatown and the 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.[184] Between the years of 1990 and 2000, the number of foreign-born residents increased from 33% to nearly 40%.[184] 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.[184]
Education, households, and income
Sea Cliff is one of the city's most expensive neighborhoods.[185]
Of all major cities in the United States, San Francisco has the second-highest percentage of residents with a college degree, second only to Seattle. Over 44% of adults have a bachelor's or higher degree.[186]
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).[187]
San Francisco has the highest estimated percentage of gay and lesbian individuals of any of the 50 largest U.S. cities, at 15%.[188]
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 other metropolitan area.[189]
San Francisco ranks third of American cities in median household income[190] with a 2007 value of $65,519.[191] Median family income is $81,136.[191]
An emigration of middle-class families has left the city with a lower proportion of children than any other large American city,[192] with the dog population cited as exceeding the child population of 115,000, in 2018.[193]
The city's poverty rate is 12%, lower than the national average.[194]Homelessness has been a chronic problem for San Francisco since the early 1970s.[195]
The city is believed to have the highest number of homeless inhabitants per capita of any major U.S. city.[196][197]
There are 345,811 households in the city, out of which: 133,366 households (39%) were individuals, 109,437 (32%) were opposite-sex married couples, 63,577 (18%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 21,677 (6%) were unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 10,384 (3%) were same-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 a sanctuary city in 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."[198] The city issues a Resident ID Card regardless of the applicant's immigration status.[199]
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.[201] 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.[201]
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.[202] 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.[203]
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 in Mumbai.[202] In May 2020, San Francisco officially sanctioned homelessencampments.[204]
San Francisco's violent crime rate is low compared to other major cities, though many residents are still concerned about it.[205]
In 2011, 50 murders were reported, which is 6.1 per 100,000 people.[206] 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.[207] The Tenderloin area has the highest crime rate in San Francisco: 70% of the city's violent crimes, and around one-fourth of the city's murders, occur in this neighborhood. The Tenderloin also sees high rates of drug abuse, gang violence, and prostitution.[208] Another area with high crime rates is the Bayview-Hunters Point area. In the first six months of 2015 there were 25 murders compared to 14 in the first six months of 2014. However, the murder rate is still much lower than in past decades.[209] 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.[210] The city has also gained a reputation for car break-ins, with over 19,000 car break-ins occurring in 2021.[211]
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.[212]
In January 2022, CBS News reported that a single suspect was "responsible for more than half of all reported hate crimes against the API community in San Francisco last year," and that he "was allowed to be out of custody despite the number of charges against him."[213]
African-American street gangs familiar in other cities, including the Bloods, Crips and their sets, have struggled to establish footholds in San Francisco,[216] while police and prosecutors have been accused of liberally labeling young African-American males as gang members.[217]
Criminal gangs with shot callers in China, including Triad groups such as the Wo Hop To, were active in San Francisco in the 20th century.[218] 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.[219] 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%.[220]
The city has a diversified service economy, with employment spread across a wide range of professional services, including tourism, financial services, and high technology.[222] 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.[222] In 2019, GDP in the five-county San Francisco metropolitan area grew 3.8% in real terms to $592 billion.[223][224] Additionally, in 2019 the 14-county San Jose–San Francisco–Oaklandcombined statistical area had a GDP of $1.086 trillion,[224] ranking 3rd among CSAs, and ahead of all but 16 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.[225]Marin County, directly to the north over the Golden Gate Bridge, and San Mateo County, directly to the south on the Peninsula, were the 6th and 9th highest-income counties respectively.
Union Square, despite its declining profile,[240] is still a major retail hub for San Francisco and the Bay Area.
