In Snow Crash, what is the setting?

Snow Crash is set in the relative present (early twenty-first century), although it is an alternate present, with more highly evolved technology and industrial privatization. This approximate time frame is confirmed by the facts that Hiro and Raven's fathers served in World War II and that Uncle Enzo served in the Vietnam War. Near the end of the book, Hiro notes that both he and Raven were born in the 1970s.

The primary setting of the book is split between industrialized Southern California and the virtual world of the Metaverse, although a significant portion at the end of the story takes place on The Raft, the floating home of L. Bob Rife and his followers. The environment is similar to that in other novels in the cyberpunk genre, but commercial development is more horizontal than vertical in Snow Crash. Whereas many cyberpunk novels describe tightly built cities with skyscrapers and underground levels, the Snow Crash universe has franchises that spread horizontally across the country. The development of the Metaverse, particularly Downtown with it's skyscrapers that defy physics and persistent garish advertisements, are a more typical cyberpunk fixture. In reality, ethnic groups are more segregated, and the author plays up the stereotypes of different ethnic groups, from the intolerant white men from New South Africa to the Tajeek taxi drivers who reek of incense.