About Silicon Valley

Silicon Valley is the only place on Earth not trying to figure out how to become Silicon Valley.—Robert Metcalfe

Northern California's Silicon Valley has the largest concentration of high-tech companies in the world. But there are many in Northern California, especially from Sacramento west to Santa Rosa, and south through San Francisco to Santa Cruz. This "High-Tech Heaven" is generally called the San Francisco Bay Area or just the Bay Area for short.

Silicon Valley is only a nickname for the niche high-tech companies have carved out of the San Francisco Bay Area. But Silicon Valley really is a valley. It's nestled between the Diablo and Santa Cruz Mountain Ranges, where they flank the southern tip of the San Francisco Bay and beyond. As you probably know, silicon is an ingredient in chips, and there are many local chip companies. Journalist Don C. Hoefler cleverly joined the two terms in his 1971 articles about the area, and voilà! Silicon Valley, an enduring nickname, was born.

While there are no official borders, Silicon Valley is typically defined as the geographical area in about a 30-mile radius around San Jose, encompassing many cities in this densely-populated region. If you're job searching Silicon Valley, it's worth mentioning some of its cities so you can recognize them. Cities within Silicon Valley include:

• Cupertino
• Palo Alto
• Mountain View
• Los Gatos
• Menlo Park
• Los Altos
• Saratoga
• Milpitas
• Willow Glen
• Campbell
• Fremont
• Santa Clara, also the name of the county in which Silicon Valley resides

San Jose owns "The Capitol of Silicon Valley" nickname, while Sunnyvale has staked its claim to "The Heart of Silicon Valley." Click on the graphic above to see Yahoo's interactive map of the San Francisco Bay Area.

If you're thinking about relocating to or within Silicon Valley, see the comprehensive article "About Silicon Valley - Living and Working in High-Tech Heaven."

Click in the menu below and near the bottom of every page in this section, for ever-evolving links to job and career resources for Silicon Valley and the entire San Francisco Bay Area.