:Santa Clara, California

Prior to the arrival of Europeans in the 18th century, the Tamien tribe of the Ohlone nation of Indigenous Californians had inhabited the area for several millennia.

The first European to visit the valley was José Francisco Ortega in 1769. The Spanish began to colonize California with 21 missions, and the Mission Santa Clara de Asís was founded in 1777.

The Battle of Santa Clara, one of the last battles of the Conquest of California, was fought between a contingent of Californios, led by Francisco Sánchez, against the invading American forces.

File:Mission Santa Clara de Asís (1849; oil on canvas).jpg was founded by the Spanish in 1777.]]

File:Battle_of_Santa_Clara,_California_(cropped).jpg, fought between the Americans and the Californios, was one of the last battles of the Conquest of California.]]

In 1851, Santa Clara College was established on the grounds of the original Mission. In 1852, Santa Clara was incorporated as 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 by John J. Montgomery. The semiconductor industry, which sprouted around 1960, changed the city and surrounding Valley 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 to Sun Microsystems and is listed in the National 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 for urban renewal. Santa Clara Journal microfilm, 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, CASanta 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 Since 2017, there has been a grassroots movement to rebuild Santa Clara's historic downtown.{{Cite web |title=New Movement To Rebuild Old Downtown Santa Clara |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZ8KCjESmJc&t=0 |via=YouTube}}

File:View of Santa Clara University (1933).png in 1933]]

Santa Clara is drained by three seasonal creeks, all of which empty into the southern portion of San Francisco Bay; these creeks are San Tomas Aquino Creek, Saratoga Creek, and Calabazas Creek.

There are some significant biological resources within the city including habitat for the burrowing owl, a species of special concern in California due to reduction in habitat from urban development during the latter 20th century. Environmental Impact Report for the Esperanca property, Santa Clara, California, Earth Metrics Inc., California State Clearinghouse (1990) This owl uses burrows created by ground squirrels and prefers generally level grasslands and even disturbed areas. Coyotes have also become active in the area in recent years.{{Cite web|date=November 8, 2019|title=Coexisting with Coyotes in Santa Clara|url=https://www.svvoice.com/coexisting-with-coyotes-in-santa-clara/|access-date=December 24, 2020|website=The Silicon Valley Voice|language=en-US}}

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city covers an area of {{convert|18.4|sqmi|km2}}, all of it land.

The average daily temperatures in July range from {{convert|82|F}} to {{convert|53|F}}. Winters are mild, with the mean daily temperatures in January ranging from {{convert|58|F}} to {{convert|38|F}}. Most of the annual rainfall comes in the winter months; the summer months are generally rainless.

{{Weather box |width=80%

|location = Santa Clara, California (Santa Clara University, 1893–1976)

|single line = Y

|Jan high F = 58

|Feb high F = 62

|Mar high F = 66

|Apr high F = 70

|May high F = 74

|Jun high F = 79

|Jul high F = 82

|Aug high F = 82

|Sep high F = 81

|Oct high F = 76

|Nov high F = 67

|Dec high F = 59

|year high F =

|Jan low F = 38

|Feb low F = 41

|Mar low F = 42

|Apr low F = 44

|May low F = 47

|Jun low F = 50

|Jul low F = 53

|Aug low F = 52

|Sep low F = 51

|Oct low F = 47

|Nov low F = 42

|Dec low F = 39

|year low F =

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation inch = 3.03

|Feb precipitation inch = 2.56

|Mar precipitation inch = 2.30

|Apr precipitation inch = 1.03

|May precipitation inch = .40

|Jun precipitation inch = .09

|Jul precipitation inch = .01

|Aug precipitation inch = .04

|Sep precipitation inch = .27

|Oct precipitation inch = .63

|Nov precipitation inch = 1.47

|Dec precipitation inch = 2.66

|Jan precipitation days = 10

|Feb precipitation days = 9

|Mar precipitation days = 9

|Apr precipitation days = 5

|May precipitation days = 3

|Jun precipitation days = 1

|Jul precipitation days = 0

|Aug precipitation days = 0

|Sep precipitation days = 1

|Oct precipitation days = 3

|Nov precipitation days = 6

|Dec precipitation days = 9

|unit precipitation days = .01 in

|source 1 = Western Regional Climate Center{{cite web |url=http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMAIN.pl?ca7912 |title=Santa Clara University, California – Climate Summary |website=Western Regional Climate Center}}

|date=May 2013}}

{{US Census population

|1880= 2416

|1890= 2891

|1900= 3650

|1910= 4348

|1920= 5220

|1930= 6302

|1940= 6650

|1950= 11702

|1960= 58880

|1970= 86118

|1980= 87700

|1990= 93613

|2000= 102361

|2010= 116468

|2020= 127647

|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|access-date=June 4, 2015}}

