Santa Clara County, California

Santa Clara County, California, officially the County of Santa Clara, is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, the population was 1,781,642. The county seat is San Jose, the tenth-most populous city in the United States.
Santa Clara County is included in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA Combined Statistical Area. Located at the southern end of the San Francisco Bay, the highly urbanized Santa Clara Valley within Santa Clara County is also known as Silicon Valley. Santa Clara is the most populous county in the San Francisco Bay Area region, and one of the most affluent counties in the United States.
Santa Clara County is included in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA Combined Statistical Area. Located at the southern end of the San Francisco Bay, the highly urbanized Santa Clara Valley within Santa Clara County is also known as Silicon Valley. Santa Clara is the most populous county in the San Francisco Bay Area region, and one of the most affluent counties in the United States.
==Etymology==
Santa Clara County is named after Mission Santa Clara, which was established in 1777, and is also named for Saint Clare of Assisi.
==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.
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.
In the early 20th Century, the area was promoted as the "Valley of the Heart's Delight" due to its natural beauty, including a significant number of orchards.
The first major technology company to be based in the area was Hewlett-Packard, founded in a garage in Palo Alto in 1939. IBM selected San Jose as its West Coast headquarters in 1943. Varian Associates, Fairchild Semiconductor, and other early innovators were located in the county by the late 1940s and 1950s. The U.S. Navy had a large presence in the area and began giving large contracts to Silicon Valley electronics companies. The term "Silicon Valley" was coined in 1971. The trend accelerated in the 1980s and 1990s, and agriculture has since then been nearly eliminated from the northern part of the county. Today, Santa Clara County is the headquarters for approximately 6500 high technology companies, including many of the largest tech companies in the world, among them hardware manufacturers AMD, Cisco Systems and Intel, computer and consumer electronics companies Apple Inc. and Hewlett-Packard, and internet companies eBay, Facebook, Google and Yahoo!. Most of what is considered to be Silicon Valley is located within the county, although some adjoining tech regions in San Mateo, Alameda, and Santa Cruz counties are also considered a part of Silicon Valley. 
==Geography==
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.1%) is water.
The San Andreas Fault runs along the Santa Cruz Mountains in the
south of the county.
===National protected area===
* Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge (part)
===Ecology===
In 1978, California Department of Fish and Game warden Henry Coletto urged the department to choose the Mount Hamilton area as one of California's relocation sites under a new statewide effort to restore tule elk (Cervus canadensis ssp. nannodes). While other ranchers refused, tech pioneers Bill Hewlett and David Packard allowed Coletto and state biologists to translocate 32 tule elk from the Owens Valley in the eastern Sierra onto the San Felipe Ranch, which the families jointly own, in the hills east of Morgan Hill. From the three original 1978-1981 translocations to the Mount Hamilton region of the Diablo Range, there are multiple herds in different locations including the Isabel Valley, San Antonio Valley, Livermore area, San Felipe Ranch, Metcalf Canyon, Coyote Ridge, Anderson Lake, and surrounding areas. , an estimated 400 tule elk roam in northeastern Santa Clara County and southeastern Alameda County.
The Nature Conservancy "Mount Hamilton Project" has acquired or put under conservation easement of land towards its goal for habitat conservation within a area encompassing much of eastern Santa Clara County as well as portions of southern Alameda County, western Merced and Stanislaus Counties, and northern San Benito County. Acquisitions to date include the Rancho Cañada de Pala, straddling the Alameda Creek and Coyote Creek watersheds for California tiger salamander habitat; a conservation easement on the 3,259-acre Blue Oak Ranch Reserve, which abuts the north side of Joseph D. Grant County Park; a conservation easement on the 28,359-acre San Felipe Ranch, connecting Joseph D. Grant County Park with Henry W. Coe State Park; the 2,899-acre South Valley Ranch which protects a tule elk herd in the San Antonio Valley, and other properties.
, Santa Clara County has the highest number of Superfund Sites of any county in the United States, accounting for 25 polluted locations requiring a long-term response to clean up hazardous material contaminations.P.L. 96-510, , December 11, 1980. The vast majority of these Superfund sites were caused by firms associated with the high tech sector located in Silicon Valley.
==Demographics==
=== 2011 ===
As of 2011, Santa Clara County has the second-highest median household income of any county in California, the highest being Marin County.
