Claim: San Francisco has a bay.

The San Francisco Bay Area -LRB- referred to locally as the Bay Area -RRB- is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California . The region encompasses the major cities and metropolitan areas of San Jose , San Francisco , and Oakland , along with smaller urban and rural areas . The Bay Area 's nine counties are Alameda , Contra Costa , Marin , Napa , San Francisco , San Mateo , Santa Clara , Solano , and Sonoma . Home to approximately 7.68 million people , the nine-county Bay Area contains many cities , towns , airports , and associated regional , state , and national parks , connected by a network of roads , highways , railroads , bridges , tunnels and commuter rail . The combined statistical area of the region is the second-largest in California -LRB- after the Greater Los Angeles area -RRB- , the fifth-largest in the United States , and the 43rd-largest urban area in the world .   The Bay Area has the second-most Fortune 500 Companies in the United States , and is known for its natural beauty , liberal politics , entrepreneurship , and diversity . The area ranks second in highest density of college graduates , and performs above the state median household income in the 2010 census ; it includes the five highest California counties by per capita income and two of the top 25 wealthiest counties in the United States . Based on a 2013 population report from the California Department of Finance , the Bay Area is the only region in California where the rate of people migrating in from other areas in the United States is greater than the rate of those leaving the region , led by Alameda and Contra Costa counties .