Santa Clara County, California
Santa Clara County, officially the County of Santa Clara, is the sixth-most populous county in the U.S. state of California, with a population of 1,936,259, as of the 2020 census.[4] Santa Clara County and neighboring San Benito County together form the U.S. Census Bureau's San Jose–Sunnyvale–Santa Clara metropolitan statistical area, which is part of the larger San Jose–San Francisco–Oakland combined statistical area. Santa Clara is the most populous county in the San Francisco Bay Area and in Northern California. The county seat and largest city is San Jose; with about 1,000,000 residents, it is the 10th-most populous city in the United States, California's third-most populous city and the most populous city in the San Francisco Bay Area. The second- and third-largest cities are Sunnyvale and Santa Clara.
For the California wine region, see Santa Clara Valley AVA.
Santa Clara County
February 18, 1850[1]
Susan Ellenberg
Otto Lee
- Sylvia Arenas
- Cindy Chavez
- Otto Lee
- Susan Ellenberg
- Joe Simitian
James R. Williams, J.D.
1,304 sq mi (3,380 km2)
1,290 sq mi (3,300 km2)
14 sq mi (40 km2)
4,216 ft (1,285 m)
1,936,259
1,500/sq mi (570/km2)
US$382.787 billion (2022)
06-085
Home to Silicon Valley, Santa Clara County is an economic center for high technology, and in 2015 had the third-highest gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in the world (after Zürich, Switzerland and Oslo, Norway), according to the Brookings Institution.[6][7] Located on the southern coast of San Francisco Bay, the urbanized Santa Clara Valley within Santa Clara County contains most of the county's population. More recently, extensive droughts in California, further complicated by drainage of the Anderson reservoir within the county for seismic repairs, have strained the county's water security.[8][9]
The county's concentration of wealth, primarily due to the tech industry, has made it the most affluent county on the West Coast of the United States and the most affluent outside the Washington metropolitan area[10] and one of the most affluent places in the United States.[11]
Santa Clara County has five elected supervisors, elected within their districts. The board appoints the County Executive, who is James R. Williams, J.D.[57] The County Executive is responsible for the administration of the county and appoints almost all other officers and department heads.[58]
The county is one among three counties in California (with Napa and Madera) to establish a separate department, the Santa Clara County Department of Corrections, to deal with corrections pursuant to California Government Code §23013.
The county operates the Santa Clara County Health System of medical centers and clinics.
In the United States House of Representatives, Santa Clara County is split among four congressional districts:[59]
In the California State Senate, the county is split among four legislative districts:[60]
In the California State Assembly, the county is split among six legislative districts:[61]
Voters in the county also elect a number of other officials to county-wide positions, including the Santa Clara County District Attorney, the Santa Clara County Sheriff, and a large number of criminal and civil judges that serve in courts throughout the county.
Economy[edit]
The county's economy is heavily services-based. Technology, both hardware and software, dominates the service sector by value, but like any other county, Santa Clara has its share of retail and office support workers.
The San Jose/Sunnyvale/Santa Clara metropolitan region, comprising Santa Clara County and San Benito County, was ranked as the highest performing metropolitan area in the US in 2012, ahead of Austin, Texas and Raleigh, North Carolina, according to the Milken Institute.[70] The GDP of the metro area reached $176.7 billion in 2011, or $94,587 per capita,[71] roughly on par with Qatar in both total GDP and per capita (nominal).[72] GDP grew a strong 7.7% in 2011, and in contrast with most of California, GDP and per capita GDP (nominal) is well above 2007 (financial crisis) levels. Despite relative wealth vis a vis other regions nationally, a large underclass exists whose income is roughly equivalent to that elsewhere in the country, despite extreme land prices. The surge in metro GDP is highly correlated with home prices, which for average single-family homes passed $1 million ($1,017,528) in August 2013.[73] As of the fourth quarter of 2021, the median value of homes in Santa Clara County was $1,253,400, an increase of 11.9% from the prior year, and ranking fourth in the US for highest median home value.[74]
Santa Clara County Department of Correction is administered by the county's sheriff's office and supervises the following facilities:
Santa Clara County has an extensive park system, much of it founded in the major park expansion of the late 1970s. Parks within the county include:
Open space preserves include:
Santa Clara County also contains Ulistac Natural Area, a volunteer maintained natural open space. Foreign and invasive species are removed when possible as native plants are introduced. Migratory birds and butterflies often use this area.
, Italy
Metropolitan City of Florence
To promote friendship and understanding and to build bridges with countries of origin for various ethnic populations in the county, the County of Santa Clara has created a Sister County Commission to coordinate the program. As of 2023, there are two sister counties:[84]
A previously established relationship with Moscow was terminated in 2022.[85]