The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a metropolitan region surrounding the San Francisco Bay estuaries in Northern California. According to the 2010 United States census, the region has over 7.1 million inhabitants and approximately of land. The region is home to three major cities: Oakland, San Francisco, and, the largest by area and population, San Jose.

The Bay Area has been inhabited since antiquity, first by the Ohlone and Miwok peoples, followed by the Spanish, who first arrived in 1769 and established the area's first mission, Mission San Francisco de Asís, in 1776. After being ceded to the United States in 1848, the Bay Area grew immensely due to the California gold rush, establishing itself as one of the most important regions on the West Coast. Today, the Bay Area is the home of Silicon Valley, Wine Country, and numerous companies, universities, bridges, airports, and parks.

The Bay Area consists of nine counties (Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma) and 101 municipalities. One, San Francisco, is a consolidated city-county. California law makes no distinction between "city" and "town", and municipalities may use either term in their official names.California Government Code Sections 34502 and 56722. The first municipalities to incorporate were Benicia and San Jose on March 27, 1850, while the most recent was Oakley on July 1, 1999. The largest municipality by population and land area is San Jose with 1,013,240 residents and . The smallest by population is Colma with 1,507 people, while the smallest by land area is Belvedere at .

Cities

County seat Name Type County Population (2020) Land area Density (2020) Incorporated sq mi km2 Alameda City Alameda 78,280 Albany City Alameda 20,271 American Canyon City Napa 21,837 Antioch City Contra Costa 115,291 Atherton Town San Mateo 7,188 Belmont City San Mateo 28,335 Belvedere City Marin 2,126 Benicia City Solano 27,131 Berkeley City Alameda 124,321 Brentwood City Contra Costa 64,292 Brisbane City San Mateo 4,851 Burlingame City San Mateo 31,386 Calistoga City Napa 5,228 Campbell City Santa Clara 43,959 Clayton City Contra Costa 11,070 Cloverdale City Sonoma 8,996 Colma Town San Mateo 1,507 Concord City Contra Costa 125,410 Corte Madera Town Marin 10,222 Cotati City Sonoma 7,584 Cupertino City Santa Clara 60,381 Daly City City San Mateo 104,901 Danville Town Contra Costa 43,582 Dixon City Solano 18,988 Dublin City Alameda 72,589 East Palo Alto City San Mateo 30,034 El Cerrito City Contra Costa 25,962 Emeryville City Alameda 12,905 Fairfax Town Marin 7,605 Fairfield City Solano 119,881 Foster City City San Mateo 33,805 Fremont City Alameda 230,504 GilroyCity Santa Clara 59,520 Half Moon Bay City San Mateo 11,795 Hayward City Alameda 162,954 Healdsburg City Sonoma 11,340 Hercules City Contra Costa 26,016 Hillsborough Town San Mateo 11,387 Lafayette City Contra Costa 25,391 Larkspur City Marin 13,064 Livermore City Alameda 87,955 Los Altos City Santa Clara 31,625 Los Altos Hills Town Santa Clara 8,489 Los Gatos Town Santa Clara 33,529 Martinez City Contra Costa 37,287 Menlo Park City San Mateo 33,780 Mill Valley City Marin 14,231 Millbrae City San Mateo 23,216 Milpitas City Santa Clara 80,273 Monte Sereno City Santa Clara 3,479 Moraga Town Contra Costa 16,870 Morgan Hill City Santa Clara 45,483 Mountain View City Santa Clara 82,376 Napa City Napa 79,246 Newark City Alameda 47,529 Novato City Marin 53,225 Oakland City Alameda 440,646 Oakley City Contra Costa 43,357 Orinda City Contra Costa 19,514 Pacifica City San Mateo 38,640 Palo Alto City Santa Clara 68,572 Petaluma City Sonoma 59,776 Piedmont City Alameda 11,270 Pinole City Contra Costa 19,022 Pittsburg City Contra Costa 76,416 Pleasant Hill City Contra Costa 34,613 Pleasanton City Alameda 79,871 Portola Valley Town San Mateo 4,456 Redwood City City San Mateo 84,292 Richmond City Contra Costa 116,448 Rio Vista City Solano 10,005 Rohnert Park City Sonoma 44,390 Ross Town Marin 2,338 St. Helena City Napa 5,430 San Anselmo Town Marin 12,830 San Bruno City San Mateo 43,908 San Carlos City San Mateo 30,722 San Francisco City and county San Francisco 873,965 San Jose City Santa Clara 1,013,240 San Leandro City Alameda 91,008 San Mateo City San Mateo 105,661 San Pablo City Contra Costa 32,127 San Rafael City Marin 61,271 San Ramon City Contra Costa 84,605 Santa Clara City Santa Clara 127,647 Santa Rosa City Sonoma 178,127 Saratoga City Santa Clara 31,051 Sausalito City Marin 7,269 Sebastopol City Sonoma 7,521 Sonoma City Sonoma 10,739 South San Francisco City San Mateo 66,105 Suisun City City Solano 29,518 Sunnyvale City Santa Clara 155,805 Tiburon Town Marin 9,146 Union City City Alameda 70,143 Vacaville City Solano 102,386 Vallejo City Solano 126,090 Walnut Creek City Contra Costa 70,127 Windsor Town Sonoma 26,344 Woodside Town San Mateo 5,309 Yountville Town Napa 3,436

Gallery

See also

List of municipalities in California List of places in California List of largest cities in California by population

References

External links