Founded by the Spanish and populated by gold-rushers over 150 years ago, San Francisco is one of the oldest American cities on the West Coast. It has long enjoyed a reputation as a countercultural mecca, as a home to the hippie generation of the 1960s in the Haight-Ashbury, and home to one of the nation's first gay communities in its Castro district. It was ground zero for the dot-com boom in the late 1990s, and prospered economically during this time.

The economy of San Francisco took a hit when the dot-coms went bust at the turn of the 21st century, but the city has recovered nicely. Unemployment is only about two percent, and the standard of living is well above the national average. The city is still growing, though slowly, and shows little signs of the past disruption.

San Francisco Homes

Compared to cities in the rest of the United States, property costs in San Francisco are near-astronomical. While an average US home costs roughly $146,000, the average home in San Francisco sells for $453,000. These homes do accumulate value faster than the average home, and San Francisco also enjoys lower property taxes than the nation as a whole.

Given San Francisco's history, there is a predictable abundance of HUD activity in the city. As the first major US city to mobilize an AIDS response, thanks in part to its large and outspoken gay population, HUD works to ensure housing opportunities for those living with HIV/AIDS. In addition, San Francisco has a very large homeless population. Many of San Francisco's homeless are Vietnam veterans and drug addicts, and HUD has been working with the city to find homes and treatment for this group.