Population, race, and income 	Population, race, and income	Population, race, and income	Population, race, and income	Population, race, and income	Population, race, and income
Total populationU.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B02001. American FactFinder. Retrieved October 26, 2013. 	1,762,754 	1,762,754 	 	 	
  White 	896,937 	50.9% 	 	 	
  Black or African American 	45,219 	2.6% 	 	 	
  American Indian or Alaska Native 	9,906 	0.6% 	 	 	
  Asian 	560,362 	31.8% 	 	 	
  Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander 	6,445 	0.4% 	 	 	
  Some other race 	171,082 	9.7% 	 	 	
  Two or more races 	72,803 	4.1% 	 	 	
 Hispanic or Latino (of any race)U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B03003. American FactFinder. Retrieved October 26, 2013.	468,262 	26.6% 	 	 	
Per capita incomeU.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B19301. American FactFinder. Retrieved October 21, 2013. 	$40,698 	$40,698 	 	 	
Median household incomeU.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B19013. American FactFinder. Retrieved October 21, 2013. 	$89,064 	$89,064 	 	 	
Median family incomeU.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B19113. American FactFinder. Retrieved October 21, 2013. 	$103,255 	$103,255 	 	 	
==== Places by population, race, and income ====
Places by population and race	Places by population and race 	Places by population and race	Places by population and race	Places by population and race 	Places by population and race	Places by population and race	Places by population and race 	Places by population and race
Place 	TypeU.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. American FactFinder. Retrieved October 21, 2013.	Population 	White 	OtherOther = Some other race + Two or more races	Asian 	Black or AfricanAmerican 	Native AmericanNative American = Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander + American Indian or Alaska Native	Hispanic or Latino(of any race)
Alum Rock 	CDP 	11,814 	60.5% 	25.7% 	11.3% 	2.0% 	0.5% 	73.0%
Burbank 	CDP 	5,827 	67.3% 	19.2% 	11.6% 	1.5% 	0.3% 	48.5%
Cambrian Park 	CDP 	3,581 	78.6% 	9.0% 	3.9% 	0.3% 	8.2% 	16.8%
Campbell 	City 	39,108 	68.7% 	12.0% 	16.9% 	1.4% 	0.9% 	16.8%
Cupertino 	City 	57,459 	34.6% 	3.9% 	60.7% 	0.4% 	0.4% 	4.3%
East Foothills 	CDP 	6,983 	67.3% 	17.4% 	13.4% 	1.9% 	0.1% 	31.4%
Fruitdale 	CDP 	1,087 	82.9% 	1.0% 	9.6% 	3.2% 	3.3% 	7.2%
Gilroy 	City 	47,808 	70.4% 	19.3% 	6.4% 	2.0% 	1.9% 	56.0%
Lexington Hills 	CDP 	2,298 	88.7% 	3.4% 	6.4% 	0.4% 	1.1% 	2.3%
Los Altos 	City 	28,752 	71.4% 	6.2% 	21.6% 	0.6% 	0.3% 	5.9%
Los Altos Hills 	Town 	7,912 	66.2% 	1.9% 	31.7% 	0.1% 	0.0% 	1.9%
Los Gatos 	Town 	29,165 	84.0% 	4.3% 	9.2% 	1.6% 	0.8% 	5.6%
Loyola 	CDP 	3,747 	74.0% 	3.9% 	20.9% 	0.0% 	1.2% 	2.3%
Milpitas 	City 	66,038 	21.8% 	14.6% 	59.0% 	3.5% 	1.1% 	17.1%
Monte Sereno 	City 	3,338 	80.0% 	3.5% 	14.3% 	2.2% 	0.0% 	6.1%
