The Census Bureau released revised delineations for urban areas on December 29, 2022. The new criteria (contained in this Federal Register Notice) is based primarily on housing unit density measured at the census block level. The minimum qualifying threshold for inclusion as an urban area is an area that contains at least 2,000 housing units or has a population of at least 5,000 persons. It also eliminates the classification of areas as “urban clusters/urbanized areas”. This represents a change from 2010, where urban areas were defined as areas consisting of 50,000 people or more and urban clusters consisted of at least 2,500 people but less than 50,000 people with at least 1,500 people living outside of group quarters. Due to the new population thresholds for urban areas, 36 urban clusters in California are no longer considered urban areas, leaving California with 193 urban areas after the new criteria was implemented.

The State of California experienced an increase of 1,885,884 in the total urban population, or 5.3%. However, the total urban area population as a percentage of the California total population went down from 95% to 94.2%. For more information about the mapped data, download the Excel spreadsheet here.

Please note that some of the 2020 urban areas have different names or additional place names as a result of the inclusion of housing unit counts as secondary naming criteria.

Please note there are four urban areas that cross state boundaries in Arizona and Nevada. For 2010, only the parts within California are displayed on the map; however, the population and housing estimates represent the entirety of the urban areas. For 2020, the population and housing unit estimates pertains to the areas within California only.

Data for this web application was derived from the 2010 and 2020 Censuses (2010 and 2020 Census Blocks, 2020 Urban Areas, and Counties) and the 2016-2020 American Community Survey (2010 -Urban Areas) and can be found at data.census.gov.

For more information about the urban area delineations, visit the Census Bureau's Urban and Rural webpage and FAQ.

To view more data from the State of California Department of Finance, visit the Demographic Research Unit Data Hub.

This polygon shapefile contains the urbanized areas of California. These data were derived from the TIGER/2000 Urbanized Areas (UA) dataset of the 1990 Census. The Census Bureau defines UAs as an area consisting of a central place(s) and adjacent urban fringe that together have a minimum residential population of at least 50,000 people and generally an overall population density of at least 1,000 people per square mile of land area. The Census Bureau uses published criteria to determine the qualification and boundaries of UAs.The U.S. Census Bureau classifies as urban all territory, population, and housing units located within urbanized areas (UAs). It delineates UA boundaries to encompass densely settled territory, which generally consists of: A cluster of one or more block groups or census blocks each of which has a population density of at least 1,000 people per square mile at the time and, Surrounding block groups and census blocks each of which has a population density of at least 500 people per square mile at the time and, Less densely settled blocks that form enclaves or indentations, or are used to connect discontiguous areas with qualifying densities. This layer is part of the Bay Area Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) GIS Maps and Data collection.

Caltrans is responsible for the decennial production of the Adjusted Urban Area Boundaries for the State of California. The CA 2020 adjusted urban area file represents the current Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) approved Caltrans adjusted urban area boundaries.The Urban Area Boundaries are separated into two classifications based on population:Small Urban Areas: population ranging from 5,000 to 49,999Urbanized Areas: population of 50,000 or moreAccording to Title 23 U.S.C. 101(a)(35) and (36), Small Urban and Urbanized Area boundaries are to be adjusted in cooperation by responsible State and local officials, and subject to approval by the Secretary of Transportation. Adjustments may include the addition of significant transportation corridors and areas of growing urbanization.

This polygon shapefile contains the urbanized areas of California. These data were derived from the TIGER/2000 Urbanized Areas (UA) dataset of the 2000 Census. The Census Bureau defines UAs as an area consisting of a central place(s) and adjacent urban fringe that together have a minimum residential population of at least 50,000 people and generally an overall population density of at least 1,000 people per square mile of land area. The Census Bureau uses published criteria to determine the qualification and boundaries of UAs.The U.S. Census Bureau classifies as urban all territory, population, and housing units located within urbanized areas (UAs). It delineates UA boundaries to encompass densely settled territory, which generally consists of: A cluster of one or more block groups or census blocks each of which has a population density of at least 1,000 people per square mile at the time and, Surrounding block groups and census blocks each of which has a population density of at least 500 people per square mile at the time and, Less densely settled blocks that form enclaves or indentations, or are used to connect discontiguous areas with qualifying densities. This layer is part of the Bay Area Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) GIS Maps and Data collection.

