San Francisco Bay Area

The San Francisco Bay Area is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses the major cities and metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas. The Bay Area's nine counties are Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma. Home to approximately 7.44 million people, the nine-county Bay Area contains many cities, towns, airports, and associated regional, state, and national parks, connected by a network of roads, highways, railroads, bridges, tunnels and commuter rail. The combined statistical area of the region is the second-largest in California (after the Greater Los Angeles area), the fifth-largest in the United States, and the 43rd-largest urban area in the world.

The United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB) does not use the nine-county definition of the San Francisco Bay Area. The OMB has designated a more extensive 12-county Combined Statistical Area (CSA) titled the San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA Combined Statistical Area which also includes the three counties of San Joaquin, Santa Cruz, and San Benito that do not border San Francisco Bay, but are economically tied to the nine counties that do.

The San Francisco Bay Area has the 2nd most Fortune 500 Companies in the United States, and is known for its natural beauty, liberal politics, entrepreneurship, and diversity. The area ranks second in highest density of college graduates, and performs above the state median household income in the 2010 census; it includes the five highest California counties by per capita income and two of the top 25 wealthiest counties in the United States. Based on a 2013 population report from the California Department of Finance, the Bay Area is the only region in California where the rate of people migrating in from other areas in the United States is greater than the rate of those leaving the region, led by Alameda and Contra Costa counties.

Culture
The Bay Area is host to numerous cultural events, including annual festivals and fairs. Many prominent writers make their homes there, and have developed a local literary culture, with a supportive network of booksellers, focused on the Northern California Independent Booksellers Association.

Sports



 * NCAA Division I College Sports
 * California Golden Bears
 * Saint Mary's College Gaels
 * San Francisco Dons
 * San Jose State Spartans
 * Santa Clara Broncos
 * Stanford Cardinal

Motorsports

 * Also, Infineon Raceway (Sonoma, California) is a motorsport track which currently hosts NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and IndyCar Series races.

Classic rock
San Francisco proper was headquarters for the hippie counterculture of the 1960s and the music scene that became associated with it. One of the area's most notable acts was The Grateful Dead, formed in 1965, who played regularly at the legendary venue The Fillmore Auditorium. Other local artists in that movement included Jefferson Airplane and Janis Joplin; all three would be closely associated with the 1967 Summer of Love. Jimi Hendrix, although born in Seattle and later a resident of London, England, had strong connections to the movement and the metropolitan Bay area, as he lived in Berkeley for a brief time as a child and played many local venues in that decade. Creedence Clearwater Revival (of El Cerrito) would gain traction as an associated band of the anti-Vietnam war movement. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame legend Neil Young has lived in the Bay Area in La Honda, CA for more than 40 years. Carlos Santana from San Francisco became famous in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his Santana band which pioneered a blend of rock, salsa, and jazz fusion. Journey formed in 1973 in San Francisco, by former members of Santana. The Doobie Brothers, from San Jose, had a successful career with several albums earning RIAA gold certification. The early 1970s sounds of the Tower of Power from Oakland, Sly and the Family Stone and Pablo Cruise all came from the Bay Area.

Heavy metal
During the 1980s and early 1990s, the Bay Area was home to one of the largest and most influential thrash metal scenes in the world, containing acts like Metallica (although Metallica had initially formed in Los Angeles, it was not until their relocation to El Cerrito in 1983 that Cliff Burton and Kirk Hammett joined as bassist and lead guitarist), Exodus, Laaz Rockit, Death Angel, Vio-lence, Forbidden, and Testament.

Many death metal bands had also formed in the area, including Autopsy, Possessed (considered one of the first in the genre), and in the '90s, Impaled, Exhumed and Vile.

Also, an avant-garde metal scene has emerged in the Bay Area with bands such as Giant Squid, Grayceon, and Ludicra.

Sludge band Neurosis and groove metal/post-thrash bands Machine Head and Skinlab formed in Oakland. In the alternative metal and nu metal scenes worldwide, Faith No More (from San Francisco) and Primus (from El Sobrante, and featuring former Possessed guitarist Larry LaLonde) have been considered progenitors to both subgenres.

Heavy metal/hard rock icon Joe Satriani also hails from the Bay Area (Berkeley).

Alternative rock
Many bands of the 1990s post-grunge era started and still reside in the Bay Area, including Third Eye Blind (of San Francisco), Counting Crows (of Berkeley) and Smash Mouth (of San Jose), all of whom have received extensive radio play across the world and released multi-platinum records during their career.

Punk
The Bay Area saw a large punk movement from the 1970s to the present. Bands such as the Dead Kennedys, The Avengers, Flipper, D.R.I., M.D.C. and Operation Ivy were popular in the '70s and '80s, with later bands such as Rancid, Green Day and AFI all coming out of Berkeley. The Dwarves are residents of San Francisco, and are considered to be pioneers of the punk and hardcore movement.

Rap and hip hop
The Bay Area is the home of the hyphy movement, which started in the early to mid-'90s. The genre which was pioneered by rappers Andre "Mac Dre" Hicks, Too Short, Keak Da Sneak, Mistah Fab, E-40, DJ King Assassin and Yukmouth, is now becoming more popular throughout the world. Hyphy themes such as ghost riding, thizzin' and going dumb are now common in other parts of the country. The Bay Area was also home to rap legend Tupac Shakur who lived in Marin City, about 5 mi north of San Francisco. The rap group Digital Underground originally hailed from Oakland. MC Hammer, and the Hieroglyphics hip hop crew, which is composed of local artists including the Souls of Mischief and Del tha Funkee Homosapien. Cindy Herron of En'Vogue attended Balboa High School in the late 1970s.

Media
The Bay Area is one of the largest media markets in the United States.

According to Nielsen Media Research, the Bay Area ranks (as of the 2005–2006 television season) as the nation's sixth-largest "Designated Market Area (DMA)", with 2,355,740 "TV Homes", representing 2.137% of the United States Total.

The major newspapers are the San Francisco Chronicle, the Oakland Tribune, and the San Jose Mercury News. Local television channels include KTVU 2 (FOX), KRON-TV 4 (myNetworkTV), KPIX 5 (CBS), KGO-TV 7 (ABC), KQED-TV 9 (PBS), KNTV 11 (NBC), KBCW 44/45 (CW), KQEH 54 (PBS), and KKPX 65 (Ion). Radio stations serving the area include: KQED-FM, KMVQ, KOSF, and KGO-AM.

Counties

 * Alameda County (737 sq. mi., excluding water)
 * Contra Costa County (720 sq. mi., excluding water)
 * Marin County (520 sq. mi., excluding water)
 * Napa County (754 sq. mi., excluding water)
 * San Francisco County (47 sq. mi., excluding water)
 * San Mateo County (449 sq. mi., excluding water)
 * Santa Clara County (1,291 sq. mi., excluding water)
 * Solano County (829 sq. mi., excluding water)
 * Sonoma County (1,576 sq. mi., excluding water)

Cities and towns

 * List of cities and towns in the San Francisco Bay Area