Morgan Hill 	City 	37,278 	69.2% 	15.9% 	11.5% 	2.4% 	1.0% 	34.9%
Mountain View 	City 	73,394 	58.8% 	12.8% 	25.1% 	2.6% 	0.8% 	21.0%
Palo Alto 	City 	63,475 	65.5% 	5.5% 	25.4% 	3.3% 	0.3% 	7.6%
San Jose 	City 	939,688 	47.6% 	16.2% 	32.1% 	3.0% 	1.0% 	33.0%
San Martin 	CDP 	6,799 	66.8% 	21.0% 	10.5% 	0.8% 	0.9% 	39.3%
Santa Clara 	City 	114,482 	46.0% 	12.0% 	38.2% 	2.5% 	1.3% 	19.4%
Saratoga 	City 	29,781 	51.8% 	3.6% 	44.0% 	0.5% 	0.1% 	3.0%
Stanford 	CDP 	13,416 	59.9% 	8.3% 	26.2% 	4.6% 	1.0% 	12.2%
Sunnyvale 	City 	138,436 	44.6% 	12.3% 	40.6% 	1.8% 	0.8% 	17.8%
Places by population and income	Places by population and income	Places by population and income 	Places by population and income	Places by population and income	Places by population and income
Place 	Type 	PopulationU.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B01003. American FactFinder. Retrieved October 21, 2013.	Per capita income 	Median household income 	Median family income
Alum Rock 	CDP 	11,814 	$19,409 	$62,884 	$63,098
Burbank 	CDP 	5,827 	$30,919 	$51,623 	$50,720
Cambrian Park 	CDP 	3,581 	$44,782 	$102,825 	$110,054
Campbell 	City 	39,108 	$44,354 	$82,687 	$97,703
Cupertino 	City 	57,459 	$51,965 	$124,825 	$146,601
East Foothills 	CDP 	6,983 	$41,571 	$105,050 	$111,250
Fruitdale 	CDP 	1,087 	$57,675 	$76,058 	$100,508
Gilroy 	City 	47,808 	$28,719 	$75,483 	$86,658
Lexington Hills 	CDP 	2,298 	$74,185 	$126,696 	$157,632
Los Altos 	City 	28,752 	$77,267 	$151,856 	$180,238
Los Altos Hills 	Town 	7,912 	$109,694 	$218,077 	$230,000
Los Gatos 	Town 	29,165 	$69,134 	$122,875 	$156,197
Loyola 	CDP 	3,747 	$87,773 	$190,724 	$189,583
Milpitas 	City 	66,038 	$32,465 	$94,589 	$100,768
Monte Sereno 	City 	3,338 	$94,727 	$181,719 	$245,417
Morgan Hill 	City 	37,278 	$39,433 	$94,301 	$106,659
Mountain View 	City 	73,394 	$51,635 	$91,446 	$110,657
Palo Alto 	City 	63,475 	$72,199 	$122,532 	$161,373
San Jose 	City 	939,688 	$33,770 	$80,764 	$89,500
San Martin 	CDP 	6,799 	$37,094 	$77,188 	$87,731
Santa Clara 	City 	114,482 	$39,523 	$89,004 	$105,100
Saratoga 	City 	29,781 	$71,223 	$155,182 	$183,776
Stanford 	CDP 	13,416 	$31,942 	$60,189 	$161,818
Sunnyvale 	City 	138,436 	$44,617 	$93,292 	$106,922
===2010===
The 2010 United States Census reported that Santa Clara County had a population of 1,781,642. The ethnic makeup of Santa Clara County was 836,616 (47.0%) White, 46,428 (2.6%) African American, 12,960 (0.7%) Native American, 570,524 (32.0%) Asian (8.6% Chinese, 7.1% Vietnamese, 6.6% Indian, 4.9% Filipino, 1.6% Korean, 1.4% Japanese, 0.3% Cambodian, 0.3% Pakistani, 0.1% Thai, 0.1% Laotian, 0.1% Burmese, 0.1% Indonesian, 0.1% Bangladeshi), 7,060 (0.4%) Pacific Islander (0.1% Samoan, 0.1% Guamanian, 0.1% Tongan, 0.1% Native Hawaiian), 220,806 (12.4%) from other races, and 87,248 (4.9%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 479,210 persons (26.9%): 22.5% Mexican, 0.4% Puerto Rican, 0.1% Cuban, 3.8% Other Hispanic.
