El Cerrito, Contra Costa County, California
Encyclopedia

Transportation

The city's primary transportation infrastructure consists of the El Cerrito Plaza and El Cerrito del Norte BART stations along with several local bus lines, operated by 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...

, providing access to the surrounding area and the nearby cities of Albany, Berkeley and Richmond. In addition to this local service, El Cerrito is also served by AC Transit's trans-bay buses to the San Francisco Transbay Terminal
San Francisco Transbay Terminal
San Francisco Transbay Transit Terminal, or simply Transbay Terminal, was a transportation complex in San Francisco, California, USA, located roughly in the center of the rectangle bounded north–south by Mission Street and Howard Street, and east–west by Beale Street and 2nd Street...

, as well as its late night service from the del Norte station through Richmond, San Pablo, and Pinole, and one of the All Nighter
All Nighter
The All Nighter is a night bus service network in the San Francisco Bay Area, California. Portions of the service shadow the rapid transit and commuter rail services of BART and Caltrain, which are the major rail services between San Francisco, the East Bay, the Peninsula, and San Jose...

 routes, which follows the Richmond-Millbrae BART line. FAST, Golden Gate Transit
Golden Gate Transit
Golden Gate Transit is a public transportation system serving the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in California, United States. It mainly serves Marin and Sonoma Counties, and also provides limited service to San Francisco and Contra Costa County.Golden Gate Transit is one of three...

, Vallejo Transit, Napa VINE, and WestCat
WestCAT
WestCAT is a public transportation service in western Contra Costa County . It is a service of the Western Contra Costa Transit Authority....

 provide feeder service between the del Norte staton and elsewhere in Contra Costa County and the North Bay
North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area)
The North Bay is a subregion of the San Francisco Bay Area, in California, United States. The largest city is Santa Rosa. It is by far the least populous and least urbanized part of the Bay Area...

.

Places

San Pablo Avenue stretches the length of El Cerrito and is the primary commercial and retail corridor of the city. El Cerrito is best known for El Cerrito Plaza
El Cerrito Plaza (Shopping Center)
El Cerrito Plaza is a shopping center in El Cerrito, California, a suburb in the San Francisco Bay Area.-Location:El Cerrito Plaza is located on the southern border of El Cerrito between San Pablo Avenue and the BART rail tracks...

, a large automobile-oriented shopping center origially built as a regional mall in the 1950s, and for the Cerrito Theater, a restored two-screen movie theater that is known for offering beer, wine, and a full dining menu. The shopping center is surrounded by other commercial and retail businesses along San Pablo Avenue and Fairmount Avenue respectively, including fast food and an ACE Hardware store. The Guitar Center, also located on San Pablo Avenue, is well known among the Bay Area music scene.

El Cerrito city parks include both recreation/sports parks as well as undeveloped nature areas. Most notable are the 80 acres (323,748.8 m²) Hillside Natural Area open space, Huber Park (Terrace Drive), Cerrito Vista Park (Moeser Lane and Pomona Avenue), and Arlington Park (Arlington Boulevard), Tassajara Park (Tassajara Avenue and Barrett Avenue), Poinsett Park (Poinsett Avenue), and the Canyon Trail Park and Art Center (Gatto Avenue). The City is home to a 2.6 miles (4.2 km) segment of the Ohlone Greenway
Ohlone Greenway
The Ohlone Greenway is a pedestrian and bicycle path in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area.The path is named for the Ohlone Indians who originally lived in the area....

 (named after the Native American Ohlone people), a trail that runs the length of the City along the BART right-of-way and is popular with walkers, runners, and bicyclists.

The city is home to Playland-Not-At-The-Beach
Playland-Not-At-The-Beach
Playland-Not-At-The-Beach is a non-profit, family-oriented museum in El Cerrito, California celebrating America's bygone amusements operated entirely by volunteers....

, a popular museum.

2010

The 2010 United States Census reported that El Cerrito had a population of 23,549. 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 1,836.1 people per square mile (708.9/km²). The racial makeup of El Cerrito was 3,542 (69.5%) White, 91 (1.8%) African American, 54 (1.1%) Native American, 95 (1.9%) Asian, 11 (0.2%) Pacific Islander, 1,122 (22.0%) 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 185 (3.6%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2,657 persons (52.1%).

The Census reported that 5,088 people (99.8% of the population) lived in households, 12 (0.2%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized.

There were 1,386 households, out of which 648 (46.8%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 937 (67.6%) 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, 153 (11.0%) had a female householder with no husband present, 97 (7.0%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 71 (5.1%) 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 13 (0.9%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 126 households (9.1%) were made up of individuals and 50 (3.6%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.67. There were 1,187 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...

 (85.6% of all households); the average family size was 3.82.

The population was spread out with 1,380 people (27.1%) under the age of 18, 548 people (10.7%) aged 18 to 24, 1,274 people (25.0%) aged 25 to 44, 1,387 people (27.2%) aged 45 to 64, and 511 people (10.0%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35.7 years. For every 100 females there were 109.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.6 males.

