287 articles
Sacramento, California
Sacramento, the capital of California since 1854, sits where the Sacramento and American rivers meet; founded in 1849, it is California's oldest incorporated city with nearly 500,000 residents.
Salem, Oregon
Salem, Oregon: state capital and second largest city, seat of Marion County in the Willamette Valley. Founded 1842 around the Oregon Institute; capital since 1851; population about 181,779 (2025).
Salinas, California
Salinas, California: Monterey County seat (1872, incorporated 1874) in the Salinas Valley, population about 159,000 (2025 estimate), 80.9% Hispanic, hub of a $2 billion lettuce and artichoke agriculture industry and birthplace of John Steinbeck.
San Bernardino, California
San Bernardino is a city in Southern California and the county seat and largest city of San Bernardino County, founded in 1810 by Spanish missionaries and incorporated in 1854.
San Bruno, California
San Bruno, California: San Mateo County city incorporated December 23, 1914, named for San Bruno Mountain; home of YouTube headquarters, Tanforan Racetrack history, and the 2010 PG&E pipeline explosion.
San Clemente, California
San Clemente, California: "Spanish Village by the Sea," southernmost Orange County coastal city founded by Ole Hanson in 1925, incorporated 1928, population about 62,000, known for Spanish Colonial Revival architecture, surfing, and coastal erosion threatening its rail line.
San Diego
San Diego, California's second-largest city (2020 population 1,430,483), county seat founded 1769 and chartered 1850; economy of defense, life sciences, and tourism; faces a $318 million structural city budget deficit.
San Dimas, California
San Dimas, California: a San Gabriel Valley city in Los Angeles County, incorporated August 4, 1960, population about 34,924. Formerly Mud Springs, a citrus town born with the 1887 Santa Fe Railroad; council-manager government.
San Francisco
San Francisco, California: dense coastal city of 826,079 (2025), core of the Bay Area tech economy with $250 billion GDP, extreme housing costs, post-pandemic budget deficits, and 1906 earthquake history.
San Jose, California
San Jose (San José), California: founded 1777 as El Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe, first civil settlement in Alta California and the state's first capital; now California's third-largest city and center of Silicon Valley.
San Juan Capistrano, California
San Juan Capistrano is an Orange County, California city incorporated in 1961, population about 35,000, built around Mission San Juan Capistrano, founded November 1, 1776 as the seventh of 21 Alta California missions.
San Luis Obispo, California
San Luis Obispo is a California central-coast city, county seat, home of Cal Poly (est. 1901), founded around Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa in 1772; population about 50,600 with high housing costs.
San Marino, California
San Marino, California: affluent San Gabriel Valley city in Los Angeles County, incorporated 1913 by Henry E. Huntington and neighbors; home of the Huntington Library; about 12,500 residents, 68% Asian, median household income $214,167.
San Mateo, California
San Mateo, California: a Peninsula city in San Mateo County, incorporated 1894, population 105,661 (2020). Ohlone origins, 1863 railroad, estates, five-member council, RHNA of 7,015 units.
San Rafael, California
San Rafael is the county seat and largest city of Marin County, California, on San Pablo Bay about 18 miles north of San Francisco, grown from Mission San Rafael Arcángel (1817) with about 60,000 residents.
San Ramon, California
San Ramon is a charter city in Contra Costa County, California, incorporated July 1, 1983, with 84,605 residents (2020 census), known for the 585-acre Bishop Ranch office park and 59 city parks.
Santa Ana, California
Santa Ana, California: county seat of Orange County, founded 1869 by William H. Spurgeon on the Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana; about 315,000 residents, 76.6% Hispanic, dense transit-served urban center.
Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara, California: coastal city and Santa Barbara County seat between the Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific; population about 91,930, Mediterranean climate, Spanish Colonial Revival architecture, 1782 presidio, 1786 mission, 1925 M6.3 earthquake, severe housing unaffordability.
Santa Clara, California
Santa Clara is a city of about 128,000 in Santa Clara County, California, at the center of Silicon Valley, incorporated in 1852 and named for Mission Santa Clara de Asís.
Santa Clarita, California
Santa Clarita, California: a Los Angeles County city incorporated December 15, 1987, 30 miles north of downtown LA, comprising Saugus, Newhall, Valencia, and Canyon Country; third-largest county city with about 230,000 residents.
Santa Cruz, California
Santa Cruz, California: coastal city and county seat on northern Monterey Bay, 75 miles south of San Francisco. Incorporated 1866, chartered 1876, council-manager government since 1948; home of UC Santa Cruz; known for tourism and extreme housing costs.
Santa Maria, California
Santa Maria is the largest city in Santa Barbara County, California, incorporated in 1905, with about 110,000 residents, a Latino-majority population, an agricultural and oil-based economy, and a 2045 general plan for 16,000 new homes.
Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica, California: beachside city of 8.3 square miles in Los Angeles County, founded 1875 by Jones and Baker, incorporated 1886; about 90,000 residents, Santa Monica Pier, Silicon Beach economy, and 8 million annual tourists.
Santa Rosa, California
Santa Rosa, California: largest city in Sonoma County (pop. about 179,000), 55 miles north of San Francisco; incorporated 1868; home of Luther Burbank and Charles Schulz; rebuilt rapidly after the 2017 Tubbs Fire.
Saratoga, California
Saratoga, California: Santa Clara County residential city of about 30,400, incorporated 1956; began as an 1848 sawmill settlement, named 1865 for Saratoga Springs, New York, once a prune-orchard center.
Sausalito, California
Sausalito is a small waterfront city in southern Marin County, California, on Richardson's Bay across from San Francisco. Known for the WWII Marinship shipyard, floating homes, and ferry service; incorporated 1893, population about 7,300.
Scotts Valley, California
Scotts Valley is a general law city in Santa Cruz County, California, incorporated August 2, 1966 after a contested 1964 vote. Population about 12,000; home to Seagate's origins, a 1,220-unit RHNA obligation, and a planned 58-acre Town Center.
Seal Beach, California
Seal Beach, California: coastal Orange County city between Long Beach and Huntington Beach, incorporated 1915 as Seal Beach (formerly Bay City), population about 25,000, home to California's second longest wooden pier and the Naval Weapons Station covering two thirds of its land.
Seattle
Seattle, largest city in Washington State (pop. est. 784,777, 2025), lies between Puget Sound and Lake Washington on Duwamish and Suquamish land; incorporated 1869, rebuilt after the 1889 Great Fire, reshaped by regrades and annexations.
Sebastopol, California
Sebastopol, California: small incorporated city (1902) in western Sonoma County, about 50 miles north of San Francisco; Gravenstein apple heritage, Luther Burbank Experiment Farm, The Barlow market district, population about 7,800.