}}

File:Mission Santa Clara.jpg]]

File:Santa Clara Mission Cemetery (cropped).jpg

The 2010 United States census{{cite web |title=2010 Census Interactive Population Search: CA – Santa Clara city |url=https://www.census.gov/2010census/popmap/ipmtext.php?fl=06:0669084 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140715033038/http://www.census.gov/2010census/popmap/ipmtext.php?fl=06:0669084 |archive-date=July 15, 2014 |access-date=July 12, 2014 |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau}} reported that Santa Clara had a population of 116,468. The population density was {{convert|6,327.3|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. 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%) from other races, and 6,212 (5.3%) from two or more races. There were 22,598 people (19.4%) who identified as Hispanic or Latino; 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%) were opposite-sex married couples living 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 27,936 families (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 {{convert|2,452.7|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|units |units|}}, 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.

File:Intel Headquarters in 2023.jpg headquarters]]

File:Paloalto networks (cropped).jpg headquarters]]

File:Citrix Santa Clara HQ 2015.png headquarters]]

Santa Clara owns and operates an electric utility called Silicon Valley Power. In 2005, Silicon Valley Power brought online the Donald Von Raesfeld (DVR) Power Plant. The new combined cycle gas turbine plant produces 147 megawatts of electricity for the city and its residents.Silicon Valley Power Dedicates Donald Von Raesfeld Power Plant on June 15, 2005, City of Santa Clara news release (2005) 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 Technology Group, McAfee, Move, National Semiconductor, Nvidia, OmniVision Technologies, Ooyala, Palo Alto Networks, Rovi Corporation, ServiceNow, SVB Financial Group, Trident Microsystems and Veritas Technologies are among the companies headquartered in Santa Clara.{{citation needed|date=July 2018}} The North American offices of Bandai Namco Entertainment (formerly Namco) was in Santa Clara until its consolidation with its existing offices in Irvine, California."[https://www.namcobandaigames.com/corporate Company Info]." Namco Bandai. Retrieved on December 8, 2008.{{cite web|url=https://www.gamespot.com/articles/bandai-namco-is-closing-its-santa-clara-office-and-moving-to-southern-california/1100-6490410/|title=Bandai Namco Is Closing Its Santa Clara Office And Moving To Southern California|work=GameSpot|date=April 20, 2021|access-date=April 21, 2021|last=Williams|first=Hayley|archive-date=April 21, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210421065048/https://www.gamespot.com/articles/bandai-namco-is-closing-its-santa-clara-office-and-moving-to-southern-california/1100-6490410/|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://venturebeat.com/2021/04/20/bandai-namco-will-close-its-santa-clara-office-and-move-employees-to-southern-california/|title=Bandai Namco will close its Santa Clara office and move employees to Southern California|work=VentureBeat|date=April 20, 2021|access-date=April 21, 2021|last=Takahashi|first=Dean|archive-date=April 21, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210421072313/https://venturebeat.com/2021/04/20/bandai-namco-will-close-its-santa-clara-office-and-move-employees-to-southern-california/|url-status=live}}

According to the city's 2024 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report,{{cite web |title=Annual Comprehensive Financial Report : Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 2024 |url=https://www.santaclaraca.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/85732/638701326982270000 |access-date= |publisher=City of Santa Clara}} the top employers in the city are:

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).

Santa Clara is represented in California's 17th congressional district for the U.S. House of Representatives, currently represented by {{Representative|cacd|17|fmt=usleader}}.

In the California Legislature, Santa Clara is part of California's 10th State Senate district and California's 26th State Assembly district, represented in the Senate by {{Representative|casd|10|fmt=sleader}}{{Cite web

| url = https://statewidedatabase.org/gis/districtscomp.html

| title = Statewide Database

| publisher = UC Regents

| access-date = April 20, 2024

}} and in the Assembly by {{Representative|caad|26|fmt=sleader}}.

The city operates the Santa Clara City Library, which is not part of the Santa Clara County Library District."[https://library.santaclaraca.gov/index.aspx?page=8 Library]." City of Santa Clara. Retrieved on December 7, 2009.

File:Nobili Hall 1530.jpg, the oldest university in California]]

File:St. Clare School, Santa Clara, California.jpg, the oldest private elementary school in California]]

Santa Clara Unified School District is 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 by Cupertino High School and its feeder schools in the nearby town of its namesake.

