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Santa Clara, California

Coordinates:37°21′16″N121°58′9″W/ 37.35444°N 121.96917°W/37.35444; -121.96917
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Not to be confused withSanta Clarita, California.

Santa Clara, California
City
Clockwise from top:Mission Santa Clara de Asís;the Carmelite Monastery;Saint ClaireMonument;Santa Clara University;Women's Club Adobe
Flag of Santa Clara, California
Flag
Official seal of Santa Clara, California
Seal
Nickname:
The Mission City
Location of Santa Clara in California (left) and within Santa Clara County (right)
Location of Santa Clara inCalifornia(left) and withinSanta Clara County(right)
Santa Clara is located in California
Santa Clara
Santa Clara
Location of Santa Clara inCalifornia
Santa Clara is located in the United States
Santa Clara
Santa Clara
Santa Clara (the United States)
Coordinates:37°21′16″N121°58′9″W/ 37.35444°N 121.96917°W/37.35444; -121.96917
CountryUnited States
StateCalifornia
CountySanta Clara
IncorporatedJuly 5, 1852[1]
Named forSaint Clare of Assisi
Government
• TypeCouncil/Manager[2]
• MayorLisa Gillmor[3]
Area
[4]
• Total18.28 sq mi (47.34 km2)
• Land18.28 sq mi (47.34 km2)
Elevation
[5]
72 ft (22 m)
Population
(2020)[6]
• Total127,647
• Rank3rdin Santa Clara County
46thin California
225thin the United States
• Density6,982/sq mi (2,697/km2)
DemonymSanta Claran
Time zoneUTC−8(Pacific)
• Summer (DST)UTC−7(PDT)
ZIP codes
95050, 95051, 95054
Area codes408/669
FIPS code06-69084
GNISfeature IDs1654953,2411816
Websitesantaclaraca.gov

Santa Clara(/ˌsæntəˈklærə/SAN-təKLARR-ə;Spanishfor "Saint Clare")[8]is a city inthe county of the same namein the state of California. The city's population was 127,647 at the2020 census,making it theeighth-most populous city in the Bay Area.Located in the southernBay Area,the city was founded by the Spanish in 1777 with the establishment ofMission Santa Clara de Asísunder the leadership ofJunípero Serra.

Santa Clara is located in the center ofSilicon Valleyand is home to the headquarters of companies such asIntel,Advanced Micro Devices,andNvidia.It is also home toSanta Clara University,the oldest university in California,[9]andLevi's Stadium,the home of theNational Football League'sSan Francisco 49ers,andCedar Fair'sCalifornia's Great AmericaPark. Santa Clara is bordered bySan Joseon all sides, except forSunnyvaleandCupertinoto the west.

History[edit]

Prior to the arrival of Europeans in the 18th century, theTamien tribeof theOhlonenation ofIndigenous Californianshad inhabited the area for several millennia.

Spanish period[edit]

The first European to visit the valley wasJosé Francisco Ortegain 1769. The Spanish began to colonize California with 21missions,and theMission Santa Clara de Asíswas founded in 1777.

Mexican period[edit]

TheBattle of Santa Clara,one of the last battles of theConquest of California,was fought between a contingent ofCalifornios,led byFrancisco Sánchez,against the invading American forces.

American period[edit]

Mission Santa Clara de Asíswas founded by the Spanish in 1777.
The 1847Battle of Santa Clara,fought between the Americans and theCalifornios,was one of the last battles of theConquest of California.

In 1851,Santa Clara Collegewas established on the grounds of the original Mission. In 1852, Santa Clara wasincorporatedas a town; it became state-chartered by 1862.

For the next century, the economy centered on agriculture since orchards and vegetables were thriving in the fertile soil. By the beginning of the 20th century, the population had reached 5,000 and stayed about the same for many years.

In 1905, the first public high-altitude flights by humans were made over Santa Clara in gliders designed byJohn J. Montgomery.Thesemiconductor industry,which sprouted around 1960, changed the city and surroundingValley of Heart's Delight;little of its agricultural past remains.

Santa Clara's first medical hospital was built in 1963. This structure, on Kiely Boulevard, was replaced in 2007 with a new Kaiser Permanente medical center located on Lawrence Expressway at Homestead Road.

