Statistics, Stat!

No matter how you crunch the numbers, the San Francisco Bay Area is a top five metropolitan area/media market in America.

Republic of Bay Area

If the Bay Area were a state, it would be the country’s thirteenth-most populous—right between Virginia and Washington.  If the Bay Area were a country, its population would rival that of Switzerland.  With San Francisco, one of the world’s top tourist destinations, sandwiched between Silicon Valley to the south and Wine Country to the north, the Bay Area’s diversity is reflected in its residents, food scene, and economy.

Weather Report

Thanks to its location and topography, even the local climate is “diverse.”  The meteorological term is “microclimates.”  This means the difference in temperature in summer from one end of the Bay Area to another could be as much as 30 degrees Fahrenheit (or 16.7 degrees Celsius).  The fog acts as the region’s natural air conditioner, cooling the western portion of the Bay Area—and surprising tourists in their T-shirts and shorts.  While most places in the continental U.S. are too humid, too cold, or too wet, the Bay Area is devoid of such extremes.

Bluer Than Blue

In terms of politics, California is currently a blue (liberal) state; the Bay Area is a deeper shade of blue.  This nine-county region voted overwhelmingly for Barack Obama in 2008.  Only Washington, D.C., was more solidly behind Obama.

 

Statistics, Stat!

No matter how you crunch the numbers, the San Francisco Bay Area is a top five metropolitan area/media market in America.

Republic of Bay Area

If the Bay Area were a state, it would be the country’s thirteenth-most populous—right between Virginia and Washington.  If the Bay Area were a country, its population would rival that of Switzerland.  With San Francisco, one of the world’s top tourist destinations, sandwiched between Silicon Valley to the south and Wine Country to the north, the Bay Area’s diversity is reflected in its residents, food scene, and economy.

Weather Report

Thanks to its location and topography, even the local climate is “diverse.”  The meteorological term is “microclimates.”  This means the difference in temperature in summer from one end of the Bay Area to another could be as much as 30 degrees Fahrenheit (or 16.7 degrees Celsius).  The fog acts as the region’s natural air conditioner, cooling the western portion of the Bay Area—and surprising tourists in their T-shirts and shorts.  While most places in the continental U.S. are too humid, too cold, or too wet, the Bay Area is devoid of such extremes.

Bluer Than Blue

In terms of politics, California is currently a blue (liberal) state; the Bay Area is a deeper shade of blue.  This nine-county region voted overwhelmingly for Barack Obama in 2008.  Only Washington, D.C., was more solidly behind Obama.

 

People

 

Population

7,420,453

 

Population by County
No. County Population (thousand)
1 Santa Clara 1,869
2 Alameda 1,573
3 Contra Costa 1,087
4 San Francisco 837
5 San Mateo 745
6 Sonoma 490
7 Solano 424
8 Marin 256
9 Napa 139

 

Source:  California Dept. of Finance, 2014

 

Largest Cities in the Bay Area
No. City County Population (thousand)
1 San Jose Santa Clara 1,001
2 San Francisco San Francisco 837
3 Oakland Alameda 404
4 Fremont Alameda 224
5 Santa Rosa Sonoma 170
6 Hayward Alameda 151
7 Sunnyvale Santa Clara 147
8 Concord Contra Costa 125
9 Santa Clara Santa Clara 121
10 Vallejo Solano 118
11 Berkeley Alameda 117
12 Fairfield Solano 110
13 Antioch Contra Costa 106
14 Richmond Contra Costa 106
15 Daly City San Mateo 105
16 San Mateo San Mateo 100
17 Vacaville Solano 94
18 San Leandro Alameda 88
19 Livermore Alameda 85
20 Redwood City San Mateo 81

 

Source:  California Dept. of Finance, 2014

 

Compared to Most Populous States
No. State Population (million)
1 California 39.1
2 Texas 27.5
3 Florida 20.3
4 New York 19.8
5 Illinois 12.9
6 Pennsylvania 12.8
7 Ohio 11.6
8 Georgia 10.2
9 North Carolina 10.0
10 Michigan 9.9
11 New Jersey 9.0
12 Virginia 8.4
- Bay Area 7.4
13 Washington 7.2
14 Arizona 6.8
15 Massachusetts 6.7
16 Indiana 6.6
17 Tennessee 6.6
18 Missouri 6.1
19 Maryland 6.0
20 Wisconsin 5.8

 

