A reader’s question reminds us that we might be taking it for granted that everyone knows their Districts. A map for those who are more visual with a neighborhood breakdown below:
District 1: Central Richmond, Inner Richmond, Jordan Park/Laurel Heights, Lake, Lone Mountain, Outer Richmond, Sea Cliff
District 2: Central Sunset, Golden Gate Heights, Inner Parkside, Inner Sunset, Outer Parkside, Outer Sunset, Parkside
District 3: Ingleside, Ingleside Heights, Lake Shore, Lakeside, Merced Heights, Merced Manor, Oceanview, Pine Lake Park, Stonestown
District 4: Balboa Terrace, Diamond Heights, Forest Hill, Forest Hill Extension, Forest Knolls, Ingleside Terrace, Midtown Terrace, Miraloma Park, Monterey Heights, Mount Davidson Manor, Sherwood Forest, St. Francis Wood, Sunnyside, West Portal, Westwood Highlands, Westwood Park
District 5: Buena Vista Park, Clarendon Heights, Corona Heights, Duboce Triangle, Eureka Valley/Dolores Heights, Glen Park, Haight Ashbury, Mission Dolores, Noe Valley, Parnassus/Ashbury Heights, Twin Peaks
District 6: Alamo Square, Anza Vista, Hayes Valley, Lower Pacific Heights, North Panhandle, Western Addition
District 7: Cow Hollow, Marina, Pacific Heights, Presidio Heights
District 8: Downtown, Financial District, Nob Hill, North Beach, North Waterfront, Russian Hill, Telegraph Hill , Tenderloin, Van Ness/Civic Center
District 9: Bernal Heights, Central Waterfront, Inner Mission, Mission Bay, Potrero Hill, South Beach, South of Market
District 10: Bayview, Bayview Heights, Crocker Amazon, Excelsior, Hunters Point, Mission Terrace, Outer Mission, Portola, Silver Terrace, Visitacion Valley
Keep in mind the maps will be changing at the end of the summer. And the San Francisco Supervisor Districts are not one and the same.
∙ San Francisco Real Estate District Map (pdf) [reineckandreineck.com]
∙ A Rose By Any Other Name (But Not Necessarily A Neighborhood) [SocketSite]
∙ San Francisco Supervisor Districts [SFGov]
Comments from Plugged-In Readers
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I always forget which is what because the districts are numbered forming an S oriented west to east, which is non-intuitive for me.
Were they initially partitioned by ‘neighborhood feel’ or by average price, or what? Why is 6 so small and 9 so big? 6 is mostly homogenous across the district, but 9 includes SOMA, Potrero Hill and the Mission!
I love this map!!!!
I was recently arguing with an SF transplant about Duboce Triangle. His assertion was that he’s never seen Duboce Triangle written on a map so it’s not a a “real” neighborhood!
thanks SS.
I have not checked any others but the detail map for district 9 is shockingly inaccurate. Third street stops and starts, for example, instead of running through. From the south, third does not quite reach King and from the north it stops at Bryant! There are a lot of other, similar bloopers.
I love how the area around Haight and Fillmore is now called Hayes Valley because every time I checked for the last, oh, 30 years, this has been called the Lower Haight.
I always find it interesting that there is no offical neighbourhood called The Castro – but everyone refers to it as that.
My favourite non-offical areas are called:
MISO – where Mission/SOMA meet
CHINFINION – Chinatown/Financial District/Union Square intersection
CHINFINION – Chinatown/Financial District/Union Square intersection
That’s almost a French Quarter. Belden place, the consulate, decent French fashion on Grant and many more small pieces of France sprinkled here and there on these few blocks.
If someone working on the new map reads this, I’d like to advocate showing Japantown and Cathedral Hill.
I always find it interesting that there is no offical neighbourhood called The Castro
It may have been you and I both arguing this point the last time around. I agree that the Castro should be on all maps. It is by far the most well known neighborhood in San Francisco, bar none. (yes even more well known the Pac Heights which is a distant second IMO)
SFS – yes, very French and I love those few blocks – although the size of it is more akin to a French ThirtySecond than a French Quarter! – not forgetting Cafe La presse with the ‘Rue Bush’ sign – oh how so many of us do actually Rue Bush!
ex SF-er it wasn’t me – I just read that thread for the first time. But yes, agree about the Castro. actually think the Haight is the only other area that rivals it for being well known – certainly among a younger crowd.
ex-sfer and repornaddict, that was me on the earlier thread.
BTW, districts 9 and 10 are so large because that is not traditionally where the action is. I’m not sure how long the 10 districts have existed in this form, but even 15 years ago, District 9 was essentially Mission/Bernal for residential, with SOMA thrown in because it had to go somewhere. Now that there is such substantial residential development throughout “greater” SOMA – Rincon Hill, South Beach, Mission Bay…it seems pretty jarring to keep it in the same district as the Mission. Likewise, your average resident (or realtor) north of California has no idea that there are many distinct neighborhoods in District 10. But I expect Realtor ™ would rather jiggle with sub-districts than change the outlines of the 10 existing districts.