In 2023, the metropolitan area of New York-Newark-Jersey City had the biggest population in the United States. Based on annual estimates from the census, the metropolitan area had around 19.5 million inhabitants, which was a slight decrease from the previous year. The Los Angeles and Chicago metro areas rounded out the top three. What is a metropolitan statistical area? In general, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a core urbanized area with a population of at least 50,000 inhabitants – the smallest MSA is Carson City, with an estimated population of nearly 56,000. The urban area is made bigger by adjacent communities that are socially and economically linked to the center. MSAs are particularly helpful in tracking demographic change over time in large communities and allow officials to see where the largest pockets of inhabitants are in the country. How many MSAs are in the United States? There were 421 metropolitan statistical areas across the U.S. as of July 2021. The largest city in each MSA is designated the principal city and will be the first name in the title. An additional two cities can be added to the title, and these will be listed in population order based on the most recent census. So, in the example of New York-Newark-Jersey City, New York has the highest population, while Jersey City has the lowest. The U.S. Census Bureau conducts an official population count every ten years, and the new count is expected to be announced by the end of 2030.

In 2023, San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara Metro area in California was ranked first with median household income of 153,202 U.S. dollars. The Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area had a median household income of 121,469 U.S. dollars.

VITAL SIGNS INDICATOR Population (LU1)

FULL MEASURE NAME Population estimates

LAST UPDATED October 2019

DESCRIPTION Population is a measurement of the number of residents that live in a given geographical area, be it a neighborhood, city, county or region.

DATA SOURCES U.S Census Bureau: Decennial Census No link available (1960-1990) http://factfinder.census.gov (2000-2010)

California Department of Finance: Population and Housing Estimates Table E-6: County Population Estimates (1961-1969) Table E-4: Population Estimates for Counties and State (1971-1989) Table E-8: Historical Population and Housing Estimates (2001-2018) Table E-5: Population and Housing Estimates (2011-2019) http://www.dof.ca.gov/Forecasting/Demographics/Estimates/

U.S. Census Bureau: Decennial Census - via Longitudinal Tract Database Spatial Structures in the Social Sciences, Brown University Population Estimates (1970 - 2010) http://www.s4.brown.edu/us2010/index.htm

U.S. Census Bureau: American Community Survey 5-Year Population Estimates (2011-2017) http://factfinder.census.gov

U.S. Census Bureau: Intercensal Estimates Estimates of the Intercensal Population of Counties (1970-1979) Intercensal Estimates of the Resident Population (1980-1989) Population Estimates (1990-1999) Annual Estimates of the Population (2000-2009) Annual Estimates of the Population (2010-2017) No link available (1970-1989) http://www.census.gov/popest/data/metro/totals/1990s/tables/MA-99-03b.txt http://www.census.gov/popest/data/historical/2000s/vintage_2009/metro.html https://www.census.gov/data/datasets/time-series/demo/popest/2010s-total-metro-and-micro-statistical-areas.html

CONTACT INFORMATION vitalsigns.info@bayareametro.gov

METHODOLOGY NOTES (across all datasets for this indicator) All legal boundaries and names for Census geography (metropolitan statistical area, county, city, and tract) are as of January 1, 2010, released beginning November 30, 2010, by the U.S. Census Bureau. A Priority Development Area (PDA) is a locally-designated area with frequent transit service, where a jurisdiction has decided to concentrate most of its housing and jobs growth for development in the foreseeable future. PDA boundaries are current as of August 2019. For more information on PDA designation see http://gis.abag.ca.gov/website/PDAShowcase/.

