Bay Area

The Association of Bay Area Governments defines the Bay Area as including the nine counties that border the estuaries of San Francisco Bay, San Pablo Bay, and Suisun Bay: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, Sonoma, and San Francisco. The U.S. Census Bureau includes the Central Coast counties of Santa Cruz and San Benito, as well as the Central Valley counties of San Joaquin, Merced, and Stanislaus in its broader definition of the Bay Area. The Bay Area is known for its natural beauty, prominent universities, technology companies, and affluence. The Bay Area contains many cities, towns, airports, and associated regional, state, and national parks, connected by a complex multimodal transportation network.