San Francisco is a very large coastal city (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of California. With a population of 808,988 people and 242 associated neighborhoods, San Francisco is the fourth largest community in California. Much of the housing stock in San Francisco was built prior to World War II, making it one of the older and more historic cities in the country.

San Francisco home prices are not only among the most expensive in California, but San Francisco real estate also consistently ranks among the most expensive in America.

Also of interest is that San Francisco has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.

Of important note, San Francisco is also a city of artists. San Francisco has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape San Francisco’s character.

One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 23.39% of the workforce. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce this is high compared to the rest of the county. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.

San Francisco is a popular destination for single career-starters. One thing that you will notice when you are out and about town is that there is a large population of people who are young, single, educated, and upwardly-mobile career starters out at restaurants, listening to live music, and enjoying other activities. They are a real visible part of the culture of San Francisco. This makes San Francisco a good place to live for young professionals. With so many people in this demographic, San Francisco presents many opportunities for single professionals to enjoy themselves, socialize, and to create lasting relationships.

One of the nice things about San Francisco is that it is nautical, which means that parts of it are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and bays. Because of this, visitors and locals will often go to these areas to take in the scenery or to enjoy waterfront activities.

One downside of living in San Francisco, however, is that residents on average have to contend with a long commute, spending on average 32.66 minutes every day commuting to work. It is, however, a pedestrian-friendly city. Many of its neighborhoods are dense enough and have amenities close enough together that people find it feasible to get around on foot. In addition, local public transit is widely used. For those who would prefer to avoid driving entirely and leave their car at home, it may be an option to use the transit instead.

One of the benefits of being a big city like San Francisco is having a public transportation system, but in San Francisco the transit system is the mode of choice for lots of people getting to and from work every day. You will find many people using the bus for their daily commute, even though other transportation options exist. If you ask these commuters, many will tell you that not having to drive in the snarl of big city traffic is one of main reasons for leaving the car at home, or even not owning a car at all. With so many people taking the bus San Francisco benefits from a reduction in air pollution and traffic.

If knowledge is power, San Francisco is a pretty powerful place. 59.79% of the adults in San Francisco have earned a 4-year college degree, masters degree, MD, law degree, or even PhD. Compare that to the national average of 21.84% for all cities and towns.

The per capita income in San Francisco in 2022 was $86,186, which is wealthy relative to California and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $344,744 for a family of four. However, San Francisco contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

San Francisco is an extremely ethnically-diverse city. The people who call San Francisco home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of San Francisco residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. San Francisco also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 15.45% of the city’s residents. Important ancestries of people in San Francisco include Irish, German, English, Italian, and French.

In addition, San Francisco has a lot of people living here who were born outside of the US (33.86%).

The most common language spoken in San Francisco is English. Other important languages spoken here include Chinese and Spanish.