{| class="wikitable sortable collapsible collapsed" style="margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto;text-align: right;font-size: 90%;"	Demographic profile	2010
Total Population 	1,781,642 - 100.0% 	
One Race 	1,694,394 - 95.1% 	
Not Hispanic or Latino 	1,302,432 - 73.1% 	
White alone 	626,909 - 35.2% 	
Black or African American alone 	42,331 - 2.4% 	
American Indian and Alaska Native alone 	4,042 - 0.2% 	
Asian alone 	565,466 - 31.7% 	
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	6,252 - 0.4% 	
Some other race alone 	3,877 - 0.2% 	
Two or more races alone 	53,555 - 3.0% 	
Hispanic or Latino (of any race) 	479,210 - 26.9% 	
Population reported at 2010 United States Census	Population reported at 2010 United States Census	Population reported at 2010 United States Census	Population reported at 2010 United States Census	Population reported at 2010 United States Census	Population reported at 2010 United States Census	Population reported at 2010 United States Census	Population reported at 2010 United States Census	Population reported at 2010 United States Census	Population reported at 2010 United States Census
The County 	TotalPopulation 	White 	AfricanAmerican 	NativeAmerican 	Asian 	PacificIslander 	otherraces 	two ormore races 	Hispanicor Latino(of any race)
Santa Clara County 	1,781,642 	836,616 	46,428 	12,960 	570,524 	7,060 	220,806 	87,248 	479,210
Incorporatedcities and towns 	TotalPopulation 	White 	AfricanAmerican 	NativeAmerican 	Asian 	PacificIslander 	otherraces 	two ormore races 	Hispanicor Latino(of any race)
Campbell 	39,349 	26,315 	1,158 	275 	6,320 	161 	2,713 	2,407 	7,247
Cupertino 	58,302 	18,270 	344 	117 	36,895 	54 	670 	1,952 	2,113
Gilroy 	48,821 	28,674 	942 	831 	3,448 	111 	12,322 	2,493 	28,214
Los Altos 	28,976 	20,459 	148 	48 	6,815 	59 	195 	1,252 	1,132
Los Altos Hills 	7,922 	5,417 	37 	4 	2,109 	8 	50 	297 	213
Los Gatos 	29,413 	24,060 	269 	86 	3,203 	52 	462 	1,281 	2,120
Milpitas 	66,790 	13,725 	1,969 	309 	41,536 	346 	5,811 	3,094 	11,240
Monte Sereno 	3,341 	2,698 	14 	12 	464 	0 	28 	125 	162
Morgan Hill 	37,882 	24,713 	746 	335 	3,852 	125 	5,779 	2,332 	12,863
Mountain View 	74,066 	41,468 	1,629 	344 	19,232 	391 	7,241 	3,761 	16,071
Palo Alto 	64,403 	41,359 	1,197 	121 	17,461 	142 	1,426 	2,697 	3,974
San Jose 	945,942 	404,437 	30,242 	8,297 	303,138 	4,017 	148,749 	47,062 	313,636
Santa Clara 	116,468 	52,359 	3,154 	579 	43,889 	651 	9,624 	6,212 	22,589
Saratoga 	29,926 	16,125 	94 	41 	12,376 	23 	202 	1,065 	1,034
Sunnyvale 	140,081 	60,193 	2,735 	662 	57,320 	638 	12,177 	6,356 	26,517
Census-designatedplaces 	TotalPopulation 	White 	AfricanAmerican 	NativeAmerican 	Asian 	PacificIslander 	otherraces 	two ormore races 	Hispanicor Latino(of any race)
Alum Rock 	15,536 	6,581 	207 	298 	2,039 	70 	5,466 	875 	10,977
Burbank 	4,926 	2,994 	135 	64 	379 	16 	1,049 	289 	2,509
Cambrian Park 	3,282 	2,598 	26 	29 	221 	19 	190 	199 	591
East Foothills 	8,269 	4,853 	205 	78 	1,445 	41 	1,219 	428 	3,118
Fruitdale 	935 	633 	31 	11 	110 	4 	88 	58 	244
Lexington Hills 	2,421 	2,148 	10 	5 	90 	0 	59 	109 	193
Loyola 	3,261 	2,291 	19 	1 	760 	2 	37 	151 	114
San Martin 	7,027 	4,329 	27 	71 	470 	18 	1,752 	360 	3,249
Stanford 	13,809 	7,932 	651 	86 	3,777 	28 	263 	1,072 	1,439
Unincorporatedcommunities 	TotalPopulation 	White 	AfricanAmerican 	NativeAmerican 	Asian 	PacificIslander 	otherraces 	two ormore races 	Hispanicor Latino(of any race)
All others not CDPs (combined) 	30,494 	21,985 	439 	256 	3,175 	84 	3,234 	1,321 	7,651
===2000===
As of the census of 2000, there are 1,682,585 people, 565,863 households, and 395,538 families residing in the county. The population density is 503/km² (1,304/mi²). There are 579,329 housing units at an average density of 173/km² (449/mi²). The ethnic makeup of the county is 53.8% White, 2.8% Black or African American, 0.7% Native American, 25.6% Asian, 0.3% Pacific Islander, 12.1% from other races, and 4.7% from two or more races. 24.0% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 565,863 households out of which 34.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.9% were married couples living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.1% were non-families. 21.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.9% 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 24.7% under the age of 18, 9.3% from 18 to 24, 35.4% from 25 to 44, 21.0% from 45 to 64, and 9.5% 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 4.9% of families and 7.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.4% of those under age 18 and 6.4% of those age 65 or over.
