San Francisco

San Francisco (; Spanish for "Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. San Francisco and the surrounding San Francisco Bay Area are a global center of economic activity and the arts and sciences. As of 2020, the metropolitan area ranked 5th by GDP ($874 billion) and 2nd by GDP per capita ($131,082) across the OECD countries, ahead of global cities like Paris, London, and Singapore. The city proper is headquarters to companies such as Wells Fargo, Salesforce, Uber, First Republic Bank, Airbnb, Twitter, Block, Levi's, Gap, Dropbox, PG&E, Lyft, and Cruise. A popular tourist destination, San Francisco is known for its steep rolling hills and eclectic mix of architecture across varied neighborhoods, as well as its cool summers, fog, and landmarks, including the Golden Gate Bridge, cable cars, Alcatraz, and Chinatown and Mission districts. It was founded on June 29, 1776, when colonists from Spain established the Presidio and Mission San Francisco de Asís a few miles away, both named for Francis of Assisi. In World War II, it was a major port of embarkation for naval service members shipping out to the Pacific Theater. It became the birthplace of the United Nations in 1945. After the war, the confluence of returning servicemen, "beatnik" "hippie" attitudes, the sexual revolution, and the peace movement led to the Summer of Love and gay rights movement in the United States.

History

The earliest archaeological evidence of human habitation of the territory of San Francisco dates to 3000 BC. The Yelamu group of the Ohlone people resided in a few small villages when an overland Spanish exploration party arrived on November 2, 1769. The first European maritime presence occurred on August 5, 1775, when the Spanish San Carlos commanded by Juan Manuel de Ayala became the first ship to anchor in the bay. On October 9, Mission San Francisco de Asís (Mission Dolores) was founded by Padre Francisco Palóu. In 1821, the Presidio and the Mission were ceded to Mexico by Spain. The extensive California mission system gradually lost its influence during the period of Mexican rule. The California Gold Rush brought a flood of treasure seekers (known as "forty-niners", as in "1849"). With their sourdough bread in tow, prospectors accumulated in San Francisco over rival Benicia, raising the population from 1,000 in 1848 to 25,000 by December 1849. By 1851, the harbor was extended out into the bay by wharves while buildings erected on piles of ships were dug for new buildings. By 1870, Yerba Buena Cove had been filled to create land for the new San Francisco City Hall. The city limits extended west to Divisadero Street and Castro Street, and south to 20th Street and 20th Avenue. Everything south of San Bruno Mountain was then drawn across the San Francisco Peninsula just north of San Mateo County.

Geography

San Francisco is located on the West Coast of the United States at the north end of the San Francisco Peninsula. The mainland within the city limits roughly forms a "seven-by-seven-mile square", a common local colloquialism referring to the city's shape. The nearby San Andreas and Hayward Faults are responsible for much earthquake activity, although neither physically passes through the city itself. 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. The city'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. 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 Western Addition, which became a large African American population after World War II, survived the 1906 earthquake with its intact Victorians largely intact, including the famous "PaPa" street sign. The South of Market, which was once San Francisco”s industrial core, has seen significant redevelopment following the construction of Oracle Park and an infusion of startup companies. New skyscrapers, live-work lofts, and condominiums dot the Mission Bay area, a former railroad yard, which now has a campus of the University of California, San Francisco.

Demographics

The 2020 U.S. census showed San Francisco's population to be 873,965, an increase of 8.5% from the 2010 census. With roughly one-quarter the population density of Manhattan, San Francisco is the second-most densely populated large American city. The city has long been home to a thriving and growing Jewish community, today Jewish Americans make up 10% (80,000) of the city's population as of 2018. About 20% of the residents in the San Francisco area are Protestant, 25% professing Roman Catholic beliefs, while 5% identify as agnostics, 5% as atheists, and 12% as Cantonese or Taishanese. San Francisco forms part of the five-county San FranciscoOaklandHayward, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area, a region of 4.7 million people, and has served as its traditional demographic focal point. In 2010, residents of Chinese ethnicity constituted the largest single ethnic minority group in San Francisco at 21%. 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. As of the 2020 census, the racial makeup and population of San Francisco included: 361,382 Whites (41.3%), 296,505 Asians (33.9%) 46,725 African Americans (5.3%) 86,233 Multiracial Americans (9.9%), 6,475 Native Americans and Alaska Natives (0.7%) and 73,169 persons of other races (8.4%).