Population estimates for Bay Area counties and cities are from the California Department of Finance, which are as of January 1st of each year. Population estimates for non-Bay Area regions are from the U.S. Census Bureau. Decennial Census years reflect population as of April 1st of each year whereas population estimates for intercensal estimates are as of July 1st of each year. Population estimates for Bay Area tracts are from the decennial Census (1970 -2010) and the American Community Survey (2008-2012 5-year rolling average; 2010-2014 5-year rolling average; 2013-2017 5-year rolling average). Estimates of population density for tracts use gross acres as the denominator.

Population estimates for Bay Area PDAs are from the decennial Census (1970 - 2010) and the American Community Survey (2006-2010 5 year rolling average; 2010-2014 5-year rolling average; 2013-2017 5-year rolling average). Population estimates for PDAs are derived from Census population counts at the tract level for 1970-1990 and at the block group level for 2000-2017. Population from either tracts or block groups are allocated to a PDA using an area ratio. For example, if a quarter of a Census block group lies with in a PDA, a quarter of its population will be allocated to that PDA. Tract-to-PDA and block group-to-PDA area ratios are calculated using gross acres. Estimates of population density for PDAs use gross acres as the denominator.

Annual population estimates for metropolitan areas outside the Bay Area are from the Census and are benchmarked to each decennial Census. The annual estimates in the 1990s were not updated to match the 2000 benchmark.

The following is a list of cities and towns by geographical area: Big Three: San Jose, San Francisco, Oakland Bayside: Alameda, Albany, Atherton, Belmont, Belvedere, Berkeley, Brisbane, Burlingame, Campbell, Colma, Corte Madera, Cupertino, Daly City, East Palo Alto, El Cerrito, Emeryville, Fairfax, Foster City, Fremont, Hayward, Hercules, Hillsborough, Larkspur, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Los Gatos, Menlo Park, Mill Valley, Millbrae, Milpitas, Monte Sereno, Mountain View, Newark, Pacifica, Palo Alto, Piedmont, Pinole, Portola Valley, Redwood City, Richmond, Ross, San Anselmo, San Bruno, San Carlos, San Leandro, San Mateo, San Pablo, San Rafael, Santa Clara, Saratoga, Sausalito, South San Francisco, Sunnyvale, Tiburon, Union City, Vallejo, Woodside Inland, Delta and Coastal: American Canyon, Antioch, Benicia, Brentwood, Calistoga, Clayton, Cloverdale, Concord, Cotati, Danville, Dixon, Dublin, Fairfield, Gilroy, Half Moon Bay, Healdsburg, Lafayette, Livermore, Martinez, Moraga, Morgan Hill, Napa, Novato, Oakley, Orinda, Petaluma, Pittsburg, Pleasant Hill, Pleasanton, Rio Vista, Rohnert Park, San Ramon, Santa Rosa, Sebastopol, Sonoma, St. Helena, Suisun City, Vacaville, Walnut Creek, Windsor, Yountville Unincorporated: all unincorporated towns

20 year Projected Urban Growth scenarios. Base year is 2000. Projected year in this dataset is 2020.

By 2020, most forecasters agree, California will be home to between 43 and 46 million residents-up from 35 million today. Beyond 2020 the size of California's population is less certain. Depending on the composition of the population, and future fertility and migration rates, California's 2050 population could be as little as 50 million or as much as 70 million. One hundred years from now, if present trends continue, California could conceivably have as many as 90 million residents.

Where these future residents will live and work is unclear. For most of the 20th Century, two-thirds of Californians have lived south of the Tehachapi Mountains and west of the San Jacinto Mountains-in that part of the state commonly referred to as Southern California. Yet most of coastal Southern California is already highly urbanized, and there is relatively little vacant land available for new development. More recently, slow-growth policies in Northern California and declining developable land supplies in Southern California are squeezing ever more of the state's population growth into the San Joaquin Valley.

How future Californians will occupy the landscape is also unclear. Over the last fifty years, the state's population has grown increasingly urban. Today, nearly 95 percent of Californians live in metropolitan areas, mostly at densities less than ten persons per acre. Recent growth patterns have strongly favored locations near freeways, most of which where built in the 1950s and 1960s. With few new freeways on the planning horizon, how will California's future growth organize itself in space? By national standards, California's large urban areas are already reasonably dense, and economic theory suggests that densities should increase further as California's urban regions continue to grow. In practice, densities have been rising in some urban counties, but falling in others.