==Government==
Santa Clara County has five elected supervisors, elected within their districts.
The county is one among three counties in California (with Napa and Madera) to establish a separate department, the Santa Clara County Department of Corrections, to deal with corrections pursuant to California Government Code §23013.
In the United States House of Representatives, Santa Clara County is split between 4 congressional districts:
* ,
* ,
* , and
* .
In the California State Senate, the county is split between 4 legislative districts:
* ,
* ,
* , and
* .
In the California State Assembly, the county is split between 6 legislative districts:
* ,
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* ,
* , and
* .
==Politics==
 Santa Clara County vote by party in presidential elections
Year	GOP 	DEM 	Others
2012	27.2% 174,843	70.1% 450,818	2.5% 16,365
2008	28.6% 190,039	69.5% 462,241	1.8% 13,168
2004	34.6% 209,094	63.9% 386,100	1.4% 8,622
2000	34.4% 188,750	60.7% 332,490	4.9% 26,889
1996	32.2% 168,291	56.9% 297,639	11.0% 57,361
1992	28.4% 170,870	49.2% 296,265	22.4% 134,920
1988	47.0% 254,442	51.3% 277,810	1.7% 9,276
1984	54.8% 288,638	43.7% 229,865	1.5% 8,136
1980	48.0% 229,048	35.0% 166,995	17.0% 80,960
1976	49.5% 219,188	46.9% 208,023	3.6% 15,927
1972	51.9% 237,334	45.6% 208,506	2.5% 11,453
1968	45.6% 163,446	48.4% 173,511	6.0% 21,410
1964	36.6% 117,420	63.1% 202,249	0.3% 858
1960	52.7% 131,735	47.1% 117,667	0.3% 690
1956	59.1% 105,657	40.6% 72,528 	0.4% 633
1952	59.7% 91,940 	39.7% 61,035 	0.6% 932
1948	53.3% 52,982 	42.1% 41,905 	4.6% 4,615
1944	47.0% 39,409 	52.4% 43,869 	0.6% 499
1940	49.2% 40,100 	49.6% 40,449 	1.2% 947
1936	40.4% 26,498 	58.5% 38,346 	1.1% 732
1932	47.5% 27,353 	49.1% 28,272 	3.3% 1,906
1928	63.8% 31,710 	35.4% 17,589 	0.8% 395
1924	58.0% 20,056 	7.4% 2,560 	34.6% 11,952
1920	68.1% 19,565 	22.6% 6,485 	9.1% 2,682
 Santa Clara County vote by party in gubernatorial elections
Year	GOP 	DEM
2014	27.1% 107,113	72.9% 288,732
2010	34.9% 178,695	61.3% 314,022
2006	52.2% 225,132	42.9% 185,037
2003	39.2% 160,807	39.9% 163,768
2002	32.4% 116,862	55.3% 199,399
1998	31.7% 133,015	64.3% 270,105
1994	47.5% 212,075	47.5% 211,904
1990	42.6% 178,310	52.2% 218,843
1986	59.9% 227,285	37.6% 142,907
1982	44.0% 180,232	52.9% 216,781
1978	29.8% 110,444	61.4% 227,493
1974	46.7% 153,761	50.6% 166,760
1970	51.5% 172,562	46.1% 154,570
1966	55.4% 164,970	44.6% 132,793
1962	47.6% 112,700	51.2% 121,149
Since 1992, Santa Clara County has been a strongly Democratic county in presidential and congressional elections. The last Republican to win a majority in the county was Ronald Reagan in 1984. It was a bellwether county for much of the twentieth century. However, like the rest of the Bay Area, it swung heavily to the Democrats in the 1990s nationally. While Republicans remained competitive at the state and local level for the rest of the 1990s, there are currently no elected Republicans representing significant parts of the county above the county level.
