San Francisco has more dogs then kids.
Only 14.5% of the people in San Francisco are under 18. 14.5%! SF has fewer people under 18 then any city in the nation
by contrast, some of the cities with the biggest retired population in Florida have about 18% kids. NYC has almost 30% kids … though I suspect that Manhattan has a much lower percentage.
This is even more amazing given that only 13.7% of San Franciscans are over the age of 65. SF is actually one of the youngest cities in America – the median age is only 36.
Now … what accounts for this phenomenon?
– SF is extraordinarily expensive … especially for kids. And the public school system is very sub-par.
– Large gay population
– SF has a lot of single straight people
– there are a surprising number of straight married couples without kids
But even with all of this, the data are staggering. SF is extremely un-kid friendly.
Way to add a picture of kids — nice touch.
San Francisco is a boutique city. It serves the wealthy and educated (second behind Seattle for % of population w/ college degree out of big cities) and abandons what previously defined big cities: a place for upward mobility.
Most neighborhood disputes are over where to put the next sushi bar, not how to get affordable housing. Or which parks should allow dogs with no leashes.
As you say, public schools are a joke.
It’s no wonder a middle class family would move out and why smart, single men and women with no kids stay.
Having a good mix of ages as well as cultures is what makes a community. It is sad for San Francisco and the people who live there that it has fallen to this point.