San Luis Obispo (Spanish for 'St. Louis the Bishop'; /sæn ˌluːɪs əˈbɪspoʊ/ san LOO-iss ə-BISS-poh; Spanish: [san ˈlwis oˈβispo]; Chumash: tiłhini) is a city in and the county seat of San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. Located on the Central Coast of California, San Luis Obispo is roughly halfway between the San Francisco Bay Area in the north and Greater Los Angeles in the south. The population was 47,063 at the 2020 census.
San Luis Obispo was founded by the Spanish in 1772, when Saint Junípero Serra established Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa. The town grew steadily through the Mexican period before a rapid expansion of San Luis Obispo following the American Conquest of California. San Luis Obispo is a popular tourist destination, known for its historic architecture, vineyards, and hospitality, as well as for being home to California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.
