San Francisco, California Population 2023

894,584

San Francisco is a city located in San Francisco County and San Mateo County California. It is also the county seat of San Francisco County. With a 2023 population of 894,584, it is the 4th largest city in California and the 17th largest city in the United States.San Francisco is currently growing at a rate of 0.77% annually and its population has increased by 2.36% since the most recent census, which recorded a population of 873,965 in 2020. Spanning over 232 miles, San Francisco has a population density of 19,073 people per square mile.

The average household income in San Francisco is $160,396 with a poverty rate of 11.25%. The median rental costs in recent years comes to - per month, and the median house value is -. The median age in San Francisco is 38.3 years, 37.9 years for males, and 38.7 years for females.

San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is located in Northern California and the San Francisco Bay. It's the state's only consolidated city-county, and it's the most densely populated large city in the state of California.

San Francisco is also the 4th most populous city in California (behind Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Jose).

San Francisco experienced its largest population boom from 1848 to 1849, when its population grew a massive 2,400% because of the California Gold Rush. Its population has grown very steadily since then, except for declines during the 1960s through the 1980s, and its population in 2016 is now 864,816. This population only represents the city proper, with a metropolitan area population of around 4.6 million.

San Francisco is also the hub of the San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland metropolitan area, which has a population of 8.7 million.

San Francisco is the 13th most populous city in the country with a density of 6,266 people per square mile. It's the second most densely populated city in the country after New York City.

San Francisco Diversity and Population Statistics

The Chinese population of San Francisco represents the single largest ethnic minority group with 21.4% of the population. Other major Asian groups include: Filipinos (4.5%), Vietnamese (1.6%), Japanese (1.3%), Asian Indians (1.2%), Koreans (1.2%), Thais (0.3%), Burmese (0.2%) and Cambodians (0.2%).

Those of Chinese ancestry are concentrated mostly in Chinatown, Sunset District, and Richmond District. Filipinos are concentrated heavily in Crocker-Amazon and SoMa, and the city has one of the largest Filipino communities outside of the Philippines.

San Francisco's age distribution shows that 13.4% of its population is under 18, 9.6% are 18 to 24, 37.5% are 25 to 44, 25.9% are 45 to 64 and 13.6% are 65 or older. The average age is 38.5 years, and San Francisco has a smaller percentage of children than any other major metropolitan area in the United States.

Interestingly, native-born Californians make up a relatively small percentage of San Francisco's population, as only 37.7% of its people were born in the state, while 25.2% were born in another state in the country. Over one-third of San Francisco's population were born outside the country.

Because San Francisco's non-Hispanic whites make up less than half of its total population, San Francisco is now a minority-majority city. The most common Hispanic groups include Mexicans (7.4%), Salvadoran (2.0%), Nicaraguan (0.9%) and Guatemalan (0.8%). The African American population of the city has dropped over the past few decades. In 1970, 13.4% of San Francisco's population was African American, although today that number is just 6.1%.

San Francisco is also home to the largest percentage of gay and lesbian people in the United States at 15.4%, as well as the highest percentage of same-sex households.

San Francisco Population Growth

San Francisco is one of the 20 fastest growing cities in the United States. It's estimated that thousands of new residents will call San Francisco home by 2040, and the city Planning Director said that the city would need more than 92,000 more housing units and 191,000 new jobs to accommodate this growth. The Bay Area as a whole will need 1.1 million additional jobs and 660,000 new housing units to provide for an estimated 2.1 million more people who will move to the city by 2040.

The population of San Francisco is projected to reach 969,000 by 2035, which is nearly a 20% increase from today's population, and development is already underway to help the city grow. 80% of the city's growth is likely to occur in just 20% of the city, and the density of San Francisco will only go up.

San Francisco Demographics

According to the most recent ACS, the racial composition of San Francisco was:

  • White: 44.87%
  • Asian: 34.33%
  • Other race: 7.7%
  • Two or more races: 7.17%
  • Black or African American: 5.14%
  • Native American: 0.43%
  • Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander: 0.36%
The current population of San Francisco, California is 894,584 based on our projections of the latest US Census estimates.The last official US Census in 2020 recorded the population at 873,965.

San Francisco, California Population 2023

San Francisco Metro Area Population by Year

Population by Race

White

Asian

Other race

Two or more races

Black or African American

Native American

Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander

San Francisco Population by Race

San Francisco Population Pyramid 2023

San Francisco Median Age

38.3

Total

37.9

Male

38.7

Female

San Francisco Adults

There are 757,421 adults, (138,157 of whom are seniors) in San Francisco.

