The San Francisco Bay Area, also known as the Bay Area, is a geographically diverse metropolitan area that surrounds the San Francisco Bay in Northern California. Home to more than eight million people, it is composed of cities, towns, military bases, airports, and associated regional, state, and national parks sprawled over nine counties (ten, according to some agencies) and connected by a massive network of roads, highways, railroads, and commuter rail.
The Bay Area, unlike the typical metropolitan area, contains several distinct urban and suburban centers. While San Jose is the largest city in the Bay Area (having surpassed San Francisco in the 1990 census), for most of its history San Francisco was the largest city in the region. The area containing the city of San Francisco, together with Oakland and San Jose, is the sixth-largest consolidated metropolitan area in the United States.The following lists are based on the ten-county definition of the Bay Area. Cities in bold serve as county seat. The places listed in italics are located in Santa Cruz county, which is excluded by the nine-county definition.
Counties
* Alameda County
* Contra Costa County
* Marin County
* Napa County
* San Francisco County
* San Mateo County
* Santa Clara County
* Santa Cruz County
* Solano County
* Sonoma County
Cities with more than 200,000 inhabitants
* San Jose, 953,679
* San Francisco, 799,263
* Oakland, 412,318
* Fremont, 210,158
Cities with 100,000 to 200,000 inhabitants
* Antioch
* Berkeley
* Concord
* Daly City
* Fairfield
* Hayward
* Richmond
* Santa Clara
* Santa Rosa
* Sunnyvale
* Vallejo
Municipalities and suburbs with 10,000 to 100,000 inhabitants
* Alameda
* Alamo
* Albany
* American Canyon
* Ashland
* Bay Point
* Belmont
* Benicia
* Blackhawk-Camino Tassajara
* Brentwood
* Burlingame
* Campbell
* Capitola
* Castro Valley
* Cherryland
* Clayton
* Cupertino
* Danville
* Dixon
* Dublin
* East Palo Alto
* El Cerrito
* El Sobrante
* Foster City
* Gilroy
* Half Moon Bay
* Healdsburg
* Hercules
* Hillsborough
* Lafayette
* Larkspur
* Live Oak
* Livermore
* Los Altos
* Los Gatos
* Martinez
* Menlo Park
* Mill Valley
* Millbrae
* Milpitas
* Moraga
* Morgan Hill
* Mountain View (Santa Clara Co.)
* Napa
* Newark
* Novato
* Oakley
* Orinda
* Pacifica
* Palo Alto
* Petaluma
* Piedmont
* Pinole
* Pittsburg
* Pleasant Hill
* Pleasanton
* Redwood City
* Rohnert Park
* San Anselmo
* San Bruno
* San Carlos
* San Leandro
* San Lorenzo
* San Mateo
* San Pablo
* San Rafael
* San Ramon
* Santa Cruz
* Saratoga
* Scotts Valley
* South San Francisco
* Stanford
* Suisun City
* Tamalpais-Homestead Valley
* Union City
* Vacaville
* Walnut Creek
* Watsonville
* Windsor
Municipalities and suburbs with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants
* Amesti
* Angwin
* Aptos
* Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley
* Atherton
* Bayview-Montalvin
* Belvedere
* Ben Lomond
* Bethel Island
* Black Point-Green Point
* Bodega Bay
* Bolinas
* Bonny Doon
* Boyes Hot Springs
* Boulder Creek
* Brisbane
* Broadmoor
* Buena Vista
* Burbank
* Byron
* Calistoga
* Cloverdale
* Clyde
* Colma
* Corralitos
* Corte Madera
* Cotati
* Crockett
* Day Valley
* Deer Park
* Diablo
* Dillon Beach
* Discovery Bay
* East Richmond Heights
* East Foothills
* El Granada
* El Verano
* Eldridge
* Elmira
* Emeryville
* Fairfax
* Fairview
* Felton
* Fetters Hot Springs-Agua Caliente
* Forestville
* Freedom
* Fruitdale
* Glen Ellen
* Graton
* Green Valley
* Guerneville
* Highlands-Baywood Park
* Interlaken
* Inverness
* Kensington
* Kentfield
* Kenwood
* Knightsen
* La Honda
* Lagunitas-Forest Knolls
* Larkfield-Wikiup
* Lexington Hills
* Loma Mar
* Los Altos Hills
* Loyola
* Lucas Valley-Marinwood
* Montara
* Monte Rio
* Monte Sereno
* Moss Beach
* Mount Eden
* Mount Hermon
* Mountain View, Contra Costa Co.
