San Leandro, California


San Leandro is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is located in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area; between Oakland to the northwest, and Ashland, Castro Valley, and Hayward to the southeast. The population was 91,008 as of the 2020 census.

History

Spanish and Mexican eras

The Spanish settlers called these natives Costeños, or 'coast people,' and the English-speaking settlers called them Costanoans. San Leandro was first visited by Europeans on March 20, 1772, by Spanish soldier Captain Pedro Fages and the Spanish Catholic priest Father Crespi.
San Leandro is located on the Rancho San Leandro and Rancho San Antonio Mexican land grants. Its name refers to Leander of Seville, a sixth-century Spanish bishop. Both land grants were located along El Camino Viejo, modern 14th Street / State Route 185.
The smaller land grant, Rancho San Leandro, of approximately, was given to José Joaquín Estudillo in 1842. The larger, Rancho San Antonio, of approximately, was given to another Spanish soldier, Don Luis Maria Peralta, in 1820. Beginning in 1855, two of Estudillo's sons-in-law, John B. Ward and William Heath Davis, laid out the townsite that would become San Leandro, bounded by the San Leandro Creek on the north, Watkins Street on the east, Castro Street on the south, and on the west by the longitude lying a block west of Alvarado Street. The city has a historical Portuguese American population dating from the 1880s, when Portuguese laborers from Hawaii or from the Azores began settling in the city and established farms and businesses. By the 1910 census, they had accounted for nearly two-thirds of San Leandro's population.

American era

In 1856, San Leandro became the county seat of Alameda County, but the county courthouse was destroyed there by the devastating 1868 quake on the Hayward Fault. The county seat was then re-established in the town of Brooklyn in 1872.
During the American Civil War, San Leandro and its neighbor, Brooklyn, fielded a California militia company, the Brooklyn Guard.
San Leandro was one of a number of suburban cities built in the post–World War II era of California to have restrictive covenants, which barred property owners in the city from selling properties to African Americans and other minorities. As a result of the covenant, In 1960, the city was almost entirely white, while its neighbor city of Oakland had a large African American population. The United States Supreme Court, in Shelley v. Kraemer, later declared such covenants unenforceable by the state. San Leandro was an 86.4% white-non-Hispanic community according in the 1970 census. The city's demographics began to diversify in the 1980s. By 2010, Asian Americans had become a plurality population in San Leandro, with approximately one-third of the population, with non-Hispanic Whites accounting for 27.1% of the population.

Geography

The San Leandro Hills run above the city to the northeast. In the lower elevations of the city, an upper regionally contained aquifer is located 50 to 100 feet below the surface. At least one deeper aquifer exists approximately 250 feet below the surface. Some salt water intrusion has taken place in the San Leandro Cone. Shallow groundwater generally flows to the west, from the foothills toward San Francisco Bay. Shallow groundwater is contaminated in many of the locales of the lower elevation of the city. Contamination by gasoline, volatile organic compounds and some heavy metals has been recorded in a number of these lower-elevation areas.
The trace of the Hayward Fault passes under Foothill Boulevard in San Leandro. Follow the link in the reference to see a series of photos of the fault cutting the asphalt between 1979 and 1987.

Demographics

Race / Ethnicity Pop 2000Pop 2010% 2000% 2010
White alone 33,64623,00617,86542.35%27.08%19.63%
Black or African American alone 7,62210,0529,7089.59%11.83%10.67%
Native American or Alaska Native alone 3602462240.45%0.29%0.25%
Asian alone 18,06424,92432,36522.74%29.34%35.56%
Pacific Islander alone 6275967120.79%0.70%0.78%
Some Other Race alone 1751984400.22%0.23%0.48%
Mixed Race or Multi-Racial 3,0192,6913,7133.80%3.17%4.08%
Hispanic or Latino 15,93923,23725,98120.06%27.35%28.55%
Total79,45284,95091,008100.00%100.00%100.00%

