San Francisco has the fourth highest population in California and is the 14th most populous city in the United States with over 765,000 people living within the city. Over 7.2 million people call the San Francisco metropolitan area home. There are nearly 16,000 people per square mile within the city limits of San Francisco which makes it the second most densely populated city in the United States. The city is also a minority-majority city very mixed in cultures and backgrounds. Only 35 percent of San Francisco’s residents were born in California and over 39 percent of its residents were born outside of the United States.
Filled with landmarks and attractions, San Francisco’s backbone of their economy is tourism. More than 16 million people from around the world visited San Francisco in 2007. With about $8.2 billion coming from tourism each year, it is the fourth most popular city for foreign visitors in the United States. Popular culture has made San Francisco an icon due to movies such as Escape from Alcatraz and Conair and advertising campaigns such as those for Rice-a-Roni, “The San Francisco Treat”. Another popular tourist destination is Pier 39 which is located within Fisherman’s Wharf. Pier 39 draws in the third most number of tourists in the United States per year.
San Francisco is also known as the “Wall Street of the West” due to its large banking district within the city. Remnants of San Francisco’s Gold Rush years, San Francisco is home to many national banks including Wells Fargo and Bank of America as well as the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. Along with these banks, over 30 international banking institutions and six Fortune 500 companies call San Francisco home. Although there are some major companies based in San Francisco, over 85% of the city’s companies have fewer than 10 employees.
In addition to San Francisco’s businesses and tourist destinations, San Francisco also boasts two professional sports teams, the San Francisco 49ers (NFL) and the San Francisco Giants (MLB). In the 1980’s and 1990’s the 49ers were the team to beat in the NFL. With stars such as Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, and Ronnie Lott, they won a total of five super bowls. Although the San Francisco Giants had plenty of talent on their teams with Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, and Barry Bonds, they have yet to win a World Series Title.
