El Cerrito, California

File:Don_Víctor_Castro (cropped).jpg, a Californio ranchero who helped found El Cerrito on his Rancho El Sobrante]]

El Cerrito was founded by refugees from the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. They settled in what was then Don Víctor Castro's Rancho San Pablo, adjacent to the ranch owned by the family of Luís María Peralta, the Rancho San Antonio.{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20070927202128/http://elcerritowire.com/history/pages/countyline.htm Contra Costa/Alameda County Line]}}, Mervin Belfils/El Cerrito Historical Society, October 1975/June 2006, retrieved August 1, 2007 A post office opened at the settlement in 1909 and the refugee camp became known as Rust, after Wilhelm F. Rust, its first postmaster.{{California's Geographic Names|628}}{{Cite GNIS|277504|El Cerrito}} The village's residents did not care for the name and changed it to El Cerrito (meaning "little hill" or "knoll") in 1916, in reference to nearby Albany Hill.{{Cite web|url=https://www.el-cerrito.org/365/History|title = El Cerrito's History | el Cerrito, CA - Official Website}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.el-cerrito.org/DocumentCenter/View/3439/1715-Elm-Street-HRE_120213?bidId= |title=Archived copy |access-date=January 5, 2020 |archive-date=June 22, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200622123422/https://www.el-cerrito.org/DocumentCenter/View/3439/1715-Elm-Street-HRE_120213?bidId= |url-status=dead }} A year later, El Cerrito was incorporated as a village with 1,500 residents.

El Cerrito was incorporated in August 1917. The communities of Stege Junction, Rust, Schmidtville, and Schindler were all included in the new city.[http://www.el-cerrito.org/documentcenter/view/5459 Town Memo] (February 2, 2016)(December 7, 1910). [https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=NN19101207.2.27&srpos=4&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN-schmidtville-------1 Campaign for Incorporation], Newcastle NewsRadin, Rick and William Love (February 3, 2016). [https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2016/02/03/el-cerrito-begins-planning-for-its-centennial/ "El Cerrito begins planning for its centennial]", East Bay Times(December 14, 1904). [https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn88085421/1904-12-14/ed-1/seq-7/#date1=1789&index=0&rows=20&searchType=advanced&language=&sequence=0&words=Schmidtville&proxdistance=5&date2=1963&ortext=&proxtext=&phrasetext=schmidtville&andtext=&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1 Tramp Frightens School Girl], Evening Statesman The 1920 census shows that the Schmidtville community had many Italian immigrants.[https://www.el-cerrito.org/DocumentCenter/View/3439 Historic Resource Evaluation: 1715 Elm Street, El Cerrito, California], Ver Planck Historic Preservation Consulting (December 2013) A post office operated at Schmidtville from 1900 to 1901.

File:Albany Hill.jpg in neighboring Albany, California, named by Luis María Peralta as "El Cerrito de San Antonio" ("The Little Hill of St. Anthony"), is the namesake of the city.]]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of {{convert|3.7|sqmi|km2}}, all of it land. The city ranges in elevation from 20 to 934 feet, with an average elevation of {{convert|69|ft|m}}.

El Cerrito is located on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in the extreme southwest corner of Contra Costa County. The hilly areas of El Cerrito provide views of San Francisco and of the Golden Gate Bridge. El Cerrito is located along Interstate 80 and is near Interstate 580. It is bordered by Albany and Kensington to the south, the Richmond annex to the west, East Richmond Heights to the north, and Wildcat Canyon Regional Park to the east.

The namesake of El Cerrito ("the little hill" in Spanish), local landmark Albany Hill, is not located in El Cerrito itself but just across the border in the municipality of Albany. The Hayward Fault runs through El Cerrito. El Cerrito is within {{convert|490|ft|m|abbr=off|sp=us}} of Berkeley to the southeast, and is approximately {{convert|5|mi|km}} from the University of California Berkeley campus.