Crime

In 2011, 50 murders were reported, which is 6.1 per 100,000 people. The Tenderloin area has the highest crime rate in San Francisco. African-American street gangs have struggled to establish footholds in the city. Human feces on San Francisco sidewalks were the second-most-frequent complaint of city residents in the first half of 2018. The city has formed a "poop patrol" to attempt to combat the problem. In 2016, there were 59 murders in the San Francisco Police Department, an annual total that marked a 13.5% increase in the number of homicides (52) from 2015. In 2004, a Westmob member fatally shot a SFPD officer and wounded his partner; he was sentenced to life without parole in 2007. In 1990, a gang-related shooting killed one man and wounded six others outside a nightclub near Chinatown. In 1998, six teenagers were shot and wounded at the Chinese Playground; a 16-year-old boy was subsequently arrested. In 1977, an ongoing rivalry between two Chinese gangs led to a shooting attack at the Golden Dragon restaurant in Chinatown, which left 5 people dead and 11 wounded. None of the victims in this attack were gang members. In 2008, a MS-13 member killed three family members as they were arriving home in the Excelsior District. In 2000, a Chinese Triad group called the Wo Hop To was reported active in the area. In 2001, a San Francisco police officer was shot and killed by a member of the Joe Boys gang.

Economy

San Francisco has a diversified service economy, with employment spread across a wide range of professional services. In 2019, GDP in the five-county San Francisco metropolitan area grew 3.8% in real terms to $592 billion. As of 2019, 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. The top employer in the city is the city government itself, employing 5.6% (31,000+ people) of the city's workforce, followed by UCSF with over 25,000 employees. The largest private-sector employer is Salesforce, with 8,500 employees, as of 2018. Technology jobs accounted for just 1 percent of San Francisco's economy in 1990, growing to 4 percent in 2010 and an estimated 8 percent by the end of 2013. San Francisco became a center of Internet start-up companies during the dot-com bubble of the 1990s and the subsequent social media boom of the late 2000s (decade) San Francisco proper has attracted an increasing share of venture capital investments as compared to nearby Silicon Valley, attracting 423 financings worth US$4.58 billion in 2013. The growth of national big box and formula retail chains into the city has been made intentionally difficult to buoy small privately owned businesses in San Francisco. In an effort to keep a larger share of retail economy, the Small Business Commission started a unique personality of the City.

Arts and culture

San Francisco is ranked the "most walkable" city in the United States by Walkscore.com. With 39% of its residents born overseas, San Francisco has numerous neighborhoods filled with businesses and civic institutions catering to new arrivals. The city's property values and household income have risen to among the highest in the nation, creating a large and upscale restaurant, retail, and entertainment scene. The Democrats and to a lesser extent the Green Party have dominated city politics since the late 1970s, after the last serious Republican challenger for city office lost the 1975 mayoral election by a narrow margin. In 2007, the city expanded its Medicaid and other indigent medical programs into the Healthy San Francisco program, which subsidizes certain medical services for eligible residents. 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. In 2010, the Sunset Reservoir Solar Project installed 24,000 solar panels on the roof of the reservoir. The 5-awawatt solar plant tripled the city's capacity when it opened in December 2010. It was home to the first openly gay person to run for public office in the U.S., José Sarrilitis, who was elected mayor of San Francisco in 1998. San Francisco is home to Bilitis' Daughters of the American Revolution, the first lesbian-rights organization in theUnited States, which was founded in 1868. It has long had an LGBT-friendly history.

