Castro Valley is a census-designated place (CDP) in Alameda County, California, United States. At the 2020 census, it was the fourth most populous unincorporated area in California. The population was 66,441 at the 2020 census.
Castro Valley is named after Guillermo Castro, a noted 19th-century Mexican Californio ranchero who owned the land where the community is located.
History
thumb|left|upright|Castro Valley is named after Don [[Guillermo Castro (soldier)|Guillermo Castro, a noted Mexican Californio ranchero who owned much of the area.]]
Before the arrival of European settlers the area was settled by the Chocheño (also spelled Chochenyo or Chocenyo) subdivision of the Ohlone Native Americans.
With the arrival of Europeans, they established Mission San Jose in 1797. The area Castro Valley now occupies was part of the extensive colony of New Spain in what was the province of Alta California.
Castro Valley was part of the original <span style="white-space:nowrap">28,000 acre (110 km)</span> land grant given to Castro in 1840, called Rancho San Lorenzo. This land grant included Hayward, San Lorenzo, and Castro Valley, including Crow Canyon, Cull Canyon, and Palomares Canyons. Castro had a gambling habit and had to sell off portions of his land to pay gambling debts. The last of his holding was sold in a sheriff's sale in 1864 to Faxon Atherton for $400,000.
Atherton (after whom the town of Atherton is named
Geography
Lake Chabot lies in the northwest part of Castro Valley. Directly to the west is San Leandro. Hayward is to the south. Dublin, Pleasanton, and San Ramon are to the east.
The eastern hills of Castro Valley constitute the headwaters of the San Lorenzo Creek watershed and the origin of several creeks that flow into San Lorenzo Creek: Bolinas, Castro Valley, Chabot, Crow, Cull, Eden, Hollis, Kelly Canyon, Norris, and Palomares Creeks.
thumb|Interstate 580, with [[BART tracks in the center, near east Castro Valley]]
Demographics
Castro Valley first appeared as an unincorporated community in the 1960 U.S. census;
!Pop 2010
!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |Pop 2020
!% 2000
!% 2010
!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |% 2020
|-
|White alone (NH)
|36,992
|30,398
|style='background: #ffffe6; |24,412
|64.57%
|49.52%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |36.74%
|-
|Black or African American alone (NH)
|2,868
|4,064
|style='background: #ffffe6; |3,993
|5.01%
|6.62%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |6.01%
|-
|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)
|205
|160
|style='background: #ffffe6; |141
|0.36%
|0.26%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.21%
|-
|Asian alone (NH)
|7,649
|12,975
|style='background: #ffffe6; |20,174
|13.35%
|21.14%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |30.36%
|-
|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)
|240
|374
|style='background: #ffffe6; |278
|0.42%
|0.61%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.42%
|-
|Other race alone (NH)
|154
|148
|style='background: #ffffe6; |454
|0.27%
|0.24%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.68%
|-
|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)
|2,200
|2,580
|style='background: #ffffe6; |4,167
|3.84%
|4.20%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |6.27%
|-
|Hispanic or Latino (any race)
|6,984
|10,689
|style='background: #ffffe6; |12,822
|12.19%
|17.41%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |19.30%
|-
|Total
|57,292
|61,388
|style='background: #ffffe6; |66,441
|100.00%
|100.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%
|}
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Castro Valley had a population of 66,441 and a population density of . The census reported that 98.9% of residents lived in households, 0.3% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0.8% were institutionalized.
There were 23,218 households, of which 35.4% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 56.1% were married-couple households, 5.9% were cohabiting couple households, 23.6% had a female householder with no partner present, and 14.4% had a male householder with no partner present. About 19.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.83.
The age distribution was 21.5% under the age of 18, 7.5% aged 18 to 24, 26.3% aged 25 to 44, 27.8% aged 45 to 64, and 16.9% who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 40.9years. For every 100 females there were 94.5 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 92.1 males age 18 and over.
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Racial composition as of the 2020 census
! Race !! Number !! Percent
|-
| White || 26,776 || 40.3%
|-
| Black or African American || 4,233 || 6.4%
|-
| American Indian and Alaska Native || 565 || 0.9%
|-
| Asian || 20,443 || 30.8%
|-
| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander || 335 || 0.5%
|-
| Some other race || 5,316 || 8.0%
|-
| Two or more races || 8,773 || 13.2%
|-
| Hispanic or Latino (of any race) || 12,822 || 19.3%
|}
2023 American Community Survey
In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that 30.8% of the population were foreign-born. Of all people aged 5 or older, 58.5% spoke only English at home, 9.5% spoke Spanish, 5.9% spoke other Indo-European languages, 22.9% spoke Asian or Pacific Islander languages, and 3.2% spoke other languages.
thumb|Rowell Rodeo Park
Economy
The economy of Castro Valley consists largely of the provision of goods and services for local residents. Being a primarily residential community, only about 5% of the area has been developed for commercial uses.
The greatest number of people (6,683) are employed by the health care and social assistance industry, followed by the retail trade industry with 1,073 employees and accommodation and food service with 1,044 employees. The health care and social assistance industry provided $1.1 billion in sales, shipments, receipts or revenue in 2012, which is the highest of all industries, and it is followed by the retail trade industry, which had a value of $324.1 million in sales, shipments, receipts or revenue.
Art and culture
thumb|left|[[Holy Cross Orthodox Monastery (Castro Valley, California)|Holy Cross Orthodox Monastery]]
Castro Valley is one of the sites where Joseph Eichler built some of the 10,000 or so homes he built in the Bay Area.
Castro Valley has a one-screen movie theater, the Chabot Cinema.
The Castro Village complex on Castro Valley Boulevard is widely considered the commercial center of town.
The Harry Rowell Rodeo Ranch is located in Castro Valley and is managed by the Hayward Area Recreation and Park District. Rodeos are held there regularly.