San Francisco–Oakland–Hayward, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area

San Francisco Metropolitan Area officially known as the San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area is a Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) within the San Francisco Bay Area, which includes a number of its core cities and counties. It is the twelfth-most populated metropolitan area in the United States.[1] It is defined by the Office of Management and Budget to include core areas more directly economically influenced by San Francisco rather than other nearby cities such as San Jose which has its own MSA, the San Jose–Sunnyvale–Santa Clara, CA MSA. Until 2013, this MSA was known as the San Francisco–Oakland–Fremont, CA MSA.[2][3]

The Federal Government definition states that it consists of 5 counties, grouped into three divisions.[3] Those 5 counties are San Francisco, Alameda, Marin, Contra Costa, and San Mateo County.[3] The three divisions are Oakland–Hayward–Berkeley (Alameda and Contra Costa Counties), San Francisco–Redwood City–South San Francisco (San Francisco and San Mateo Counties), and San Rafael (Marin County).[3]

The MSA is a subset of the 9 county San Francisco Bay Area, as well as the 12 county Combined Statistical Area, the San Jose–San Francisco–Oakland, CA CSA. Three North Bay counties are not in the MSA; instead Sonoma County comprises the Santa Rosa, CA MSA, Napa County comprises the Napa, CA MSA, and Solano County is the Vallejo–Fairfield, CA MSA.[3]

San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland CSA 2010 Census
The component Metropolitan Statistical Areas and their geographical location within the San Jose–San Francisco–Oakland, CSA. The San Francisco–Oakland–Hayward, CA MSA is in red.


Historical population
Census Pop.
Est. 20184,729,4849.1%
State Census data [1]
2018 estimate: [4]

This region had a 2018 census-estimated population of 4,729,484.[4] With a land area of 2,474 square miles (6,410 km2),[5] the MSA has an average population density of 1,912 people per square mile (738 per km2).

The U.S. Census Bureau estimates the population of this five-county region as of July 1, 2018 as follows:[4]

County 2018 Estimates 2010 Census Change Area Density
Alameda County 1,666,753 1,510,271 +10.36% 738 sq mi (1,910 km2) 2,258/sq mi (872/km2)
Contra Costa County 1,150,215 1,049,025 +9.65% 720 sq mi (1,900 km2) 1,598/sq mi (617/km2)
San Francisco 883,305 805,235 +9.70% 47 sq mi (120 km2) 18,794/sq mi (7,256/km2)
San Mateo County 769,545 718,451 +7.11% 449 sq mi (1,160 km2) 1,714/sq mi (662/km2)
Marin County 259,666 252,409 +2.88% 520 sq mi (1,300 km2) 499/sq mi (193/km2)
Total 4,729,484 4,335,391 +9.09% 2,474 sq mi (6,410 km2) 1,912/sq mi (738/km2)


The GDP of the region was $431.7 billion (nominal) in 2015, a 5.8% annual increase. The region is the 7th largest MSA economy.

The real GDP per capita was $92,465 in 2015 adjusted for inflation, the fourth highest MSA nationally.[6][7]

The real GDP per capita in the adjacent San Jose–Sunnyvale–Santa Clara, CA MSA was $128,276 in 2015 adjusted for inflation, the second highest MSA nationally.[6][7]


There is a vast geographic diversity within this MSA. The region is composed of at least six terrains (continental, seabed, or island arc fragments with distinct characteristics) pushed together over millions of years by the forces of plate tectonics. There are several fault lines running under the Bay Area, such as the San Andreas, Calaveras, and Hayward Faults. There are two distinct regions of the San Francisco–Oakland–Hayward, CA MSA which are separated by the San Francisco Bay. These landscapes range from cool foggy mountains and temperate rainforest on the Peninsula and Marin, to semi-arid, near desert terrain in the easternmost portions of the East Bay.


Bay Area Rapid Transit serves all the counties except Marin. Golden Gate Transit serves Marin, with limited connections to San Francisco and Contra Costa, along with service to outlying Sonoma County. AC Transit serves Alameda and Contra Costa, with connections to San Francisco's transit hub. Commercial air travel is available via San Francisco International Airport, and Oakland International Airport.


In addition to the city and county governments, there are a number of area-wide governmental bodies. Park organizations in the area include the East Bay Regional Parks District and the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. East Bay Municipal Utility District provides water and sewer services to much of the East Bay, with the Marin Municipal Water District providing for parts of Marin County. The Association of Bay Area Governments provides for regional planning. The Bay Area Metropolitan Transportation Commission coordinates transportation projects. The Bay Area Air Quality Management District monitors air quality.


