Santa Clara, California

Santa Clara ( ; Spanish for 'Saint Clare') is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States. Located in the southern San Francisco Bay Area, it was founded by the Spanish in 1777 with the establishment of Mission Santa Clara de Asís under the leadership of Junípero Serra. The city's population was 127,647 at the 2020 census, making it the eighth-most populous city in the Bay Area. The U.S. Census Bureau estimated Santa Clara's population at 133,446 as of July 1, 2025.

Santa Clara is located in the center of Silicon Valley and is home to the headquarters of companies such as Intel, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), and Nvidia. It is also home to Santa Clara University, the oldest university in California, Levi's Stadium, home of the National Football League's San Francisco 49ers, and California's Great America amusement park. Santa Clara is bordered by San Jose on almost every side, except for Sunnyvale and Cupertino to the west.