Settlements similar to or like San Francisco

Populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. Defined by the Association of Bay Area Governments to include the nine counties that border the aforementioned estuaries: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, Sonoma, and San Francisco. Wikipedia

Cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley, and the largest city in Northern California by both population and area. Estimated 2019 population of 1,021,795, it is the third-most populous city in California and the tenth-most populous in the United States. Wikipedia

State in the Pacific Coast region of the United States. Most populous U.S. state and the third-largest by area, as well as the world's thirty-fourth-most-populous subnational entity. Wikipedia

Timeline of the San Francisco Bay Area in California, events in the nine counties that border on the San Francisco Bay, and the bay itself. 1800–1845 Wikipedia

The history of the city of San Francisco, California, and its development as a center of maritime trade, were shaped by its location at the entrance to a large natural harbor. Name of both the city and the county; the two share the same boundaries. Wikipedia

Largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. Largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the San Francisco Bay Area, the eighth most populated city in California, and the 45th most populated city in the United States. Wikipedia