San Francisco

United States of America COUNTRY

913,900 CITY POPULATION

Mayor-Council GOVERNMENT TYPE

Introduction

San Francisco, city and port, coextensive with San Francisco county, northern California, U.S., located on a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay. It is a cultural and financial centre of the western United States and one of the country’s most cosmopolitan cities. A popular tourist destination, San Francisco is known for its cool summers, fog, steep rolling hills, eclectic mix of architecture, and landmarks, including the Golden Gate Bridge, cable cars, the former Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary, Fisherman's Wharf, and its Chinatown district.

Data and facts

Between 2017 and 2018 the population of San Francisco, CA declined from 884,363 to 883,305, a -0.12% decrease and its median household income grew from $110,816 to $112,376, a 1.41% increase.
The population of San Francisco, CA is 40% White Alone, 34.1% Asian Alone, and 15.2% Hispanic or Latino. 41.1% of the people in San Francisco, CA speak a non-English language, and 87.6% are U.S. citizens.
The median property value in San Francisco, CA is $1.2M, and the homeownership rate is 37.6%.
Most people in San Francisco, CA commute by Public Transit, and the average commute time is 30.9 minutes. The average car ownership in San Francisco, CA is 1 car per household.
San Francisco was part of Mexico until the Mexican-American War in 1848.
During the Depression, not a single San Francisco-based bank failed. Business was so good that the city constructed the Oakland Bay Bridge and the Golden Gate Bridge during the Depression.
In 1901, the city outlawed burials. Most of its cemeteries are in Colma, Calif. There, the dead outnumber the living by over 1000 to 1.
The first bubonic plague epidemic in the continental US broke out in SF’s Chinatown in 1900.
The United Nations Charter was drafted and ratified in San Francisco in 1945.
The Chinese fortune cookie was invented by a Japanese resident of San Francisco.
The bear on California’s state flag is modeled after a California grizzly named Monarch, who was held at Golden Gate Park.
The U.S. Navy originally planned on painting the Golden Gate Bridge black with yellow stripes. The famed “International Orange” color was supposed to be a sealant.

Administration

Unlike any other California city, San Francisco (incorporated 1850) has a consolidated city-county government. The 1932 freeholders’ charter, under which the city-county still operates, provides the mayor with strong executive powers but delegates substantial authority to a chief administrative officer (appointed by the mayor) and a controller. The legislative authority is lodged with an elected board of supervisors. The other key officials, who are both appointed, are the superintendent of schools and the manager of utilities.

Economy

San Francisco has an unemployment rate of 2.4%. The US average is 3.9%. It has seen the job market increase by 1.3% over the last year. Future job growth over the next ten years is predicted to be 39.1%, which is higher than the US average of 33.5%.

Tax Rates for San Francisco

The Sales Tax Rate for San Francisco is 8.5%. The US average is 7.3%.
The Income Tax Rate for San Francisco is 9.3%. The US average is 4.6%.
Tax Rates can have a big impact when Comparing Cost of Living.

Income and Salaries for San Francisco

The average income of a San Francisco resident is $49,986 a year. The US average is $28,555 a year.
The Median household income of a San Francisco resident is $78,378 a year. The US average is $53,482 a year.

Infrastructure

The backbone of San Francisco is our horizontal infrastructure; the streets, water, power, and sewer systems that make living in a city possible. Many of these projects function invisibly to many residents. They run underground, are walked over, and are turned on with the flick of a switch or turn of a faucet. The basic infrastructure systems that the City invests in provide basic services and also contribute to City-wide goals of environmental sustainability, pedestrian safety, and a more beautiful and livable city. It is imperative that the City maintain these assets in a state of good repair given the essential nature of these systems. Proactive maintenance ensures the steady provision of services and is less costly than fixing problems that have degraded beyond repair.

Technology

The San Francisco Bay Area has the largest concentration of high-tech companies in the United States, at 387,000 high-tech jobs, of which Silicon Valley accounts for 225,300 high-tech jobs. Silicon Valley has the highest concentration of high-tech workers of any metropolitan area, with 285.9 out of every 1,000 private-sector workers. Silicon Valley has the highest average high-tech salary in the United States at $144,800. Largely a result of the high technology sector, the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area has the most millionaires and the most billionaires in the United States per capita. Silicon Valley is a region in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology, innovation, and social media. It corresponds roughly to the geographical Santa Clara Valley, although its boundaries have increased in recent decades. San Jose is the Valley's largest city, the third-largest in California, and the tenth-largest in the United States; other major Silicon Valley cities include (in order of decreasing population) Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, Redwood City, Mountain View, Palo Alto, Menlo Park, and Cupertino. The San Jose Metropolitan Area has the third-highest GDP per capita in the world (after Zurich, Switzerland and Oslo, Norway), according to the Brookings Institution.

Social Wellness and Human Resources

Education

In true West Coast spirit, the San Francisco public education and school system is a little left of centre when compared with the rest of the country. There are also plenty of private schools to choose from in San Francisco, including international schools offering foreign curricula.

Public schools in San Francisco: Unlike most school districts in America, children in San Francisco do not necessarily attend public schools based on their residential address. The city tries to maintain even demographics in each school based on income, race and language.

Private schools in San Francisco: Many expats opt to send their children to one of the many private schools in San Francisco. Choosing and being accepted into one of these is often a difficult process that involves testing and interviews.

International schools in San Francisco: International schools in San Francisco are popular with expats as they can accommodate students previously studying in different curricula. This includes schools that offer French, German and Chinese education. Teaching is typically in the language associated with the school's country of origin so that expats can be taught in their home language.

Homeschooling in San Francisco: Homeschooling is legal in the state of California and for the most part, parents are free to conduct their child's education as they wish. Regulations do require that all children are given some form of schooling from ages 6 to 18.

Special needs education in San Francisco: Children with special needs are well provided for in San Francisco as there are a number of resources available.

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