'Santa Clara County' is a
county located in the
San Francisco Bay Area of the
U.S. state of
California. It is the primary site of
Silicon Valley. As of 2000 it had a population of 1,682,585. The
county seat is
San Jose.
History
Santa Clara County was one of the original counties of California, formed in
1850 at the time of statehood. The original inhabitants included the
Ohlone, residing on Coyote Creek and Calaveras Creek. Part of the county's territory was given to
Alameda County in
1853.
The county is named after
Mission Santa Clara, which was established in
1777, and named for
Saint Clare of Assisi,
Italy. The name "Clare" or "Clara" means "clear" or "bright."
In
1882, Santa Clara County tried to levy taxes upon property of the
Southern Pacific Railroad within county boundaries. The result was the
U.S. Supreme Court case of ''
Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad'',
118 U.S. 394 (
1886), in which the Court extended Due Process rights to
artificial legal entities.
After two centuries of an agricultural economy started by the Spanish missionaries, the focus has shifted to technology. This trend is not new.
Hewlett Packard was founded in 1939, and
Fairchild Semiconductor along with other early innovators were located in the county by the late 1950s. The term "
Silicon Valley" was itself coined in 1971. The trend accelerated in the 1980s and 1990s, and agriculture has been nearly eliminated from the northern part of the county. Today, Santa Clara County is the headquarters for such companies as Apple Computer, Hewlett Packard, Quest, Intel, Google, Yahoo, and many others. The county is the main area of the Silicon Valley, which includes several other counties both north and south of Santa Clara.
Geography
According to the
U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 3,377
km² (1,304
mi²). 3,343 km² (1,291 mi²) of it is land and 34 km² (13 mi²) of it (1.02%) is water.
The
San Andreas Fault runs along the
Santa Cruz Mountains in the
south of the county.
Adjacent Counties
★
San Benito County, California - south
★
Santa Cruz County, California - south, southwest
★
San Mateo County, California - northwest
★
Alameda County, California - north
★
Stanislaus County, California - east
★
Merced County, California - southeast
Demographics
As of the
census² of 2000, there were 1,682,585 people, 565,863 households, and 395,538 families residing in the county. The
population density was 503/km² (1,304/mi²). There were 579,329 housing units at an average density of 173/km² (449/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 53.83%
White, 2.80%
Black or
African American, 0.67%
Native American, 25.56%
Asian, 0.34%
Pacific Islander, 12.13% from
other races, and 4.66% from two or more races. 23.98% of the population were
Hispanic or
Latino of any race. 54.7% spoke
English, 17.6%
Spanish, 5.7%
Vietnamese, 5.3%
Chinese or
Mandarin, 3.3%
Tagalog and 1.2%
Korean as their first language.
There were 565,863 households out of which 34.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.90% were
married couples living together, 10.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.10% were non-families. 21.40% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.92 and the average family size was 3.41.
In the county the population was spread out with 24.70% under the age of 18, 9.30% from 18 to 24, 35.40% from 25 to 44, 21.00% from 45 to 64, and 9.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 102.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.90 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $74,335, and the median income for a family was $81,717. Males had a median income of $56,240 versus $40,574 for females. The
per capita income for the county was $32,795. About 4.90% of families and 7.50% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 8.40% of those under age 18 and 6.40% of those age 65 or over.
Santa Clara County has the
highest median household income of any county in California.
Politics
Santa Clara County is covered by
California's 11th and 14th through 16th Congressional Districts. In the
110th United States Congress, all the Santa Clara districts are represented by Democrats.
