tl;dr - this data about Silicon Valley companies is available in CSV format here
A quick look on Wikipedia will tell you that the term “Silicon Valley" dates back to the 1970s and was popularized in the early 80s when IBM and other innovative firms began manufacturing and refining silicon chips in the cities of San Jose, Palo Alto and Mountain View in Northern California. Prior to World War II the South Bay Area was filled with orchards and farms. Today much of California’s agriculture has moved inland to the Central Valley and elsewhere. The SF Bay Area is metropolis filled with nearly eight million people. There are persistent issues of lack of housing, poverty and income inequality in the Bay Area. There are also prosperous industries, dozens of billion dollar companies and professional opportunities for the people that live here.
Silicon Valley is a bit of a mythos as much as it is a geographic place. That said it's generally agreed upon Silicon Valley is in Santa Clara County, on the peninsula south of San Francisco, accessible from the city by BART, Caltrain or the 101 freeway.
- Menlo Park
- Mountain View
- Palo Alto
- Redwood City
- San Bruno
- San Jose
- San Mateo
- Santa Clara
- Sunnyvale
- Cupertino
San Francisco, Oakland, Fremont and Berkeley are close to silicon valley but not really "in" it.
The Santa Cruz Mountains flank Silicon Valley on the west and the San Francisco Bay fills in The Valley's center. In the east there is Pleasanton Ridge and Sunol Ridge (definitely had to look up what those mountains were called) as well as the Hayward Hills and Mt. Diablo to the northeast and San Francisco to the northwest. Below is my super un-scientific image of where “Silicon Valley" is geographically. Here is your silicon valley maps, it's a big place:
Why are there so many tech companies and startups in Silicon Valley?
There are tech hubs popping up all over the world, remote work has never been easier and many Silicon Valley tech giants are opening offices up north in San Francisco. That said, there are still many things that make the Valley attractive to tech and startup professionals.
First there are a large number of Venture Capital (VC) firms and startup incubators & accelerators in Silicon Valley. Many legendary VC firms reside on Sandhill Road which runs through Palo Alto. These VC firms provide funding to hundreds if not thousands of tech companies and startups each year, building collaborative partnerships between operators and financiers.
Stanford University's campus is in Silicon Valley. Many Stanford alumni go on to work at and found many successful tech companies.
The final element is harder to quantify but there’s a “startup culture" which many find attractive and lucrative. The silicon valley's startup culture at it's best prioritizes collaboration, community and innovative entrepreneurial work. This lifestyle leads many ambitious, driven, talented people to move to the county on the peninsula of the San Francisco Bay. The smart, hard working people in the Bay Area became successful and created a destination other ambitious people wanted to go live in.
Silicon Valley tech culture is widely ridiculed and made fun of but the region still drives a significant portion of the United States' growth and innovation in the software industry.
Below is a list of all the tech companies, startups, venture capital firms and recruiting agencies that I can find that have physical offices in Silicon Valley. I made this database to help job seekers find new opportunities and migrants learn more about the tech ecosystem in the Bay Area.
Search all companies in silicon valley here
The last point I’d like to make is that I believe software has the power to help people and make the world a better place, but also can make life hard for people, increase income inequality and provide new ways to discriminate against people. Listing these companies isn’t an endorsement. I think that information should be open, accessible, easy to use and maybe even centralized at times. I hope that you find this map and list helpful. If you’d like the data in CSV format you can find it on GitHub by clicking the button below.
Facts
1. Silicon Valley is a region in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California, United States.
2. It is home to many of the world's largest technology companies, including Apple, Google, Facebook, and Oracle.
3. The region is known for its innovation, venture capital activity, and cutting-edge technology.
4. Silicon Valley is home to more than 3 million people, making it the most populous region in the Bay Area.
5. The region is divided into four counties: Santa Clara, San Mateo, Alameda, and San Francisco.
6. The cities of San Jose, Palo Alto, Mountain View, and Sunnyvale are the most populous cities in the region.
7. Silicon Valley is home to some of the world's most prestigious universities, including Stanford University, University of California, Berkeley, and Santa Clara University.
Statistics
1. Silicon Valley is home to over 7,000 technology companies, representing 20% of the total number of technology companies in the United States.
2. The region is home to over 1.7 million people, making it the second-most populous metropolitan area in California.
3. The median household income in Silicon Valley is $103,000, which is more than double the national median.
4. The median home price in Silicon Valley is $1.1 million, which is more than three times the national median.
5. The unemployment rate in Silicon Valley is 2.6%, which is lower than the national average of 3.7%.
6. The region is home to over 50 venture capital firms, which have invested more than $50 billion in Silicon Valley startups.
7. Silicon Valley is home to over 40 universities and colleges, including Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeley.
Getting around the Bay Area
Though we are a humble blog, creating content for users on our app we can still estimate the best way for people to get around the area. People fly on planes from all around the U.S. and the earth to visit Silicon Valley, despite many people moving to Florida, New York and Los Angeles during the pandemic. Silicon Valley is still the tech capital of the world. Traveling by plane there are a few smaller airports but the main one you're going to fly into is San Francisco International (SFO). By car you can use google maps to make your road trip calculations no matter where in the country you're coming from.
For the geography ners, San Francisco to San Jose, at the bottom of Silicon Valley, is about 50 miles as the crow flies. Silicon Valley has a latitude of 37.34 and longitude of -121.89, so similar distance from the equator as Athens or Lisbon.
Living in Silicon Valley
According to "silicon valley real estate team" these are the best zip codes in Silicon Valley:
- 94024 (Los Altos)
- 95030 ( Los Gatos)
- 94301 (Palo Alto)
- 94123 ( San Fransisco)
- 95070 (Saratoga)
- 94027 (Atherton)
- 94024 (Los Altos Hills)
- 94040 (Mountain View)
- 95014 (Cupertino)