According to academic Rob Wilson, San Francisco is a global city, a status that pre-dated the city's popularity during the California gold rush.[241] However, the COVID-19 pandemic has led to high office vacancy rates and the closure of many retail and tech businesses in the downtown core of San Francisco.[242][243] Attributed causes include a shift to remote work in the technology and professional services sectors, as well as high levels of homelessness, drug use, and crime in areas around downtown San Francisco, such as the Tenderloin and Mid-Market neighborhoods.[244][245]
The top employer in San Francisco is the city government itself, employing 5.6% (31,000+ people) of the city's workforce, followed by UCSF with over 25,000 employees.[246] The largest private-sector employer is Salesforce, with 8,500 employees, as of 2018[update].[247] Small businesses with fewer than 10 employees and self-employed firms made up 85% of city establishments in 2006,[248] and the number of San Franciscans employed by firms of more than 1,000 employees has fallen by half since 1977.[249] The growth of national big box and formula retail chains into the city has been made intentionally difficult by political and civic consensus. In an effort to buoy small privately owned businesses in San Francisco and preserve the unique retail personality of the city, the Small Business Commission started a publicity campaign in 2004 to keep a larger share of retail dollars in the local economy,[250] and the Board of Supervisors has used the planning code to limit the neighborhoods where formula retail establishments can set up shop,[251] an effort affirmed by San Francisco voters.[252] However, by 2016, San Francisco was rated low by small businesses in a Business Friendliness Survey.[253]
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.[254] 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 is Anchor Brewing Company, and the largest by revenue is Timbuk2.[254]
San Francisco became a hub for technological driven economic growth during the internet boom of the 1990s, and still holds an important position in the world city network today.[184][256] 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.[184] However, the technology industry has become geographically dispersed.[257][258]
In the second technological boom driven by social media in the mid-2000s, San Francisco became a location for companies such as Apple, Google, Ubisoft, Facebook, and Twitter to base their tech offices and for their employees to live.[259]
In recent years several AI companies have either been founded in the city or moved there, due to a giant talent pool, proximity to venture capital, and serendipitous connections.[260]
Tourism is one of San Francisco's most important private-sector industries, accounting for more than one out of seven jobs in the city.[231][261] The city's frequent portrayal in music, film, and popular culture has made the city and its landmarks recognizable worldwide. In 2016, it attracted the fifth-highest number of foreign tourists of any city in the United States.[262] More than 25 million visitors arrived in San Francisco in 2016, adding US$9.96 billion to the economy.[263]
With a large hotel infrastructure and a major convention facility in the Moscone Center, San Francisco is a popular destination for annual conventions and conferences.[264]
San Francisco also offers tourists varied nightlife in its neighborhoods.[266][267]
The new Terminal Project at Pier 27 opened September 25, 2014, as a replacement for the old Pier 35.[268] 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."[269] The commodification of the Castro District has contributed to San Francisco's tourist economy.[270]
Although the Financial District, Union Square, and Fisherman's Wharf are well known around the world, San Francisco is also characterized by its numerous culturally rich streetscapes featuring mixed-use neighborhoods anchored around central commercial corridors to which residents and visitors alike can walk.[citation needed] Because of these characteristics,[original research?] San Francisco is ranked the "most walkable" city in the United States by Walk Score.[271] 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 in Cow Hollow, 24th Street in Noe Valley, Valencia Street in the Mission, Grant Avenue in North Beach, and Irving Street in the Inner Sunset. This approach especially has influenced the continuing South of Market neighborhood redevelopment with businesses and neighborhood services rising alongside high-rise residences.[272][failed verification]
Since the 1990s, the demand for skilled information technology workers from local startups and nearby Silicon Valley has attracted white-collar workers from all over the world and created a high standard of living in San Francisco.[274] Many neighborhoods that were once blue-collar, middle, and lower class have been gentrifying, as many of the city's traditional business and industrial districts have experienced a renaissance driven by the redevelopment of the Embarcadero, including the neighborhoods South Beach and Mission Bay. The city's property values and household income have risen to among the highest in the nation,[275][276][277] creating a large and upscale restaurant, retail, and entertainment scene. According to a 2014 quality of life survey of global cities, San Francisco has the highest quality of living of any U.S. city.[278] 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 the Bay Area, or for California's Central Valley.[279] By June 2, 2015, the median rent was reported to be as high as $4,225.[280] The high cost of living is due in part to restrictive planning laws which limit new residential construction.[281]
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,[249] 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 in Chinatown throughout the city and has transformed the annual Chinese New Year Parade into the largest event of its kind on the West Coast.
