Union City, California
Encyclopedia
Union City is a city in Alameda County
Alameda County, California
Alameda County is a county in the U.S. state of California. It occupies most of the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 1,510,271, making it the 7th most populous county in the state...

, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. It was incorporated in 1959, combining the communities of Alvarado and Decoto. Alvarado was the original county seat of Alameda County, and the site of the first county courthouse is a California Historical Landmark
California Historical Landmark
California Historical Landmarks are buildings, structures, sites, or places in the state of California that have been determined to have statewide historical significance by meeting at least one of the criteria listed below:...

 (#503). The city celebrated its 50th Anniversary in 2009. The population was 76,000 in 2011 according to California State Department of Finance .

Geography

Union City is located in the southern part of the East Bay
East Bay
-Places:In Canada:*East Bay, Nova Scotia, a small town in Cape Breton County, Nova Scotia*East Bay , the east arm of the Bras d'Or Lake located in Cape Breton County, Nova Scotia on Cape Breton IslandIn the United States:...

 of the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...

. According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...

, the city has a total area of 19.5 square miles (50.5 km²), all land with no bay frontage. The Niles Cone
Niles Cone
The Niles Cone is a groundwater basin in Alameda County, California, USA which is the source of drinking water for a sizeable human urban population in the East Bay. The land area corresponding to this groundwater basin is approximately 103 square miles; the Niles Cone Basin is bounded on the...

 aquifer
Aquifer
An aquifer is a wet underground layer of water-bearing permeable rock or unconsolidated materials from which groundwater can be usefully extracted using a water well. The study of water flow in aquifers and the characterization of aquifers is called hydrogeology...

, managed by the Alameda County Water District
Alameda County Water District
The Alameda County Water District is a public agency in Alameda County, California, USA, which has responsibilities for managing and protecting certain groundwater resources within Alameda County. While not an administrative unit of the county government, this water district derives certain of...

, supplies much of the water consumed by Union City. It is bordered by Hayward
Hayward, California
Hayward is a city located in the East Bay in Alameda County, California. With a population of 144,186, Hayward is the sixth largest city in the San Francisco Bay Area and the third largest in Alameda County. Hayward was ranked as the 37th most populous municipality in California. It is included in...

 to the north and Fremont
Fremont, California
Fremont is a city in Alameda County, California. It was incorporated on January 23, 1956, from the merger of five smaller communities: Centerville, Niles, Irvington, Mission San Jose, and Warm Springs...

 to the south. The three cities of Union City, Fremont, and Newark
Newark, California
Newark is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It was incorporated as a city in September 1955. Newark is an enclave, completely surrounded by the city of Fremont. Its population was 42,573 at the 2010 census.-Geography:...

 make up the "Tri-City" area.

2010

The 2010 United States Census reported that Union City had a population of 69,516. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 was 3,570.6 people per square mile (1,378.6/km²). The racial makeup of Union City was 16,640 (23.9%) White, 4,402 (6.3%) African American, 329 (0.5%) Native American, 35,363 (50.9%) Asian, (20.0% Filipino, 11.5% Indian, 10.8% Chinese, 3.7% Vietnamese, 0.9% Korean, 0.6% Japanese, 0.6% Pakistani, 0.4% Burmese, 0.2% Cambodian), 892 (1.3%) Pacific Islander, 7,253 (10.4%) from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, and 4,637 (6.7%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 15,895 persons (22.9%).

The Census reported that 68,998 people (99.3% of the population) lived in households, 422 (0.6%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 96 (0.1%) were institutionalized.

There were 20,433 households, out of which 9,066 (44.4%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 12,734 (62.3%) were opposite-sex married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

 living together, 2,761 (13.5%) had a female householder with no husband present, 1,182 (5.8%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 856 (4.2%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships
POSSLQ
POSSLQ is an abbreviation for "Persons of Opposite Sex Sharing Living Quarters," a term coined in the late 1970s by the United States Census Bureau as part of an effort to more accurately gauge the prevalence of cohabitation in American households....

, and 128 (0.6%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 2,740 households (13.4%) were made up of individuals and 1,002 (4.9%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.38. There were 16,677 families
Family (U.S. Census)
A family or family household is defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes as "a householder and one or more other people related to the householder by birth, marriage, or adoption. They do not include same-sex married couples even if the marriage was performed in a state...

