Castro Valley, California | |
|---|---|
 Castro Valley, 2022 | |
 Location of Castro Valley withinAlameda County, California | |
  Castro Valley Location in the San Francisco Bay Area Show map of San Francisco Bay Area Castro Valley Location in California Show map of California Castro Valley Location in the United States Show map of the United States | |
| Coordinates:37°41′39″N122°05′11″W / 37.69417°N 122.08639°W /37.69417; -122.08639[1] | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  California |
| County | Alameda |
| Named after | DonGuillermo Castro |
| Government | |
| • State Senate | Tim Grayson (D)[2] |
| • State Assembly | Liz Ortega (D)[3] |
| • U. S. Congress | Eric Swalwell (D)[4] |
| Area | |
• Total | 17.07 sq mi (44.21 km2) |
| • Land | 16.85 sq mi (43.64 km2) |
| • Water | 0.22 sq mi (0.57 km2) 1.68% |
| Elevation | 161 ft (49 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 66,441 |
| • Density | 3,943.5/sq mi (1,522.58/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-8 (PST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-7 (PDT) |
| ZIP codes | 94541, 94542, 94552, |
| Area codes | 510, 341 |
| FIPS code | 06-11964 |
| GNIS feature IDs | 1658237,2407987 |
Castro Valley is acensus-designated place (CDP) inAlameda County, California, United States. At the 2020 census, it was the fourth most populousunincorporated area in California.[7] The population was 66,441 at the 2020 census.[8]
Castro Valley is named afterGuillermo Castro, a noted 19th-centuryMexican Californio ranchero who owned the land where the community is located.
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Before the arrival of European settlers the area was settled by theChocheño (also spelledChochenyo orChocenyo) subdivision of theOhloneNative Americans.
With the arrival of Europeans, they establishedMission San Jose in 1797. The area Castro Valley now occupies was part of the extensive colony ofNew Spain in what was the province ofAlta California.
Castro Valley was part of the original28,000 acre (110 km2) land grant given to Castro in 1840, calledRancho San Lorenzo. This land grant includedHayward,San Lorenzo, and Castro Valley, including Crow Canyon, Cull Canyon, and Palomares Canyons. Castro had a gambling habit and had to sell off portions of his land to pay gambling debts. The last of his holding was sold in a sheriff's sale in 1864 toFaxon Atherton for $400,000.[9]
Atherton (after whom the town ofAtherton is named[9]) in turn began selling off his portion in smaller parcels. Two men named Cull (the namesake of Cull Canyon) and Luce bought some2,400 acres (10 km2) and began running a steam-operated saw mill in Redwood Canyon. The Jensen brothers also bought land from Atherton in 1867.
In 1866, Redwood school was built, the first public school in the area. Many Portuguese families immigrated to the surrounding canyons (especially Palomares Canyon) and farmed large amounts of land, where their descendants remain today. In the 1870s, Lake Chabot, a reservoir and popular park, was built by Chinese laborers living at Camp Yema-Po. During the 1940s and 1950s, Castro Valley was known for its chicken ranches. Later it developed into abedroom community, where workers live and commute to their jobs in the surrounding communities.[10]
Lake Chabot lies in the northwest part of Castro Valley. Directly to the west isSan Leandro.Hayward is to the south.Dublin,Pleasanton, andSan Ramon are to the east.
The eastern hills of Castro Valley constitute the headwaters of theSan Lorenzo Creek watershed and the origin of several creeks that flow into San Lorenzo Creek: Bolinas, Castro Valley, Chabot, Crow, Cull, Eden, Hollis, Kelly Canyon, Norris, and Palomares Creeks.