* Muir Beach
* Occidental
* Opal Cliffs
* Pacheco
* Pescadero
* Point Reyes Station
* Port Costa
* Portola Valley
* Rio del Mar
* Rio Vista
* Rodeo
* Rollingwood
* Roseland
* Ross
* Saint Helena
* San Geronimo
* San Gregorio
* San Martin
* Santa Venetia
* Sausalito
* Sebastopol
* Seven Trees
* Sonoma
* Soquel
* Stinson Beach
* Strawberry
* Sunol
* Sunol-Midtown
* Tara Hills
* Temelec
* Tiburon
* Tomales
* Twin Lakes
* Vine Hill
* Waldon
* West Menlo Park
* Woodacre
* Woodside
* Yountville
The Bay Area, unlike the typical metropolitan area, contains several distinct urban and suburban centers. While San Jose is the largest city in the Bay Area (having surpassed San Francisco in the 1990 census), for most of its history San Francisco was the largest city in the region. The area containing the city of San Francisco, together with Oakland and San Jose, is the sixth-largest consolidated metropolitan area in the United States.The following lists are based on the ten-county definition of the Bay Area. Cities in bold serve as county seat. The places listed in italics are located in Santa Cruz county, which is excluded by the nine-county definition.
Counties
* Alameda County
* Contra Costa County
* Marin County
* Napa County
* San Francisco County
* San Mateo County
* Santa Clara County
* Santa Cruz County
* Solano County
* Sonoma County
Cities with more than 200,000 inhabitants
* San Jose, 953,679
* San Francisco, 799,263
* Oakland, 412,318
* Fremont, 210,158
Cities with 100,000 to 200,000 inhabitants
* Antioch
* Berkeley
* Concord
* Daly City
* Fairfield
* Hayward
* Richmond
* Santa Clara
* Santa Rosa
* Sunnyvale
* Vallejo
Municipalities and suburbs with 10,000 to 100,000 inhabitants
* Alameda
* Alamo
* Albany
* American Canyon
* Ashland
* Bay Point
* Belmont
* Benicia
* Blackhawk-Camino Tassajara
* Brentwood
* Burlingame
* Campbell
* Capitola
* Castro Valley
* Cherryland
* Clayton
* Cupertino
* Danville
* Dixon
* Dublin
* East Palo Alto
* El Cerrito
* El Sobrante
* Foster City
* Gilroy
* Half Moon Bay
* Healdsburg
* Hercules
* Hillsborough
* Lafayette
* Larkspur
* Live Oak
* Livermore
* Los Altos
* Los Gatos
* Martinez
* Menlo Park
* Mill Valley
* Millbrae
* Milpitas
* Moraga
* Morgan Hill
* Mountain View (Santa Clara Co.)
* Napa
* Newark
* Novato
* Oakley
* Orinda
* Pacifica
* Palo Alto
* Petaluma
* Piedmont
* Pinole
* Pittsburg
* Pleasant Hill
* Pleasanton
* Redwood City
* Rohnert Park
* San Anselmo
* San Bruno
* San Carlos
* San Leandro
* San Lorenzo
* San Mateo
* San Pablo
* San Rafael
* San Ramon
* Santa Cruz
* Saratoga
* Scotts Valley
* South San Francisco
* Stanford
* Suisun City
* Tamalpais-Homestead Valley
* Union City
* Vacaville
* Walnut Creek
* Watsonville
* Windsor
Municipalities and suburbs with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants
* Amesti
* Angwin
* Aptos
* Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley
* Atherton
* Bayview-Montalvin
* Belvedere
* Ben Lomond
* Bethel Island
* Black Point-Green Point
* Bodega Bay
* Bolinas
* Bonny Doon
* Boyes Hot Springs
* Boulder Creek
* Brisbane
* Broadmoor
* Buena Vista
* Burbank
* Byron
* Calistoga
* Cloverdale
* Clyde
* Colma
* Corralitos
* Corte Madera
* Cotati
* Crockett
* Day Valley
* Deer Park
* Diablo
* Dillon Beach
* Discovery Bay
* East Richmond Heights
* East Foothills
* El Granada
* El Verano
* Eldridge
* Elmira
* Emeryville
* Fairfax
* Fairview
* Felton
* Fetters Hot Springs-Agua Caliente
* Forestville
* Freedom
* Fruitdale
* Glen Ellen
* Graton
* Green Valley
* Guerneville
* Highlands-Baywood Park
* Interlaken
* Inverness
* Kensington
* Kentfield
* Kenwood
* Knightsen
* La Honda
* Lagunitas-Forest Knolls
* Larkfield-Wikiup
* Lexington Hills
* Loma Mar
* Los Altos Hills
* Loyola
* Lucas Valley-Marinwood
* Montara
* Monte Rio
* Monte Sereno
* Moss Beach
* Mount Eden
* Mount Hermon
* Mountain View, Contra Costa Co.
