San Rafael, California
San Rafael is a city in and the county seat of Marin County, California, United States. The city is located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 61,271, up from 57,713 in 2010.
San Rafael was founded by the Spanish in 1817, when Vicente Francisco de Sarría established Mission San Rafael Arcángel, initially as an asistencia. San Rafael Arcángel was upgraded to full mission status in 1822, a month before Alta California declared independence from Spain as part of Mexico. Following the American Conquest of California, the community of San Rafael incorporated as a city in 1874.
History
San Rafael was once the site of several Coast Miwok villages: Awani-wi, near downtown San Rafael; Ewu, near Terra Linda; and Shotomko-cha, in Marinwood.Spanish period
was founded as the 20th Spanish mission in the colonial province of Alta California by three priests—Father Narciso Durán from Mission San José, Father Abella from Mission San Francisco de Asís, Father Luis Gíl y Taboada from La Iglesia de Nuestra Señora Reina de los Angeles—on December 14, 1817, four years before Mexico gained independence from Spain. The mission from which the downtown grew and the city being named after the Archangel Raphael, the Angel of Healing.The mission was originally planned as a hospital site for Central Valley American Indians who had become ill at the cold San Francisco Mission Dolores. Father Luis Gil, who spoke several Native American languages, was put in charge of the facility. In part because of its ideal weather, San Rafael was later upgraded to full mission status in 1822.
Mexican period
The mission had 300 converts within its first year, and 1,140 converts by 1828.Following the Mexican secularization act of 1833, the Mexican government took over the California missions in 1834, and Mission San Rafael was abandoned in 1844, eventually falling into ruin.
American period
San Rafael has been the seat of Marin County since April 25, 1851. The San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad reached San Rafael in 1879 and was linked to the national rail network in 1888. The United States Navy operated a San Pablo Bay degaussing range from San Rafael through World War II.Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of. of it is land and of it is water. San Francisco is to the south.The San Rafael shoreline has been historically filled to a considerable extent to accommodate land development, with underlying bay mud of up to in thickness. At certain locations such as Murphys Point, the sandstone or shale rock outcrops through the mud.
San Rafael has a wide diversity of natural habitats from forests at the higher elevations to marshland and estuarine settings. Its marshes are home to the endangered species salt marsh harvest mouse. There are also riparian areas including the San Rafael Creek and Miller Creek corridors.
Climate
San Rafael has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate, with mild winter lows seldom reaching the freezing mark. The National Weather Service reports that August is usually the warmest month with a high of and a low of. December, the coldest month, has an average high of and an average low of. The highest temperature on record is, recorded in June 1961. The highest temperature in recent years,, occurred on July 23, 2006, and again on September 6, 2020. The record lowest temperature was on December 22, 1990. There are an average of 17.9 afternoons annually with a high of or more and 1.2 afternoons with a high of or more. Freezing temperatures occur on an average of 3.6 mornings.Total annual precipitation averages, with an average of 64.3 days with measurable rain. The rainy season is from November to early April: rain is rare outside of this period and it is normal to receive no rain in June, July, August, and September. The wettest "rain year" was from July 1994 to June 1995 with and the driest from July 1975 to June 1976 with. The most rain in one month was in January 1995, and the heaviest 24-hour rainfall was on December 11, 1995. A trace of snow was recorded on January 30, 1976.
Demographics
San Rafael first appeared as a city in the 1870 United States census.2020
The 2020 United States census reported that San Rafael had a population of 61,271. The population density was. The racial makeup of San Rafael was 54.6% White, 1.7% African American, 3.7% Native American, 6.6% Asian, 0.3% Pacific Islander, 20.8% from other races, and 12.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 34.3% of the population.The census reported that 97.1% of the population lived in households, 1.9% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 1.0% were institutionalized.
There were 23,339 households, out of which 30.2% included children under the age of 18, 45.4% were married-couple households, 7.5% were cohabiting couple households, 28.5% had a female householder with no partner present, and 18.6% had a male householder with no partner present. 30.3% of households were one person, and 15.9% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.55. There were 14,209 families.
The age distribution was 20.5% under the age of 18, 8.1% aged 18 to 24, 26.3% aged 25 to 44, 25.3% aged 45 to 64, and 19.7% who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 41.3years. For every 100 females, there were 98.6 males.
There were 24,502 housing units at an average density of, of which 23,339 were occupied. Of these, 50.8% were owner-occupied, and 49.2% were occupied by renters.
In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that the median household income was $109,317, and the per capita income was $67,609. About 5.5% of families and 10.9% of the population were below the poverty line.
2010
The 2010 United States census reported that the city of San Rafael had a population of 57,713. This figure does not, however, include portions of the Santa Venetia and Lucas Valley-Marinwood CDPs, nor various other unincorporated areas, all of which have San Rafael postal addresses; in total, according to the 2010 Census, there were 70,197 residents of San Rafael postal addresses.The following statistics refer to the incorporated limits of San Rafael only. The population density was. The racial makeup of San Rafael was 40,734 White, 1,154 African American, 709 Native American, 3,513 Asian, 126 Pacific Islander, 8,513 from other races, and 2,964 from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 17,302 persons.