Since 1993, the San Francisco Department of Public Health has distributed 400,000 free syringes every month aimed at reducing HIV and other health risks for drug users, as well as providing disposal sites and services.[287][288][289]
San Francisco also has had a very active environmental community. Starting with the founding of the Sierra Club in 1892 to the establishment of the non-profit Friends of the Urban Forest in 1981, San Francisco has been at the forefront of many global discussions regarding the environment.[290][291] The 1980 San Francisco Recycling Program was one of the earliest curbside recycling programs.[292] The city's GoSolarSF incentive promotes solar installations and the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission is rolling out the CleanPowerSF program to sell electricity from local renewable sources.[293][294] SF Greasecycle is a program to recycle used cooking oil for conversion to biodiesel.[295]
The Sunset Reservoir Solar Project, completed in 2010, installed 24,000 solar panels on the roof of the reservoir. The 5-megawatt plant more than tripled the city's 2-megawatt solar generation capacity when it opened in December 2010.[296][297]
San Francisco has long had an LGBT-friendly history. 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 first transgender police commissioner, Theresa Sparks. The city's large gay population has created and sustained a politically and culturally active community over many decades, developing a powerful presence in San Francisco's civic life.[298] Survey data released in 2015 by Gallup places 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.[299]
The gay pride flag was originally developed in San Francisco.
One of the most popular destinations for gay tourists internationally, the city hosts San Francisco Pride, one of the largest and oldest pride parades. San Francisco Pride events have been held continuously since 1972. The events are themed and a new theme is created each year.[300] In 2013, over 1.5 million people attended, around 500,000 more than the previous year.[301]Pink Saturday is an annual street party held the Saturday before the pride parade, which coincides with the Dyke march.
The Folsom Street Fair (FSF) is an annual BDSM and leather subculture street fair that is held in September, endcapping San Francisco's "Leather Pride Week."[302] 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.[303]
The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) houses 20th century and contemporary works of art. It moved to its current building in the South of Market neighborhood in 1995 and attracted more than 600,000 visitors annually.[312] SFMOMA closed for renovation and expansion in 2013. The museum reopened on May 14, 2016, with an addition, designed by Snøhetta, that has doubled the museum's size.[313]
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 the Golden State Warriors prior to the 1971–1972 season in an attempt to present the team as a representation of the whole state of California, which had already adopted "The Golden State" nickname.[322] The Warriors' arena, Chase Center, is located in San Francisco.[323] After winning two championships in Philadelphia, they have won five championships since moving to the San Francisco Bay Area,[324] and made five consecutive NBA Finals from 2015 to 2019, winning three of them. They won again in 2022, the franchise's first championship while residing in San Francisco proper.
Bay to Breakers is an annual foot race known for colorful costumes.
The Bay to Breakers footrace, held annually since 1912, is best known for colorful costumes and a celebratory community spirit.[326] The San Francisco Marathon attracts more than 21,000 participants.[327] The Escape from Alcatraztriathlon has, since 1980, attracted 2,000 top professional and amateur triathletes for its annual race.[328] The Olympic Club, founded in 1860, is the oldest athletic club in the United States. Its private golf course has hosted the U.S. Open on five occasions. San Francisco hosted the 2013 America's Cup yacht racing competition.[329]
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) of bicycle paths, lanes and bike routes in the city.[330]
San Francisco residents have often ranked among the fittest in the country.[331]Golden Gate Park has miles of paved and unpaved running trails as well as a golf course and disc golf course.