* Muir Beach
* Occidental
* Opal Cliffs
* Pacheco
* Pescadero
* Point Reyes Station
* Port Costa
* Portola Valley
* Rio del Mar
* Rio Vista
* Rodeo
* Rollingwood
* Roseland
* Ross
* Saint Helena
* San Geronimo
* San Gregorio
* San Martin
* Santa Venetia
* Sausalito
* Sebastopol
* Seven Trees
* Sonoma
* Soquel
* Stinson Beach
* Strawberry
* Sunol
* Sunol-Midtown
* Tara Hills
* Temelec
* Tiburon
* Tomales
* Twin Lakes
* Vine Hill
* Waldon
* West Menlo Park
* Woodacre
* Woodside
* Yountville
by gostupid November 10, 2006
The area surrounding the San Francisco Bay. Includes North Bay, East Bay, South Bay and the Peninsula.
Do noth confuse with wannabe Bay Areas like Memphis.
99.999999999999999999% of the time it's refering to the place in the NorCal.
Do noth confuse with wannabe Bay Areas like Memphis.
99.999999999999999999% of the time it's refering to the place in the NorCal.
John: I'm from the Bay Area.
Dan: Cool, how's the weather?
John: Crappy.
Dan: Oh, so you're definitely not talking about the REAL Bay Area in California.
John: Uhhh I was talking about Memphis.
Dan: Dude, ur hella crazy. Get with it!
Dan: Cool, how's the weather?
John: Crappy.
Dan: Oh, so you're definitely not talking about the REAL Bay Area in California.
John: Uhhh I was talking about Memphis.
Dan: Dude, ur hella crazy. Get with it!
by GYO October 12, 2006
Usually refers to San Francisco (sco), Oakland, san jose, vallejo, Richmond, etc. Does not refer to Sacramento, modesto, and all those wanna-be towns.
Sacramento is not the bay area.
by Raymonddd February 05, 2007
Generally, the nine counties that have contact with San Francisco Bay. Clockwise they are: Contra Costa, Alameda, Santa Clara, San Mateo, San Francisco, Marin, Sonoma, Napa and Solano counties.
The Bay Area is very distinct and unmistakable to those who are familiar with it's culture and lifestyle. Outsiders often don't get it. You can't fake being from the bay. When you say "frisco", you give yourself away. Bay Area people don't say that.
The term Bay Area as mentioned, almost invariably refers to the San Francisco Bay Area. Other regions that carry this name only do so within their local areas. Some other terms heard in the bay area such as "the south bay" are used in a few other places, most notably in San Diego where there is also a south bay.
The Bay Area is very distinct and unmistakable to those who are familiar with it's culture and lifestyle. Outsiders often don't get it. You can't fake being from the bay. When you say "frisco", you give yourself away. Bay Area people don't say that.
The term Bay Area as mentioned, almost invariably refers to the San Francisco Bay Area. Other regions that carry this name only do so within their local areas. Some other terms heard in the bay area such as "the south bay" are used in a few other places, most notably in San Diego where there is also a south bay.
bay area Contra Costa, Alameda, Santa Clara, San Mateo, San Francisco, Marin, Sonoma, Napa and Solano counties.
by megascops July 05, 2009
northern cali iz wat itz all about.
oakland,EPA,san fran,vallejo,u city,san jo,richmond,
sunnyvale,fremont,and others.
But ppel mostly notice da 1st four
known for goin stpid dumb retarded man!
goin hyphy
WE DONT REP CALIFORNIA
WE REP DA BAY!
GO STUPID BAY AREA!
oakland,EPA,san fran,vallejo,u city,san jo,richmond,
sunnyvale,fremont,and others.
But ppel mostly notice da 1st four
known for goin stpid dumb retarded man!
goin hyphy
WE DONT REP CALIFORNIA
WE REP DA BAY!
GO STUPID BAY AREA!
by reppinda408 September 02, 2006
bay area is in nor cal.. frisco area of course.. redwood city, oak, sunnyvale, san jose, frisco, etc.
by jenna August 16, 2004
the bay that is located in Northern Califoolia....the bay consists of towns such as oakland, frisco, sac, valley jo, EPA, richmond, SAN CARLOS, RWC ( and disregard belmont). People in the bay get hyphy and stupid off a THIZZZZZ
by TCz September 10, 2005