Alameda County, California

History The county was formed in 1853 from portions of Contra Costa and Santa Clara counties.

The word 'alameda' means 'a place where poplar trees grow', a name which originally was given to El Arroyo de la Alameda (Alameda Creek). The willow and sycamore trees along the banks of the river reminded the early explorers of a road lined with trees, also known as an 'alameda'.

The county seat at the time it was formed was located at Alvarado[?]; it was moved to San Leandro in 1856, and was at Brooklyn from 1872-1875. Brooklyn is now part of Oakland, which has been the county seat since 1873.

Geography According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,127 km² (821 mi²). 1,910 km² (738 mi²) of it is land and 216 km² (84 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 10.18% water.

Demographics As of the census² of 2000, there are 1,443,741 people, 523,366 households, and 339,141 families residing in the county. The population density is 756/km² (1,957/mi²). There are 540,183 housing units at an average density of 283/km² (732/mi²). The racial makeup of the county is 48.79% White, 14.93% African American, 0.63% Native American, 20.45% Asian, 0.63% Pacific Islander, 8.94% from other races, and 5.63% from two or more races. 18.97% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 523,366 households out of which 32.60% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.00% are married couples living together, 13.00% have a female householder with no husband present, and 35.20% are non-families. 26.00% of all households are made up of individuals and 7.30% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.71 and the average family size is 3.31.

In the county the population is spread out with 24.60% under the age of 18, 9.60% from 18 to 24, 33.90% from 25 to 44, 21.70% from 45 to 64, and 10.20% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 34 years. For every 100 females there are 96.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 94.00 males.

The median income for a household in the county is $55,946, and the median income for a family is $65,857. Males have a median income of $47,425 versus $36,921 for females. The per capita income for the county is $26,680. 11.00% of the population and 7.70% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 13.50% are under the age of 18 and 8.10% are 65 or older.

Cities and Towns

• Alameda
• Albany
• Ashland
• Berkeley (home of the University of California, Berkeley)
• Castro Valley
• Cherryland
• Dublin
• Emeryville
• Fairview
• Fremont
• Hayward (home of California State University Hayward[?])
• Livermore (home of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory)
• Newark
• Oakland
• Piedmont
• Pleasanton
• San Leandro
• San Lorenzo
• Sunol
• Union City

External links

• Alameda County's Official Web Site (http://www.co.alameda.ca.us/)