City of Hayward, California

City of Hayward, CA

Hayward gets its name from William Hayward who in 1851 traveled to El Rancho San Lorenzo and squatted on land in Palomares Canyon. The owner of El Rancho San Lorenzo invited Hayward to purchase about 40 acres of land in what is now downtown Hayward. Hayward opened a general trading store, prospered and built a stagecoach stop, a post office, a hostelry, a dairy farm and later a hotel which became known as one of the area's finest resorts. In 1876 the town was incorporated as the "Town of Haywards" with a population of 1,100.

In 1850 easy access to San Francisco Bay brought freighter industry to Hayward. Stagecoaches also found Hayward to be a good stopping point on their way to San Jose. In 1865 the first railway reached Hayward. By 1950 Hayward had grown to 14,000 people, was the home to Hunt's Cannery, and had become the "Apricot City".

After World War II the population of Hayward grew rapidly as people found affordable housing and access to job markets. By 1962 the population had grown to 72,700.

Major employers in the city are: 1) Alameda County Sheriff's Dept, 2) Bay Cities Auto Auction, 3) Berkeley Farms, 4) California University East Bay, 5) Chabot College, 6) Hayward Unified School District, 7) Gillig Corporation, 8) Impax Laboratories, 9) Marelich Mechanical, 10) Pentagon Technologies, 11) Siemines Building Tech, 12) St. Rose Hospital

U.S. Census Facts for Hayward

• Total Population: 144,186
• 48,367 housing units - 52.5% owner occupied
• Median household income: $62,691
• Bachelors degree or higher: 24.3%
• Median age: 34.0

City of Hayward, CA - Home Values

Extensive graphs of Hayward home values for both single family homes and condos can be viewed at my Hayward Home Values web page. Recent Hayward home sales can be viewed at my Hayward Just Sold web page. Four key values: price, price per sq ft, size, and lot size, for Hayward single family houses are shown in the tabbed windows below.