BlockBefore

Albany, California

40 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1895 and the latest in 1995. It stands in the Berkeley census division. It lies in ZIP code area 94706. It stands on Codornices Creek. The Survey maps it on the Richmond quadrangle. 20,271 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 43 feet above sea level.

Albany within Alameda County

Then and now

1895 to 1995

The 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.

Topographic sheet of Albany, surveyed 1995
Topographic sheet of Albany, surveyed 1895

On record in Albany

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 1 record

Population over time

12 figures

Albany grew from 808 to 20,271 between 1910 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.

YearPeople Change
1910808
19202,462+1,654 (+205%)
19308,569+6,107 (+248%)
194011,493+2,924 (+34%)
195017,590+6,097 (+53%)
196014,804-2,786 (-16%)
197015,561+757 (+5%)
198015,130-431 (-3%)
199016,327+1,197 (+8%)
200016,444+117 (+1%)
201018,539+2,095 (+13%)
202020,271+1,732 (+9%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

19 surveys from 40 printed sheets

Matched 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.

Fires near this place

195 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 195 fires within 5 miles of Albany between 1992 and 2020, burning about 156 acres in total. 1 started naturally. 11 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/undetermined141
Smoking13
Misuse of fire by a minor11
Arson/incendiarism11
Equipment and vehicle use11
Debris and open burning4
Power generation/transmission/distribution2
Fireworks1
Natural1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
7 September 2019Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSanta Clara Unitnot named
6 September 2018Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
6 September 2018Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
6 September 2018Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
5 September 2009Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
5 September 2007Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
5 September 1994Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreSanta Clara UnitANZA
5 September 1992Missing data/not specified/undetermined4.0 acresSanta Clara UnitHALLOCK

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Alameda County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 32 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 32 workings within 5 miles of Albany: 14 occurrences, 7 past producers, 5 producers, 3 unknowns. 5 still produce. What was taken out: Stone, Mercury, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Lead. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Berkeley HillsSulfur-Pyrite, Copper, LeadPast ProducerGalena, Pyrite
Richfield Oil Co.Stone, Crushed/BrokenProspect
Richmond MillLimestone, GeneralProducer
Unnamed LocationAsbestosOccurrence
Unnamed LocationAsbestosOccurrence
Berkeley HillsLeadUnknown
Unnamed LocationLeadOccurrence
Ada Sand and Gravel Pit No 2Sand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Moller PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
QuarrySand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary

Every working recorded in Alameda County

Storms near this place

6 since 2010

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Albany in 6 storm reports between 2010 and 2025: 5 flood, 1 lightning. 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
October 2011LightningAlbany$3,000Pickup truck was struck by lightning. Electrical system was knocked out in the truck.
December 2025FloodAlbany-Around 1 foot of water was reported on the onramp from Buchanan Street to westbound Interstate 80.
January 2024FloodAlbany-Three inches of water blocked the number 1 lane of WB Interstate 80 at Buchanan. Six inches of water blocked the onramp to WB Interstate 80 at Buchanan.
January 2019FloodAlbany-Flooding at I 580W and Central Ave off ramp, off ramp completely flooded.
January 2016FloodAlbany-CHP reported that I-80 East at El Portal Drive was flooded. The HOV lane was flooded and water was flowing across all lanes.
January 2010FloodAlbany-Heavy rain caused knee-deep flooding at the intersections of Second and Harrison Streets in Berkeley.

Every storm recorded in Alameda County

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 PlaceDistance Sheets
University Village0.2 miles40
Westbrae0.7 miles40
West Berkeley0.9 miles37
Thousand Oaks1.1 miles40
Berkeley1.7 miles37
Normandy Village1.9 miles40
Cragmont1.9 miles40
La Loma Park2.1 miles40

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 AlbanyAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q671480The 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 1657902. 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.