Private schools in Santa Clara include three Catholic schools operated by the Roman 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 the Granada Islamic School (Islamic school, grades K-12).{{cite web |title=Granada Islamic |url=https://www.cde.ca.gov/SchoolDirectory/details?cdscode=43696747084692 |website=California School Directory |publisher=California Department of Education |access-date=July 24, 2018 |language=en}}{{cite web |title=St. Clare Elementary |url=https://www.cde.ca.gov/SchoolDirectory/details?cdscode=43696746980429 |website=California School Directory |publisher=California Department of Education |access-date=July 24, 2018 |language=en}}

Colleges and universities in Santa Clara include Santa Clara University (private Jesuit university), Mission College (public community college), UC Santa Cruz Silicon Valley extension campus, and Golden State Baptist College (private Baptist college).

{{more citations needed section|date=June 2016}}

File:California's_Great_America_2.JPG]]

Santa Clara is also home to California's Great America, an amusement park currently operated by Cedar Fair, L.P.

Nearby is the Santa Clara Convention Center, one of Silicon Valley's largest event and meeting venues. Santa Clara also offers several museums such as the Intel Museum, Triton Museum of Art, and the Harris – Lass historical house. The Our Lady of Peace Shrine is notable for its {{convert|32|ft|m|adj=mid|-tall}} statue which is visible from Highway 101. The Mission City Center for Performing Arts is the city's venue for theatrical productions and entertainment.

File:Broncos_vs_49ers_preseason_game_at_Levi's_Stadium.jpg, home of the San Francisco 49ers]]

The Santa Clara Broncos are the Division I NCAA athletic programs of Santa Clara University. Santa Clara sponsors 19 different teams, most of which compete in the West 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.

The George F. Haines International Swim Center is home and host to numerous local, regional, and international competitive swimming matches.

The Santa Clara Vanguard, a competitive marching music organization, has been headquartered in Santa Clara since its inception. The organization runs and operates a winter guard, an indoor percussion ensemble, and two drum 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.

The San Francisco 49ers National Football League football team has its headquarters and practice facilities in Santa Clara. On Wednesday, November 8, 2006, the 49ers announced their intention to move the team to Santa Clara in time for the fall 2014 season, after negotiations failed with the city of San Francisco to build a new stadium.{{cite news | url=https://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Niners-to-leave-SF-move-to-Santa-Clara-2466950.php | title=Niners to leave SF, move to Santa Clara| website=sfgate.com| date=November 9, 2006 |access-date=January 29, 2020 |first1=John |last1=Cote |first2=Cecilia M. |last2=Vega |first3=Marisa |last3=Lagos}}

Santa Clara will host multiple matches during the 2026 FIFA World Cup at Levi's Stadium.{{cite web|url=https://www.fifa.com/fifaplus/en/articles/fifa-unveils-stellar-line-up-of-fifa-world-cup-2026-tm-host-cities|title=FIFA unveils stellar line-up of FIFA World Cup 2026™ Host Cities|publisher=FIFA|access-date=March 19, 2023}}{{cite web | url=https://www.levisstadium.com/2022/06/san-francisco-bay-area-levis-stadium-selected-to-host-fifa-world-cup-2026/ | title=San Francisco Bay Area, Levi's® Stadium Selected to Host FIFA World Cup 2026™ | date=June 16, 2022 }}

{{unreferenced section|date=August 2021}}

File:Santa Clara CA Depot. California railway station Built 1863 (cropped).JPG, served by Caltrain, ACE, and Amtrak]]

Santa Clara has two major train stations: the Santa Clara – Great America station and the Santa Clara station. Both stations are served by Amtrak's Capitol Corridor train and the Altamont Corridor Express (ACE); the latter is also served by Caltrain.

The city is served by the VTA light rail system, which operates four stations: Reamwood station, Old Ironsides station, Great America station, and Lick Mill station.

Santa Clara is located adjacent to San Jose International Airport.

{{Main|Category:People from Santa Clara, California}}

{{As of|May 2015|}}, Santa Clara has three sister cities:{{cite web |title=News : New Sister City |url=https://santaclaraca.gov/index.aspx?page=50&recordid=3122 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091120185419/http://santaclaraca.gov/index.aspx?page=50&recordid=3122 |archive-date=November 20, 2009 |access-date=May 1, 2015 |publisher=City of Santa Clara}}

• Coimbra, Portugal
• Izumo, Shimane, Japan
• Limerick, Ireland

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• {{official website|https://www.santaclaraca.gov/}}
• [https://www.santaclara.org Santa Clara Convention and Visitors Bureau website]
• [https://www.svcentralchamber.com/ Silicon Valley Central Chamber of Commerce, formally Santa Clara Chamber of Commerce website]

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Category:1852 establishments in California

Category:Cities in Santa Clara County, California

Category:Cities in the San Francisco Bay Area

Category:Indian-American culture in California

Category:Incorporated cities and towns in California

Category:Populated places established in 1777

Category:Spanish mission settlements in North America