Sports

San Francisco is home to the NFL's San Francisco 49ers and the NBA's Golden State Warriors. The city also hosts the U.S. Open golf tournament and the Escape from Alcatraz triathlon. The Olympic Club, founded in 1860, is the oldest athletic club in the United States. There are more than 200 miles (320 km) of bicycle paths, lanes and bike routes in the city. San Francisco hosted the 2013 America's Cup yacht racing competition. The San Francisco Marathon attracts more than 21,000 participants in the spring and summer. It is also home to a number of lower-league soccer clubs, such as the San Francisco Shock, who won two back-to-back championship titles in 2019 and 2020. In 2012, San Francisco was ranked No. 1 in a study that examined which U.S. metro areas have produced the most Major Leaguers since 1920. The Giants have boasted such stars as Willie Mays, Willie McCovey and Barry Bonds. The 49ers won five Super Bowl titles between 1982 and 1995. The Warriors have won seven championships, 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. There is also a San Francisco State Gators college football team, who compete in NCAA Division II. The Bay to Breakers footrace, held annually since 1912, is best known for colorful costumes and a celebratory community spirit. It has attracted 2,000 top professional and amateur triathletes.

Parks and recreation

Several of San Francisco's parks and nearly all of its beaches form part of the regional Golden Gate National Recreation Area. The GGNRA is one of the most visited units of the National Park system in the United States with over 13 million visitors a year. The largest and best-known city park is Golden Gate Park, which stretches from the center of the city west to the Pacific Ocean. There are more than 220 parks maintained by the San Francisco Recreation & Parks Department. San Francisco is the first city in the U.S. to have a park within a 10-Minute Walk of every resident. The only park managed by the California State Park system located principally in San Francisco, Candlestick Point was the state's first urban recreation area. The city-owned Lake Merced is a fresh-water lake that houses more than 250 animal species, many of which are endangered. The National Park Service separately administers the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park a fleet of historic ships and waterfront property around Aquatic Park. It also ranks fifth in the US for park access and quality in the 2018 ParkScore ranking of the top 100 park systems across the United United States, according to the nonprofit Trust for Public Land.

Government

San Francisco is a consolidated city-county, a status it has held since the 1856 secession of what is now San Mateo County. It is the only such consolidation in California. The mayor is also the county executive, and the county Board of Supervisors acts as the city council. San Francisco serves as the regional hub for many arms of the federal bureaucracy, including the U.S. Court of Appeals and the Federal Reserve Bank. The municipal budget for fiscal year 201516 was $8.99 billion, and is one of the largest city budgets in the United States. The City of San Francisco spends more per resident than any city other than Washington D.C, over $10,000 in FY 2015-2016. The State of California uses San Francisco as the home of the state supreme court and other state agencies. Foreign governments maintain more than seventy consulates in San Francisco. The city has voted strongly along Democratic Party lines for decades; in 2020, the city voted 85% to 13% in favor of President Joe Biden over Donald Trump. The San Francisco International Airport is owned and operated by the City and County of San SF. The largest jail complex (County Jail No. 5) is located in an unincorporated area adjacent to San Bruno. Until decommissioning in the early 1990s, San Francisco had major military installations at the Presidio, Treasure Island, and Hunters Pointa legacy still reflected in the annual celebration of Fleet Week. In the United United States House of Representatives, San SF is split between California's 12th and 14th districts.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in San Francisco, San Francisco County, California = 57.3. 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 47. 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 80. 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 Francisco = 5.4 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 80,308 individuals with a median age of 41.4 age the population grows by 1.31% in San Francisco, San Francisco County, California population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 17,237.5 residents per square mile of area (6,655.4/km²). There are average 2.31 people per household in the 332,596 households with an average household income of $71,410 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 9.90% 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 18.60%. The number of physicians in San Francisco per 100,000 population = 509.2.

Weather

The annual rainfall in San Francisco = 20.1 inches and the annual snowfall = 0 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 64. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 259. 71 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 42.4 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 75, 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 Francisco, San Francisco County, California which are owned by the occupant = 32.35%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 65 years with median home cost = $676,660 and home appreciation of -7.69%. 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 $5.04 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 $4,523 per student. There are 18.7 students for each teacher in the school, 1927 students for each Librarian and 949 students for each Counselor. 5.62% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 28.35% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 16.10% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).