Santa Clara was also home to a major mental health facility,Agnews State Hospital.According to the National Park Service, more than 100 persons were killed at this site in the 1906 earthquake. The site is the former home toSun Microsystemsand is listed in theNational Register of Historic Places.

In 1963, Santa Clara City Council voted to knock down the eight-block grid of Downtown Santa Clara, in order to receive federal funding forurban renewal.[10][11]Since 2017, there has been a grassroots movement to rebuild Santa Clara's historic downtown.[12]

Geography[edit]

Santa Clara Universityin 1933

Santa Clara is drained by three seasonal creeks, all of which empty into the southern portion ofSan Francisco Bay;these creeks areSan Tomas Aquino Creek,Saratoga Creek,andCalabazas Creek.

There are some significant biological resources within the city includinghabitatfor theburrowing owl,aspeciesof special concern in California due to reduction in habitat from urban development during the latter 20th century.[13]This owl uses burrows created byground squirrelsand prefers generally level grasslands and even disturbed areas.Coyoteshave also become active in the area in recent years.[14]

According to theU.S. Census Bureau,the city covers an area of 18.4 square miles (48 km2), all of it land.

Climate[edit]

The average daily temperatures in July range from 82 °F (28 °C) to 53 °F (12 °C). Winters are mild, with the mean daily temperatures in January ranging from 58 °F (14 °C) to 38 °F (3 °C). Most of the annual rainfall comes in the winter months; the summer months are generally rainless.

Climate data for Santa Clara, California (Santa Clara University,1893–1976)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Mean daily maximum °F (°C) 58
(14) 		62
(17) 		66
(19) 		70
(21) 		74
(23) 		79
(26) 		82
(28) 		82
(28) 		81
(27) 		76
(24) 		67
(19) 		59
(15) 		71
(22)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C) 38
(3) 		41
(5) 		42
(6) 		44
(7) 		47
(8) 		50
(10) 		53
(12) 		52
(11) 		51
(11) 		47
(8) 		42
(6) 		39
(4) 		46
(8)
Averageprecipitationinches (mm) 3.03
(77) 		2.56
(65) 		2.30
(58) 		1.03
(26) 		.40
(10) 		.09
(2.3) 		.01
(0.25) 		.04
(1.0) 		.27
(6.9) 		.63
(16) 		1.47
(37) 		2.66
(68) 		14.49
(367.45)
Average precipitation days(≥.01 in) 10 9 9 5 3 1 0 0 1 3 6 9 56
Source: Western Regional Climate Center[15]

Demographics[edit]

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
18802,416—
18902,89119.7%
19003,65026.3%
19104,34819.1%
19205,22020.1%
19306,30220.7%
19406,6505.5%
195011,70276.0%
196058,880403.2%
197086,11846.3%
198087,7001.8%
199093,6136.7%
2000102,3619.3%
2010116,46813.8%
2020127,6479.6%
U.S. Decennial Census[16]

2020[edit]

Santa Clara, California – Racial and ethnic composition
Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
Race / Ethnicity(NH = Non-Hispanic) Pop 2000[17] Pop 2010[18] Pop 2020[19] % 2000 % 2010 % 2020
Whitealone (NH) 49,392 42,026 35,930 48.25% 36.08% 28.15%
Black or African Americanalone (NH) 2,237 2,929 2,713 2.19% 2.51% 2.13%
Native AmericanorAlaska Nativealone (NH) 275 240 186 0.27% 0.21% 0.15%
Asianalone (NH) 29,791 43,531 59,678 29.10% 37.38% 46.75%
Pacific Islanderalone (NH) 416 604 390 0.41% 0.52% 0.31%
Other racealone (NH) 275 321 797 0.27% 0.28% 0.62%
Mixed race or Multiracial(NH) 3,611 4,228 5,403 3.63% 3.63% 4.23%
Hispanic or Latino(any race) 16,364 22,589 22,550 15.99% 19.40% 17.67%
Total 102,361 116,468 127,647 100.00% 100.00% 100.00%

2010[edit]