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1940 | 4,145 | — | |
| 1960 | 37,120 | — | |
| 1970 | 44,760 | 20.6% | |
| 1980 | 44,011 | −1.7% | |
| 1990 | 48,619 | 10.5% | |
| 2000 | 57,292 | 17.8% | |
| 2010 | 61,388 | 7.1% | |
| 2020 | 66,441 | 8.2% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census[11] 1850–1870[12][13] 1880-1890[14] 1900[15] 1910[16] 1920[17] 1930[18] 1940[19] 1950[20] 1960[21] 1970[22] 1980[23] 1990[24]2000[25] 2010[26] | |||
| Race / Ethnicity(NH = Non-Hispanic) | Pop 2000[27] | Pop 2010[28] | Pop 2020[29] | % 2000 | % 2010 | % 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White alone (NH) | 36,992 | 30,398 | 24,412 | 64.57% | 49.52% | 36.74% |
| Black or African American alone (NH) | 2,868 | 4,064 | 3,993 | 5.01% | 6.62% | 6.01% |
| Native American orAlaska Native alone (NH) | 205 | 160 | 141 | 0.36% | 0.26% | 0.21% |
| Asian alone (NH) | 7,649 | 12,975 | 20,174 | 13.35% | 21.14% | 30.36% |
| Native Hawaiian orPacific Islander alone (NH) | 240 | 374 | 278 | 0.42% | 0.61% | 0.42% |
| Other race alone (NH) | 154 | 148 | 454 | 0.27% | 0.24% | 0.68% |
| Mixed race or Multiracial (NH) | 2,200 | 2,580 | 4,167 | 3.84% | 4.20% | 6.27% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 6,984 | 10,689 | 12,822 | 12.19% | 17.41% | 19.30% |
| Total | 57,292 | 61,388 | 66,441 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% |
The2020 United States Census reported that Castro Valley had a population of 66,441. The population density was 3,943.6 inhabitants per square mile (1,522.6/km2). The racial makeup of Castro Valley was 40.3%White, 6.4%African American, 0.9%Native American, 30.8%Asian, 0.5%Pacific Islander, 8.0% fromother races, and 13.2% from two or more races.Hispanic or Latino of any race were 19.3% of the population.[30]
The Census reported that 98.9% of the population lived in households, 0.3% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0.8% were institutionalized.[30]
There were 23,218 households, out of which 35.4% included children under the age of 18, 56.1% were married-couple households, 5.9% werecohabiting couple households, 23.6% had a female householder with no partner present, and 14.4% had a male householder with no partner present. 19.2% of households were one person, and 9.4% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.83.[30] There were 17,369families (74.8% of all households).[31]
The age distribution was 21.5% under the age of 18, 7.5% aged 18 to 24, 26.3% aged 25 to 44, 27.8% aged 45 to 64, and 16.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40.9 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.5 males.[30]
There were 23,941 housing units at an average density of 1,421.0 units per square mile (548.7 units/km2), of which 23,218 (97.0%) were occupied. Of these, 67.2% were owner-occupied, and 32.8% were occupied by renters.[30]
In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that 30.8% of the population were foreign-born. Of all people aged 5 or older, 58.5% spoke only English at home, 9.5% spokeSpanish, 5.9% spoke otherIndo-European languages, 22.9% spoke Asian or Pacific Islander languages, and 3.2% spoke other languages.[32]
The economy of Castro Valley consists largely of the provision of goods and services for local residents. Being a primarily residential community, only about 5% of the area has been developed for commercial uses.[33]
The greatest number of people (6,683) are employed by the health care and social assistance industry, followed by the retail trade industry with 1,073 employees and accommodation and food service with 1,044 employees.[34] The health care and social assistance industry provided $1.1 billion in sales, shipments, receipts or revenue in 2012, which is the highest of all industries, and it is followed by the retail trade industry, which had a value of $324.1 million in sales, shipments, receipts or revenue.[34]
The median household income of residents was $138,069 in 2023, compared to a median income of $126,240 for all of Alameda County. Theper capita income was $58,843, compared to $63,442 in all of Alameda County. The poverty rate was 7.5%, compared to 9.2% in all of Alameda County.[35]