Source:  U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Dept. of Commerce, 2015

Market Rankings (Two Views)

 

Combined Statistical Areas
No. Area Population (thousand)
1 New York-Newark-Bridgeport 23,724
2 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside 18,680
3 Chicago-Naperville-Michigan City 9,923
4 Washington (D.C.)-Baltimore-Northern Virginia 9,625
5 San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland* 8,714
6 Boston-Worcester-Manchester 8,153
7 Dallas-Fort Worth 7,504
8 Philadelphia-Camden-Vineland 7,183
9 Houston-Baytown-Huntsville 6,855
10 Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Miami Beach 6,655
11 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Gainesville 6,365
12 Detroit-Warren-Flint 5,320
13 Seattle-Tacoma-Olympia 4,603
- Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale 4,330
14 Minneapolis-St. Paul-St. Cloud 3,867
15 Cleveland-Akron-Elyria 3,494
16 Denver-Aurora-Boulder 3,419
- San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos 3,177
17 Orlando-The Villages 3,129
18 Portland (Ore.)-Vancouver-Beaverton 3,111
19 St. Louis-St. Charles-Farmington 2,916
- Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater 2,843
20 Pittsburgh-New Castle 2,649
21 Charlotte-Gastonia-Salisbury 2,584
22 Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Truckee 2,544
23 Salt Lake City-Ogden-Clearfield 2,468
24 Kansas City (Mo.)-Overland Park-Kansas City (Kan.) 2,428
25 Columbus-Marion-Chillicothe 2,425
26 Indianapolis-Anderson-Columbus 2,373
27 Las Vegas-Paradise-Pahrump 2,362
- San Antonio 2,234
28 Cincinnati-Middletown-Wilmington 2,217
29 Raleigh-Durham-Cary 2,117
30 Milwaukee-Racine-Waukesha 2,046

 

Source:  U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Dept. of Commerce, 2015

* Bay Area + Santa Cruz-Watsonville metropolitan area.

Note that we’ve added some large metropolitan areas that are not defined as combined statistical areas:  Phoenix, San Diego, Tampa, and San Antonio.

 

Media Markets
No. Market 12+ Population (thousand)
1 New York 16,278
2 Los Angeles 11,420
3 Chicago 7,975
4 San Francisco* 6,601
5 Dallas-Fort Worth 5,794
6 Houston-Galveston 5,546
7 Washington, D.C. 4,851
8 Atlanta 4,646
9 Philadelphia 4,572
10 Boston 4,238
11 Miami-Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood 3,969
12 Detroit 3,808
13 Seattle-Tacoma 3,704
14 Phoenix 3,504
15 Puerto Rico 3,029
16 Minneapolis-St. Paul 2,911
17 San Diego 2,810
18 Denver-Boulder 2,611
19 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater 2,584
20 Nassau-Suffolk (Long Island) 2,478
21 Baltimore 2,400
22 St. Louis 2,338
23 Portland, Ore. 2,257
24 Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill 2,205
25 Riverside-San Bernardino 2,048
26 Pittsburgh, Pa. 2,003
27 San Antonio 1,991
28 Sacramento 1,963
29 Salt Lake City-Ogden-Provo 1,844
30 Cincinnati 1,811
31 Las Vegas 1,786
32 Cleveland 1,775
33 Orlando 1,762
34 Kansas City 1,704
35 Austin 1,679
36 San Jose** 1,631
37 Columbus, Ohio 1,623
38 Indianapolis 1,511
39 Hudson Valley 1,510
40 Raleigh-Durham 1,507
- Santa Rosa 431

 

Source:  Nielsen, 2015

* All Bay Area counties except Santa Clara and Sonoma (and more?).
** Santa Clara County.

The bottom line:  Neither ranking system recognizes the nine-county Bay Area as a logical unit.  The U.S. Census Bureau’s definition includes a part of the Monterey Peninsula while the other one ignores a big chunk of the Bay Area.

