Demographic analyses reveal the changes in a region’s population, age and migration patterns. As the East Bay population increases and changes in generational and ethnic composition, local governments will need to review and alter policies and services to accommodate their evolving communities.
POPULATION
Mass foreclosures and changes in employment have shifted city-level population growth in the East Bay over the past 24 months. Data have yet to reflect any overall decline in population, however, growth rates have slowed considerably. After a decade of year-over-year growth in the Contra Costa County cities of Brentwood, Hercules, Oakley, Pleasant Hill, El Cerrito, Pittsburg and the unincorporated area of the County, the rate of population growth slowed in 2008-091. Over the same time period, decreases in year-over-year population growth occurred in the Alameda County cities of Dublin, Emeryville and Union City.
According to estimates from the California Department of Finance, there are 2.6 million people living in the East Bay, with 1,556,657 residents in Alameda County and 1,060,435 residents in Contra Costa County. Between 2008 and 2009, the East Bay’s population grew at the rate of 1.2 percent, equivalent to about 31.131 new residents. In Contra Costa County, the population growth rate fell slightly to 1.16 while in Alameda the growth rate increased slightly to 1.23 percent.
ETHNIC DIVERSITY
The East Bay has long been one of the most ethnically diverse regions in the Bay Area and the state. California Department of Finance projections, based on the 2000 Decennial Census, estimate that the majority of East Bay residents are White (41 percent), while the remainder are Latino (23 percent), Asian (19 percent), African American (12 percent) and Other2 (5 percent)3.
AGING WORKFORCE
For organizations, succession planning issues of previous years have been overshadowed by the more immediate concerns of layoffs and workload readjustments. The East Bay’s population and workforce is aging, with over 40 percent of workers belonging to the “Baby Boomer” generation (aged 43-61), and close to 34 percent in “Generation X” (aged 28-42)4. Diminished 401k and retirement funds, layoffs, and general uncertainty as a result of the current recession have forced many retirement-aged workers to delay retirement or return to work.
1 California Department of Finance, Population
Estimates for 2009.
2 Other includes American Indian, Pacific
Islander, or two or more races.
3 The definitions of racial and ethnic group
classifications used by the California Department of Finance are found
in federal Office of Management & Budget Directive 15 (1997 rev).
4 California Department of Finance, Population
Estimates for 2008.