I meant to also say, it amazes me that the SFRealtors district map on their website shows no subdistricts at all for District 10. Is that true realtors, or is it just an error of the website? Because that earlier article discussed defining subdistricts for places like Little Hollywood.
[Editor’s Note: We share the amazement (see comment below).]
Oh yeah, duh. Haight is definitely a bonified contender with Castro for best known neighborhood in SF.
Pac Heights is distant third.
🙂
Here is something that has always confused me. Where is the Inner Mission vs. the Mission? Is there an “Outer Mission”? Are there agreed upon boundries for these?
[Editor’s Note: See note below.]
“Outer Mission” I always took to mean south of Cesar Chavez.
Would you say that Precita Park is Outer Mission then, or is that part of Bernal?
Precita Park is Bernal. That boundary is the east side of Mission street. Come to think of it, maybe “Outer Mission” is better defined as south of 30th street, or at least south of where Mission and Valencia run together. The intersection of Misson and CC definitely is not “inner Mission” though.
[Editor’s Note: Officially the “Outer Mission” is actually south of Geneva Avenue out in District 10 (between Crocker Amazon and Ingleside), while the “Inner Mission” is what most know as The Misson (north of Cesar Chavez).]
If you want the full map as a whole, it can be found here: sf districts map.
[Editor’s Note: We were about to switch to a Domicile Properties link for the map, but that’s even better. Cheers.]
The more we looked at the District maps created by the San Francisco Multiple Listing Service, the less we liked them. As such, we’ve switch our overview image above to a map created by Domicile Properties and our link to a detailed map (pdf) by Reineck and Reineck.
“cole valley” no more, eh?
In addition to Lower Haight, Cole Valley seems to be another phantom neighborhood. These omissions do seem odd.
The most logical layout over in the Haight/Cole Valley area would be to make Frederick btwn Stanyan and Masonic the southern border of Upper Haight. Then, in what is now “Parnassus/Ashbury Heights” (5e) plus the “annexed” part of the Haight, you split into three sections. From west to east, Parnassus Heights (west of Stanyan), then Cole Valley (btwn Stanyan and Clayton, and finally Ashbury Heights (btwn Clayton and the borders of 5f and 5g).
It is also odd that Eureka Valley/Dolores Hts isn’t broken up further. But maybe this is all tied in with the reluctance to use “the Castro” as a neighborhood name.
SS,
The Reineck and Reineck map is great. But the one from Domicile would need a bit of recentering for Eureka Valley/Dolores Heights, Noe Valley, Corona Heights. They’re way too much south. That’s a great effort though and I understand the challenge at making it at the same time accurate and readable.
And don’t forget the ORK poster version
http://www.orkposters.com/sanfran.html
Isn’t Cole Valley going to be one of the new ‘hoods?
Last time the neighborhoods discussion came up I caught shit for not knowing Little Hollywood, but now it’s not even on the map. What happened to it?
Wow there it is. 10d. Outer Mission. I learn something new every day on socketsite. Well, maybe once a week.
Now if only the mapmaker could spell… “Doboce Triangle” is known to most of us as DUBOCE Triangle, lol…
Cesar Chavez? You mean Army St.
Do you call this town San Francisco or Yerba Buena? Excuse me I’m off to tend to my goats. I put them out to pasture on Bernal Hill so that I could check Socketsite.
Now all of district 6 is one giant neighborhood. Because McAllister and Webster is the same in feel as Hayes and Central is the same as California and Fillmore.
Oh, and Hayes Valley doesn’t get to exist anymore either.
The mission is also a condender for best known SF hoods. Besides the historical and cultural roots of the Chicano movement, it’s a must see for every hipster toting a lonely planet, time out, rough guide, etc.
Have to disagree on the Mission being up there as best known SF hood.
Don’t think you see anywhere the number of tourists you do in the haight, or Castro.
have to admit before I first visited SF (from the UK) I hadn’t heard of the Mission.
maybe being a hipster yourself you are biased? 😉
Yeah, the Mission hardly registers at all except to people looking to come to SF. Ask a random person in Europe or from the East Coast to name neighborhoods famous in SF and you’ll hear the following:
1. Haight
2. Castro
3. Pacific Heights
4. Nob Hill
5. Chinatown
You might hear Chinatown more than any, but I don’t really count that because it isn’t a unique neighborhood to SF, but SF does have a larger and more well known Chinatown than most places (and it’s been in a LOT of movies). I’d put Pac Hts and Nob Hill roughly equal, just because of movie and TV exposure for both. The Tenderloin is more well known than most people realize too (not always for good reasons, of course), definitely more so than the Mission.
Yeah, good ‘top 5’. I kind of agree about Chinatown – it was actually the first ‘hood I went to, and had a drink in (partly due to proximity to my hostel).
