Alameda, California
42 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1897 and the latest in 1997. It stands in the Alameda census division. It lies in ZIP code area 94501. It stands on Sausal Creek. The Survey maps it on the Oakland East quadrangle. 78,280 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 33 feet above sea level.
Then and now
1897 to 1997The same ground, surveyed 100 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.


On record in Alameda
Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.
On the National Register 12 records
Alameda City Halllisted 1980
Alameda Free Librarylisted 1982
Alameda High Schoollisted 1977
Alameda Veterans' Memorial Buildinglisted 2007
Croll Buildinglisted 1982
First Presbyterian Church Sanctuary Buildinglisted 1980
Masonic Temple and Lodgelisted 1982
Park Street Historic Commercial Districtlisted 1982
St. Joseph's Basilicalisted 1978
Union Iron Works Powerhouselisted 1980
Union Iron Works Turbine Machine Shoplisted 1980- Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church of Alamedalisted 2023
Population over time
3 figuresAlameda grew from 72,259 to 78,280 between 2000 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 72,259 | |
| 2010 | 73,812 | +1,553 (+2%) |
| 2020 | 78,280 | +4,468 (+6%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
20 surveys from 42 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1897 USGS Concord quadrangle1:62500, 6 printings
- 1915 USGS Concord quadrangle1:62500, 5 printings
- 1942 USGS Concord quadrangle1:62500
- 1943 USGS Concord quadrangle1:62500
- 1947 USGS Oakland East quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1947 USGS San Francisco quadrangle1:250000
- 1948 USGS San Francisco quadrangle1:250000
- 1949 USGS Oakland East quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1955 USGS San Francisco quadrangle1:250000
- 1956 USGS San Francisco quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1957 USGS San Francisco quadrangle1:250000
- 1959 USGS Concord quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1959 USGS Oakland East quadrangle1:24000, 6 printings
- 1960 USGS San Francisco quadrangle1:250000
- 1961 USGS San Francisco quadrangle1:250000
- 1964 USGS San Francisco quadrangle1:250000
- 1971 USGS San Francisco quadrangle1:250000
- 1978 USGS San Francisco quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
- 1985 USGS San Francisco quadrangle1:250000
- 1997 USGS Oakland East quadrangle1:24000
Fires near this place
321 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 321 fires within 5 miles of Alameda between 1992 and 2020, burning about 103 acres in total. None started naturally. 41 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 220 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 41 |
| Smoking | 22 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 18 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 11 |
| Debris and open burning | 8 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 September 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Santa Clara Unit | not named |
| 9 September 2008 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | not named |
| 8 September 2005 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | not named |
| 8 September 2004 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1.0 acres | Santa Clara Unit | SMALL |
| 7 September 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Santa Clara Unit | not named |
| 6 September 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Santa Clara Unit | not named |
| 6 September 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | not named |
| 6 September 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 17 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 17 workings within 5 miles of Alameda: 8 producers, 8 past producers, 1 occurrence. 8 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Sulfur, Sulfur-Pyrite, Copper, Silver, Copper. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alum | Sulfur, Silver, Copper | Past Producer | ||
| Kaiser Industries Corp | Clay | Producer | ||
| Leona | Sulfur, Copper, Silver | Past Producer | ||
| Leona Heights | Copper, Gold, Zinc | Past Producer | 1891 | |
| San Leandro Quarry and Mill | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Alma | Sulfur-Pyrite, Copper, Silver | Occurrence | 1892 | |
| Alma | Copper, Sulfur | Past Producer | Bornite, Chalcocite, Chalcopyrite, Pyrite, Sphalerite | |
| Alum | Sulfur-Pyrite, Copper, Silver | Past Producer | ||
| Leona Quarry | Stone | Producer | ||
| Quarry | Stone | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
18 since 2009Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Alameda in 18 storm reports between 2009 and 2026: 16 flood, 2 heavy rain. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 2024 | Flood | Alameda | $10 | Roadway flooding reported on I-880 near Market Street offramp. |
| January 2026 | Flood | Alameda | - | One foot of water was reported on the offramp from westbound Interstate 980 to Jackson Street. |
| February 2025 | Flood | Alameda | - | Around 6 inches of water covered the entire exit lane on the offramp from northbound Interstate 880 to Broadway. |
| December 2025 | Flood | Alameda | - | Flooding was reported on northbound Interstate 880 around a half mile south of 5th Street. |
| November 2025 | Flood | Alameda | - | Roadway flooding was reported in multiple locations in downtown Oakland, including the Jackson St onramp to northbound Interstate 880, the transition between northbound Interstate 880 to Interstate 980, and the transition between westbound Interstate 580 to eastbound California Highway 24. |
| November 2024 | Heavy Rain | Alameda | - | The Oakland Museum COOP station recorded a new daily record rainfall of 2.46 inches for November 22. |
| December 2024 | Flood | Alameda | - | Floodwaters 3 inches deep along northbound Interstate 880 at Broadway. |
| December 2022 | Heavy Rain | Alameda | - | Oakland site had its wettest day on record (since 1970) with 4.75, beating out the previous record set back on 1/4/1982 by just 0.01||This day was 36% of Decembers rainfall at this site. |
| December 2021 | Flood | Alameda | - | Heavy rain led to 1 ft of standing water in the roadway. |
| January 2020 | Flood | Alameda | - | Roadway flooding at I-880 N and Broadway off ramp. |
| January 2019 | Flood | Alameda | - | Flooding across off ramp of I800 N. |
| February 2019 | Flood | Alameda | - | Flooding on on ramp of I880 S and 7th St, 3 to 4 feet of water. |
| February 2019 | Flood | Alameda | - | Roadway flooding at NB 880 at Broadway. |
| December 2019 | Flood | Alameda | - | Hwy 880 just south of Market St off ramp, lanes 3 and 4 flooded. |
| November 2019 | Flood | Alameda | - | Roadway flooding on WB Hwy 980 on Jackson St off ramp. |
| February 2017 | Flood | Alameda | - | I880 and 5th st on ramp flooded. |
| February 2015 | Flood | Alameda | - | Roadway flooding on Westbound Interstate 980 at Southbound Interstate 880. |
| October 2009 | Flood | Alameda | - | Flooding occurred along Interstate 880 near the intersection of Interstate 980. |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fernside | 0.7 miles | 42 | |
| South Shore | 0.9 miles | 37 | |
| Fruitvale | 1.5 miles | 42 | |
| Melrose | 2.0 miles | 42 | |
| West End | 2.1 miles | 37 | |
| Clinton (historical) | 2.2 miles | 37 | |
| Highland Park | 2.4 miles | 42 | |
| Lockwood Gardens | 2.4 miles | 42 |
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on Alameda | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q490744 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 277468. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.



