{{US Census population

|1920= 1505

|1930= 3870

|1940= 6137

|1950= 18011

|1960= 25437

|1970= 25190

|1980= 22731

|1990= 22869

|2000= 23171

|2010= 23549

|2020= 25962

|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|access-date=June 4, 2015}}

}}

The 2020 United States census reported that El Cerrito had a population of 25,962. The population density was {{convert|7,070.3|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The racial makeup of El Cerrito was 46.2% White, 5.5% African American, 0.5% Native American, 29.8% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 5.5% from other races, and 12.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race were 11.8% of the population.

The census reported that 99.5% of the population lived in households, 0.4% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0.1% were institutionalized.

There were 10,483 households, out of which 29.0% included children under the age of 18, 50.1% were married-couple households, 6.9% were cohabiting couple households, 26.3% had a female householder with no partner present, and 16.8% had a male householder with no partner present. 25.3% of households were one person, and 13.2% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.47. There were 6,798 families (64.8% of all households).

The age distribution was 17.9% under the age of 18, 5.8% aged 18 to 24, 29.7% aged 25 to 44, 26.3% aged 45 to 64, and 20.4% who were 65{{nbsp}}years of age or older. The median age was 42.6{{nbsp}}years. For every 100 females, there were 94.5 males.

There were 10,996 housing units at an average density of {{convert|2,994.6|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|units |units|}}, of which 10,483 (95.3%) were occupied. Of these, 58.4% were owner-occupied, and 41.6% were occupied by renters.{{cite web |title=El Cerrito city, California; DP1: Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics - 2020 Census of Population and Housing |url=https://data.census.gov/table/DECENNIALDP2020.DP1?g=1600000US0621796 |website=US Census Bureau |access-date=March 27, 2025}}{{cite web |title=El Cerrito city, California; P16: Household Type - 2020 Census of Population and Housing |url=https://data.census.gov/table/DECENNIALDHC2020.P16?g=1600000US0621796 |website=US Census Bureau |access-date=March 27, 2025}}

English was the sole home language of 70.47% of the population; other languages spoken by residents were Spanish (6.26%), Chinese (not specified, 5.96%), Japanese (2.70%), Mandarin (1.80%), Cantonese (1.57%), Persian (1.43%), Tagalog (1.30%), Korean (1.08%), French (0.90%), German (0.83%), Formosan (0.73%), Italian (0.66%), Vietnamese (0.57%), Urdu (0.50%), and 3.23% of people spoke other home languages.[http://www.mla.org/map_data_results&state_id=6&county_id=&mode=&zip=&place_id=21796&cty_id=&ll=&a=&ea=&order=r El Cerrito entry], MLA Data Center, retrieved October 21, 2007

File:Shops in El Cerrito (2666038259).jpg

San Pablo Avenue stretches the length of El Cerrito and is the primary commercial and retail corridor of the city, though there is a segment in which the businesses on the west side of the avenue are actually in Richmond Annex but have an El Cerrito postal address.

El Cerrito is home to El Cerrito Plaza, a large, regional mall, served by public transit at the adjacent El Cerrito Plaza station. The shopping center is surrounded by other commercial and retail businesses along San Pablo Avenue and Fairmount Avenue, including the Cerrito Theater, a restored two-screen movie theater.

The city is nominally home to Arhoolie Records (actually located in Richmond Annex), part of the Smithsonian Institution. Also located in the city was Playland-Not-At-The-Beach, a now-closed popular amusement park museum.