Boating, sailing, windsurfing and kitesurfing are among the popular activities on San Francisco Bay, and the city maintains a yacht harbor in the Marina District.
Several of San Francisco's parks and nearly all of its beaches form part of the regional Golden Gate National Recreation Area, one of the most visited units of the National Park system in the United States with over 13 million visitors a year. Among the GGNRA's attractions within the city are Ocean Beach, which runs along the Pacific Ocean shoreline and is frequented by a vibrant surfing community, and Baker Beach, which is located in a cove west of the Golden Gate Bridge, as well as the California Academy of Sciences, a research institute and natural history museum.
San Francisco is the first city in the U.S. to have a park within a 10-Minute Walk of every resident.[340][341] 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 nonprofit Trust for Public Land.[342]
The mayor is also the county executive, and the county Board of Supervisors acts as the city council. The government of San Francisco is a charter city and is constituted of two co-equal branches: the executive branch is headed by the mayor and includes other citywide elected and appointed officials as well as the civil service; the 11-member Board of Supervisors, the legislative branch, is headed by a president and is responsible for passing laws and budgets, though San Franciscans also make use of direct ballot initiatives to pass legislation.[343]
The members of the Board of Supervisors are elected as representatives of specific districts within the city.[345] 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 Feinstein assumed the office following the assassination of George Moscone and was later selected by the board to finish the term.[citation needed] In 2011, Ed Lee was selected by the board to finish the term of Gavin Newsom, who resigned to take office as Lieutenant Governor of California.[346] Lee (who won two elections to remain mayor) was temporarily replaced by San Francisco Board of Supervisors President London Breed after he died on December 12, 2017. Supervisor Mark Farrell was appointed by the Board of Supervisors to finish Lee's term on January 23, 2018.
The municipal budget for fiscal year 2015–16 was $8.99 billion,[349] and is one of the largest city budgets in the United States.[350] The City of San Francisco spends more per resident than any city other than Washington, D.C., over $10,000 in FY 2015–2016.[350] The city employs around 27,000 workers.[351]
One of San Francisco's most notable achievements is its ambitious zero-waste goal, which aims to divert 100% of waste from landfills by 2025. The city has already made significant strides, with widespread recycling and composting programs that encourage residents to minimize waste. San Francisco was one of the first U.S. cities to ban plastic bags and continues to lead in banning single-use plastics, setting a standard for cities across the country.[354]
The University of California, San Francisco is the sole campus of the University of California system entirely dedicated to graduate education in health and biomedical sciences. It is ranked among the top five medical schools in the United States[355] and operates the UCSF Medical Center, which ranks as the number one hospital in California and the number 5 in the country.[356] UCSF is a major local employer, second in size only to the city and county government.[357][358][359] A 43-acre (17 ha) Mission Bay campus was opened in 2003, complementing its original facility in Parnassus Heights. It contains research space and facilities to foster biotechnology and life sciences entrepreneurship and will double the size of UCSF's research enterprise.[360] All in all, UCSF operates more than 20 facilities across San Francisco.[361]
The University of California College of the Law, San Francisco, founded in Civic Center in 1878, is the oldest law school in California and claims more judges on the state bench than any other institution.[362]
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.[363]
The California Culinary Academy, associated with the Le Cordon Bleu program, 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.
The major daily newspaper in San Francisco is the San Francisco Chronicle, which is currently Northern California's most widely circulated newspaper.[377] The Chronicle is most famous for a former columnist, the late Herb Caen, whose daily musings attracted critical acclaim and represented the "voice of San Francisco." The San Francisco Examiner, once the cornerstone of William Randolph Hearst's media empire and the home of Ambrose Bierce, declined in circulation over the years and now takes the form of a free daily tabloid, under new ownership.[378][379]
Sing Tao Daily claims to be the largest of several Chinese language dailies that serve the Bay Area.[380]SF Weekly is the city's alternative weekly newspaper. San Francisco and 7x7 are major glossy magazines about San Francisco. The national newsmagazine Mother Jones is also based in San Francisco. San Francisco is home to online-only media publications such as SFist, and AsianWeek.
