San Ramon, California


San Ramon is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States, located within the San Ramon Valley, and 34 miles east of San Francisco. San Ramon's population was estimated as 75,995 in 2019 by the US Census Bureau, making it the 4th largest city in Contra Costa County, behind Richmond, Concord and Antioch.
San Ramon is home to the headquarters of Chevron Corporation, 24 Hour Fitness, the West Coast headquarters of AT&T, the Global Software Center of General Electric, as well as the San Ramon Medical Center. Major annual events include the Art and Wind Festival on Memorial Day weekend and the Run for Education in October.
On April 24, 2001, San Ramon was designated a Tree City USA.

Geography

San Ramon is adjacent to Danville, California, to the north and Dublin, California, to the south. Unincorporated county lands border San Ramon to the east and west. It is located around above sea level. Mount Diablo flanks the city to the northeast and is prominently visible from almost all parts of the city. The Las Trampas Regional Wilderness borders San Ramon's extreme northwest, at the northern end of Bollinger Canyon. The smaller Bishop Ranch Regional Preserve straddles San Ramon's western border, located approximately between Interstate 680 and the Alameda County line.
The topography of San Ramon is varied, featuring a mix of the rolling hills of the Diablo Range and the flatter basin of the San Ramon Valley. The city is predominantly urban and residential with many new housing developments, however much of the land around the city's perimeter regions remains undeveloped, and is covered by grasslands and oak tree orchards. During the drier months the grasses are golden, but with the precipitation of winter and spring, the grasses turn green.

Climate

San Ramon's weather typifies a Mediterranean climate, seasonal, and moderate. Summers are warm to hot and dry, while winters are mild or cool, wet and rather short. Its weather is similar to the adjacent cities of Danville, Dublin and Pleasanton. Fog can be infrequent but occurs normally in the western reaches of the city, at the eastern mouth of Crow Canyon, through which marine weather patterns funnel in from the San Francisco Bay via Castro Valley. It usually burns off by mid-to-late morning.
Average January temperatures are a maximum of and a minimum of. Average July temperatures are a maximum of and a minimum of. January is normally the wettest month, averaging of precipitation and followed by March, is the second wettest month averaging of precipitation. July is usually the driest month, with an average of only of precipitation. Snow is extremely rare except for Mount Diablo, but hail occurs a few times in the winter.

History

The lands now occupied by the City of San Ramon were formerly inhabited by Seunen people, an Ohlone/Costanoan group who built their homes near creeks. Sometime around 1797 they were taken by Mission San José for use as grazing land. In 1834, they were part of the Rancho San Ramon land grant to José María Amador.
Amador named San Ramón not after a real saint but rather after a Native American vaquero who tended mission sheep on the land. Amador added the "San" per Spanish custom.
In 1964, Pacific Air Lines Flight 773 crashed near San Ramon after both pilots were shot by a passenger.

Demographics

2010 census

The 2010 United States Census reported that San Ramon had a population of 72,148. The population density was 3,991.1 people per square mile. The racial makeup of San Ramon was 38,639 White, 2,043 African American, 205 Native American, 25,713 Asian, 156 Pacific Islander, 1,536 from other races, and 3,856 from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6,250 persons.
The Census reported that 72,073 people lived in households, 52 lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 23 were institutionalized.
There were 25,284 households, out of which 11,988 had children under the age of 18 living in them, 16,318 were opposite-sex married couples living together, 1,997 had a female householder with no husband present, 850 had a male householder with no wife present. There were 1,067 unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 187 same-sex married couples or partnerships. 4,682 households were made up of individuals, and 1,105 had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.85. There were 19,165 families ; the average family size was 3.30.
The population was spread out, with 21,351 people under the age of 18, 3,557 people aged 18 to 24, 22,798 people aged 25 to 44, 18,815 people aged 45 to 64, and 5,627 people who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37.1 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.4 males.
There were 26,222 housing units at an average density of 1,450.6 per square mile, of which 25,284 were occupied and 18,056 of them were owner-occupied, and 7,228 were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.3%; the rental vacancy rate was 4.0%. 54,705 people lived in owner-occupied housing units and 17,368 people lived in rental housing units.
The median income for a household in the city was $119,297, and the median income for a family was $132,339. Males had a median income of $97,475 versus $70,083 for females. The per capita income for the city was $50,736. About 2.0% of families and 2.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.9% of those under age 18 and 3.5% of those age 65 or over.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 44,722 people, 16,944 households, and 12,148 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,491.1/km2. There were 17,552 housing units at an average density of 585.2/km2. The racial makeup of the city was 36.82% White, 1.93% Black or African American, 0.36% Native American, 50.94% Asian, 0.21% Pacific Islander, 2.16% from other races, and 3.58% from two or more races. 7.24% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 16,944 households, out of which 37.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.8% were married couples living together, 7.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.3% were non-families. 21.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 3.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.12.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 26.3% under the age of 18, 5.8% from 18 to 24, 35.7% from 25 to 44, 26.2% from 45 to 64, and 6.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $95,856, and the median income for a family was $106,321. Males had a median income of $73,502 versus $50,107 for females. The per capita income for the city was $42,336. About 1.4% of families and 2.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.4% of those under age 18 and 4.5% of those age 65 or over.

