San Rafael

As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 61,271, up from 57,713 in 2010. San Rafael was founded by the Spanish in 1817, when Vicente Francisco de Sarría established Mission San Rafael Arcángel. Following the American Conquest of California, the community of San Rafael incorporated as a city in 1874. The city has a Mediterranean climate (Köppen Csb), with mild winter lows seldom reaching the freezing mark. The National Weather Service reports that August is usually the warmest month with a high of 80.1 °F (26.7 °C) and a low of 55.0 °C (12.8 °C). December, the coldest month, has an average high of 55, and an average low of 41, and the highest temperature on record is 110.2 °C. The highest temperature in recent years has been 108.42 °C, recorded in July, 2006. The lowest temperature was 20,6 °C on December 22, 1990. There are an average of 17.9 inches (16.8 mm) of annual precipitation in San Rafael, with a average of 90 °C or more (90.2 or more) after afternoons annually. San Francisco is 16 miles (26 km) to the south, and San Pablo Bay degaussing range was operated from San Rafael through World War II. The San Rafael shoreline has been historically filled to a considerable extent with underlying bay mud (saturated clayed silt) of up to 90 feet (27 m) in thickness.

History

San Rafael is the primary city name, but also San Anselmo are acceptable city names or spellings. The official name is City of San Rafael. Mission San Rafael Arcángel was founded as the 20th Spanish mission in the colonial province of Alta California in 1817. The mission from which the downtown grew and the city are named after the Archangel Raphael, the Angel of Healing. Mission San Rafael was abandoned in 1844, eventually falling into ruin. The San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad reached San Rafael in 1879 and was linked to the national rail network in 1888. The U.S. Navy operated a San Pablo Bay degaussing range from San Rafael through World War II. The city was once the site of several Coast Miwok villages: Awani-wi, near downtown San Rafael, Ewu, near Terra Linda and Shotomko-cha, in Marinwood.

Geography

San Rafael has a Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification Csb), with mild winter lows seldom reaching the freezing mark. The highest temperature on record is 110 °F (43.3 °C), recorded in June 1961. The wettest rain year was from July 1994 to June 1995 with 61.45 inches (1,560.8 mm) and the driest from July 1975 to June 1976 with 13.62 inches (345.9 mm) The most rain in one month was 24.11 inches (612.4 mm) in January 1995, and the heaviest 24-hour rainfall was 8.74 inches (222.0 mm) on December 11, 1995. The city has a wide diversity of natural habitats from forests at the higher elevations to marshland and estuarine settings. Its marshes are home to the endangered species salt marsh harvest mouse. There are also riparian areas including the San Rafael Creek and Miller Creek corridors. The rainy season is from November to early April: rain is rare outside of this period and it is normal to receive no rain in June, July, August, and September. Freezing temperatures (32 °F/0 °C or below) occur on an average of 3.6 mornings. The record lowest temperature was 20 °f (6.7 °C) on Dec. 22, 1990. Total annual precipitation averages 32.16 inches (816.9mm) and 64.3 days with measurable rain.

Demographics

The 2010 United States Census reported that the city of San Rafael had a population of 57,713. This figure does not, however, include portions of the Santa Venetia and Lucas Valley-Marinwood CDPs, nor various other unincorporated areas, all of which have San Rafael postal addresses. The racial makeup of the city in 2010 was 59.0% non-Hispanic White, 1.8%Non-Hispanic African American, 0.2% Native American, 6.0%. The Census reported 55,594 people (96.3% of the population) lived in households, 1,314 (2.3%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 805 (1.4%) were institutionalized. The population was spread out, with 11,132 people under the age of 18, 4,956 people (8.6%) aged 18 to 24, 16,915 people (29.3) aged 25 to 44, 15,574 people (27.0%) aged 45 to 64, and 9,136 people (15.8%) who were 65 years of age or older. There were 24,011 housing units at an average density of 1,070.9 per square mile (413.5/km²), of which 11,909 were owner-occupied, and 10,855 (47.7%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.6%; the rental vacancy rate, on the other hand, was 5.1%. In 2000, there were 56,063 people, 22,371 households, and 12,773 families in the city.

