Berkeley, California

Berkeley
Looking west over the city from the Berkeley Hills, with San Francisco in the background
Location of Berkeley in Alameda County, California
Berkeley
Location within Alameda County, California
Berkeley
Location within San Francisco Bay Area
Berkeley
Location within the state of California
Berkeley
Location within the United States
Berkeley
Location within North America
Coordinates: 37°52′18″N 122°16′22″W / 37.87167°N 122.27278°W / 37.87167; -122.27278
CountryUnited States
StateCalifornia
CountyAlameda
IncorporatedApril 4, 1878
CharteredMarch 5, 1895
Named afterGeorge Berkeley
Government
  TypeCouncil-Manager
  MayorAdena Ishii
  Council members
 by district number
  1. Rashi Kesarwani
  2. Terry Taplin
  3. Ben Bartlett
  4. Igor Tregub
  5. Shoshana O'Keefe
  6. Brent Blackaby
  7. Cecilia Lunaparra
  8. Mark Humbert
  State senatorJesse Arreguín (D)
  Assembly memberBuffy Wicks (D)
  U.S. rep.Lateefah Simon (D)
Area
  Total
17.66 sq mi (45.73 km2)
  Land10.43 sq mi (27.02 km2)
  Water7.22 sq mi (18.71 km2)  40.83%
Elevation
171 ft (52 m)
Population
 (2020)
  Total
124,321
  Rank
  • 4th in Alameda County
  • 53rd in California
  • 248th in the United States
  Density11,917.27/sq mi (4,601.36/km2)
DemonymBerkeleyan
Time zoneUTC−8 (Pacific)
  Summer (DST)UTC−7 (PDT)
ZIP Codes
94701–94710, 94712, 94720
Area code510, 341
FIPS code06-06000
GNIS feature IDs1658037, 2409837
Websiteberkeleyca.gov

Berkeley (/ˈbɜːrkli/ BURK-lee) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Anglo-Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and Emeryville to the south and the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington to the north. Its eastern border with Contra Costa County generally follows the ridge of the Berkeley Hills. The 2020 census recorded a population of 124,321.

Berkeley is home to the oldest campus in the University of California, the University of California, Berkeley, and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, which is managed and operated by the university. It also has the Graduate Theological Union, one of the largest religious studies institutions in the world. Berkeley is considered one of the most socially progressive cities in the United States.