San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA Metro Area
The San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metro area is made up of 5 counties in California: Alameda, Contra Costa, San Francisco, San Mateo, and Marin, largest first. About 4,630,041 people lived there on July 1, 2025 (Census estimate), 2.6% fewer than in April 2020.
- Population, July 2025
- 4,630,041 2.6% fewer than in April 2020
- Type
- Metropolitan statistical area
- Counties
- 5: 4 central, 1 outlying
- Land area
- 2,470 sq mi (6,397 km²)
- Time zone
- Pacific TimeUTC-08:00 in January; UTC-07:00 in July
- State
- California
- Combined statistical area
- San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA
- CBSA code
- 41860
Counties in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metro area, largest first
| County | Role | Population, July 2025 | Share of the area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alameda County | Central | 1,636,630 | 35.3% |
| Contra Costa County | Outlying | 1,170,070 | 25.3% |
| San Francisco County | Central | 826,079 | 17.8% |
| San Mateo County | Central | 743,568 | 16.1% |
| Marin County | Central | 253,694 | 5.5% |
A central county holds the area’s core, an urban area of at least 50,000 people. An outlying county is in the area because of commuting: at least a quarter of its workers have jobs in the central counties, or at least a quarter of the people working there live in them. A county belongs to one metro or micro area at most, and it counts whole, countryside included.
Principal cities, largest first
- San Francisco830,235 people
- Oakland439,418 people
- Fremont228,295 people
- Berkeley120,257 people
- San Mateo103,105 people
- San Ramon85,993 people
- Livermore85,522 people
- Redwood City82,447 people
- Pleasanton76,960 people
- Walnut Creek70,088 people
- South San Francisco64,305 people
- San Rafael60,433 people
OMB names the area after its largest principal cities. A principal city is the area’s largest city, plus any other city that is very large or a big job center, and smaller ones with at least as many jobs as working residents (2020 Census and commuting figures). People counts are American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates.
Metropolitan divisions
The San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metro area is big enough to be split into 3 metropolitan divisions, each a job center with the counties that commute to it.
- Oakland-Fremont-Berkeley, CA: Alameda County and Contra Costa County
- San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, CA: San Francisco County and San Mateo County
- San Rafael, CA: Marin County
Part of the San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA combined statistical area
OMB joins neighboring metro and micro areas into a combined statistical area when enough people commute between them. The other 7 areas in this one, largest first:
- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA Metro Area1,984,473 people
- Stockton-Lodi, CA Metro Area823,815 people
- Modesto, CA Metro Area557,719 people
- Vallejo, CA Metro Area455,376 people
- Merced, CA Metro Area297,260 people
- Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA Metro Area258,852 people
- Napa, CA Metro Area132,949 people
Bordering metro and micro areas, nearest first
Areas with a county on this area’s edge. Distances are straight lines between the areas’ largest cities.
- Vallejo, CA Metro Area49 mi northeast
- Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA Metro Area53 mi north
- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA Metro Area73 mi southeast
- Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA Metro Area76 mi southeast
- Stockton-Lodi, CA Metro Area96 mi east
- Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA Metro Area103 mi northeast
- Modesto, CA Metro Area111 mi east
Before using this answer on a form
A metro or micro area is a statistical area that OMB draws for federal statistics. It is not a city, a local government or a mailing address, and it is not a measure of urban and rural: whole counties count, rural parts included. Programs that use metro areas, such as housing income limits or wage rates, can use their own version of these lists; check the program’s own list for an address.
Find the metro area where you are now, find your county, or see every metro and micro area by population.