As of the last quarter of 2023, the top 25 sales tax producers in El Cerrito are: Barnes & Noble, Chevron, CVS Pharmacy, El Cerrito Honda, Exxon, Harbor Freight Tools, Ifshin Violins, Jack in the Box, JoAnn Fabrics & Crafts, Lucky Supermarket, Marshalls, McDonald’s, Nug, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Pastime Hardware, Pet Food Express, Petco, Petvet Petfood, Ross, Safeway, STIIIZY El Cerrito, T Mobile, Trader Joe’s, Verizon Wireless, and Walgreens.{{Cite web |title=City of El Cerrito Sales Tax Update |url=http://www.el-cerrito.org/DocumentCenter/View/20430/El-Cerrito-4Q23-Newsletter}}

El Cerrito city parks include both recreation/sports parks as well as undeveloped nature areas. Most notable are the {{convert|80|acre|m2|adj=on}} Hillside Natural Area open space, Huber Park (Terrace Drive), Cerrito Vista Park (Moeser Lane and Pomona Avenue), Arlington Park (Arlington Boulevard), Tassajara Park (Tassajara Avenue and Barrett Avenue), Poinsett Park (Poinsett Avenue), and the Canyon Trail Park and Art Center (Gatto Avenue).

The city is home to a {{convert|2.6|mi|km|adj=on}} segment of the Ohlone Greenway (named after the Native American Ohlone people), a trail that runs the length of the City along a former railroad grade underneath the BART right-of-way that is popular with walkers, runners, and bicyclists, as well as the blind, deaf, and mute population.{{citation needed|date=June 2024}}

{{Further|Friends of Baxter Creek}}

File:El Cerrito Plaza station from Albany Hill, May 2018.JPG, served by Bay Area Rapid Transit]]The City of El Cerrito is a Charter City that incorporated as a General Law City on August 23, 1917, and just over one hundred years later became a Charter City. The city is organized as a Council-Manager form of local municipal government, and its City Charter was adopted by the voters in November 2018. The City Council consists of five members elected at large for four-year, overlapping terms. The Council selects the Mayor for a one-year term from among its members. The Mayor and City Council provide community leadership, develop policies to guide the City in delivering services and achieving community goals, and encourage citizen understanding and involvement. The Council Members also serve as the governing body of the El Cerrito Employees’ Pension Board and the El Cerrito Public Financing Authority.

The City provides police and fire services as well as recreation, streets and roads, recycling, economic development, public improvements, building, planning and zoning, and general administrative services. Residents are provided water by East Bay Municipal Utility District and sewer services through Stege Sanitary District. PG&E provides gas and electricity services, and in addition the city is a member of MCE, a public, not-for-profit electricity provider that gives all PG&E electric customers the choice of having 60% to 100% of their electricity supplied from clean, renewable sources. Library services are provided by the County of Contra Costa. The City contracts with East Bay Sanitary for garbage and green waste collection service through a franchise agreement. Comcast, AT&T, and a host of smaller companies provide telecommunication services.

El Cerrito is in the West Contra Costa Unified School District, a multi-city district that operates three elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school in the city:

• Fairmont Elementary School
• Harding Elementary School
• Madera Elementary School
• Fred T. Korematsu Middle School (opened in 2015 at the site of the former Castro Elementary School, replacing Portola Middle School which was deemed seismically unsafe)
• El Cerrito High School

There is a branch of the Contra Costa County Library system in El Cerrito."[http://ccclib.org/locations/elcerrito.html El Cerrito Library] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719201351/http://ccclib.org/locations/elcerrito.html |date=2011-07-19 }}." Contra Costa County Library. Retrieved on April 1, 2010.

File:New faregates at El Cerrito del Norte station, March 2021.jpg, served by Bay Area Rapid Transit]]

Interstate 80 runs north–south through El Cerrito, with San Pablo Avenue serving as the primary surface artery. Bay Area Rapid Transit serves two stations in the city – {{bart|El Cerrito del Norte}} and {{bart|El Cerrito Plaza}} – while AC Transit operates local bus service. El Cerrito del Norte station is a major hub for AC Transit, as well as North Bay regional bus operators including FAST, Golden Gate Transit, Vallejo Transit, Napa VINE, and WestCat.

The Ohlone Greenway is part of a regional north–south active transportation route, and is a popular path for bike commuters and recreational cyclists and pedestrians.