As of November 2012, all of the cities, towns, and the unincorporated areas of Santa Clara County have more registered Democrats than Republicans.http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/ror/ror-pages/15day-general-12/politicalsub1.pdf In the 2008 US Presidential Election, Democratic nominee Barack Obama carried every city and town in the county, as well as the unincorporated areas.
Following the passage of Proposition 8, Santa Clara County joined San Francisco and Los Angeles in a lawsuit, becoming, along with San Francisco and Los Angeles, the first governmental entities in the world to sue for same-sex marriage.
===Voter registration===
Population and registered voters 	Population and registered voters	Population and registered voters
Total population 	1,762,754 	1,762,754
  Registered votersCalifornia Secretary of State. February 10, 2013 - Report of Registration. Retrieved October 31, 2013.Percentage of registered voters with respect to total population. Percentages of party members with respect to registered voters follow.	817,310 	46.4%
    Democratic 	372,979 	45.6%
    Republican 	177,268 	21.7%
    Democratic–Republican spread 	+195,711 	+23.9%
    Independent 	17,009 	2.1%
    Green 	4,326 	0.5%
    Libertarian 	4,843 	0.6%
    Peace and Freedom 	1,950 	0.2%
    Americans Elect 	36 	0.0%
    Other 	1,542 	0.2%
    No party preference 	237,357 	29.0%
==== Cities by population and voter registration ====
Cities by population and voter registration	Cities by population and voter registration	Cities by population and voter registration	Cities by population and voter registration	Cities by population and voter registration	Cities by population and voter registration	Cities by population and voter registration	Cities by population and voter registration
City 	Population 	Registered voters 	Democratic 	Republican 	D–R spread 	Other 	No party preference
Campbell 	39,108 	53.4% 	45.3% 	23.8% 	+21.5% 	7.3% 	26.2%
Cupertino 	57,459 	48.2% 	37.0% 	20.0% 	+17.0% 	4.0% 	40.4%
Gilroy 	47,808 	42.7% 	48.5% 	25.2% 	+23.3% 	6.8% 	22.1%
Los Altos 	28,752 	67.4% 	41.5% 	29.4% 	+12.1% 	4.3% 	26.2%
Los Altos Hills 	7,912 	73.6% 	34.9% 	33.6% 	+1.3% 	4.3% 	28.7%
Los Gatos 	29,165 	65.0% 	41.0% 	31.5% 	+9.5% 	6.2% 	23.7%
Milpitas 	66,038 	40.4% 	42.5% 	19.2% 	+23.3% 	5.3% 	35.0%
Monte Sereno 	3,338 	73.7% 	37.1% 	36.9% 	+0.2% 	6.1% 	22.3%
Morgan Hill 	37,278 	52.6% 	40.9% 	32.0% 	+8.9% 	6.9% 	23.0%
Mountain View 	73,394 	46.0% 	49.1% 	16.4% 	+32.7% 	5.3% 	30.8%
Palo Alto 	63,475 	59.7% 	52.6% 	15.5% 	+37.1% 	3.8% 	29.2%
San Jose 	939,688 	44.6% 	46.8% 	20.6% 	+26.2% 	6.0% 	28.8%
Santa Clara 	114,482 	41.9% 	46.5% 	19.9% 	+26.6% 	6.1% 	29.7%
Saratoga 	29,781 	66.8% 	34.2% 	31.5% 	+2.7% 	3.9% 	31.8%
Sunnyvale 	138,436 	41.1% 	45.0% 	19.9% 	+25.1% 	5.0% 	31.8%
== Crime ==
The following table includes the number of incidents reported and the rate per 1,000 persons for each type of offense.