These are important issues as California plans its long-term future. Will California have enough land of the appropriate types and in the right locations to accommodate its projected population growth? Will future population growth consume ever-greater amounts of irreplaceable resource lands and habitat? Will jobs continue decentralizing, pushing out the boundaries of metropolitan areas? Will development densities be sufficient to support mass transit, or will future Californians be stuck in perpetual gridlock? Will urban and resort and recreational growth in the Sierra Nevada and Trinity Mountain regions lead to the over-fragmentation of precious natural habitat? How much water will be needed by California's future industries, farms, and residents, and where will that water be stored? Where should future highway, transit, and high-speed rail facilities and rights-of-way be located? Most of all, how much will all this growth cost, both economically, and in terms of changes in California's quality of life?

Clearly, the more precise our current understanding of how and where California is likely to grow, the sooner and more inexpensively appropriate lands can be acquired for purposes of conservation, recreation, and future facility siting. Similarly, the more clearly future urbanization patterns can be anticipated, the greater our collective ability to undertake sound city, metropolitan, rural, and bioregional planning.

Consider two scenarios for the year 2100. In the first, California's population would grow to 80 million persons and would occupy the landscape at an average density of eight persons per acre, the current statewide urban average. Under this scenario, and assuming that 10% percent of California's future population growth would occur through infill-that is, on existing urban land-California's expanding urban population would consume an additional 5.06 million acres of currently undeveloped land. As an alternative, assume the share of infill development were increased to 30%, and that new population were accommodated at a density of about 12 persons per acre-which is the current average density of the City of Los Angeles. Under this second scenario, California's urban population would consume an additional 2.6 million acres of currently undeveloped land. While both scenarios accommodate the same amount of population growth and generate large increments of additional urban development-indeed, some might say even the second scenario allows far too much growth and development-the second scenario is far kinder to California's unique natural landscape.

This report presents the results of a series of baseline population and urban growth projections for California's 38 urban counties through the year 2100. Presented in map and table form, these projections are based on extrapolations of current population trends and recent urban development trends. The next section, titled Approach, outlines the methodology and data used to develop the various projections. The following section, Baseline Scenario, reviews the projections themselves. A final section, entitled Baseline Impacts, quantitatively assesses the impacts of the baseline projections on wetland, hillside, farmland and habitat loss.

Graph and download economic data for Resident Population in San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA (MSA) (SFCPOP) from 2000 to 2022 about San Francisco, residents, CA, population, and USA.

Graph and download economic data for Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Other Goods in San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA (CBSA) (CUURA422SAGC) from Dec 2009 to Jun 2025 about San Francisco, urban, CA, consumer, goods, CPI, inflation, price index, indexes, price, and USA.

In 20212, the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area in California had the highest per capita income at 64,169 U.S. dollars. The second highest, San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley metro area is also located in California.

This table presents the 2021 population counts for census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations, and their population centres and rural areas.

The list of California Metropolitan Planning Organization is current as of February 2013, provided by Division of Transportation Planning, Office of Regional and Interagency Planning. With the exception of Tahoe Metropolitan Planning Organization (TMPO), all of the MPO boundaries follow county boundaries. Four of these MPOs are multi-county; the other 13 all have a metropolitan area confined to a single county. This MPO feature class was created primarily based on Census 2010 county lines exclude the islands.

VITAL SIGNS INDICATOR
Unemployment (EC3)

FULL MEASURE NAME
Unemployment rate by residential location

LAST UPDATED
December 2022

DESCRIPTION
Unemployment refers to the share of the labor force – by place of residence – that is not currently employed full-time or part-time. The unemployment rate reflects the strength of the overall employment market.