Castro Valley is one of the sites whereJoseph Eichler built some of the 10,000 or so homes he built in the Bay Area.[36]Castro Valley has a one-screen movie theater, the Chabot Cinema.The Castro Village complex on Castro Valley Boulevard is widely considered the commercial center of town.[37]TheHarry Rowell Rodeo Ranch is located in Castro Valley and is managed by theHayward Area Recreation and Park District. Rodeos are held there regularly.[38]
| Site of the first public school in Castro Valley | |
|---|---|
 Interactive map of Site of the first public school in Castro Valley | |
| Location | 19200 Redwood Rd., Castro Valley, California |
| Coordinates | 37°42′24″N122°04′26″W / 37.7067°N 122.073983°W /37.7067; -122.073983 |
| Reference no. | 776[39] |
The first public school in Castro Valley is a designatedCalifornia Historical Landmark. A plaque is placed at the original site. The one-room schoolhouse was donated for "educational purposes only," byJosiah Grover Brickell in 1866. Brickell provided the salary for the first teacher. During the day the teacher taught children and in the evening they taught farmhands.[39] The school burned down in 1901. It was rebuilt and burned down again in 1920. A new school was built on another property.[40]
The Adobe Art Gallery is a program operated by theHayward Area Recreation and Park District promoting the visual arts and uses the Adobe building, built as aWorks Progress Administration project in 1936.[41]
Castro Valley is an unincorporated community and thus is governed directly by the County of Alameda. There is no city police force, with policing provided by theAlameda County Sheriff's Office and theCalifornia Highway Patrol. Most of the community has fire protection provided by theAlameda County Fire Department, while the Five Canyons neighborhood has fire protection provided by the Fairview Fire Protection District. Castro Valley Sanitary District[42] provides refuse and sewer collection services for the majority of the community, with wastewater processed at the Oro Loma Wastewater Treatment Plant inSan Lorenzo.
Efforts to incorporate Castro Valley have been voted down by its residents at the polls in both 1956 and 2002.[10][43] In lieu of a city council, Castro Valley is represented by a seven-member Municipal Advisory Council, which is an advisory body appointed to advise the Alameda County Board of Supervisors on local issues.[44]
According to the 2019–2023 American Community Survey, educational attainment for Castro Valley residents at least 25 years old is 90.4% high school graduate and 43.9% bachelor's degree.[32]
Castro Valley is primarily served by theCastro Valley Unified School District,[45] though portions of it are served by theHayward Unified School District (South of I-580 and West of Grove Way) and theSan Lorenzo Unified School District (westernmost part). Overall, the Castro Valley Unified School District serves more than 9,000 students.[46]
The main high school isCastro Valley High School with over 2,700 students.[47] Castro Valley also hasRedwood High School, an alternative high school with approximately 118 students in 2023.[48]
The school district includes the Castro Valley Adult School.
There is also a Roman Catholic school, called Our Lady of Grace (K–8), which is part of theRoman Catholic Diocese of Oakland. Redwood Christian Schools has one elementary school (K–5) Redwood Christian Elementary.[49]
Interstate 580, which approaches from the east, makes a turn northward at Castro Valley.Interstate 238, which originates in Castro Valley, connects I-580 toInterstate 880. In addition to being served by those two freeways, Castro Valley is served with public transportation by bus systemAC Transit, and rapid transit systemBART with astation.
The primary local east–west arterial road is Castro Valley Boulevard, while Lake Chabot Road, Redwood Road and Crow Canyon Road are the major north–south arterials.[50]
Historically, Castro Valley Boulevard was part of the first transcontinental highway system, theLincoln Highway.[51]
Through BART, Castro Valley has links to all three of the San Francisco Bay Area's major commercial airports, though the closest by distance isOakland International Airport.
Eden Medical Center operates in Castro Valley. It is aSutter Health facility, and provides basicemergency medical services for the area.[52]Castro Valley Sanitary District runs wastewater treatment facilities, and was selected as California's best small wastewater system in 2002 and 2018.[53]
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