The San Francisco Bay Area is the sixth-largest television market.[381] It is the fourth-largest radio market after that of New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago.[382] in the U.S.
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.[386] 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.[387] The San 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.[388] The system operates a combined light rail and subway system, the Muni Metro, as well as large bus and trolley coach networks.[389] Additionally, it runs a historic streetcar line, which runs on Market Street from Castro Street to Fisherman's Wharf.[389] It also operates the famous cable cars,[389] which have been designated as a National Historic Landmark and are a major tourist attraction.[390]
Amtrak Thruway runs a shuttle bus from three locations in San Francisco to its station across the bay in Emeryville.[391] Additionally, BART offers connections to San Francisco from Amtrak's stations in Emeryville, Oakland and Richmond, and Caltrain offers connections in San Jose and Santa Clara. Thruway service also runs south to San Luis Obispo with connection to the Pacific Surfliner.
To accommodate the large amount of San Francisco citizens who commute to the Silicon Valley daily, employers like Genentech, Google, and Apple have begun to provide private bus transportation for their employees, from San Francisco locations. These buses have quickly become a heated topic of debate within the city, as protesters claim they block bus lanes and delay public buses.[396]
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.[397] There are 1,088 miles of streets in San Francisco with 946 miles of these streets being surface streets, and 59 miles of freeways.[397] Due to its unique geography, and the freeway revolts of the late 1950s,[398]Interstate 80 begins at the approach to the Bay Bridge and is the only direct automobile link to the East Bay. U.S. Route 101 connects to the western terminus of Interstate 80 and provides access to the south of the city along San Francisco Bay toward Silicon Valley. Northward, the routing for U.S. 101 uses arterial streets to connect to the Golden Gate Bridge, the only direct automobile link to Marin County and the North Bay.
As part of the retrofitting of the Golden Gate Bridge and installation of a suicide barrier, starting in 2019 the railings on the west side of the pedestrian walkway were replaced with thinner, more flexible slats in order to improve the bridge's aerodynamic tolerance of high wind to 100 mph (161 km/h). Starting in June 2020, reports were received of a loud hum produced by the new railing slats, heard across the city when a strong west wind was blowing.[399]
State Route 1 also enters San Francisco from the north via the Golden Gate Bridge and bisects the city as the 19th Avenue arterial thoroughfare, joining with Interstate 280 at the city's southern border. Interstate 280 continues south from San Francisco, and also turns to the east along the southern edge of the city, terminating just south of the Bay Bridge in the South of Market neighborhood. After the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, city leaders demolished the Embarcadero Freeway and a portion of the Central Freeway, converting them into street-level boulevards.[398]
State Route 35 enters the city from the south as Skyline Boulevard and terminates at its intersection with Highway 1. State Route 82 enters San Francisco from the south as Mission Street, and terminates shortly thereafter at its junction with 280. The western terminus of the historic transcontinental Lincoln Highway, the first road across America, is in San Francisco's Lincoln Park.
