Sao Carlos was founded in the mid-1800's, during the "Golden Age of Coffee", although nowadays most of the region's agricultural production has shifted to sugar cane.
Sao Carlos is home to one of the campuses of the University of Sao Paulo and to the Federal University of Sao Carlos. It also hosts several locally-grown technology-based companies and factories of multinationals such as Faber Castell and Volkswagen.