There were 1,449 housing units at an average density of 521.7 per square mile (201.4/km²), of which 1,099 (79.3%) were owner-occupied, and 287 (20.7%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.2%; the rental vacancy rate was 4.0%. 3,991 people (78.3% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 1,097 people (21.5%) lived in rental housing units.

2000

As of the census of 2000, there were 23,171 people, 10,208 households, and 5,971 families residing in the city. The population density was 6,356.5 people per square mile (2,451.1/km²). There were 10,462 housing units at an average density of 2,870.1 per square mile (1,106.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 57.79% White
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...

, 8.54% Black
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...

 or African American
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...

, 0.50% Native American
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...

, 24.38% Asian
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...

, 0.25% Pacific Islander
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...

, 3.06% 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 5.48% from two or more races. 7.93% of the population were Hispanic
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...

 or Latino
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...

 of any race.

There were 10,208 households out of which 20.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.4% were married couples living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.5% were non-families. 30.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.25 and the average family size was 2.81.

In the city the population was spread out with 15.9% under the age of 18, 6.7% from 18 to 24, 31.2% from 25 to 44, 25.7% from 45 to 64, and 20.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 89.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.6 males.

The median income
Income
Income is the consumption and savings opportunity gained by an entity within a specified time frame, which is generally expressed in monetary terms. However, for households and individuals, "income is the sum of all the wages, salaries, profits, interests payments, rents and other forms of earnings...

 for a household in the city was $57,253, and the median income for a family was $69,397 (these figures had risen to $77,650 and $97,488 respectively as of a 2007 estimate). Males had a median income of $50,316 versus $40,866 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 $32,593. About 3.5% of families and 6.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.9% of those under age 18 and 3.9% of those age 65 or over.

At home the percentages of the languages residents speak are English 70.47%, Spanish 6.26%, Chinese 5.96%, Japanese 2.70%, Mandarin 1.80%, Cantonese 1.57%, Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...

 1.43%, Tagalog 1.30%, Korean 1.08%, French 0.90%, German 0.83%, Formosan 0.73%, Italian 0.66%, Vietnamese 0.57%, Urdu 0.50%, and 3.23% of people spoke some other language which represented less than 0.50% of the population.

Top Employers

According to the City's 2009-2010 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report the top employers in the city are:
  • West Contra Costa Unified
  • Home Depot
  • City of El Cerrito
  • Lucky
  • Jehovah's Witnesses
  • Honda of El Cerrito
  • Romano's Macaroni Grill
  • Trader Joe's
  • Prospect Sierra School
  • CVS Pharmacy
  • Fat Apple's Restaurant-Bakery
  • Mira Vista Golf and Country Club
  • Shields Nursing Center
  • US Post Office
  • Tehiyah Day School
  • Windrush School
  • Orchard Supply Hardware
  • Barnes and Noble
  • El Cerrito Royale
  • McDonald's


Note: Data not available for ranking or total employees for each employer.

Nation's Giant Hamburgers
Nation's Giant Hamburgers
Nation's Giant Hamburgers, or simply Nation's, is a privately-held El Cerrito, California-based fast food diner chain.The chain, founded in 1952, largely operates in the San Francisco Bay Area...

 is based in El Cerrito.

Primary and secondary schools

El Cerrito is in the West Contra Costa Unified School District
West Contra Costa Unified School District
The West Contra Costa Unified School District is the school district for western Contra Costa County, California. It is based in Richmond, California...

, a multi-city district that operates three elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school in the city:
  • Castro Elementary School (permanently closed; planned site of new middle school campus)
  • Fairmont Elementary School
  • Harding Elementary School
  • Madera Elementary School
  • Portola Junior High School
  • El Cerrito High School
    El Cerrito High School
    El Cerrito High School is a public school in the West Contra Costa Unified School District. It is located at 540 Ashbury Avenue, El Cerrito, California 94530.-Overview:The original main school building was built in the late 1930s as a WPA project...



El Cerrito is also home to private elementary and middle schools:
  • Keystone Montessori School
  • Montessori Community School
  • Prospect Sierra School
  • St. Jerome Catholic School
  • St. John The Baptist
  • Tehiyah Day School
    Tehiyah Day School
    Tehiyah Day School is an independent Jewish day school with classes from Bridge-Kindergarten through 8th Grade Jewish day school in El Cerrito, California.-History:...

  • Windrush School

Public libraries

There is a branch of the Contra Costa County Library
Contra Costa County Library
Contra Costa County Library is a public library that is part of Contra Costa County, California, United States. There are 26 community libraries, access to electronic information via a website, over 455,000 cardholders and more than 7 million items borrowed annually...

 system in El Cerrito.

Notable residents

  • John Fogerty
    John Fogerty
    John Cameron Fogerty is an American rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist, best known for his time with the swamp rock/roots rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival and as a #1 solo recording artist. Fogerty has a rare distinction of being named on Rolling Stone magazine's list of 100 Greatest...

    , and Tom Fogerty
    Tom Fogerty
    Thomas Richard "Tom" Fogerty was an American musician, best known as the rhythm guitarist in Creedence Clearwater Revival and the elder brother of John Fogerty, lead singer and lead guitarist in that band....