Vision Zero
In 2014, San Francisco committed to Vision Zero, with the goal of ending all traffic fatalities caused by motor vehicles within the city by 2024.[400] 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.[401]
Though located 13 miles (21 km) south of downtown in unincorporatedSan Mateo County, San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is under the jurisdiction of the City and County of San Francisco. SFO is a hub for United Airlines[402] and Alaska Airlines.[403] SFO is a major international gateway to Asia and Europe, with the largest international terminal in North America.[404] 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.[405]
Cycling is a popular mode of transportation in San Francisco, with 75,000 residents commuting by bicycle each day.[406] In recent years,[when?] the city has installed better cycling infrastructure such as protected bike lanes and parking racks.[407]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. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency and Bay Area Air Quality Management District are responsible for the operation with management provided by Motivate.[408] A major expansion started in 2017, along with a rebranding as Ford GoBike; the company received its current name in 2019.[409]
Pedestrian traffic is also widespread. In 2015, Walk Score ranked San Francisco the second-most walkable city in the United States.[410][411][412]
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,[413] which is 2.5 deaths per 100,000 population – 70% higher than the national average of 1.5.[414]
Cycling is becoming increasingly popular in the city. The 2010 Municipal Transportation Agency (MTA) annual bicycle count showed the number of cyclists at 33 locations had increased 58% from the 2006 baseline counts.[415] In 2008, the MTA estimated that about 128,000 trips were made by bicycle each day in the city, or 6% of total trips.[416] 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.[386] Since 2006, San Francisco has received a Bicycle Friendly Community status of "Gold" from the League of American Bicyclists.[417] 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.[418]
San Francisco participates in the Sister Cities program.[421] A total of 41 consulates general and 23 honorary consulates have offices in the San Francisco Bay Area.[422]
In January 1980, Mayor Dianne Feinstein signed a sister cities agreement with Shanghai during a visit to China.[423]
^The coordinates of the station are 37°46′14″N122°25′37″W / 37.7706°N 122.4269°W / 37.7706; -122.4269. Precipitation, high temperature, low temperature, snow, and snow depth records date from October 1, 1849; June 1, 1874; January 1, 1875; January 1, 1876; and January 1, 1922; respectively.
^Mean monthly maxima and minima (i.e. the expected highest and lowest temperature readings at any point during the year or given month) calculated based on data at said location from 1991 to 2020.
^Those not born in the 50 states or D.C., excluding California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas before 1850.
^'Be it resolved: The official song of the City and County of San Francisco is, and shall remain, "San Francisco." Be it further resolved that henceforth: "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" shall be the official ballad.' San Francisco Administrative Code — Steven Short, KALW Public Media, May 10, 2021, "San Francisco's Two Official Songs Or, The Day Tony Bennett Hid In His Hotel" [1]
^ abcO'Day, Edward F. (October 1926). "The Founding of San Francisco". San Francisco Water. Spring Valley Water Authority. Archived from the original on July 27, 2010. Retrieved November 24, 2024.
^"San Francisco: Government". SFGov.org. Archived from the original on March 16, 2012. Retrieved March 8, 2012. San Francisco was incorporated as a City on April 15th, 1850 by act of the Legislature.
^ abcdeSan Francisco News Letter (September 1925). "From the 1820s to the Gold Rush". The Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco. Archived from the original on October 22, 2009. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
^Chandler, Robert J (2010). "Bear Flag Revolt (1846): Sonoma". In Danver, Steven L (ed.). Revolts, Protests, Demonstrations, and Rebellions in American History: An Encyclopedia. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. pp. 343–345. ISBN9781598842227.
^Yenne, Bill (2004). The Missions of California. San Diego, California: Thunder Bay Press. pp. 18–19. ISBN1-59223-319-8.
^Wiley, Peter Booth (2000). National trust guide- San Francisco: America's guide for architecture and history travelers. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. pp. 4–5. ISBN978-0-471-19120-9. OCLC44313415.
^Sourdough bread was a staple of western explorers and miners of the 19th century. It became an iconic symbol of San Francisco, and is still a staple of city life today.Tamony, Peter (October 1973). "Sourdough and French Bread". Western Folklore. 32 (4): 265–270. doi:10.2307/1498306. ISSN0043-373X. JSTOR1498306.
^Filion, Ron S. "Buried Ships". SFgenealogy. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
^Report of Committee on Counties, January 4, 1850, revised to 27 counties on February 18, 1850 – Coy, Owen C. (1923). California County Boundaries. Berkeley: California Historical Survey Commission. pp. 1–2.