The Census reported that 55,594 people lived in households, 1,314 lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 805 were institutionalized.
There were 22,764 households, out of which 6,358 had children under the age of 18 living in them, 9,845 were opposite-sex married couples living together, 2,004 had a female householder with no husband present, 1,133 had a male householder with no wife present. There were 1,450 unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 301 same-sex married couples or partnerships. 7,434 households were made up of individuals, and 2,954 had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44. There were 12,982 families ; the average family size was 3.02.
The population was spread out, with 11,132 people under the age of 18, 4,956 people aged 18 to 24, 16,915 people aged 25 to 44, 15,574 people aged 45 to 64, and 9,136 people who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40.2 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.1 males.
There were 24,011 housing units at an average density of, of which 11,909 were owner-occupied, and 10,855 were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.6%; the rental vacancy rate was 5.1%. 27,554 people lived in owner-occupied housing units and 28,040 people lived in rental housing units.
Economy
, Autodesk, In Defense of Animals, Westamerica Bank, and GIS Data Resources are among the companies headquartered in San Rafael. In May 2022, Autodesk announced its intention to move its headquarters to San Francisco, along with its 578 employees, and close the San Rafael office by October of that year.Housing
San Rafael, a small city situated in Marin County, is known for its affluent suburban/urban environment. Despite the median income for a family in San Rafael reaching an estimated amount of $97,009 according to the 2016-2020 US Census report, different regions of San Rafael remain below the poverty line of 11.4%.Top employers
According to San Rafael's 2023 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:| # | Employer | # of Employees |
| 1 | Kaiser Permanente | 2,339 |
| 2 | BioMarin | 950 |
| 3 | San Rafael City Schools | 700 |
| 4 | City of San Rafael | 420 |
| 5 | Dominican University of California | 394 |
| 6 | Ghilotti Bros., Inc. | 298 |
| 7 | Community Action Marin | 200 |
| 8 | Equator Coffees, LLC | 95 |
Entertainment industry
After the arrival of George Lucas in San Rafael in 1970 to film the movie THX 1138, the city became a center for the entertainment industry, particularly the high-tech elements of the business. Lucasfilm was founded by George Lucas in 1971, and is best known for the global hit movie series Star Wars and also for Indiana Jones. Some of the company's operations were moved to San Francisco in 2005. Portions of the Universal movie production American Graffiti were filmed in downtown San Rafael under George Lucas's direction, and portions of THX 1138 were shot at the Marin County Civic Center in San Rafael. Much of the movie Gattaca, starring Ethan Hawke, was also shot in the Marin County Civic Center. Industrial Light & Magic was founded in 1975 by Lucas to do special effects for his films and those of other filmmakers. The new-age music program Hearts of Space has been headquartered in San Rafael since 2004.Largely because of the presence of LucasFilm, San Rafael started to attract video game developers, with several major studios located in the city:
- Broderbund — Founded by Doug Carlston and Gary Carlston in 1980, the company was sold to Mindscape in 1998 and moved to Novato. Best known for the hit titles Choplifter, Lode Runner, The Print Shop, Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? and Myst, and for being the early distributor of SimCity. After several subsequent acquisitions by various companies, in 2001 the remaining Broderbund offices were moved to San Francisco.
- LucasArts — Founded by George Lucas in as LucasFilm Games; relocated to San Francisco in 2005. Best known for Star Wars and Indiana Jones games and innovative titles such as The Secret of Monkey Island, Grim Fandango and Full Throttle.
- Stormfront Studios — Founded by San Rafael native Don Daglow in 1988. Best known for The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, many EA Sports titles including NASCAR Racing, Gold Box role-playing video games and the first graphical MMORPG, Neverwinter Nights.
- Visual Concepts — Founded by Greg Thomas in 1988, the company was bought by Sega in 1999, then sold to Take Two Interactive in 2004. Best known for creating many EA Sports titles, and recently for Sega Sports and its 2K line of sports games.
- Totally Games — Founded by former LucasArts programmer Larry Holland in 1994. Best known for a series of Star Wars flight sim games.
- THX — the high-fidelity audio/visual reproduction standard which started as a spin-off from Lucasfilm Ltd., founded by Tomlinson Holman at George Lucas's company.
- Factor 5 — Founded in Germany in 1987 by Julian Eggebrecht, moved to San Rafael in 1996 to be close to publisher LucasArts. Best known for Star Wars and Indiana Jones games. In May 2009, the company's San Rafael studio closed.
- Telltale Games — Founded in 2004 by former LucasArts employees. Best known for its video game adaptation of The Walking Dead and Sam & Max adventure games. The company filed for bankruptcy on November 14, 2018.
- Mind Control Software — Founded in 1994 by Andrew Leker, Best known for its Independent Games Festival–winning game, Oasis.