2020

The 2020 United States census reported that San Leandro had a population of 91,008. The population density was. The racial makeup of San Leandro was 23.1% White, 11.1% African American, 1.2% Native American, 35.9% Asian, 0.9% Pacific Islander, 16.3% from other races, and 11.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 28.5% of the population.
The census reported that 98.9% of the population lived in households, 0.7% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0.4% were institutionalized.
There were 31,799 households, out of which 31.4% included children under the age of 18, 46.4% were married-couple households, 6.5% were cohabiting couple households, 29.3% had a female householder with no partner present, and 17.8% had a male householder with no partner present. 24.0% of households were one person, and 10.4% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.83. There were 21,915 families.
The age distribution was 19.0% under the age of 18, 8.2% aged 18 to 24, 28.2% aged 25 to 44, 27.7% aged 45 to 64, and 16.9% who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 40.7years. For every 100 females, there were 93.0 males.
There were 32,898 housing units at an average density of, of which 31,799 were occupied. Of these, 54.5% were owner-occupied, and 45.5% were occupied by renters.
In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that 37.8% of the population were foreign-born. Of all people aged 5 or older, 46.3% spoke only English at home, 20.5% spoke Spanish, 3.2% spoke other Indo-European languages, 28.0% spoke Asian or Pacific Islander languages, and 2.0% spoke other languages. Of those aged 25 or older, 83.7% were high school graduates and 33.7% had a bachelor's degree.
The median household income in 2023 was $98,063, and the per capita income was $46,387. About 4.9% of families and 8.6% of the population were below the poverty line.

2010

The 2010 United States census reported that San Leandro had a population of 84,950. The population density was. The racial makeup of San Leandro was 31,946 White, 10,437 African American, 669 Native American, 25,206 Asian, 642 Pacific Islander, 11,295 from other races, and 4,755 from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 23,237 persons. Non-Hispanic Whites numbered 20,004.
The Census reported that 84,300 people lived in households, 282 lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 368 were institutionalized.
There were 30,717 households, out of which 10,503 had children under the age of 18 living in them, 14,142 were married couples, 4,509 had a female householder with no husband present, 1,863 had a male householder with no wife present. There were 1,706 unmarried couples, and 326 same-sex couples. 8,228 households were made up of individuals, and 3,128 had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.74. There were 20,514 families ; the average family size was 3.36.
The population was spread out, with 18,975 people under the age of 18, 7,044 people aged 18 to 24, 23,469 people aged 25 to 44, 23,779 people aged 45 to 64, and 11,683 people who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39.3 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.5 males.
There were 32,419 housing units at an average density of, of which 30,717 were occupied, of which 17,667 were owner-occupied, and 13,050 were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.4%; the rental vacancy rate was 5.8%. 50,669 people lived in owner-occupied housing units and 33,631 people lived in rental housing units.

Economy

San Leandro has long been home to many food-processing operations, and is home to many corporate businesses, such as Ghirardelli, OSIsoft, 21st Amendment Brewery, and a Coca-Cola plant. Maxwell House operated a coffee roasting plant, where the Yuban brand was produced from 1949 until 2015, when it was closed as part of a cost-cutting plan instituted by parent company Kraft Foods. The city has five major shopping centers: the Bayfair Center, Westgate Center, Greenhouse Shopping Center, Marina Square Center, and Pelton Plaza. Lucky's flagship store opened in San Leandro.
Under San Leandro Mayor Stephen H. Cassidy, the city set the goal in 2012 of "becoming a new center of innovation in the San Francisco Bay Area." San Leandro came "out of the downturn like few places around, attracting tech startups, artists and brewers to a onetime traditional industrial hub."
In January 2011, Cassidy and Dr. J. Patrick Kennedy, a San Leandro resident and the president and founder of OSIsoft, one of the city's largest employers, "began developing the public-private partnership that would become Lit San Leandro," a high speed, fiber optic broadband network. In October 2011, the city approved the license agreement that allowed the installation of the fiber-optic cables in the existing conduits under San Leandro streets. In 2012, San Leandro was awarded a $2.1 million grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration to add 7.5 miles to the network. By 2014, the network expansion was completed, bringing the total length of fiber in the city to over 18 miles. The network is capable of transmitting at up to 10 Gbit/s and is currently only available to business users.
The Zero Net Energy Center, which opened in 2013, is a electrician training facility created by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 595 and the Northern California chapter of the National Electrical Contractors Association. Training includes energy-efficient construction methods, while the facility itself operates as a zero-energy building.
According to the San Leandro's 2015 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:
#Employer# of Employees
1San Leandro Unified School District1,380
2Kaiser Permanente Medical Group1,032
3City of San Leandro582
4Ghirardelli Chocolate Company487
5San Leandro Hospital460
6OSIsoft LLC364
7Costco Wholesale358
8BCI Coca-Cola Bottling Co.325
9Wal-Mart Store 2648323
10Paramedics Plus LLC295