Mission Santa Clara de Asís
Mausoleums at Mission Cemetery

The2010 United States census[20]reported that Santa Clara had a population of 116,468. The population density was 6,327.3 inhabitants per square mile (2,443.0/km2). The ethnic makeup of Santa Clara was 52,359 (45.0%)White,3,154 (2.7%)African American,579 (0.5%)Native American,43,889 (37.7%)Asian(13.6% Indian, 6.9% Chinese, 6.2% Filipino, 3.9% Vietnamese, 3.0% Korean, 1.5% Japanese), 651 (0.6%)Pacific Islander,9,624 (8.3%) fromother races,and 6,212 (5.3%) from two or more races. There were 22,598 people (19.4%) who identified asHispanicorLatino;14.6% of Santa Clara's population was of Mexican ancestry.

The Census reported that 113,272 people (97.3% of the population) lived in households, 2,860 (2.5%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 336 (0.3%) were institutionalized.

There were 43,021 households, out of which 14,477 (33.7%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 21,817 (50.7%) wereopposite-sex married couplesliving together, 4,081 (9.5%) had a female householder with no husband present, 2,038 (4.7%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 2,146 (5.0%)unmarried opposite-sex partnerships,and 312 (0.7%)same-sex married couples or partnerships.10,906 households (25.4%) were made up of individuals, and 2,945 (6.8%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63. There were 27,936families(64.9% of all households); the average family size was 3.18.

The age distribution of the population was as follows: 24,774 people (21.3%) were under the age of 18, 12,511 people (10.7%) aged 18 to 24, 41,876 people (36.0%) aged 25 to 44, 25,628 people (22.0%) aged 45 to 64, and 11,679 people (10.0%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34.1 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.9 males.

There were 45,147 housing units at an average density of 2,452.7 units per square mile (947.0 units/km2), of which 19,747 (45.9%) were owner-occupied, and 23,274 (54.1%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.3%; the rental vacancy rate was 4.6%. 53,694 people (46.1% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 59,578 people (51.2%) lived in rental housing units.

Economy[edit]

Intelheadquarters
Palo Alto Networksheadquarters
Citrix Systemsheadquarters

Santa Clara owns and operates an electric utility calledSilicon Valley Power.In 2005 Silicon Valley Power brought online theDonald Von Raesfeld (DVR) Power Plant.The newcombined cyclegas turbine plant produces 147 megawatts of electricity for the city and its residents.[21]As a result, the going rate for electricity in Santa Clara is considerably cheaper than that offered by Northern California's dominant utility,Pacific Gas and Electric.

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD),Affymetrix,Agilent Technologies,Applied Materials,Arista Networks,Aruba,Auditoria.AI,Brillio,Chegg,Cloudera,Coherent,FileMaker,Hortonworks,Infoblox,Intel,Intevac,Marvell,McAfee,Move inc,National Semiconductor,Nvidia,OmniVision,Ooyala,Palo Alto Networks,Rovi,ServiceNow,SVB Financial Group,Trident MicrosystemsandVeritas Technologiesare among the companies headquartered in Santa Clara.[citation needed]The North American offices ofBandai Namco Entertainment(formerlyNamco) was in Santa Clara until its consolidation with its existing offices inIrvine, California.[22][23][24]

Top employers[edit]

According to the city's 2022 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report,[25]the top employers in the city are:

# Employer # of employees
1 Applied Materials 8,500
2 Intel 7,801
3 AMD 3,000
4 California's Great America 2,500
5 Nvidia 2,500
6 Dell 2,088
7 Santa Clara University 2,000
8 City of Santa Clara 1,752
9 SVB Financial Group 1,250
10 Macy's 1,200

Government[edit]

The current mayor of Santa Clara is Lisa M. Gillmor. Its city councilmembers are: Kathy Watanabe (District 1), Raj Chahal (District 2), Karen Hardy (District 3), Kevin Park (District 4), Suds Jain (District 5), and Anthony Becker (District 6).[3] Santa Clara is represented inCalifornia's 17th congressional districtfor theU.S. House of Representatives,currently represented byRo Khanna(D).