It’s funny how having first known SF as a tourist, then as part of a long distance relationship, then as a resident, how my perceptions of, and relationship with each district has gradually changed.
actually, for me, North Beach kwas inda up on my hit list for my first visit because of the whole Beat thing.
actually,a question: The Presidio – not in any of the districts, but presumably houses are bought and sold there? How does that work?
This map is missing PLENTY of the quirkier cool little hoods of SF.
Dogpatch
Hayes Valley
9th & Irving
North Panhandle
Alta Plaza
Little Hollywood
Tenderloin
Tendernob
The Castro
Somisspo
Presidio Terrace
Anza Vista
Liberty Heights
Fillmore
Sutro Park
Union Square
Lower Haight
Upper Market
Etc.
REpornaddict – I believe all the Presidio housing is rental. I’ve never heard of anything being listed for sale or being sold within the Presidio.
in case anyone cares, the lower haight actually used to be called “midtown”
Rhewster,
No one who lives right on or near Alta Plaza thinks they are in any neighborhood except for Pacific Heights.
And Presidio Terrace, while geographically across Aguello, is still Presidio Heights.
Which is not to say that Alta Plaza is not hugely desirable. The orange house just east of Scott on Jackson sold in almost no time. Does anyone know the selling price?
A rose by any other name…?
Who cares.
San Francisco is a fortunate city that has great neighborhood after great neighborhood and enough variety for almost everybody’s tastes.
While the names are useful as a guide, there seem to be a few people who are obsessed by drawing these lines and what the right place is to draw the lines. I suspect these individuals may suffer from sort of psychiatric or neurological disorder that makes them care too much. I see one user here who is cutting up neighborhoods is three or four block stretches and very convinced that he or she definitively knows what these little neighborhoods are. Woe unto anybody north of Frederick who thinks they are in a neighborhood south of Frederick.
“I suspect these individuals may suffer from sort of psychiatric or neurological disorder that makes them care too much.”
People are concerned not only with the actual amenities that a place affords them but with the social status they gain by living there. Thus this tussling over borders is mainly a fight over social status and who gets to claim it.
Half of the nabe names in D5 are in the wrong spots.
Nit: note on the Map it should be St. Francis Wood, singular.
And I agree, where is the Castro? Shameful, simply shameful.
[Editor’s Note: The map above is only intended as an overview of the ten boundaries, try the link for specific neighborhoods. And sorry, but according to the San Francisco Association of Realtors the “Castro” isn’t officially one.]
“While the names are useful as a guide, there seem to be a few people who are obsessed by drawing these lines and what the right place is to draw the lines. I suspect these individuals may suffer from sort of psychiatric or neurological disorder that makes them care too much.’
Yes, they’re called “Realtors”.
Well, they do care a lot for a reason. Depending on the border, your house can be in either a so-so or a coveted area for no tangible reason.
Think someone with his home on very desirable Laidley. The Glen Park designation doesn’t reflect the real value of the street. RE is all local and zones do matter a lot.
Well, they do care a lot for a reason. Depending on the border, your house can be in either a so-so or a coveted area for no tangible reason.
absolutely, look at the price differential between Monterey Heights and St. Francis Wood…
Yes,
Same thing with Grand View. We had a debate earlier this year on whether it belonged in Noe. There are many examples like that. Designing borders is becoming an art form.
“I see one user here who is cutting up neighborhoods is three or four block stretches and very convinced that he or she definitively knows what these little neighborhoods are.”
How long have you been in town? Do you really think that people in this part of town don’t make the same distinctions that I described above as comprising “the most logical layout”?
You act as if I “invented” these distinct neighborhoods and their names.
I invite you to do the following……
1) Go to the UCSF (Parnassus Heights) campus and ask UCSF personnel (doctors, nurses, admins, security, etc..) what neighborhood you are standing in.
2) Next, walk east on Parnassus until you arrive at Cole St. Walk into any store in the two block shopping district on Cole St and ask what neighborhood you are standing in.
3) Finally, go down to Frederick, cut across to Ashbury, pop into Ashbury Market and ask them what neighborhood you are standing in.
Similarly, you can go to Edgewood, Grattan, and Piedmont Sts., respectively. Knock on a few doors and ask the residents what neighborhood you are standing in.
After doing this, I would bet that you’ll be “very convinced” that you now “definitively know” what these little neighborhoods are.
—————————————–
“Woe unto anybody north of Frederick who thinks they are in a neighborhood south of Frederick.”
I’ll just refer you to the point made above by diemos and San FronziScheme regarding “social status”.
Th loeer haight is in Hayes Valley,Realtorwise, and is really the Western Addition.
Hey, does anyone know how you can obtain a hard copy of the real estate districts map. Do you have to be an agent/ realtor? It seems like you can never get a straight answer from an agent – even a friend wont give up their source. What gives?
Strange that the Castro is not named the Castro. I guess the local real estate industry figures that Missy and Biff would be nervous about dropping a million and a half in neighborhood filled with – you know – those types. But it’s somehow comforting that the mere suggestion of openly gay people could scare people when it comes to their money.
In the Realtor alternate reality, there is no Tenderloin neither!