 (81.6% of all households); the average family size was 3.69.

The population was spread out with 16,847 people (24.2%) under the age of 18, 6,453 people (9.3%) aged 18 to 24, 20,360 people (29.3%) aged 25 to 44, 18,146 people (26.1%) aged 45 to 64, and 7,710 people (11.1%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36.2 years. For every 100 females there were 97.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.8 males.

There were 21,258 housing units at an average density of 1,091.9 per square mile (421.6/km²), of which 13,580 (66.5%) were owner-occupied, and 6,853 (33.5%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.5%; the rental vacancy rate was 5.3%. 46,272 people (66.6% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 22,726 people (32.7%) lived in rental housing units.

2000

As of 2000 the population was 66,869 and 15,696 families residing in Union City and a total of 17,130 jobs and 32,700 employed residents in 2000. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 was 3,473.0 inhabitants per square mile (1,341.2/km²). There were 18,877 housing units at an average density of 980.4 per square mile (378.6/km²).

There were 18,642 households out of which 45.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.6% were married couples living together, 12.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 15.8% were non-families. 11.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 3.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.57 and the average family size was 3.83. The median price of a house in Union City is about $400,000.

In the city the population varied widely in age, with 27.8% under the age of 18, 9.8% from 18 to 24, 32.7% from 25 to 44, 21.6% from 45 to 64, and 8.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 98.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.0 males.

According to a 2007 estimate, the median income for a household in the city was $84,384, and the median income for a family was $87,114. Males had a median income of $45,212 versus $35,085 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...

 for the city was $22,890. About 4.8% of families and 6.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.0% of those under age 18 and 6.5% of those age 65 or over.

History

The first community in what is now Union City was founded in 1850 by John and William Horner, also called "Union City." In 1854, it merged with the nearby community of New Haven to form the town of Alvarado, named after the former Mexican governor, Juan Bautista Alvarado
Juan Bautista Alvarado
Juan Bautista Valentín Alvarado y Vallejo was a Californio and twice Governor of Alta California from 1836 to 1837, and 1838 to 1842.-Early years:...

. Alvarado was the first county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....

 of Alameda County, which it soon lost to San Leandro. Further east, the town of Decoto was founded in 1870. It became a railroad hub, with the transcontinental railroad running through it.

In the 1950s, Alvarado and Decoto were annexation targets of the nearby communities of Newark, Hayward, and what became Fremont. In 1959, they decided to incorporate themselves into a single city, and named it after the Horners' original settlement, Union City. The Bay Area Rapid Transit
Bay Area Rapid Transit
Bay Area Rapid Transit is a rapid transit system serving the San Francisco Bay Area. The heavy-rail public transit and subway system connects San Francisco with cities in the East Bay and suburbs in northern San Mateo County. BART operates five lines on of track with 44 stations in four counties...

 (BART) rail system came to Union City when the system opened in 1972.

In 2007, ground broke at the Union City Intermodal Transit Station
Union City Intermodal Transit Station
Union City Intermodal Transit Station is a planned approximately mixed-use redevelopment of a former Pacific State Steel Corporation site at the existing Union City BART station southeast of San Francisco in Union City...

. The new station, equipped with solar electric panels, will be integrated into a pedestrian-friendly development including office space, retail space, a public plaza, and 1,784 new housing units including high-rise.

Economy

Union City is the location of the American Licorice Company
American Licorice Company
American Licorice Company is an American candy manufacturer founded in Chicago, Illinois around 1914 and is Headquartered in Bend, Oregon.In 1925, the company began West Operations operations in San Francisco, California...

's West Coast
West Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...

 operations, having moved there in 1971 from San Francisco.

Union City is home to three major health care providers: a Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente is an integrated managed care consortium, based in Oakland, California, United States, founded in 1945 by industrialist Henry J. Kaiser and physician Sidney Garfield...

 facility, a Tiburcio Vasquez
Tiburcio Vasquez
Tiburcio Vásquez was a Californio bandit who was active in California from 1854 to 1874. The Vasquez Rocks, 40 miles north of Los Angeles, were one of his many hideouts and are named for him.-Early life:...

 Health Center, and Washington Hospital's Nakamura Clinic.

