San Pablo (Spanish for "Saint Paul") is an enclave city in Contra Costa County, California, United States.

Currently, the city council consists of Abel Pineda, Arturo Cruz, Elizabeth Pabon-Alvarado, and Rita Xavier.

[9] The city of San Pablo is on land once occupied by the Cuchiyun band of the Ohlone indigenous people.

This Ohlone territory was claimed for the king of Spain in the late 18th century.

and was granted for grazing purposes to the Mission Dolores located in today's San Francisco, but these church properties were secularized (or made separate from the Catholic church) when Mexico became independent from Spain in 1821.

This is the origin of the city's name, as well as the name of one the East Bay's oldest principal roads: San Pablo Avenue (formerly known, during the Spanish colonial era, as El Camino Real de la Contra Costa, which means "The Royal Way of the Opposite Coast," referring to the costal region opposite San Francisco).

San Pablo's Alvarado Adobe has been designated a California State Landmark (No.512), as a historic reproduction of the city's Mexican era.

[10] Since the middle of the 20th century, College Center at El Portal has been the backbone of the community's retail economy.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.6 square miles (6.7 km2), all land.

There are several communities to the north of (and separated from) the city, but which have San Pablo mailing addresses.

These include the census areas of Tara Hills, Bayview, and Montalvin.

[17] According to the California Secretary of State, as of February 10, 2019, San Pablo has 11,121 registered voters.

WestCat provides a link between Contra Costa College and Hercules Transit Center along San Pablo Avenue a major north–south arterial boulevard.

San Pablo Avenue is home to a BRT line, the 72R, that connects the college with Downtown Oakland and BART.

The college services as a major transit hub for buses and the city.

The city hosts the county's western campus of the Contra Costa Community College District.