Map & Story by Chris Ringewald

Housing prices, gentrification and inequality have been hot topics in the news lately. Recent articles and opinion pieces in the Alameda Sun have wrestled with how many people will move to Alameda due to new development, and others have grappled with how many will move out through eviction. 

Somewhat lost in the discussion has been a sense of just how many people have been moving in, and outside of specific developments, where the most new Alamedans are settling.

A look at American Community Survey estimates can be revealing. Over the past 15 years the far West End and Park Street areas of Alameda had the highest percentages of new residents. 

According to 2009-2013 estimates, 3,284 residents (+/-473) moved into the census tract on the far West End, and over 6,000 people moved into the two census tracts west of Park Street and south of Lincoln Avenue. The Fernside area and parts of Bay Farm Island have the smallest shares of new residents in Alameda.

Overall, in most parts of Alameda, more than half of residents moved in over the past 15 years. This trend is similar to the movements of people in Oakland, San Francisco and other parts of the Bay Area.

Want to see more specific data? Interact with this map and see the estimated numbers and percentages of new residents in your area.