    , musicians from the band Creedence Clearwater Revival
    Creedence Clearwater Revival
    Creedence Clearwater Revival was an American rock band that gained popularity in the late 1960s and early 1970s with a number of successful singles drawn from various albums....

    , grew up in El Cerrito. The band reunited to play their last concert at an El Cerrito High School reunion at Golden Gate Fields in Albany.
  • The Bay Area tenure of Metallica
    Metallica
    Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...

     started out in El Cerrito.
  • Drew Gooden
    Drew Gooden
    Andrew Melvin "Drew" Gooden is an American professional basketball player in the NBA who plays for the Milwaukee Bucks. Gooden is a 6'10", 250 lbs...

    , Milwaukee Bucks
    Milwaukee Bucks
    The Milwaukee Bucks are a professional basketball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. They are part of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was founded in 1968 as an expansion team, and currently plays at the Bradley Center....

     forward, attended El Cerrito High School; during his tenure, the basketball team went to and lost the state basketball final.
  • Thomas Pridgen
    Thomas Pridgen
    Thomas Armon Pridgen is an American drummer, best known for his role as the drummer of The Mars Volta from October 31, 2006 until October 23, 2009, and currently the drummer for his own project The Memorials as well as hard rock supergroup Giraffe Tongue Orchestra.-Biography:Pridgen won the Guitar...

    , former drummer for the band The Mars Volta
    The Mars Volta
    The Mars Volta is a Grammy award winning American progressive rock band from El Paso, Texas. Founded in 2001 by guitarist Omar Rodríguez-López and vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala, the band incorporates various influences including progressive rock, krautrock, jazz fusion, Latin American music, and...

    .
  • Catherine Asaro
    Catherine Asaro
    Catherine Asaro is an American science fiction and fantasy author. She is best known for her books about the Ruby Dynasty, called the Saga of the Skolian Empire.- Biography :...

    , science-fiction author, grew up in El Cerrito.
  • Les Blank
    Les Blank
    Les Blank is an American documentary filmmaker best known for his portraits of American traditional musicians....

    , documentary filmmaker (born 1935)
  • Chris Strachwitz
    Chris Strachwitz
    Chris Strachwitz is a German-born American record label executive and record producer. He is the founder and president of Arhoolie Records, which he established in 1960 and which became one of the leading labels recording and issuing blues, Cajun, norteño and other forms of roots music from the...

    , founder of Arhoolie records.
  • Larissa Kelly
    Larissa Kelly
    Larissa Kelly is a Jeopardy! contestant who resides in El Cerrito, California. During her regular run on Jeopardy!, she won a total of $222,597 over six games and $1,000 3rd place consolation prize in her seventh, with her last appearance airing May 28, 2008...

    , all-time female Jeopardy!
    Jeopardy!
    Griffin's first conception of the game used a board comprising ten categories with ten clues each, but after finding that this board could not be shown on camera easily, he reduced it to two rounds of thirty clues each, with five clues in each of six categories...

    champion
  • Matt Young
    Matt Young
    Matthew John Young is a former American Major League baseball player. Young played for a variety of teams over his career, and is best known for his unofficial no-hitter against the Cleveland Indians while a member of the Boston Red Sox....

    , former American Major League
    Major League Baseball
    Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

     baseball
    Baseball
    Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

     player
  • Ernie Broglio
    Ernie Broglio
    Ernest Gilbert Broglio is a former right-handed pitcher in American Major League Baseball from 1959-66. Broglio signed with the independent Oakland Oaks of the Pacific Coast League after he attended West Contra Costa Junior College. He was acquired by the New York Giants in 1956...

    , former major league baseball player
  • Pumpsie Green
    Pumpsie Green
    Elijah Jerry "Pumpsie" Green is a former Major League Baseball backup infielder who played with the Boston Red Sox and New York Mets . He was a switch-hitter who threw right-handed....

    , first African American to play for the Boston Red Sox
  • John C. Dvorak
    John C. Dvorak
    John C. Dvorak is an American columnist and broadcaster in the areas of technology and computing. His writing extends back to the 1980s, when he was a mainstay of a variety of magazines. Dvorak is also the Vice-President of Mevio and well known for his work for Tech TV...

    , technology journalist
  • Tung-Yen Lin, structural engineer who founded T. Y. Lin International
  • Adam Sessler
    Adam Sessler
    Adam Donovan Sessler is co-host of X-Play on G4 with Morgan Webb and, as of December 17, 2008, editor-in-chief of G4's game content for the network. He is the only remaining television personality from the G4's origin network ZDTV.-Background:Sessler was born in Berkeley, California...

    , co-host of X-Play
    X-Play
    X-Play is a TV program about video games, known for its reviews and comedy skits...

     on G4
    G4 (TV channel)
    G4, also known as G4 TV, is an American cable- and satellite-television channel originally geared primarily toward young adult viewers, originally based on the world of video games...

    .
  • Tom Toro, New Yorker cartoonist, grew up in El Cerrito.

External links

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