Economy

San Rafael is a small city situated in Marin County. It is known its affluent suburban/urban environment. The median income for a family in San Rafael reaching an estimated amount of $97,009 according to the 2016-2020 US Census report. Different regions of San Rafael remain below the poverty line of 11.4%. The top employers in the city are:According to San Rafael's 2010 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers are BioMarin, Autodesk, In Defense of Animals, Westamerica Bank, and GIS Data Resources. The city became a center for the entertainment industry, particularly the high-tech elements of the business. Lucasfilm was founded by George Lucas in 1971, and is best known for the global hit movie series Star Wars and also for Indiana Jones. Portions of the Universal movie production American Graffiti were filmed in downtown San Rafael under George Lucas's direction. Much of the movie Gattaca, starring Ethan Hawke, was also shot in the Marin County Civic Center. The new-age music program Hearts of Space has been headquartered inSan Rafael since 2004. The company filed for bankruptcy on November 14, 2018, and will close its San Rafael office by October of that year. In May 2022, autodesk announced its intention to move its headquarters to San Francisco, along with its 578 employees, and close the San Rafael offices by October 2022, and in May 2019, the company announced it would close all of its offices across the U.S.

Parks

There are a number of parks and mini-parks in downtown San Francisco. The city is home to the San Francisco Bay Area, which is one of the largest U.S. cities in terms of population. It is also home to many cultural and historical sites, such as San Francisco's San Francisco Museum of Natural History and San Francisco State University. There is also a large number of public parks in the city, which are often used by tourists and locals for hiking and other activities. Some of the parks are located in the downtown area of San Francisco, which has a population of more than 1.5 million. There are also several smaller parks in San Francisco that are less well known, but are still popular with tourists and residents of the city. The largest of these is the city's largest public park, which was built in the early 1900s and is located on the banks of the San Fernando River. It was named after a former mayor of the town, George S. Patton, who is credited with creating the city in the late 19th century. The name of the park is in honor of Patton's son, George P. Patton II, who was a member of Congress from 1875-1955. The town's name is also used to refer to a former president of the United States, George H.W. Bush, who also served as mayor from 1881-1954. The park's name comes from the word "Parks", which means "park" or "parks".

Government

San Rafael is governed by a city council with five members, four of which are elected by geographic district for four-year terms. The current members are: Maika Llorens Gulati, Eli Hill, Maribeth Bushey and Rachel Kertz. San Rafael is in California's 2nd congressional district, represented by Democrat Jared Huffman. From 2008 to 2012, Huffman represented Marin County in the California State Assembly. The Mayor is elected at-large; the City Council is made up of four members elected by the geographic district they represent. The City of San Rafael has 31,288 registered voters. Of those, 17,566 (56.1%) are registered Democrats, 4,292 (13.7%) areregistered Republicans, and 8,121 (26%) have declined to state a political party. In the U.S. House of Representatives, San Rafael belongs to the 2nd district. In California's State Legislature, the city is in: the 10th Assembly District, the 2 second Senate District, and the 3rd Senate District. The city is located in Marin County, which is part of the Central Coast region of California. The mayor is Kate Colin; the city council members are Maika llorens Golati and Eli Hill; the mayor is also the City's first African-American mayor, Kate Colin, and MaribETH Bushey; the current City Council members are Eli Hill and Maripeth KertZ. The San Rafael Police Department is based in San Rafael and serves the City of Marin.