Population and crime rates 	Population and crime rates	Population and crime rates
Population 	1,762,754 	1,762,754
Violent crimeOffice of the Attorney General, Department of Justice, State of California. Table 11: Crimes – 2009. Retrieved November 14, 2013.	5,013 	2.84
  Homicide 	46 	0.03
  Forcible rape 	387 	0.22
  Robbery 	1,499 	0.85
  Aggravated assault 	3,081 	1.75
Property crime 	23,790 	13.50
  Burglary 	7,094 	4.02
  Larceny-theftOnly larceny-theft cases involving property over $400 in value are reported as property crimes. 	28,303 	16.06
  Motor vehicle theft 	7,356 	4.17
Arson 	403 	0.23
=== Cities by population and crime rates ===
Cities by population and crime rates	Cities by population and crime rates 	Cities by population and crime rates	Cities by population and crime rates	Cities by population and crime rates	Cities by population and crime rates	Cities by population and crime rates	Cities by population and crime rates	Cities by population and crime rates
City 	PopulationUnited States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation. Crime in the United States, 2012, Table 8 (California). Retrieved November 14, 2013.	Violent crimes 	Violent crime rateper 1,000 persons 	Property crimes 	Property crime rateper 1,000 persons	 	 	
Campbell 	40,339 	90 	2.23 	1,649 	40.88 	 	 	
Cupertino 	59,769 	58 	0.97 	797 	13.33 	 	 	
Gilroy 	50,042 	159 	3.18 	1,788 	35.73 	 	 	
Los Altos 	29,704 	6 	0.20 	299 	10.07 	 	 	
Los Altos Hills 	8,121 	5 	0.62 	45 	5.54 	 	 	
Los Gatos 	30,161 	38 	1.26 	629 	20.85 	 	 	
Milpitas 	68,433 	81 	1.18 	2,023 	29.56 	 	 	
Monte Sereno 	3,426 	3 	0.88 	35 	10.22 	 	 	
Morgan Hill 	38,834 	50 	1.29 	695 	17.90 	 	 	
Mountain View 	75,933 	155 	2.04 	1,419 	18.69 	 	 	
Palo Alto 	66,019 	53 	0.80 	1,409 	21.34 	 	 	
San Jose 	976,459 	3,547 	3.63 	28,463 	29.15 	 	 	
Santa Clara 	119,360 	221 	1.85 	3,306 	27.70 	 	 	
Saratoga 	30,683 	9 	0.29 	231 	7.53 	 	 	
Sunnyvale 	143,606 	170 	1.18 	2,555 	17.79 	 	 	
==Economy==
The county's economy is heavily service based. Technology, both hardware and software, dominates the service sector by value, but like any other county, Santa Clara has its share of retail and office support workers.
The San Jose/Sunnyvale/Santa Clara metropolitan region, comprising Santa Clara County and San Benito County, was ranked as the highest performing metropolitan area in the US in 2012, ahead of Austin, Texas and Raleigh, North Carolina, according to the Milken Institute."Santa Clara County economy ranked best performing", San Jose Mercury News, January 17, 2013 The GDP of the metro area reached $176.7 billion in 2011, or $94,587 per capita,http://bea.gov/newsreleases/regional/gdp_metro/2013/pdf/gdp_metro0213.pdf roughly on par with Qatar in both total GDP and per capita (nominal).http://unstats.un.org/unsd/snaama/dnltransfer.asp?fID=2 GDP grew a strong 7.7% in 2011, and in contrast with most of California, GDP and per capita GDP (nominal) is well above 2007 (financial crisis) levels. Despite relative wealth vis a vis other regions nationally, a large underclass exists whose income is roughly equivalent to that elsewhere in the country, despite extreme land prices. The surge in metro GDP is highly correlated with home prices, which for average single-family homes passed $1 million ($1,017,528) in August 2013.http://www.heraldonline.com/2013/09/09/5191927/home-prices-in-santa-clara-county.html
==Libraries==
Santa Clara County Library, is a public library system serving the communities and cities of Campbell, Cupertino, Gilroy, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Milpitas, Monte Sereno, Morgan Hill, Saratoga, and all unincorporated areas of the county."Contact Us." Santa Clara County Library. Retrieved on March 27, 2010. All other cities run their own library system.
==Transportation==
===Air===
thumb|right|Southwest Airlines aircraft parked at Norman Y. Mineta San José International Airport
The county's main airport is Norman Y. Mineta San José International Airport (SJC). It is a U.S. Customs and Border Protection port of entryPort Of Entry - San Jose International Airport. Cbp.gov (September 28, 2005). Retrieved on 2013-07-21. and as of 2015 has four international routes (one to Japan, two to Mexico, and one to China) but the airport's busiest routes are all to cities in the western United States. San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is also often used for commercial services by residents of Santa Clara County.
Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ), a former U.S. Naval Air Station, is used by the Air National Guard, NASA, Lockheed Martin, Google, and by the San Jose Police and Santa Clara County Sheriff's Department as an air operations base. There are also smaller general aviation airports in Palo Alto (PAO), San Jose (Reid-Hillview) (RHV), and San Martin(E16)
===Rail===
Santa Clara Station is served by Caltrain which provides service to Gilroy, San Jose, Silicon Valley, San Francisco Airport and San Francisco, the ACE system which provides services to Stockton, and Amtrak which provides service to Sacramento and Oakland.
The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority operates the VTA light rail system.
===Road===
====Buses====
Santa Clara County has consolidated its transportation services into the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, which operates a bus system.
====Bicycle network====
The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority is establishing a bicycle network throughout the county. Santa Clara County Bicycle network is part of the San Francisco Bay Area Regional Bikeway Network.
* Bikeways Map (Effective April 2011)
* Regional Bicycle Plan for the San Francisco Bay Area 2009 Update
====Freeways and expressways====
The county has an extensive freeway system 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.
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
* State Route 9
* State Route 17
* State Route 25
* State Route 82
* State Route 85
* State Route 87
* State Route 130
* State Route 152
* State Route 156
* State Route 237
=====County routes=====
=====Other roads=====
* The Alameda
===Sea===
The county has no commercial seaports, although small boats can access San Francisco Bay from several points. Like many other Bay Area counties, it is dependent upon the Port of Oakland for transport of ocean cargo.
==Parks==
Santa Clara County has an extensive park system, much of it founded in the major park expansion of the late 1970s. Parks within the county include:
* Almaden Quicksilver County Park
* Grant Ranch Park
* Henry W. Coe State Park
* Sanborn Park
* Vasona Park
Open space preserves include:
* El Sereno Open Space Preserve
==Sister counties==
To promote friendship and understanding and to build bridges with countries of origin for various ethnic populations in the county, the County of Santa Clara has created a Sister County Commission to coordinate the program. As of 2009, there are three sister counties:
* Province of Florence, Italian Republic
* Moscow Area, Russian Federation
* Hsinchu County, Taiwan
==Communities==
===Cities===
* Campbell
* Cupertino
* Gilroy
* Los Altos
* Milpitas
* Monte Sereno
* Morgan Hill
* Mountain View
* Palo Alto
* San Jose (county seat)
* Santa Clara
* Saratoga
* Sunnyvale
===Towns===
* Los Altos Hills
* Los Gatos
===Census-designated places===
* Alum Rock
* Burbank
* Cambrian Park
* East Foothills
* Fruitdale
* Lexington Hills
* Llagas-Uvas
* Loyola also known as Loyola Corners
* San Martin
* Stanford
===Unincorporated communities===
* Bell Station, also known as Bell's Station and Hollenbeck's Station
* Casa Loma, also known as Loma Chiquita
* Chemeketa Park
* Coyote, also known as Burnett c. 1860–1882
* East San Jose
* Madrone, now part of Morgan Hill
* Redwood Estates
* Rucker
* San Antonio, also known as Deforest c. 1892–1924
* Sveadal
===Former townships===
* Almaden Township: Present-day Almaden Valley, Cambrian Park and portions of Campbell and Los Gatos.
* Alviso Township: Present-day Alviso.
* Burnett Township: Present-day Coyote, Santa Teresa and Morgan Hill.
* Fremont Township: Present-day Palo Alto, Sunnyvale, Mountain View, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills and part of Cupertino.
* Gilroy Township: Present-day Gilroy and San Martin.
* Milpitas Township: Present-day Milpitas.
* Redwood Township: Present-day Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, Saratoga, Redwood Estates and portions of Cupertino and Campbell.
* San Jose Township: Most of present-day San Jose.
* Santa Clara Township: Present-day Santa Clara and portions of San Jose, Cupertino and Campbell.
==See also==
* Committee for Green Foothills
* List of attractions in Silicon Valley
* List of school districts in Santa Clara County, California
* National Register of Historic Places listings in Santa Clara County, California
* Old Almaden Winery
* Santa Clara County expressway system
* Santa Clara Valley
== Notes ==
==References==
==External links==
* 
** Santa Clara County governmental committee agendas
** Santa Clara County Planning Office
* Santa Clara Valley Water District - Drinking Water
* List of special districts in Santa Clara County (LAFCo)
* Santa Clara County Library 
* Santa Clara County: California's Historic Silicon Valley, a National Park Service Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary
Category:California counties
 
Category:Counties in the San Francisco Bay Area
Category:Silicon Valley
Category:1850 establishments in California
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