San Francisco Age Dependency

41.3

Age Dependency Ratio

22.3

Old Age Dependency Ratio

19

Child Dependency Ratio

San Francisco Sex Ratio

Female428,53848.99%
Male446,24651.01%

San Francisco Population by Age

San Francisco Renter vs Owner Occupied by Household Type

3.12

Average Family Size

2.36

Average Household Size

38.0%

Rate of Home Ownership

Married

Male

Female

NonFamily

owner

renter

San Francisco Households and Families

Male

Female

Less Than 9th Grade

9th to 12th Grade

High School Graduate

Some College

Associates Degree

Bachelors Degree

Graduate Degree

San Francisco Educational Attainment by Sex (over 25)

San Francisco Educational Attainment by Race

High School Graduation Rate

Bachelors Rate

The highest rate of high school graduation is among white people with a rate of 91.37%.

The highest rate of bachelors degrees is among white people with a rate of 71.95%.

San Francisco Educational Attainment by Race

All

Male

Female

$71,101

Average Earnings

$78,873

Average Male

$64,020

Average Female

San Francisco Earnings by Educational Attainment

San Francisco Language by Age

Only English

Spanish

Other Indo-European Languages

Asian and Pacific Island Languages

Other Languages

San Francisco Language

57.4% of San Francisco residents speak only English, while 42.6% speak other languages. The non-English language spoken by the largest group is Asian and Pacific Island languages, which is spoken by 32.74% of the population.

San Francisco Language

San Francisco Poverty by Race

rate

11.25%

Overall Poverty Rate

9.36%

Male Poverty Rate

10.91%

Female Poverty Rate

Poverty in San Francisco

The race most likely to be in poverty in San Francisco is Black, with 29.06% below the poverty level.

The race least likely to be in poverty in San Francisco is White, with 7.61% below the poverty level.

The poverty rate among those that worked full-time for the past 12 months was 1.22%. Among those working part-time, it was 12.88%, and for those that did not work, the poverty rate was 25.19%.

San Francisco Poverty

San Francisco Poverty Rate by Education

San Francisco Poverty Rate by Employment Status and Sex

San Francisco Income by Household Type

Households

Families

MarriedFamilies

NonFamilies

mean

median

Income by Household Type

San Francisco Marital Status

Married

Widowed

Divorced

Separated

NeverMarried

Marriage Rates

39.7%

Overall Marriage Rate

40.0%

Male Marriage Rate

39.4%

Female Marriage Rate

San Francisco Married by Age and Sex

male

female

San Francisco Marriage

The age group where males are most likely to be married is Over 65, while the female age group most likely to be married is 35-44.

San Francisco Marital Status by Race

Married

Widowed

Divorced

Separated

NeverMarried

San Francisco Marital Status

Second Gulf War

First Gulf War

Vietnam

Korea

World War II

22,047

Number of Veterans

19,959

Male Veterans

2,088

Female Veterans

San Francisco Veterans by War

San Francisco Veterans by Age

count

San Francisco Veterans by Race

San Francisco Veterans by Education

Less Than 9th Grade

High School Graduate

Some College

Bachelors or Greater

12.86%

Veteran Poverty Rate

31.53%

Veteran Disability Rate

San Francisco Veterans by Education

LaborForceParticipation

71.2%

Labor Force Participation

67.8%

Employment Rate

4.7%

Unemployment Rate

San Francisco Employment by Age

LaborForceParticipation

San Francisco Employment by Race

LaborForceParticipation

San Francisco Employment by Education

Origin of Non-Citizens

Europe

Asia

Africa

Oceania

Latin America

North America

Non citizens include legal permanent residents (green card holders), international students, temporary workers, humanitarian migrants, and illegal immigrants.

Origin of Naturalized Citizens

Europe

Asia

Africa

Oceania

Latin America

North America

39.61%

Born in San Francisco

65.82%

Native Born

34.27%

Foreign Born

12.6%

Non Citizen

21.67%

Naturalized

Place of Birth

65.82% of San Francisco residents were born in the United States, with 39.61% having been born in California. 12.6% of residents are not US citizens. Of those not born in the United States, the largest percentage are from Asia.

San Francisco Place of Birth

Note: data after 2020 is projected based on recent growth

San Francisco Population by Year