Education

Most public schools in San Rafael are operated by the San Rafael City Schools district. Miller Creek Elementary School District operates some public elementary and middle schools north of San Rafael proper. notable private schools include Marin Academy, Saint Raphael School, Brandeis Marin, and The Marin School. San Rafael is also the home to one of the two campuses of Guide Dogs for the Blind, a guide dog training school. The Ali Akbar College of Music was founded by Indian musician AliAkbar Khan to teach Indian classical music. The city is home to the Dominican University of California, which was founded in 1883. The San Rafael High School is one of three comprehensive public high schools in the city. The other two high schools are Terra Linda High School and Madrone High School. The school district also operates one alternative high school, Madrone Elementary School, which is located in the town's north. The town has a population of 2,000, with the majority of its residents living in the northern part of the city, near the San Francisco Bay Area and the Santa Cruz Mountains. It is located on California's Central Coast, near San Francisco and Los Angeles. It has a reputation for being a hotbed of crime and drug activity. It also has a history of drug and alcohol abuse, particularly in the 1980s and 1990s. It was the site of the first drug testing facility in the United States, which began in the early 1980s. In the early 1990s, the city was home to a drug treatment center, which has since been closed.

Transportation

The major northsouth freeway through San Rafael is U.S. Route 101, connecting the North Coast (California) and the Redwood Empire to the north, and San Francisco to the south. Interstate 580 heads across the RichmondSan Rafael Bridge to the East Bay. The San Rafael Transit Center, located at the corner of 3rd and Hetherton Streets, is served by a number of bus agencies. Local bus service is provided primarily by Golden Gate Transit and Marin Transit.Commuter rail by SonomaMarin Area Rail Transit (SMART) serves the city at two stations: a converted San Rafael transit Center and a station at Marin Civic Center. The line to Santa Rosa and its Airport opened in 2017 bringing passenger rail to San Rafael for the first time since 1958. Until 1958, San Rafael was served by the Northwestern Pacific Railroad. In December 2019, the line from San Rafael will be extended to Larkspur to make a ferry connection in December 2019. The city is home to the Marin County Airport Express, which serves the Sonoma County Airport, and the San Francisco Bay Area Airport Express. The City of San Rafael has a population of 3,000, making it one of the smallest cities in the Bay Area. It is the largest city in the North Bay region, with San Francisco being the only other city with more than 1,000 people in the city. It also has the largest number of homeless people, with 1,200 people living in San Rafael alone. It has the highest rate of homelessness in the state.

In popular culture

The TV show 13 Reasons Why is based in San Rafael. Many scenes from the first season were filmed downtown. A group of students of the San Rafael High School class of 1975 known as the Waldos used "420" as a code for smoking marijuana at 4:20 p.m., after school.Shel Silverstein's poem "The Smoke-Off" is about a girl named Pearly Sweetcakes who came from San Rafael and lived in the neighborhood. The term "420", as used in reference to cannabis consumption, originated inSan Rafael. The word is also used to refer to a large amount of marijuana in the U.S. and in the United States at the time of its legalization in the mid-'70s and early '80s. It is also a slang term for marijuana users who are high on the drug at the same time as they are using it for recreational purposes, such as in the case of marijuana users in the 1970s and 1980s who were using the drug to get high in the early afternoon and early evening. It has been used in popular culture since the 1980s and is still used in some circles today to describe marijuana use. The city is home to a number of famous landmarks, including the San Francisco Peaks and the San Fernando River, which runs through the city's downtown area. The town is also the site of the famous San Rafael Bridge, which carries the name "San Rafael" and "Rafael" on the cityscape.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in San Rafael, Marin County, California = 85. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 40. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 99. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in San Rafael = 5.2 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 61,271 individuals with a median age of 42.2 age the population grows by 0.57% in San Rafael, Marin County, California population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 3,693.92 residents per square mile of area (1,426.23/km²). There are average 2.43 people per household in the 22,437 households with an average household income of $72,141 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 9.60% of the available work force and has dropped -5.75% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 18.90%. The number of physicians in San Rafael per 100,000 population = 492.6.

Weather

The annual rainfall in San Rafael = 35.5 inches and the annual snowfall = 0 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 65. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 256. 82 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 41 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 50, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in San Rafael, Marin County, California which are owned by the occupant = 51.11%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 42 years with median home cost = $529,250 and home appreciation of -2.64%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $6.29 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $5,366 per student. There are 19.6 students for each teacher in the school, 2488 students for each Librarian and 1166 students for each Counselor. 5.68% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 26.29% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 16.55% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).