Government

San Ramon is governed by a four-body City Council composed of individuals elected to four-year overlapping terms in coordination with a two-year elected mayor. Police services were provided under contract by the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Department until July 1, 2007, when the city officially took over providing police services.
As of 2020, the elected representatives are Bill Clarkson, Sabina Zafar, Scott Perkins, Phil O'Loane and David Hudson.
The city of San Ramon is in Contra Costa County.
In the United States House of Representatives, the city is split between and.
According to the California Secretary of State, as of February 10, 2019, San Ramon has 41,872 registered voters. Of those, 16,518 are registered Democrats, 8,907 are registered Republicans, and 12,147 have declined to state a political party.
YearDemocraticRepublicanThird Parties
201666.92% 21,13427.68% 8,7415.41% 1,708
201260.08% 17,41038.06% 11,0281.86% 540
200862.31% 18,51736.24% 10,7681.45% 431
200453.05% 12,87246.04% 11,1720.91% 221
200048.25% 9,38448.98% 9,5252.77% 538
199645.05% 8,14146.20% 8,3498.76% 1,583
199236.11% 6,56939.89% 7,25624.00% 4,366
198834.50% 4,95764.64% 9,2880.86% 123
198426.57% 2,81672.73% 7,7090.70% 74

Economy

, a master-planned office park development, with some retail elements, began major construction in the early 1980s, and provides a healthy tax base for the city. Bishop Ranch is situated on 585 acres once owned by Western Electric, and was farmland before that. Current tenants include the corporate headquarters of Chevron Corporation, as well the West Coast headquarters of AT&T Inc.. United Parcel Service has a regional distribution center in Bishop Ranch. Toyota has a regional office and parts distribution center located there. GE Global Research started its Global Software Center in Bishop Ranch in 2011. Bishop Ranch covers the vast majority of "Central San Ramon", which is the large square formed by Freeway 680 on the west, Crow Canyon Road on the north, Iron Horse trail on the east, and Bollinger Canyon Road on the south. In December 2016, the Ligier EZ-10 began use in the first autonomous vehicle passenger shuttle route in North America, looping through Bishop Ranch Office Park, with on-sight operation and maintenance by First Transit.
ChevronTexaco's headquarters moved from San Francisco to San Ramon in 2001 but 12 years later, 800 jobs were moved to Houston, a quarter of the San Ramon workforce due to high corporate costs and to consolidate existing units in Houston.

Largest employers

According to the City's 2012 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:
#Employer# of Employees% of Total City Employment
1Chevron3,50012.28%
2AT&T1,7536.15%
3Bank of the West1,6005.61%
4Robert Half International1,1003.86%
5Accenture7502.63%
6Pacific Gas & Electric6042.12%
7San Ramon Regional Medical Center5001.75%
8GE Digital10001.75%
9Primed Management Consulting4131.45%
10IBM4081.45%

Downtown

In 2014, the city approved the project's design that called for an animated civic space featuring 350,000 square feet of quality shops, restaurants and a multi-screen movie theater. The city center was designed by the award-winning international architectural firm Renzo Piano Building Workshop. The grand opening was on November 8, 2018, which featured The Lot Luxury Theater, West Elm, Boba Guys, Fieldwork Brewing Company, On the EDGE, Pottery Barn, Starbucks, the piece. Store, and Williams Sonoma. Throughout 2019 more stores, restaurants, and an Equinox gym are slated to open.

Education

San Ramon's public schools are part of the San Ramon Valley Unified School District, serving approximately 30,300 students. The city has 11 elementary schools and four middle schools. The high schools are California and Dougherty Valley High School. An alternative K–12 school is operated by the SRVUSD to support home-schooled students: Venture Independent Study School.
California High School was founded in 1973 and ranked 250th best high school in the United States by Newsweek. Dougherty Valley High School is ranked 42nd within California; it is ranked No. 281 in the national rankings and earned a gold medal.

Higher education

The San Ramon Library and Dougherty Station Library branches of the Contra Costa County Library and Ramona Library are in San Ramon.

Memorial Park

Originally, this city park, located on a hill overlooking Bollinger Canyon Road and San Ramon Valley Blvd., was to be named Alta Mesa Park. During the construction of the park, the City Council voted to change the name to Memorial Park to honor Tom Burnett, a San Ramon resident, and other victims from Flight 93 killed in the September 11 attacks of 2001. A plaque was installed at the base of a lighted flagpole dedicated to those victims and the surrounding meadow is part of the city's memorial tree program dedicated to local residents who have perished. The park was dedicated on September 11, 2002.
This 16-acre park includes a play area, a BMX course, a picnic area, a bocce ball court, horseshoe courts, a ball field, a dog park, rest rooms and water fountains. The play area has two big play structures, one for ages 2–5 and another for ages 5–12.

Points of interest

;Museums and historic sites
;Parks
  • Athan Downs Park
  • Bellingham Square Park
  • Bollinger Canyon School Park
  • Boone Acres Park
  • Centennial Park
  • Compass Point Park
  • Country Club School Park
  • Country Fair Park
  • Coyote Creek School Park
  • Coyote Crossing Park
  • Crow Canyon Gardens
  • East Branch Park
  • Golden View School Park
  • Hidden Crest Park
  • Hidden Hills School Park
  • Limerick Park
  • Memorial Park
  • Mill Creek Hollow
  • Monarch
  • Montevideo School Park
  • Neil Armstrong School Park
  • Old Ranch Park
  • Piccadilly Square Park
  • Pine Valley School Park
  • Ramona Park
  • Rancho San Ramon Community Park
  • Red Willow Park
  • San Ramon Central Park
  • Senior Center Park
  • Sherwood Park
  • Six Pillars park
  • Souyen Park
  • Valley View Park
  • Village Green Park
  • Walt Disney School Park

    Transportation

Local bus service in the San Ramon Valley is provided primarily by County Connection. Ride-sharing services such as Uber and Lyft are also accessible in San Ramon.
The major freeway in the area is Interstate 680.

Notable people

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