Union Landing

the Union Landing Shopping Center is a 105-acre shopping center, adjacent to Interstate 880
Interstate 880
Interstate 880 is an Interstate Highway in the San Francisco Bay Area connecting San Jose and Oakland, running parallel to the southeastern shore of San Francisco Bay...

, with more than 30 shops and restaurants including anchor stores Walmart, Best Buy
Best Buy
Best Buy Co., Inc. is an American specialty retailer of consumer electronics in the United States, accounting for 19% of the market. It also operates in Mexico, Canada & China. The company's subsidiaries include Geek Squad, CinemaNow, Magnolia Audio Video, Pacific Sales, and, in Canada operates...

 and Lowe's
Lowe's
Lowe's Companies, Inc. is a U.S.-based chain of retail home improvement and appliance stores. Founded in 1946 in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, the chain now serves more than 14 million customers a week in its 1,710 stores in the United States and 20 in Canada. Expansion into Canada began in...

, and the 25-screen Century Theatre. The mall was completed in 1999.

Top employers

According to Union City's 2009 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:
# Employer # of Employees
1 New Haven Unified School District
New Haven Unified School District
New Haven Unified School District is a public school district serving approximately 13,000 kindergarten through 12th-grade students at 11 schools in Union City and south Hayward, The District also serves approximately 2,500 students at the New Haven Adult School.New Haven Unified was created in...

1,154
2 Southern Wine & Spirits 725
3 Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. , branded as Walmart since 2008 and Wal-Mart before then, is an American public multinational corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. The company is the world's 18th largest public corporation, according to the Forbes Global 2000...

580
4 San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...

425
5 City of Union City 353
6 Aldworth Company 345
7 Dreyer's
Dreyer's
Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream Holdings, Inc., a subsidiary of Nestlé, is a United States-based producer of ice cream and frozen yogurt had originated in 1928 as Edy's Grand Ice Cream, a Northern California business under a partnership of Joseph Edy and William Dreyer. In 1947 the partnership dissolved....

295
8 Masonic
Freemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...

 Homes
294
9 Caravan Trading Company 292
10 American Licorice Company
American Licorice Company
American Licorice Company is an American candy manufacturer founded in Chicago, Illinois around 1914 and is Headquartered in Bend, Oregon.In 1925, the company began West Operations operations in San Francisco, California...

260


Aldworth Company is no longer an employer in the city.

Education

The New Haven Unified School District
New Haven Unified School District
New Haven Unified School District is a public school district serving approximately 13,000 kindergarten through 12th-grade students at 11 schools in Union City and south Hayward, The District also serves approximately 2,500 students at the New Haven Adult School.New Haven Unified was created in...

 serves students from Union City and parts of South Hayward. James Logan High School
James Logan High School
James Logan High School is a public secondary school in Union City, California, United States. The school is administrated by the New Haven Unified School District and has an enrollment of more than 4000 students.-Demographics:...

 serves more than 4000 students; one of the largest in California. The city contains six k-5 elementary schools, two 6-8 middle schools, an adult school and a k-12 home school program. New Haven Unified School District has a total enrollment of more than 13,000 students taught by 614 teachers.

Transportation

Several transit systems service Union City. AC Transit
AC Transit
AC Transit is an Oakland-based regional public transit agency serving the western half of Alameda County and parts of western Contra Costa County in the western, Bay-side area of the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area...

, the Dumbarton Express
Dumbarton Express
The Dumbarton Express is a California bus service operating between Union City BART station and Palo Alto Caltrain station via the Dumbarton Bridge. The service is operated by a group of operators including BART, VTA, Union City Transit, and AC Transit...

, and the city's own Union City Transit run bus lines through the city. BART has a station near the Decoto district. Union City is also served by a network of high-capacity streets, including Interstate 880
Interstate 880
Interstate 880 is an Interstate Highway in the San Francisco Bay Area connecting San Jose and Oakland, running parallel to the southeastern shore of San Francisco Bay...

 (Nimitz Freeway) and Highway 238
California State Route 238
State Route 238 is a north–south highway in the U.S. state of California. The route is a divided multilane surface highway in the southeastern part of the San Francisco Bay Area. SR 238 connects Interstate 580 in Castro Valley and Interstate 680 in Fremont.-Route description:SR 238 goes...

 (Mission Boulevard).

