Marin County ( ) is a county located in the North San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco. As of 2000, the population was 247,289. The county seat is San Rafael and county government is the largest employer in the County. Marin County is renowned for its natural beauty, liberal politics and affluence. According to the 2000 Census, Marin County has the highest per capita income in the country at $44,962.
San Quentin Prison is located in the county, as is Skywalker Ranch. Autodesk, the publisher of AutoCAD, is located there, as are numerous other high-tech companies. The headquarters of film and media company Lucasfilm Ltd., previously based in San Rafael, have moved to the Presidio of San Francisco. United States Senator Barbara Boxer is from Marin.
The Marin County Civic Center was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and draws thousands of visitors a year to guided tours of its arch and atrium design.
America's oldest cross country race, the Dipsea Race takes place annually in Marin County, attracting thousands of athletes. Mountain biking is said to have been invented on the slopes of Mount Tamalpais in Marin.
Marin County's many beautiful natural sites include the famous Muir Woods redwood forest, the Marin Headlands, Stinson Beach, Point Reyes National Seashore, and Mount Tamalpais, one of the West's first tourist mountains.
