Hayward is a city in Alameda County, California, in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. With about 162,950 residents, it is the sixth-largest city in the Bay Area and the third-largest in Alameda County, within the San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose metropolitan area. Hayward is a working East Bay city with a diverse economy and population. Major employers include biotechnology and manufacturing firms such as Baxter Bio Pharma and Illumina, along with California State University, East Bay and Alameda County government. The city's position on major transportation corridors has made it attractive to industrial and biomedical companies, while its residential neighborhoods house a broad cross-section of Bay Area workers. Public education is anchored by the Hayward Unified School District, which operates 36 schools, and California State University, East Bay, which has its main campus in the city. More than 62,000 students receive their educations in Hayward, from kindergarten through university level. The city is served by BART, with direct trains to San Francisco in about 45 minutes and connections south toward San Jose, and Oakland International Airport lies about 12 miles away. Hayward offers more than 3,000 acres of parks and open space with 20 miles of trails, plus the Hayward Japanese Gardens, the oldest Japanese-style garden in California, and a championship golf course. Hayward's neighborhoods range from flatland streets near the BART corridor to hillside homes with bay views, and its downtown anchors civic and cultural life. The city's diversity and its position between Oakland and the South Bay make it a practical home base for commuters across the region.