27 Interesting Facts About San Francisco

San Francisco is located in California, and it’s rare to find someone who hasn’t heard of this beautiful city. The iconic Golden Gate Bridge appears frequently in American movies and TV shows. These interesting facts will help you dive into the city’s realities and bring you closer to this magical filming location.

Interesting Facts About San Francisco:

1. City Name: The city of San Francisco is named after Saint Francis of Assisi. Before 1846, it was called Yerba Buena, which means “good herb” in Spanish.
2. Population: In 2024, San Francisco’s population is around 815,000 people, making it the fourth-largest city in California. The population has slightly decreased since the COVID-19 pandemic, with people relocating to other regions.
3. City Size: San Francisco remains compact, measuring 11 kilometers by 11 kilometers. Despite its small area, it packs in cultural, historical, and architectural landmarks.
4. Hilly Terrain: The city is still famous for its 50 hills, giving it a unique landscape and contributing to its well-known steep streets.
5. Shark Myth: Contrary to popular belief, while great white sharks do exist in the Pacific Ocean, they rarely enter the bay. The sharks that live in the bay are generally small and pose little threat to humans.
6. Chinatown and Japantown: San Francisco’s Chinatown remains one of the most densely populated neighborhoods in the city and the oldest in North America. Meanwhile, Japantown continues to be a center for Japanese culture, but like Chinatown, it has seen some demographic shifts over time.
7. Earthquake History: The city has been rebuilt twice after devastating earthquakes, the most notable being the 1906 earthquake. The risk of seismic activity still remains high in the region, with increased efforts toward earthquake preparedness in 2024.
8. Public Transport: San Francisco still has one of the most developed public transportation systems in the western U.S. The city has continued to invest in its BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) and Muni services, with about 32% of residents using public transport daily in 2024.
9. Tech Hub: Silicon Valley, located near San Francisco, continues to be the center of the global tech industry, with numerous tech companies headquartered there or in the surrounding Bay Area.
10. Golden Gate Bridge Suicides: Sadly, suicides from the Golden Gate Bridge have continued, with over 1,700 registered suicides as of 2024. The city has completed a suicide prevention barrier in recent years to help reduce these tragedies.
11. Wine Competitions: San Francisco is still a hub for wine competitions, attracting global participants. It remains a key player in showcasing the best wines from Napa Valley and around the world.
12. Film Festivals: The city continues to host more than 50 film festivals annually, including the prestigious San Francisco International Film Festival, along with more niche festivals focusing on various cultures and communities.
13. Golden Gate Bridge Color: The International Orange color of the Golden Gate Bridge remains iconic. The color was originally chosen because it stood out in the fog, which continues to blanket the city during the summer months.
14. Great Depression: The construction of the Golden Gate and Bay Bridge during the Great Depression remains a testament to the city’s resilience during tough times.
15. Deer Incident: The quirky incident of a deer running onto the Golden Gate Bridge in 2004 still stands as a memorable moment, briefly halting traffic.
16. Steve Jobs’ Birthplace: San Francisco is still celebrated as the birthplace of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, a figure whose legacy looms large over the tech industry.
17. Summer Fog: San Francisco continues to be enveloped in summer fog, known locally as “Karl the Fog”, making for beautiful, if sometimes gloomy, summer mornings.
18. Fortune Cookies: While fortune cookies are often associated with China, they were indeed invented in San Francisco by a Japanese immigrant, and this fact remains a favorite trivia tidbit in 2024.
19. First Jeans: The first blue jeans were created in San Francisco by Levi Strauss & Co., and the city still celebrates this history today, being the birthplace of this global fashion staple.
20. Billionaires: As of 2024, San Francisco ranks third in the world for its concentration of billionaires, with wealth linked to tech, real estate, and finance sectors.
21. UN Founding: San Francisco is proud to be the birthplace of the United Nations, with the first meetings held in 1945.
22. 1906 Earthquake: The 1906 earthquake and subsequent fires remain one of the most significant events in the city’s history. The story of residents using wine to put out fires continues to be a symbol of the city’s determination to survive.
23. Unusual Law: One of San Francisco’s old and odd laws still exists on the books: the so-called “ugly law,” prohibiting people with physical deformities from being in public. Of course, this law is not enforced today, and it is more of a quirky historical remnant.
24. Parking Law: Early 20th-century parking restrictions limiting cars to 15-minute stops to avoid oil damage to roads have long been replaced by more modern regulations, though the story highlights the city’s early struggles with automobile management.
25. Cable Cars: The famous cable cars continue to operate in 2024, serving as both a form of public transportation and a national historic landmark.
26. Tourism: San Francisco continues to draw over 17 million tourists annually, although the relationship between locals and tourists is mixed, with some residents feeling frustrated by the large crowds.
27. Homelessness: Homelessness remains a significant issue in the city, despite efforts to address it. The city’s mild climate and availability of services mean that San Francisco continues to have a high population of homeless individuals, and the issue remains a complex challenge for the government.