Presidential elections results
'Presidential elections results'| Year | GOP | Democrats |
|---|
| 2004 | 34.6% ''209,094 | '63.9%' ''386,100 |
| 2000 | 34.4% ''188,750 | '60.7%' ''332,490 |
| 1996 | 32.2% ''168,291 | '56.9%' ''297,639 |
| 1992 | 28.4% ''170,870 | '49.2%' ''296,265 |
| 1988 | 47.0% ''254,442 | '51.3%' ''277,810 |
| 1984 | '54.8%' ''288,638 | 43.6% ''229,865 |
| 1980 | '48.0%' ''299,048 | 35.0% ''166,995 |
| 1976 | '49.5%' ''219,188 | 46.9% ''208,023 |
| 1972 | '51.9%' ''237,334 | 45.6% ''208,506 |
| 1968 | 45.6% ''163,446 | '48.4%' ''173,511 |
| 1964 | 36.6% ''117,420 | '63.1%' ''202,249 |
| 1960 | '52.7%' ''131,735 | 47.0% ''117,667 |
Transportation
Freeways and expressways
The county has an extensive
freeway system (now nearing completion) and a separate
expressway system.
Expressways in California are distinct from freeways; although access to adjoining properties is eliminated, at-grade intersections are allowed. However, unlike expressways virtually everywhere else in California, the
Santa Clara County expressways were built, signed, and maintained as county roads; they are not maintained by
Caltrans, although they are patrolled by the
California Highway Patrol.
Many journalists and mapmakers from outside California do not understand the important difference between freeways and expressways, and incorrectly describe or depict Silicon Valley as criss-crossed by a "web" of freeways when many of the lines on the map are really expressways.
There is also a large
street network dominated by four- and six-lane arterials. Some of the newer boulevards (primarily in the West Valley) are divided with landscaped medians.
Major highways
★
Interstate 280
★
Interstate 680
★
Interstate 880
★
U.S. Route 101
★
California State Route 9
★
California State Route 17
★
California State Route 82
★
California State Route 85
★
California State Route 87
★
California State Route 130
★
California State Route 237
Mass transit
Santa Clara County has consolidated its transportation services into the
Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, which operates a rapidly expanding
light rail system and a large system of
bus routes. It also manages certain county-funded highway and expressway projects.
Besides SCVTA, the County is also served by
Caltrain commuter rail service, and the
ACE Train system, which runs between San Jose and Stockton.
County routes
Ports
The county's main airport is
Norman Y. Mineta San José International Airport (SJC).
Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ), a former Naval Air Station, is used by the
Air National Guard,
NASA, and
Lockheed Martin, There are also smaller general aviation airports in
Palo Alto (PAO),
San Jose (RHV), and
San Martin (E16).
The county has no seaports. Like all other Bay Area counties, it is dependent upon the
Port of Oakland for transport of ocean cargo.
Cities, towns, and neighborhoods
Incorporated Places
There are 15 incorporated cities and towns in the county:
★
Campbell
★
Cupertino
★
Gilroy
★
Los Altos
★
Los Altos Hills
★
Los Gatos
★
Milpitas
★
Monte Sereno
★
Morgan Hill
★
Mountain View
★
Palo Alto
★
San Jose (incorporating the formerly independent unincorporated communities of
Alum Rock, and
Cambrian Park, as well as the formerly independent incorporated cities of
Willow Glen,
East San Jose, and
Alviso)
★
Santa Clara
★
Saratoga
★
Sunnyvale
Unincorporated communities
Census Designated Places
★
Buena Vista
★
Burbank
★
East Foothills
★
Fruitdale
★
Lexington Hills
★
Loyola also known as ''Loyola Corners''
★
San Martin
★
Seven Trees
★
Stanford
★
Sunol-Midtown
Other unincorporated communities
★
Bell Station also known as ''Bell's Station'' and ''Hollenbeck's Station''.
★
Chemeketa Park
★
Casa Loma also known as ''Loma Chiquita''.
★
Redwood Estates (part of ''Lexington Hills'' CDP.)
★
Rucker.
★
San Antonio also known as ''Deforest'' circa 1892-1924.
Parks
Santa Clara County has an extensive park system, much of it founded in the major park expansion of the late 1970s. Some of the parks within the county are:
★
Almaden Quicksilver County Park
★
Grant Ranch Park
★
Henry W. Coe State Park
★
Sanborn Park
★
Vasona Lake Park
See also
★
Committee for Green Foothills
★
Santa Clara County expressway system
★
List of school districts in Santa Clara County, California
External links
★
Santa Clara County official website
★
List of special districts in Santa Clara County (LAFCo)
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