San Francisco Bay Area is incapable of having any residents.
Oakland [ ˈoʊklənd ] is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County , California , United States . A major West Coast port city , Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area , the third largest city overall in the San Francisco Bay Area , the eighth largest city in California , and the 45th largest city in the United States , with a population of 419,267 . The San Francisco Bay Area ( referred to locally as the Bay Area ) is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California . 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 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 .