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Saratoga is a city located in Santa Clara County, California, USA. It is located on the west side of the Santa Clara Valley, in the San Francisco Bay Area. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 29,843.

Saratoga is an upper-class bedroom community in the southwestern corner of the Santa Clara Valley. Saratoga also has many antique shops, French restaurants, and European-themed bakeries. Well-known vineyards in the Saratoga foothills include the Garrod Estate Vineyards and the Mountain Vineyard, both of which are founded in the 1800s.

In July of 2005, CNNMoney and Money magazine named Saratoga the twenty sixth-best place to live in the United States. It is locally known for its affluence, vineyards, and excellent school system.

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The first European settlement of what is now Saratoga occurred in 1848, when William Campbell (father of Benjamin Campbell, the founder of nearby Campbell, California) constructed a sawmill about 2.5 miles SE of the present downtown area. An early map noted the area as Campbell's Gap. In 1851, Martin McCarty, who had leased the mill, built a toll road down to the Santa Clara Valley. The toll gate was located at the present day intersection of Big Basin Way and 3rd St., giving the town its first widely used name: Toll Gate. In 1855 the town received a post office under the name of McCartysville.

Industry soon sprung up: at its the town had a furniture factory, grist mill, tannery, and a paper factory. To commemorate this newfound productivity, the town was renamed yet again in 1863, this time as Bank Mills. Shortly after this, however, a spring was discovered which had a mineral content similar to the springs at Saratoga Springs, New York. In 1865, the town received its final name, Saratoga. At the same time, a resort hotel was constructed at the springs, and it attracted tourists to the area until it burned down in 1903.

Saratoga then became quietly agricultural, along with much of the rest of the valley. A few vineyards and orchards from this period remain today. After World War II, the town quickly became urbanized, and it incorporated in 1956, partially to avoid being annexed to San Jose. Today it serves as a bedroom community for upper-middle class Silicon Valley tech workers.

Saratoga is a general law city under California law, meaning that the organization and powers of the city are established by state law. It has a council-manager form of government.

The city council is made up of five members elected by the public. The council appoints a mayor and vice-mayor from its membership, with the vice-mayor serving in the absence of the mayor. The mayor has no veto power, but acts as chairman for council meetings, and serves as a visible head of government. Council members serve four-year terms, with the election of two and three members staggered every two years.

The city manager is the administrative head of the government, and also serves as city treasurer. The manager's duties include preparing financial reports, submitting an annual budget, managing city employees, seeing that city ordinances are enforced, supervising city property, and investigating complaints against the city. The manager also appoints the city clerk and finance director.

In addition to the council and manager, the city has a number of commissions, which are permanent committees that serve to advise the council on various issues. Commission members are appointed by the council, and serve four year terms. Currently, the city has commissions for finance, heritage preservation, the library, parks and recreation, planning, public safety, and the arts. Also, the city has a Citizen Oversight Committee, created to oversee library renovation, and a Youth Commission, which consists of middle and high school students who represent Saratoga youth in government and serve one or two year terms.

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According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 31.4 km² (12.1 mi²). 31.4 km² (12.1 mi²) of it is land and none of it is covered by water.

Within its borders, Saratoga includes lush redwood forests, foothills suitable for wine grapes and sunny valley floor once covered with prune and apricot orchards, now with suburban homes, schools and churches.

Neighborhoods in Saratoga include Brookview in northeastern part of the city, Blue Hills in the northwest area, and Congress Springs in the southwestern corner of Saratoga. The Golden Triangle, a name invented by real estate agents, is an area bounded by Saratoga Avenue, Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road and Cox Avenue. The Golden Triangle consists mostly of affordable (1 to 2 million dollars) three-bedroom ranch homes gradually being replaced by Mediterranean custom designs.

of 2000, there are 29,843 people, 10,450 households, and 8,600 families residing in the city. The population density is 951.5mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 67.39% White, 0.39% African American, 0.15% Native American, 29.08% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 0.57% from other races, and 2.33% from two or more races. 3.14% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 10,450 households out of which 38.7% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 75.0% are married couples living together, 4.9% have a female householder with no husband present, and 17.7% are non-families. 14.3% of all households are made up of individuals and 7.6% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.83 and the average family size is 3.13.

In the city the population is spread out with 26.0% under the age of 18, 4.0% from 18 to 24, 23.8% from 25 to 44, 29.9% from 45 to 64, and 16.3% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 43 years. For every 100 females there are 96.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 92.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city is $139,895, and the median income for a family is $155,246. Males have a median income of $75,000 versus $66,240 for females. The per capita income for the city is $65,400. 2.8% of the population and 1.8% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 3.2% of those under the age of 18 and 2.6% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

Saratoga has several major roads, including Sunnyvale-Saratoga Road, Cox Avenue, Saratoga Avenue, Pierce Road, Saratoga-Los Gatos Road, and Congress Springs Road. California State Highway 85, completed in 1994, passes through northeast Saratoga, and a railroad, now rarely in use, travels parallel to the highway. The railway, which from 1908 to 1964 delivered commuters to San Francisco in as little as 90 minutes, now only sees an occasional freight train. Highway 85 has one onrampofframp within the city, at Saratoga Avenue. Local streets and roads in Saratoga are fairly well maintained, but they are generally not as often re-paved as San Jose's streets. Street signs, unlike those in San Jose, are brown in color.

Saratoga also has a zoning code comparable to that of Los Altos, which requires that houses must be spaced farther away from each other and that trees must be properly taken care of to preserve a semi-rural appearance. This, in addition to the excellent schools, causes Saratoga to have very high housing costs.

The Blue Hills neighborhood of Saratoga has many hiking trails that are privately owned by the City of Saratoga for use by residents.

Steven Spielberg, movie director, though he openly hated Saratoga, once quoted as saying Saratoga was "hell on Earth".

Saratoga has some of the best performing schools in the San Francisco Bay Area. Among them, Saratoga High School is best-known for academic excellence.

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