What is the population of San Francisco?
San Francisco has a city population of 827,526. That is the population within the city's own boundary, not its wider metropolitan area. City population, GeoNames.
City profile · United States · North America
San Francisco
City population
827,526
#21
in United States
#4
in California
#676
worldwide
37.775, -122.419 · 3,919 km from Washington
About San Francisco
With a metropolitan population of 4,749,000, the San Francisco Bay Area ranks among the largest urban centers in the United States. The city proper has 827,526 residents spread across a dense area of 680 people per km², situated at just 16 meters elevation on the Pacific coast. Founded in 1776, San Francisco is governed by Mayor Daniel Lurie.
The region is served by multiple airports, including San Francisco International Airport (SFO), Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport (OAK), San Carlos Airport (SQL), and Buchanan Field (CCR). The metropolitan area has experienced minimal growth in recent years, with an annual expansion rate of 0.3%.
This summary is AI-generated from the figures on this page. The figures themselves come from the sources cited beside each value.
Metro population
4,749,000
0.057% of world population
Archive estimateAnnual growth
+0.25%
Archive estimateDensity
680/km²
6,984 km² metro area
Key Facts
Country
Region
Rank in region
#4of 396
Founded
1776
Leadership
Daniel Lurie
Coordinates
37.775, -122.419
Record updated
22 July 2025
Entry edited, not measured
City population, GeoNames. GeoNames publishes no year for its population figures, so “record updated” is when the entry was last edited — not the date the population was measured.
Nearby Cities
All 3,112 in United StatesClosest listed cities by great-circle distance from the city centre.
Compared with the World's Largest Cities
City-proper population against the fifteen largest cities in the dataset.
| Name | City population |
|---|---|
| Shanghai | 24.9M |
| Beijing | 19M |
| Shenzhen | 17.5M |
| Guangzhou | 16.1M |
| Kinshasa | 16M |
| Istanbul | 15.7M |
| Lagos | 15.4M |
| Ho Chi Minh City | 14M |
| Chengdu | 13.6M |
| Lahore | 13M |
| Mumbai | 12.7M |
| São Paulo | 12.4M |
| Mexico City | 12.3M |
| Karachi | 11.6M |
| Tianjin | 11.1M |
| San Francisco | 828K |
Airports
Scheduled-service airports within 100 km, nearest first.
- San Francisco International AirportSFO
18 km from the city centre
- Oakland San Francisco Bay AirportOAK
18 km from the city centre
- San Carlos AirportSQL
33 km from the city centre
- Buchanan FieldCCR
40 km from the city centre
Source: OurAirports, matched by distance.
Population Trend in United States
No free source publishes city population back to 1950, so the parent country's series is shown instead.
| Year | Population |
|---|---|
| 1950 | 154,202,680 |
| 1960 | 180,274,555 |
| 1970 | 207,796,339 |
| 1980 | 229,858,655 |
| 1990 | 253,373,387 |
| 2000 | 281,484,131 |
| 2010 | 311,062,790 |
| 2020 | 339,436,159 |
| 2030 | 355,649,881 |
| 2040 | 370,209,316 |
| 2050 | 380,846,910 |
| 2060 | 388,918,394 |
| 2070 | 398,218,088 |
| 2080 | 407,079,816 |
| 2090 | 414,457,640 |
| 2100 | 421,278,889 |
San Francisco Population FAQ
Where is San Francisco?
San Francisco is in California, United States, 3,919 km from the capital, Washington. Its coordinates are 37.775, -122.419.
How big is San Francisco compared with other cities in United States?
It is the 21st largest of the 3,112 cities listed in United States, holding 0.2% of the national population.