Newark, California

Geography

The southern end of the San Francisco Bay lies near the western edge of the city. State Route 84 runs through the city, and continues as the Dumbarton Bridge to cross the San Francisco Bay to reach Menlo Park. Interstate 880 serves as the eastern boundary with Fremont.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 13.9 square miles (36 km²), of which, 13.9 square miles (36 km²) of it is land and 0.02 square miles (0.052 km²) of it (0.17%) is water.

History

Newark was named after Newark Castle, Port Glasgow in Scotland by J. Barr Robertson.

Before it was settled by Europeans, Newark was home to the Ohlone Native American Peoples. The first European settlement in the area was by the Spanish missionaries of Mission San José, whose territory covered much of the present day cities of Newark, Fremont, and Union City. In 1878 land belonging to Washington Township of Alameda County was purchased by The Pacific Land Investment Company and subdivided to form the town of Newark.

Newark was incorporated in September 1955.

2010

The 2010 United States Census reported that Newark had a population of 42,574. The population density was 3,063.2 people per square mile (1,182.7/km²). The racial makeup of Newark was 17,567 (41.3%) White, 2,002 (4.7%) Black, 279 (0.7%) Native American, 11,571 (27.2%) Asian, 621 (1.5%) Pacific Islander, 7,735 (18.2%) from other races, and 2,799 (6.6%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 14,994 persons (35.2%).

The Census reported that 42,428 people (99.7% of the population) lived in households, 145 (0.3%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized.

There were 12,972 households, out of which 5,643 (43.5%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 7,832 (60.4%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 1,716 (13.2%) had a female householder with no husband present, 786 (6.1%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 659 (5.1%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 93 (0.7%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 1,942 households (15.0%) were made up of individuals and 705 (5.4%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.27. There were 10,334 families (79.7% of all households); the average family size was 3.60.

The age distribution of the population shows 10,799 people (25.4%) under the age of 18, 3,824 people (9.0%) aged 18 to 24, 12,697 people (29.8%) aged 25 to 44, 10,727 people (25.2%) aged 45 to 64, and 4,526 people (10.6%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35.4 years. For every 100 females there were 99.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.8 males.

There were 13,414 housing units at an average density of 965.2 per square mile (372.7/km²), of which 8,942 (68.9%) were owner-occupied, and 4,030 (31.1%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.0%; the rental vacancy rate was 4.0%. 28,489 people (66.9% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 13,939 people (32.7%) lived in rental housing units.

2000

As of the census of 2000, there were 42,471 people, 12,992 households, and 10,341 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,039.4 people per square mile (1,173.8/km²). There were 13,150 housing units at an average density of 941.1 per square mile (363.4/km²).

There were 12,992 households out of which 40.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.2% were married couples living together, 11.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.4% were non-families. 14.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.26 and the average family size was 3.59.

In the city, the age distribution of the population shows 27.3% under the age of 18, 9.5% from 18 to 24, 34.3% from 25 to 44, 21.2% from 45 to 64, and 7.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 101.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $69,350, and the median income for a family was $71,351 (these figures had risen to $78,367 and $81,652 respectively as of a 2007 estimate). Males had a median income of $46,061 versus $34,959 for females. The per capita income for the city was $23,641. About 4.2% of families and 5.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.7% of those under age 18 and 6.9% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

In the state legislature, Newark is in the 10th Senate District, represented by Democrat Bob Wieckowski, and in the 25th Assembly District, represented by Democrat Kansen Chu. Federally, Newark is in California's 17th congressional district, represented by Democrat Ro Khanna.

Economy

Newark's economy is at the edge of Silicon Valley and shares its economic pattern.

Cargill Salt, previously known as Leslie Salt, operates a large salt refinery in Newark which cleans solar salt produced in salt evaporation ponds in the San Francisco Bay.

Wedgewood manufactured stoves in town from the 1910s until the 1940s. Peterbilt manufactured trucks in Newark from the early 1960s up to the mid-1980s. Adjacent to the Peterbilt truck facility, in 1956 Trailmobile moved its manufacturing and assembly plant from Berkeley to a new 208,000 sq. ft. facility in Newark. Once located at 6000 Stevenson Blvd., the Trailmobile plant closed in 1975 and moved to a new facility in Charleston, Illinois. From the mid 1950s through the early 1960s A.O. Smith Corporation of Kankakee, Illinois built residential and commercial grade glass-lined water heaters at a large manufacturing facility located on Sycamore Avenue. The plant was later acquired by the National Steel Corporation which continued water heater manufacturing at the plant until the early 1970s.

The city houses the Newpark Mall, a super-regional shopping center, with anchor stores Sears, J. C. Penney, Macy's, and Burlington Coat Factory, and over 140 other retailers.Rouse Properties broke ground on 140,000 square feet of restaurants and entertainment at NewPark, including a multiplex movie theater with Imax that would open in late 2015.

The former Sun Microsystems site near I-880, State Route 84 and the Dumbarton Bridge was purchased by BioMed Realty Trust and is now known as the Pacific Research Center.

Top employers

According to the City's June 2015 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:

Culture and recreation

The City of Newark has thirteen parks and sport play facilities, the George M. Silliman Community Activity and Family Aquatic Center (aka the Silliman Center). The Family Aquatic Center portion of the Silliman Center opened in the Summer of 2004 and includes a 32,300-square-foot (3,000 m²) indoor swim facility specifically designed for recreation, fitness, and instruction programs for the entire family. The 11,350-square-foot (1,054 m²) Natatorium includes four separate pools including: a 45' x 75' Activity Pool; a 245' long Lazy River pool (with a pair of 20' tall, curving water slides); a 4-foot (1.2 m) deep, 4-lane, 25-yard (23 m) Lap Pool; and a 15-person warm-water spa.

Every September, the city has a weekend dedicated to Newark Days.

Transportation

Newark lies near the intersection of I-880, State Route 84, and the Dumbarton Bridge.

Newark is served by AC Transit bus system. Surrounding Fremont is the access point for most transportation services, including Fremont and Union City BART stations, and ACE and AMTRAK trains.

Future rail

Caltrain is planning a Dumbarton rail that would run between the Peninsula and Alameda County. This project would add four stations to the Caltrain system: Union City, Fremont-Centerville, Newark, and Menlo Park/East Palo Alto. Dumbarton Rail is currently undergoing environmental and engineering review.

Education

Newark is home to a new campus of Ohlone College, a member of the California Community Colleges system. Other nearby educational centers include the University of Phoenix, ITT Institute, DeVry University, and Unitek College.

Newark has two high schools, Newark Memorial High School and Bridgepoint High School, and one junior high school, Newark Junior High School. Bridgepoint High School is an alternative high school on the MacGregor Campus which also houses Newark Adult School. Elementary schools include Kennedy, Bunker, Graham, Lincoln, Milani, Musick, Schilling, and Snow Schools and one catholic elementary-8th grade, St. Edward's Catholic School.

Notable people