Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port city, Oakland is the 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. Oakland serves as a trade center for the San Francisco Bay Area; its Port of Oakland is the busiest port in the San Francisco Bay, the entirety of Northern California.
Oakland has more than 50 distinct neighborhoods. The city's greater divisions include downtown Oakland and its greater Central Business District, Lake Merritt, East Oakland, North Oakland, West Oakland, and the Oakland Hills. East Oakland, which includes the East Oakland Hills, encompasses more than half of Oakland's land area, stretching from Lakeshore Avenue on the east shore of Lake Merritt southeast to the San Leandro border. North Oakland encompasses the neighborhoods between downtown and Berkeley and Emeryville. West Oakland is the area between downtown and the Bay, partially surrounded by the Oakland Point, and encompassing the Port of Oakland.
As of 2020, the San Francisco-Oakland Metro shows indications of having the greatest intensity of gentrification nationally, with over 31% of eligible neighborhoods gentrifying. Gentrifying neighborhoods showed significant increases in median home value, median household income, percentage of college educated residents, but also in economic inequality.
Oakland has many parks and recreation centers which total 5,937 acres.
The Oakland Unified School District (OUSD), which covers the city except for Sheffield Village, operates most of Oakland's public schools.
Oakland's three largest public high schools are Oakland High School, Oakland Technical High School, and Skyline High School. Other Oakland public high schools include Castlemont High School, Fremont High School, and McClymonds High School, briefly known as Castlemont Community of Small Schools, Fremont Federation of High Schools, and McClymonds Educational Complex, respectively.
Oakland International Airport, within Oakland's city limits, is 4 miles south of downtown Oakland and serves domestic and international destinations. AC Transit provides 24-hour service to the airport, and BART's Coliseum–Oakland International Airport automated guideway transit line provides frequent service between the airport and Oakland Coliseum station.
The metropolitan area is served by Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) from eight stations in Oakland. The system has headquarters in Oakland, with major transfer hubs at MacArthur and 19th Street stations.
The Alameda / Oakland Ferry operates ferry service from Jack London Square to Alameda, Oracle Park, Pier 41, the San Francisco Ferry Building, and the South San Francisco Ferry Terminal.