• El Cerrito is mentioned in the book ttfn by Lauren Myracle. Character Angela finds out the family is moving to El Cerrito.{{cite book|author=Lauren Myracle|title=TTFN (Ta-Ta for Now)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UZDCAQAACAAJ|date=February 1, 2007|publisher=Harry N. Abrams|isbn=978-0-8109-9279-5}}
• El Cerrito, referred to as "Old El Cerrito", is mentioned in the book Star Trek: The Kobayashi Maru by author Julia Ecklar. While attending Star Fleet Academy in San Francisco, Cadet James T. Kirk, on failing the Kobayashi Maru test for the second time, travels to the World Library annex in Old El Cerrito in hopes of finding a solution to the test.
• El Cerrito is mentioned in the song "Golden Gate Fields" by Rancid.
• Metallica wrote Ride the Lightning and Master of Puppets in a small house in El Cerrito where the band lived for a while. Cliff Burton joined the band only if Metallica would agree to move to El Cerrito.
• Game Theory's 1988 song "You Drive" mentions El Cerrito in the first line.
• Cracker recorded a song titled "El Cerrito" released on their 2014 album Berkeley to Bakersfield.

• Catherine Asaro, science-fiction author, grew up in El Cerrito
• Jeff Atwood, co-founder of Stack Overflow
• Paul Baloff, lead vocalist of metal band Exodus
• Les Blank, documentary filmmaker (1935–2013)
• Ernie Broglio, former Major League Baseball player
• Doug Clifford, musician
• Emily Compagno, television journalist and Fox News host
• Stu Cook, musician
• Drew Gooden, Milwaukee Bucks forward, attended El Cerrito High School; during his tenure, basketball team went to and lost state basketball final
• John C. Dvorak, right-wing podcaster
• John Fogerty and Tom Fogerty, musicians from the band Creedence Clearwater Revival, grew up in El Cerrito; band reunited to play its last concert during 1983 El Cerrito High School reunion at Golden Gate Fields in Albany
• Karen Grassle, actress, Little House on the Prairie, resident of El Cerrito
• Pumpsie Green, first African American to play for the Boston Red Sox
• Larissa Kelly, record-setting Jeopardy! champion
• Tung-Yen Lin, structural engineer who founded T. Y. Lin International
• Thomas Pridgen, former drummer for the band The Mars Volta
• Susan Rasky, journalist
• Maria Remenyi, Miss California USA 1966, Miss USA 1966
• Alice Schwartz, co-founder of Bio-Rad Laboratories, billionaire{{cite web|title=Alice Schwartz|url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/alice-schwartz/|website=Forbes|access-date=March 6, 2018}}
• Marcus Semien, Major League Baseball player
• Adam Sessler, co-host of X-Play on G4
• Chris Strachwitz, founder of Arhoolie records
• Maw Shein Win, first Poet Laureate of El Cerrito
• Tess Taylor, poet and CNN contributor
• Gail Tsukiyama, author{{cite web |title=GAIL TSUKIYAMA |url=https://us.macmillan.com/author/gailtsukiyama/ |access-date=July 27, 2020}}
• Joyo Velarde, musician
• Matt Young, former Major League Baseball player

{{Reflist|30em}}

• {{gnis|277504}}

{{Portal|San Francisco Bay Area}}

• {{Official website}}
• [http://www.elcerritochamber.org/ El Cerrito Chamber of Commerce]

{{Geographic location

|Centre = El Cerrito

|North = East Richmond Heights

|Northeast =

|East = Wildcat Canyon Regional Park

|Southeast = Kensington

|South = Albany

|Southwest =

|West = Richmond

|Northwest =

|image =

}}

{{SF Bay Area}}

{{Contra Costa County, California}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Incorporated cities and towns in California

Category:Populated places established in 1906

Category:Cities in Contra Costa County, California

Category:Cities in the San Francisco Bay Area

Category:1906 establishments in California