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Santa Clara County, California
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Santa Clara County is a county located in the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. It is the primary site of Silicon Valley. As of 2000 it had a population of 1,682,585. The county seat is San Jose.
HistorySanta 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.
The county is named after Mission Santa Clara, which was established in 1777, and named for Saint Clare of Assisi, Italy.
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, in which the Court extended Due Process rights to artificial legal entities.
After two centuries of an agricultural economy started by the Spanish missionaries, the focus has shifted to technology. This trend is not new. Hewlett Packard was founded in 1939, and Fairchild Semiconductor along with other early innovators were located in the county by the late 1950s. The term "Silicon Valley" was itself coined in 1971. The trend accelerated in the 1980s and 1990s, and agriculture has been nearly eliminated from the northern part of the county. Today, Santa Clara County is the headquarters for such companies as Apple Computer, Sun Microsystems, Hewlett Packard, Google, Yahoo, eBay, Intel and many others. The county is the main area of the Silicon Valley, which includes several other counties both north and south of Santa Clara.
GeographyAccording to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,304 square miles (3,377 km²), of which, 1,291 square miles (3,343 km²) of it is land and 13 square miles (34 km²) of it (1.02%) is water.
The San Andreas Fault runs along the Santa Cruz Mountains in the
south of the county.
Adjacent Counties
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,682,585 people, 565,863 households, and 395,538 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,304 people per square mile (503/km²). There were 579,329 housing units at an average density of 449 per square mile (173/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 53.83% White, 2.80% Black or African American, 0.67% Native American, 25.56% Asian, 0.34% Pacific Islander, 12.13% from other races, and 4.66% from two or more races. 23.98% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 6.7% were of German and 5.4% English ancestry according to Census 2000. 54.7% spoke English, 17.6% Spanish, 5.7% Vietnamese, 5.3% Chinese or Mandarin, 3.3% Tagalog and 1.2% Korean as their first language.
There were 565,863 households out of which 34.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.90% were married couples living together, 10.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.10% were non-families. 21.40% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.90% 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 24.70% under the age of 18, 9.30% from 18 to 24, 35.40% from 25 to 44, 21.00% from 45 to 64, and 9.50% 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 4.90% of families and 7.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.40% of those under age 18 and 6.40% of those age 65 or over.
Santa Clara County has the highest median household income of any county in California. However, as demographics change and the economy shifts towards lower-end manufacturing and fewer (but higher-paying) professional jobs, Santa Clara County's income level will exhibit a greater wealth gap.
Politics
Presidential election results | Year | DEM | GOP | Others |
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| 2004 | 63.9% 386,100 | 34.6% 209,094 | 1.4% 8,622 | | 2000 | 60.7% 332,490 | 34.4% 188,750 | 4.9% 26,889 | | 1996 | 56.9% 297,639 | 32.2% 168,291 | 11.0% 57,361 | | 1992 | 49.2% 296,265 | 28.4% 170,870 | 22.4% 134,920 | | 1988 | 51.3% 277,810 | 47.0% 254,442 | 1.7% 9,276 | | 1984 | 43.7% 229,865 | 54.8% 288,638 | 1.5% 8,136 | | 1980 | 35.0% 166,995 | 48.0% 229,048 | 17.0% 80,960 | | 1976 | 46.9% 208,023 | 49.5% 219,188 | 3.6% 15,927 | | 1972 | 45.6% 208,506 | 51.9% 237,334 | 2.5% 11,453 | | 1968 | 48.4% 173,511 | 45.6% 163,446 | 6.0% 21,410 | | 1964 | 63.1% 202,249 | 36.6% 117,420 | 0.3% 858 | | 1960 | 47.1% 117,667 | 52.7% 131,735 | 0.3% 690 | |
Santa Clara is a strongly Democratic county in Presidential and congressional elections. The last Republican to win a majority in the county was Ronald Reagan in 1984. With the exceptions of Los Altos Hills, Monte Sereno, and Saratoga, all of the cities, towns, and the unincorporated areas of Santa Clara County have more registered Democrats than Republicans.
In the House of Representatives, all of California’s 15th and 16th districts, as well as some of the 11th and 14th districts, are in the county and are all held by Democrats: Jerry McNerney in the 11th, Anna Eshoo in the 14th, Mike Honda in the 15th, and Zoe Lofgren in the 16th.
In the State Assembly, all of the 22nd, 23rd, and 24th districts, as well as parts of the 20th, 21st, 27th, and 28th districts are in the county. The districts are all held by Democrats; in order of district number they are Alberto Torrico, Ira Ruskin, Sally Lieber, Joe Coto, Jim Beall, John Laird, and Anna Caballero.
In the State Senate, all of the 13th as well as parts of the 10th, 11th, and 15th districts are in the county. The 10th, 11th, and 13th districts are held by Democrats, Ellen Corbett, Joe Simitian, and Elaine Alquist, respectively. The 15th is held by Republican Abel Maldonado.
TransportationFreeways and expresswaysThe county has an extensive freeway system (now nearing completion) 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.
Many journalists and mapmakers from outside California do not understand the important difference between freeways and expressways, and incorrectly describe or depict Silicon Valley as criss-crossed by a "web" of freeways when many of the lines on the map are really expressways.
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
Mass transitSanta Clara County has consolidated its transportation services into the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, which operates a rapidly expanding light rail system and a large system of bus routes. It also manages certain county-funded highway and expressway projects.
Besides SCVTA, the County is also served by Caltrain commuter rail service, and the ACE Train system, which runs between San Jose and Stockton.
County routes
- Santa Clara County Expressway System
- Santa Clara County Route G2 - Lawrence Expressway
- Santa Clara County Route G3 - Page Mill Road / Oregon Expressway
- Santa Clara County Route G4 - San Tomas Expressway / Montague Expressway
- Santa Clara County Route G5 - Foothill Expressway
| Santa Clara County Route G6 - Central ExpresswaySanta Clara County Route G8 - Almaden ExpresswaySanta Clara County Route G10 - Blossom Hill RoadSanta Clara County Route G21 - Capitol Expressway |
PortsThe county's main airport is Norman Y. Mineta San José International Airport (SJC). Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ), a former Naval Air Station, is used by the Air National Guard, NASA, Lockheed Martin, and Google. There are also smaller general aviation airports in Palo Alto , San Jose , and San Martin .
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.
Cities, towns, and neighborhoodsIncorporated places There are 15 incorporated cities and towns in the county:
Unincorporated communities Census Designated Places
Other unincorporated communities
ParksSanta Clara County has an extensive park system, much of it founded in the major park expansion of the late 1970s. Some of the parks within the county are:
See also
External links
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