Media

Union City, Fremont, Newark (the Tri-Cities) has a daily newspaper called The Argus
The Argus (Fremont)
The Argus was a newspaper in the town of Fremont, California. Floyd L. Sparks was the longtime owner of The Argus, along with the Daily Review and the Tri-Valley Herald...

, which is part of the Bay Area News Group of newspapers. The paper will cease publication in November 2011, to be replace with a regional paper from the same company.

Attractions

The San Francisco Bay Area Flight 93
United Airlines Flight 93
United Airlines Flight 93 was United Airlines' scheduled morning transcontinental flight across the United States from Newark International Airport in Newark, New Jersey, to San Francisco International Airport in California. On Tuesday, September 11, 2001, the Boeing 757–222 aircraft operating the...

 Memorial is in Sugar Mill Landing Park. It was the first monument completed in the United States which was designed specifically to honor the passengers and crew of United Airlines Flight 93, which was bound for San Francisco, but was hijacked and crashed in rural Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

 on September 11, 2001
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...

.

The Eden Landing Ecological Reserve
Eden Landing Ecological Reserve
Eden Landing Ecological Reserve is a nature reserve in Hayward and Union City, California, on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay. The reserve is managed by the California Department of Fish and Game, and comprises 5,040 acres of former industrial salt ponds now used as a low salinity waterbird...

 is located at the bay shore of Union City and Hayward. Periodic waterfowl hunting is permitted.

Masonic Homes, a senior living community, has as its centerpiece a large brick building, built in the 1930s, visible from Mission Boulevard. The building was identified as a significant historic property in the 1974 Historic Resource Inventory of Washington Township.

Sister cities

The Human Relations Commission, an advisory board to the Union City city council, recommends and maintains relations with international sister cities. As of 2010, four sister cities were represented: Chiang Rai
Chiang Rai
-Demographics:Official Population count: According to the Thailand National Statistical Office, as of September 2010, Chiang Rai municipal district has a population of 199,699...

 in Thailand; Jalandhar
Jalandhar
Jalandhar is a city in Jalandhar District in the state of Punjab, India. It is located 144 km northwest of the state capital, Chandigarh...

 in Punjab, India; Pasay in the Philippines; and Santa Rosalia
Santa Rosalía, Baja California Sur
Santa Rosalía is a city located on the Baja California peninsula, in the northern part of the Mexican state of Baja California Sur. It was named after Saint Rosalia, although the reason for the name is not quite clear since the Misión de Santa Rosalía is not located by the town, but rather in...

 in Baja California Sur, Mexico.

Notable people

  • Otis Amey
    Otis Amey
    Fred Otis Holmes Amey is a professional American and Canadian football wide receiver for the Sacramento Mountain Lions of the United Football League. He was signed by the San Francisco 49ers as an undrafted free agent in 2005...

     - Professional football player
  • Vicky Galindo
    Vicky Galindo
    Victoria Galindo is an American athlete on the USA Softball Women's National Team where she plays third base and second base. She also plays for the Chicago Bandits of the National Pro Fastpitch league...

     - USA Softball player
  • Eddie House
    Eddie House
    Edward L. House II , commonly referred to as Eddie House, is an American professional basketball player in the NBA for the Miami Heat.-Early life:...

     - Professional basketball player
  • Jason Haft - Bay Area Rap Artist
  • SuChin Pak
    SuChin Pak
    SuChin Pak is a South Korean-born American television news correspondent, frequently appearing on the cable networks of MTV.SuChin Pak joined the MTV News Team as a correspondent in May 2001. She has covered the MTV Movie Awards, the Sundance Film Festival, and the MTV Video Music Awards. She...

     - MTV VJ
  • Kelli White
    Kelli White
    Kelli White is an American former sprinter. She won two gold medals in the World Championships in Paris in 2003. However, on June 18, 2004, she was stripped of her medals, because she tested positive on a drug test. She admitted guilt and testified before the Court of Arbitration for Sport...

     - American sprinter
  • Roy Williams
    Roy Williams (safety)
    Roy Lee Williams is a retired American football safety. He played college football at Oklahoma before he was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys eighth overall in the 2002 NFL Draft. He spent seven seasons with the Cowboys and earned five straight Pro Bowl selections from 2003–2007...

    - Professional football player

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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