^Wiley, Peter Booth (2000). National trust guide- San Francisco: America's guide for architecture and history travelers. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. pp. 31–33. ISBN978-0-471-19120-9. OCLC44313415.
^Wiley, Peter Booth (2000). National trust guide- San Francisco: America's guide for architecture and history travelers. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. pp. 237–238. ISBN978-0-471-19120-9. OCLC44313415.
^Construction of the Pacific Railroad was partially (albeit reluctantly) funded by the City and County of San Francisco Pacific Railroad Bond issue under the provisions of "An Act to Authorize the Board of Supervisors of the City and County of San Francisco to take and subscribe One Million Dollars to the Capital Stock of the Western Pacific Rail Road Company and the Central Pacific Rail Road Company of California and to provide for the payment of the same and other matters relating thereto." approved on April 22, 1863, as amended by §5 of the "Compromise Act of 1864" approved on April 4, 1864. The bond issue was objected to by the Mayor and the Board of Supervisors, however, and they were not delivered to the WPRR and CPRR until 1865 after Writs of Mandamus ordering such were issued by the Supreme Court of the State of California in 1864 ("The People of the State of California on the relation of the Central Pacific Railroad Company vs. Henry P. Coon, Mayor; Henry M. Hale, Auditor; and Joseph S. Paxson, Treasurer, of the City and County of San Francisco" 25 Cal 635) and 1865 ("The People ex rel The Central Pacific Railroad Company of California vs. The Board of Supervisors of the City and County of San Francisco, and Wilhelm Lowey, Clerk" 27 Cal 655)
^"IPUMS USA". usa.ipums.org. Retrieved June 18, 2022.
^"Under Three Flags"(PDF). Golden Gate National Recreation Area Brochures. US Department of the Interior. November 2004. Retrieved June 22, 2011.
^Wiley, Peter Booth (2000). National trust guide- San Francisco: America's guide for architecture and history travelers. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. pp. 44–55. ISBN978-0-471-19120-9. OCLC44313415.
^Kalisch, Philip A. (Summer 1972). "The Black Death in Chinatown: Plague and Politics in San Francisco 1900–1904". Arizona and the West. 14 (2): 113–136. JSTOR40168068. PMID11614219.
^"1906 Earthquake: Fire Fighting". Golden Gate National Recreation Area. US Department of the Interior. December 24, 2003. Retrieved June 13, 2008.
^Wiley, Peter Booth (2000). National trust guide- San Francisco: America's guide for architecture and history travelers. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. pp. 56–62. ISBN978-0-471-19120-9. OCLC44313415.
^Wiley, Peter Booth (2000). National trust guide- San Francisco: America's guide for architecture and history travelers. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. p. 9. ISBN978-0-471-19120-9. OCLC44313415.
^Terplan, Egon (June 7, 2010). "Organizing for Economic Growth – A new approach to business attraction and retention in San Francisco". SPUR Report. Retrieved January 5, 2013. During the 1960s and 1970s San Francisco's historic maritime industry relocated to Oakland. ... San Francisco remained a center for business and professional services (such as consulting, law, accounting and finance) and also successfully developed its tourism sector, which became the leading local industry.
^Minton, Torri (September 20, 1998). "Race Through Time". San Francisco Chronicle. p. SC-4. Retrieved September 11, 2013.
^Wiley, Peter Booth (2000). National trust guide- San Francisco: America's guide for architecture and history travelers. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. pp. 240–242. ISBN978-0-471-19120-9. OCLC44313415.
^"Pyramid Facts and Figures". Company Profile. Transamerica Insurance and Investment Group. Retrieved June 13, 2008.
^Wiley, Peter Booth (2000). National trust guide- San Francisco: America's guide for architecture and history travelers. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. pp. 95–96. ISBN978-0-471-19120-9. OCLC44313415.
