Oakland is a city located in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It serves as the county seat and is the most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 recorded in 2020. The city ranks as the third most populous city in the Bay Area and the eighth most populous in the state of California.
Incorporated on May 4, 1852, following the population growth driven by the California gold rush, Oakland functions as a major trade center for the region. It is home to the Port of Oakland, which is the busiest port in Northern California and ranks as either the fifth or sixth-busiest port in the United States.