Oakland is a city on the east side of San Francisco Bay in Northern California. To its north is Berkeley, home to the famous university campus (University of California, Berkeley). To its west is San Francisco, across the Bay Bridge. Oakland is home of The Port of Oakland, which is one of three major shipping ports on the US West coast.
Oakland is the county seat of Alameda County. As of 2000 the population was 399,484.
The current (2002) mayor is Jerry Brown, a former governor of the State of California. Tourist attractions include the Oakland Museum, the Paramount Theater, Chinatown, Jack London Square, Lake Merritt, and Network Associates Coliseum, home to the Oakland Raiders National Football League team, the Oakland Athletics Major League Baseball team, and the Golden State Warriors National Basketball Association team. The commercial and residental structures exhibit a great variety of styles, including Art Deco and Craftsman.
The Oakland Daily Tribune published its first newspaper on February 21, 1874.
Oakland hosts Oakland International Airport, which serves a lot of the low-cost market from the San Francisco Bay Area.
Geography
Oakland is located at 37°47'43" North, 122°13'41" West (37.795227, -122.228111)1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 202.4 km² (78.2 mi²). 145.2 km² (56.1 mi²) of it is land and 57.2 km² (22.1 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 28.28% water.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there are 399,484 people, 150,790 households, and 86,402 families residing in the city. The population density is 2,751.4/km² (7,126.6/mi²). There are 157,508 housing units at an average density of 1,084.8/km² (2,809.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 31.29% White, 35.66% African American, 0.66% Native American, 15.23% Asian American, 0.50% Pacific Islander, 11.66% from other races, and 4.98% from two or more races. 21.89% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 150,790 households out of which 28.6% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 34.0% are married couples living together, 17.7% have a female householder with no husband present, and 42.7% are non-families. 32.5% of all households are made up of individuals and 8.6% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.60 and the average family size is 3.38.
In the city the population is spread out with 25.0% under the age of 18, 9.7% from 18 to 24, 34.0% from 25 to 44, 20.9% from 45 to 64, and 10.5% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 33 years. For every 100 females there are 93.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 90.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $40,055, and the median income for a family is $44,384. Males have a median income of $37,433 versus $35,088 for females. The per capita income for the city is $21,936. 19.4% of the population and 16.2% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 27.9% are under the age of 18 and 13.1% are 65 or older.
History
Oakland was founded in 1852. In 1906 it's population grew substantially from refugees made homeless after the San Francisco earthquake and fire.