San Diego Metro

San Diego County
County
County of San Diego
Images, from top down, left to right: F/A-18 Hornet flying over San Diego, Mission San Diego de Alcalá, San Diego State University's Hepner Hall, Hotel del Coronado's main building, Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve, Jacumba Mountains
Flag Seal
Location in the U.S. state of California
California's location in the United States
Coordinates: 33°01′N 116°46′W / 33.02°N 116.77°W / 33.02; -116.77Coordinates: 33°01′N 116°46′W / 33.02°N 116.77°W / 33.02; -116.77
Country	United States of America
State	California
Formed	February 18, 1850
Named for	San Diego de Alcalá
County seat	San Diego
Largest city	San Diego
Government
• Type	Council–manager
• Body	Board of Supervisors
• Board of Supervisors	Board of Supervisors Greg Cox Dianne Jacob Kristin Gaspar Ron Roberts Bill Horn
• Chief Administrative Officer	Helen Robbins-Meyer
• District Attorney	Summer Stephan
Area
• Total	4,526 sq mi (11,720 km2)
• Land	4,207 sq mi (10,900 km2)
• Water	319 sq mi (830 km2)
Highest elevation	6,536 ft (1,992 m)
Population (April 1, 2010)
• Total	3,095,313
• Estimate (2016)	3,317,749
• Density	680/sq mi (260/km2)
Time zone	Pacific Time Zone (UTC-8)
• Summer (DST)	Pacific Daylight Time (UTC-7)
Area codes	442/760, 619, 858, and 949
FIPS code	06-073
GNIS feature ID	277301
Website	www.sandiegocounty.gov

San Diego County (/ˌsæn diːˈeɪɡoʊ/ Spanish: [san ˈdje.ɣo]) is a county in the southwestern corner of the state of California, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 3,095,313. making it California's second-most populous county and the fifth-most populous in the United States. Its county seat is San Diego, the eighth-most populous city in the United States. It is the southwesternmost county in the 48 contiguous United States.

San Diego County comprises the San Diego-Carlsbad, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is the 17th most populous metropolitan statistical area and the 18th most populous primary statistical area of the United States as of July 1, 2012. San Diego is also part of the San Diego–Tijuana metropolitan area, the largest metropolitan area shared between the United States and Mexico. Greater San Diego ranks as the 38th largest metropolitan area in the Americas.

San Diego County has more than 70 miles (110 km) of coastline. This forms the most densely populated region of the county, which has a mild Mediterranean to semiarid climate and extensive chaparral vegetation, similar to the rest of the western portion of southern California. Precipitation and temperature extremes increase to the east, with mountains that receive frost and snow in the winter. These lushly forested mountains receive more rainfall than average in southern California, while the desert region of the county lies in a rain shadow to the east, which extends into the Desert Southwest region of North America.