In theCalifornia Legislature,Santa Clara is part ofCalifornia's 10th State Senate districtandCalifornia's 26th State Assembly district,represented in theSenatebyAisha Wahab(D)[26]and in theAssemblybyEvan Low(D).[26]

The city operates theSanta Clara City Library,which is not part of theSanta Clara County Library District.[27]

Education[edit]

Santa Clara University,the oldest university in California
Saint Clare School,the oldest private elementary school in California

Santa Clara Unified School Districtis the public school district that serves Santa Clara and small portions of Sunnyvale and North San Jose. The city is home to nineteen K–8, elementary, and high schools. Many of the schools are named for former farmers, ranchers, and other notable Santa Clara residents such as Bowers and Bracher elementary schools, Buchser Middle School,Wilcox High School,Santa Clara High School,and Mission Early College High School.

A small part of the city however is served byCupertino High Schooland its feeder schools in the nearby town of its namesake.

Private schools in Santa Clara include three Catholic schools operated by theRoman Catholic Diocese of San Jose—Saint Clare School(the oldest elementary school in California), Saint Lawrence Elementary and Middle School, and Saint Justin School — and theGranada Islamic School(Islamicschool, grades K-12).[28][29]

Higher education[edit]

Colleges and universities in Santa Clara includeSanta Clara University(private Jesuit university),Mission College(public community college),UC Santa CruzSilicon Valley extension campus, andGolden State Baptist College(private Baptist college).

Culture[edit]

California's Great America

Santa Clara is also home toCalifornia's Great America,an amusement park currently operated byCedar Fair, L.P.

Nearby is theSanta Clara Convention Center,one of Silicon Valley's largest event and meeting venues. Santa Clara also offers several museums such as theIntel Museum,Triton Museum of Art,and the Harris – Lass historical house. TheOur Lady of Peace Shrineis notable for its 32-foot-tall (9.8 m) statue which is visible fromHighway 101.The Mission City Center for Performing Arts is the city's venue for theatrical productions and entertainment.

Sports[edit]

Levi's Stadium,home of theSan Francisco 49ers

TheSanta Clara Broncosare theDivision I NCAAathletic programs ofSanta Clara University.Santa Clara sponsors 19 different teams, most of which compete in theWest Coast Conference.The red and white of the Santa Clara Broncos is featured on the flag of the city, as is the Mission which lies at the heart of the campus.

TheGeorge F. Haines International Swim Centeris home and host to numerous local, regional, and internationalcompetitive swimmingmatches.

TheSanta Clara Vanguard,a competitive marching music organization, has been headquartered in Santa Clara since its inception. The organization runs and operates awinter guard,anindoor percussion ensemble,and twodrum and bugle corps,all of which compete across the country every year. All four ensembles have been very successful competitively, especially the two drum corps, one of which has won 6 Open Class titles and the other 7 World Class titles.

TheSan Francisco 49ersNational Football Leaguefootball team has its headquarters and practice facilities in Santa Clara. On Wednesday, November 8, 2006, the 49ers announced their intention tomove the teamto Santa Clara in time for the fall 2014 season, after negotiations failed with the city of San Francisco to build a new stadium.[30]

Santa Clara will host multiple matches during the2026 FIFA World CupatLevi's Stadium.[31][32]

Transportation[edit]

Santa Clara station,served byCaltrain,ACE,andAmtrak

Santa Clara has two major train stations: theSanta Clara – Great America stationand theSanta Clara station.Both stations are served byAmtrak'sCapitol Corridortrain and theAltamont Corridor Express(ACE); the latter is also served byCaltrain.

The city is served by theVTA light railsystem, which operates four stations:Reamwood station,Old Ironsides station,Great America station,andLick Mill station.

Santa Clara is located adjacent toSan Jose International Airport.

