San Francisco Bay Area - Demographics

Demographics

According to the 2010 United States Census, the population was 7.15 million in the nine counties bordering the San Francisco Bay. In 2010 the racial makeup of the nine-county Bay Area was 52.5% White including white Hispanic, 6.7% non-Hispanic African American, 0.7% Native American, 23.3% Asian (7.9% Chinese, 5.1% Filipino, 3.3% Indian, 2.5% Vietnamese, 1.0% Korean, 0.9% Japanese, 0.2% Pakistani, 0.2% Cambodian, 0.2% Laotian, 0.1% Thai, 0.1% Burmese), 0.6% Pacific Islander (0.1% Tongan, 0.1% Samoan, 0.1% Fijian, >0.1% Guamanian, >0.1% Native Hawaiian), 10.8% from other races, and 5.4% from two or more races. The population was 23.5% Hispanic or Latino of any race (17.9% Mexican, 1.3% Salvadoran, 0.6% Guatemalan, 0.6% Puerto Rican, 0.5% Nicaraguan, 0.3% Peruvian, 0.2% Cuban).

The Chinese population of the Bay Area is concentrated in San Francisco, where 30% of the Bay Area's Chinese American population resides, as well as in Oakland and in the Silicon Valley region of the South Bay, which is also home to a significant Indian American community. The San Francisco Bay Area is home to over 382,950 Filipino Americans, one of the largest communities of Filipino people outside of the Philippines with the largest proportion of Filipino Americans concentrating themselves within Daly City. There are more than one hundred thousand people of Vietnamese ancestry residing within San Jose city limits, the largest population of any city in the world outside of Vietnam. There is a sizable community of Korean Americans in Santa Clara County, and there is a large strip of Korean restaurants and businesses located in Santa Clara. East Bay cities such as Richmond and Oakland, and the North Bay city of Santa Rosa, have plentiful populations of Laotian and Cambodians in certain neighborhoods.

Pacific Islanders such as Samoans and Tongans have the largest presence in East Palo Alto, San Mateo, San Bruno, Redwood City and the Bayview-Hunters Point and Visitacion Valley neighborhoods of San Francisco.

The Latino population is widely spread out through the Bay Area, but have largest populations in San Jose, in The Peninsula the cities of Redwood City, East Palo Alto, South San Francisco, as well the cities of San Mateo, and Daly City. East Bay cities namely Oakland, Richmond, Concord and Antioch, and in Sonoma County. San Francisco's Mission District is home to a thriving Mexican American community, as well as many residents of Salvadoran and Guatemalan descent.

The African American population of the San Francisco Bay Area has always been significant in Oakland and Richmond, but other East Bay cities such as Antioch have received an influx of black residents. While mainly concentrated in the East Bay and in San Francisco, there are well established black neighborhoods located in the North Bay and in the South Bay. The South Park neighborhood of Santa Rosa was home to once a primarily black community until the 1980s, when many Latino immigrants settled in the area. The Marin City community in Marin County has a significant black population. In the South Bay, East Palo Alto has the highest population of African Americans.

San Francisco's North Beach district is considered the Little Italy of the city, and was once home to a significant Italian American community. San Francisco and Marin County both have substantial Jewish communities.

In 2007 the population density was 1,057 people per square mile. There were 2,499,702 housing units with an average family size of 3.3. Of the 2,499,702 households, approximately one-third were renter occupied housing units, while two-thirds were owner occupied housing units. 12.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 11.6% of households had someone 65 years of age or older, and 27.4% of households were non-families.

The San Francisco Bay Area is one of the wealthiest regions in the United States, due, primarily, to the economic power engines of San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose. Pleasanton has the second highest household income in the country after New Canaan, CT. However, discretionary income is very comparable with the rest of the country, primarily because the higher cost of living offsets the increased income.

Forty-seven Bay Area residents made the Forbes magazine's 400 richest Americans list, published in 2007. Thirteen live within San Francisco proper, placing it seventh among cities in the world. Among the forty-seven were several well-known names such as Steve Jobs, George Lucas, and Charles Schwab. The highest-ranking resident is Larry Ellison of Oracle at No. 4. He is worth $19.5 billion.

A study by Capgemini indicates that in 2009, 4.5% of all households within the San Francisco-Oakland and San Jose metropolitan areas held $1 million in investable assets, placing the region No. 1 in the United States (Metro New York City placed second at 4.3%).

As of 2007, there were approximately 80 public companies with annual revenues of over $1 billion a year, and 5–10 more private companies. Nearly 2/3 of these are in the Silicon Valley section of the Bay Area. According to the May 2010 Fortune Magazine analysis of the US "Fortune 500" companies, the combined San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland metropolitan region ranks second (after metro New York City and before Chicago) with 30 companies (May 2011, Fortune Magazine).