DATA SOURCE
California Employment Development Department: Historical Unemployment Rates
1990-2010
Spreadsheet provided by CAEDD

California Employment Development Department: Labor Force and Unemployment Rate for California Sub-County Areas - https://data.edd.ca.gov/Labor-Force-and-Unemployment-Rates/Labor-Force-and-Unemployment-Rate-for-California-S/8z4h-2ak6
2010-2022

California Employment Development Department: Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) - https://data.edd.ca.gov/Labor-Force-and-Unemployment-Rates/Local-Area-Unemployment-Statistics-LAUS-/e6gw-gvii
1990-2022

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) - https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la
1990-2021

CONTACT INFORMATION
vitalsigns.info@bayareametro.gov

METHODOLOGY NOTES (across all datasets for this indicator)
Unemployment rates produced by the CA Employment Development Department (EDD) for the region and county levels are not adjusted for seasonality (as they reflect annual data) and are final data (i.e., not preliminary). Unemployment rates produced by U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) for the metro regions are annual and not adjusted for seasonality; they reflect the primary metropolitan statistical area (MSA) for the named region, except for the San Francisco Bay Area which uses the nine-county region. The unemployment rate is calculated based on the number of unemployed persons divided by the total labor force. Note that the unemployment rate can decline or increase as a result of changes in either variable.

In 2023, the population of the San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley metropolitan area in the United States was about 4.57 million people. This is a slight decrease from the previous year, when the population was about 4.58 million people.

Data on broad age groups and gender for the population 15 years of age and older in private households of Canada and census metropolitan areas.

Inventory: sa: All Residential: California, MD data was reported at 200.041 Unit th in Jul 2020. This records a decrease from the previous number of 260.467 Unit th for Jun 2020. Inventory: sa: All Residential: California, MD data is updated monthly, averaging 563.130 Unit th from Feb 2012 (Median) to Jul 2020, with 102 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 764.005 Unit th in May 2015 and a record low of 200.041 Unit th in Jul 2020. Inventory: sa: All Residential: California, MD data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Redfin. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.EB026: Inventory of Home for Sale: by Metropolitan Areas: Seasonally Adjusted.

United States Avg Sale to List: All Residential: California, MD data was reported at 99.913 % in Jul 2020. This records an increase from the previous number of 99.344 % for Jun 2020. United States Avg Sale to List: All Residential: California, MD data is updated monthly, averaging 98.047 % from Feb 2012 (Median) to Jul 2020, with 102 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 100.816 % in Jan 2018 and a record low of 95.803 % in Sep 2015. United States Avg Sale to List: All Residential: California, MD data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Redfin. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.EB050: Average Sales to List: by Metropolitan Areas.

In 2023, the real GDP of the Los Angeles metro area amount to around 1.08 trillion U.S. dollars, and increase after 2021. The overall quarterly GDP growth in the United States can be found here. Gross domestic product of Los AngelesWith a population of over 12.8 million inhabitants in 2023, Los Angeles is the second-largest city in America, following only New York. The Los Angeles metro area also ranked second among U.S. metro areas in terms of gross metropolitan product, second again only to New York City metro area, which came in with a GMP of 1.99 trillion U.S. dollars to Los Angeles’ 1.13 trillion U.S. dollars in the fiscal year of 2021. Chicago metro area ranked third with GMP of 757.2 billion U.S. dollars. Additional detailed statistics about GDP in the United States is available here. Despite Los Angeles’ high GDP, L.A. did not do as well as some cities in terms of median household income. Los Angeles ranked 9th with a median household income of 76,135 U.S. dollars annually in 2022. This was slightly higher than the median household income of the United States in 2022, which came in at 74,580 U.S. dollars annually. Located in Southern California, Los Angeles is home to Hollywood, the famous epicenter of the U.S. film and television industries. The United States is one of the leading film markets worldwide, producing 449 films in 2022, many of them produced by Hollywood-based studios. In 2018, movie ticket sales in North America generated over 11.89 billion U.S. dollars in box office revenue. Famous Hollywood actresses earn millions annually, with the best paid, Sofia Vergara, earning 43 million U.S. dollars in 2020. Second on the list was Angelina Jolie with earnings of 35.5 million U.S. dollars.