 

Place

 

Area

6,952 square miles (land)
7,416 square miles (land + water)

 

Compared to Smallest States
No. State Land (sq. miles) Total (sq. miles)
1 Rhode Island 1,231 1,545
2 Delaware 2,397 2,489
3 Connecticut 5,544 5,544
- Bay Area 6,952 7,416
4 New Jersey 8,215 8,722
5 Massachusetts 9,241 10,555
6 Hawaii 6,459 10,932

 

Politics

 

General Election 2008

President: 75.3 percent for Barack Obama

 

Presidential Vote by County
No. County Obama (percent)
1 San Francisco 84.2
2 Alameda 78.6
3 Marin 78.1
- Bay Area 75.3
4 Sonoma 73.8
5 San Mateo 73.6
6 Santa Clara 69.7
7 Contra Costa 68.1
8 Napa 65.2
9 Solano 63.6
- Statewide 60.8

 

Source: California Secretary of State, 2008

 

Presidential Vote Compared to Other States
No. State Obama (percent) Electoral Votes
1 District of Columbia 92 3
- Bay Area 75 -
2 Hawaii [H] 72 4
3 Vermont 67 3
4 New York 63 31
5 Rhode Island 63 4
6 Illinois [H] 62 21
7 Massachusetts 62 12
8 Maryland 62 10
9 Delaware [H] 62 3
10 California 61 55
11 Connecticut 61 7
12 Washington 58 11
13 Maine 58 4
14 Michigan 57 17
15 New Jersey 57 15
16 Oregon 57 7
17 New Mexico* 57 5
18 Wisconsin 56 10
19 Nevada* 55 5
20 Pennsylvania [H] 54 21
21 Minnestoa 54 10
22 Colorado* 54 9
23 Iowa* 54 7
24 New Hampshire 54 4
25 Virginia* 53 13
26 Ohio* 52 20
27 Florida* 51 27
28 North Carolina* 50 15
29 Indiana* 50 11
- Nebraska - 1
  Total 53 365

 

No. State McCain (percent) Electoral Votes
1 Oklahoma 66 7
2 Wyoming 65 3
3 Utah 63 5
4 Idaho [H] 62 4
5 Alabama 60 9
6 Louisiana 59 9
7 Arkansas 59 6
8 Alaska [H] 59 3
9 Tennessee 57 11
10 Kentucky 57 8
11 Kansas 57 6
12 Nebraska 57 4
13 Mississippi 56 6
14 West Virginia 56 5
15 Texas 55 34
16 Arizona [H] 54 10
17 South Carolina 54 8
18 North Dakota 53 3
19 South Dakota 53 3
20 Georgia 52 15
21 Montana 50 3
22 Missouri 49 11
  Total 46 173

 

Source: Federal Election Commission, 2009

* Voted for George W. Bush in 2004.
H – Candidates’ home/birth states.

Note that Maine and Nebraska have the option to split their electoral votes between candidates.

 

California State Proposition 8: 61.4 percent against

 

Proposition 8 by County
No. County No (percent)
1 San Francisco 75.1
2 Marin 75.0
3 Sonoma 66.1
4 Alameda 62.2
5 San Mateo 61.8
- Bay Area 61.4
6 Santa Clara 55.7
7 Contra Costa 55.4
8 Napa 55.1
- Statewide 47.8
9 Solano 43.8

 

Source: California Secretary of State, 2008

 

Work

 

Business

 

Fortune 500 Companies in the Bay Area
County Number City (Number)
Santa Clara 14 San Jose (3), Santa Clara (3), Mountain View (2), Sunnyvale (2), Cupertino (1), Los Gatos (1), Milpitas (1), Palo Alto (1)
San Francisco 6 San Francisco (6)
San Mateo 6 Foster City (2), Menlo Park (1), Redwood City (1), San Mateo (1), South San Francisco (1)
Alameda 4 Dublin (1), Fremont (1), Oakland (1), Pleasanton (1)
Contra Costa 1 San Ramon (1)

 

Fortune 1000 (501-1000) Companies in the Bay Area
County Number City (Number)
Santa Clara 17 San Jose (5), Sunnyvale (4), Mountain View (3), Palo Alto (2), Santa Clara (2), Milpitas (1)
San Francisco 3 San Francisco (3)
San Mateo 3 Redwood City (2), Menlo Park (1)
Alameda 2 Fremont (1), San Leandro (1)
Marin 1 San Rafael (1)

 

Source:  Fortune, 2015

 

Chronicle 200 Companies in the Bay Area
County Number Revenue (billion)
Santa Clara 112 $294.7
San Francisco 24 168.0
Contra Costa 6 164.0
Alameda 29 69.5
San Mateo 20 32.0
Marin 4 2.6
Solano 1 0.4
Napa 0 0
Sonoma 0 0

 

Source:  San Francisco Chronicle, 2005

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