  2. ^ "Federal Statistical Area Delineations". Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
  3. ^ a b c d e "OMB BULLETIN NO. 13-01" (PDF). February 28, 2013. Retrieved June 20, 2017.
  4. ^ a b c Bureau, U.S. Census. "American FactFinder - Results". Retrieved 2019-04-20.
  5. ^ List of counties in California
  6. ^ a b Analysis, US Department of Commerce, BEA, Bureau of Economic. "Bureau of Economic Analysis". Retrieved 2017-08-17.
  7. ^ a b "BLS CPI Inflation Calculator". Bureau of Labor Statistics.

See also

Alameda County, California



Alameda County is included in the San Francisco–Oakland–Hayward, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA Combined Statistical Area.

Contra Costa County, California

Contra Costa County is a county in the state of California in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 1,049,025. The county seat is Martinez. It occupies the northern portion of the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, and is primarily suburban. The county's name is Spanish for "opposite coast", referring to its position on the other side of the bay from San Francisco. Contra Costa County is included in the San Francisco–Oakland–Hayward, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Demographics of San Francisco

The 2010 United States Census reported that San Francisco had a population of 805,235. With a population density of 17,160 per square mile (6,632/km2), San Francisco is the second-most densely populated major American city, behind only New York (among cities greater than 200,000 population).San Francisco is the traditional focal point of the San Francisco Bay Area and forms part of the five-county San Francisco–Oakland–Hayward, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area, a region of 4.6 million people. It is also part of the greater 12-county San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA Combined Statistical Area, whose population is over 8.75 million, making it the fifth-largest in the United States as of July 1, 2016. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates San Francisco's population increased to 870,887 as of July 1, 2016.

List of U.S. metropolitan areas by GDP


This is a list of U.S. metropolitan areas by their gross domestic product.

List of U.S. metropolitan areas by GDP per capita

This is a list of U.S. metropolitan areas by their gross domestic product per capita.

List of United States counties and county equivalents

This article lists the 3,242 counties and county equivalents of the United States. The United States are divided into 3,007 counties, political and geographic subdivisions of a state. 235 other local governments and geographic places are also first-order administrative divisions of their respective state/district/territory, but are called by different names. These are referred to collectively as county equivalents by the United States Census Bureau. The 235 county equivalents include 100 equivalents in the territories (such as those in Puerto Rico), outside the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The large majority of counties and equivalents were organized by 1970. Since that time, most creations, boundary changes and dissolutions have occurred in Alaska and Virginia.Among the 50 states, 44 are partitioned entirely into counties, with no county equivalents. Louisiana is instead divided into 64 equivalent parishes, while Alaska is divided into 19 equivalent boroughs and 10 sparsely populated census areas, the latter also known collectively as the unorganized borough. Virginia is composed of a mixture of 95 counties and 38 independent cities. Maryland, Missouri and Nevada are each composed entirely of counties, except that each also has exactly one independent city: Baltimore, St. Louis, and Carson City, respectively. The District of Columbia is a single federal district. All of the above 135 exceptional cases are reckoned as county equivalents. The number of counties (or equivalents) per state ranges from the three counties of Delaware, to the 254 counties of Texas. In New England, where the town model predominates, several counties have no corresponding local governments, existing only as historical legal and census boundaries. These are the counties of Connecticut and Rhode Island, as well as 8 of Massachusetts' 14 counties. In all, the 50 states consist of 3,141 counties and equivalents. Adding the District of Columbia gives 3,142.

Similarly, the Census Bureau treats 100 subdivisions of the territories of the United States as county equivalents. These are the 78 municipalities of Puerto Rico, the three major islands of the U.S. Virgin Islands, the three districts and two atolls of American Samoa, Guam as a single island and county equivalent, the four municipalities of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the nine island territories of the U.S. Minor Outlying Islands. As in the states, each territorial county equivalent has its own INCITS/FIPS codes.

List of core-based statistical areas

The United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has defined 917 core-based statistical areas (CBSAs) for the United States and 12 for Puerto Rico. The OMB defines a core-based statistical area as one or more adjacent counties or county equivalents that have at least one urban core area of at least 10,000 population, plus adjacent territory that has a high degree of social and economic integration with the core as measured by commuting ties. The 929 Core Based Statistical Areas currently defined by the OMB include the 388 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), which have an urban core population of at least 50,000, and the 541 Micropolitan statistical areas (μSAs), which have an urban core population of at least 10,000 but less than 50,000.

Marin County, California

Marin County is a county located in the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, the population was 252,409. Its county seat is San Rafael. Marin County is included in the San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area (San Francisco Bay Area) across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco.

As of 2010, Marin County had the fifth highest income per capita in the United States at $91,483. The county is governed by the Marin County Board of Supervisors. The county is also well known for its natural environment and liberal politics.



San Francisco




As of 2019, San Francisco is the highest rated American city on world liveability rankings.

The 100 most populous metropolitan statistical areas of the United States of America

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