Notable people[edit]

Main page:Category:People from Santa Clara, California

Sister cities[edit]

As of May 2015,Santa Clara has threesister cities:[33]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^"California Cities by Incorporation Date".California Association ofLocal Agency Formation Commissions.Archived fromthe original(Word)on November 3, 2014.RetrievedAugust 25,2014.
  2. ^"Government".City of Santa Clara.RetrievedApril 20,2015.
  3. ^ab"Councilmembers".City of Santa Clara.
  4. ^"2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files".United States Census Bureau.RetrievedJuly 1,2020.
  5. ^"Santa Clara".Geographic Names Information System.United States Geological Survey,United States Department of the Interior.RetrievedNovember 18,2014.
  6. ^"Santa Clara (city) QuickFacts".United States Census Bureau.
  7. ^"Population and Housing Unit Estimates".RetrievedMay 21,2020.
  8. ^Gannett, Henry (1902)."The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States".Bulletin of the United States Geological Survey(197). U.S. Government Printing Office:231.RetrievedApril 24,2014.
  9. ^"Santa Clara University Ethnobiographical BackgroundArchivedMay 28, 2010, at theWayback Machine."Santa Clara University.Retrieved on March 13, 2010.
  10. ^Santa Clara Journalmicrofilm, Santa Clara, California Wednesday, January 2, 1963, First (Front) page, Article: Renewal Hits Homestretch, Vol 91 No. 9, Santa Clara City Public Library Archives in Santa Clara, CA
  11. ^Santa Clara City Urban Renewal: Home Movie Clips 1963–1966 Source by Warburton, Austen; Warburton, Margot: VHS: 1 Tape of 1 Call Number: Video 979.473 S23 Case, Rights: Copyrighted. Rights are owned by Santa Clara City Library
  12. ^"New Movement To Rebuild Old Downtown Santa Clara"– via YouTube.
  13. ^Environmental Impact Report for the Esperanca property, Santa Clara, California,Earth Metrics Inc., California State Clearinghouse (1990)
  14. ^"Coexisting with Coyotes in Santa Clara".The Silicon Valley Voice.November 8, 2019.RetrievedDecember 24,2020.
  15. ^"Santa Clara University, California – Climate Summary".Western Regional Climate Center.
  16. ^"Census of Population and Housing".Census.gov.RetrievedJune 4,2015.
  17. ^"P004: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2000: DEC Summary File 1 – Santa Clara city, California".United States Census Bureau.RetrievedJanuary 26,2024.
  18. ^"P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Santa Clara city, California".United States Census Bureau.RetrievedJanuary 26,2024.
  19. ^"P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Santa Clara city, California".United States Census Bureau.RetrievedJanuary 26,2024.
  20. ^"2010 Census Interactive Population Search: CA – Santa Clara city".U.S. Census Bureau. Archived fromthe originalon July 15, 2014.RetrievedJuly 12,2014.
  21. ^Silicon Valley Power Dedicates Donald Von Raesfeld Power Plant on June 15, 2005,City of Santa Clara news release (2005)
  22. ^"Company Info."Namco Bandai.Retrieved on December 8, 2008.
  23. ^Williams, Hayley (April 20, 2021)."Bandai Namco Is Closing Its Santa Clara Office And Moving To Southern California".GameSpot.Archivedfrom the original on April 21, 2021.RetrievedApril 21,2021.
  24. ^Takahashi, Dean (April 20, 2021)."Bandai Namco will close its Santa Clara office and move employees to Southern California".VentureBeat.Archivedfrom the original on April 21, 2021.RetrievedApril 21,2021.
  25. ^"Annual Comprehensive Financial Report: Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 2022".City of Santa Clara.RetrievedMarch 10,2023.
  26. ^ab"Statewide Database".UC Regents.RetrievedApril 20,2024.
  27. ^"Library."City of Santa Clara. Retrieved on December 7, 2009.
  28. ^"Granada Islamic".California School Directory.California Department of Education.RetrievedJuly 24,2018.
  29. ^"St. Clare Elementary".California School Directory.California Department of Education.RetrievedJuly 24,2018.
  30. ^Cote, John; Vega, Cecilia M.; Lagos, Marisa (November 9, 2006)."Niners to leave SF, move to Santa Clara".sfgate.com.RetrievedJanuary 29,2020.
  31. ^"FIFA unveils stellar line-up of FIFA World Cup 2026™ Host Cities".FIFA.RetrievedMarch 19,2023.
  32. ^"San Francisco Bay Area, Levi's® Stadium Selected to Host FIFA World Cup 2026™".June 16, 2022.
  33. ^"News: New Sister City".City of Santa Clara. Archived fromthe originalon November 20, 2009.RetrievedMay 1,2015.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related toSanta Clara, California.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide forSanta Clara, California.
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