^Fagan, Kevin (August 4, 2006). "S.F.'s Homeless Aging on the Street / Chronic health problems on the rise as median age nears 50". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved March 6, 2012. The findings support what many social workers have long suspected – that there was a "big bang" homeless population explosion as federal housing programs were slashed and the closing of mental hospitals hit home in the mid-1980s and that this core group constitutes the bulk of the street population.
^Egan, Ted (April 3, 2006). "City and County of San Francisco: An Overview of San Francisco's Recent Economic Performance"(PDF). Report prepared for Mayor's Office of Economic and Workforce Development. ICF Consulting. Archived from the original(PDF) on February 1, 2009. Retrieved June 19, 2008. Another positive trend for the future is San Francisco's highly entrepreneurial, flexible and innovative economy...San Francisco's very high reliance on small business and self-employment is typical of other dynamic, fast-growing, high-technology areas across the country.
^Weil, Elizabeth (May 10, 2023). "Spiraling in San Francisco's Doom Loop". Curbed. Retrieved November 5, 2023. What it's like to live in a city that no longer believes its problems can be fixed.
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^Agricultural Research Center, PRISM Climate Group Oregon State University. "USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map". USDA. Archived from the original on February 27, 2014. Retrieved February 24, 2014.
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Taylor, William (1895). Ridpath, John (ed.). Story of my life. Toronto: W. Briggs.
Wiley, Peter Booth (2000). National trust guide San Francisco: America's guide for architecture and history travelers. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. ISBN978-0-471-19120-9. OCLC44313415.
Further reading
Asbury, Hubert (1989). The Barbary Coast: An Informal History of the San Francisco Underworld. Dorset Press. ISBN978-0-88029-428-7. OCLC22719465.
Dillon, Richard H. (1998). High Steel: Building the Bridges Across San Francisco Bay. Celestial Arts (Reissue edition). ISBN978-0-88029-428-7. OCLC22719465.
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Spanish cyclist You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Spanish. (February 2022) Click [show] for important translation instructions. View a machine-translated version of the Spanish article. Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into...
His Excellency赫瓦贾·纳齐姆丁爵士খাজা নাজিমুদ্দীন خواجہ ناظِمُ الدّینCIE, KCIE摄于1948年第2任巴基斯坦總理任期1951年10月17日—1953年4月17日君主佐治六世伊莉沙白二世总督古拉姆·穆罕默德前任利雅卡特·阿里·汗继任Mohammad Ali Bogra（英语：Mohammad Ali Bogra）第2任巴基斯坦總督（英语：Governor-General of Pakistan）任期1948年9月14日—1951年10月17日君�...
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This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentially libelous.Find sources: Marcel Khalife – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (April 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this message) Marcel KhalifeBackground in...
Government agency in Tamil Nadu, India This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.Find sources: Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (October 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this message) Tamil Nadu Industrial Development CorporationTamilnadu Industrial Devel...
جدارية على سور الجامعة الأمريكية عند ناصية شارع محمد محمود في ميدان التحرير تصور شعار طنطاوي هو مبارك جداريات محمد محمود هي جداريات (جرافيتي) ظهرت عقب اندلاع أحداث محمد محمود (التي اندلعت في الفترة من 19 إلى 24 نوفمبر 2011) في أماكن متنوعة في المنطقة التي شهدت تلك الاحتجاجات ومن...
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Hungarian politician (1923–2019) Ferenc József NagyMinister of AgricultureIn office23 May 1990 – 16 January 1991Preceded byCsaba Hütter (Minister of Agriculture and Food)Succeeded byElemér Gergátz Personal detailsBorn(1923-04-22)22 April 1923Kisharsány, HungaryDied14 May 2019(2019-05-14) (aged 96)Political partyFKGP (1937–48, 1989–92)TFKGP (1992–93)EKGP (1993–94)Professionpolitician The native form of this personal name is Nagy Ferenc József. This article u...
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