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Piedmont is a city located in Alameda County, California. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 10,952. Known for its fine architecture, tree-lined streets, and competitive city schools, Piedmont is one of the most desirable residential communities in the San Francisco Bay Area. Piedmont is notable for its minimal amount of commerce when compared to its statistically similar counterparts.
Piedmont is well known for its affluent population with the average land value being markedly above the already high bay area real estate costs. Piedmont is known for its excellent school system. Piedmont High School produces a high percentage (over 90%) of students bound to be college graduates. This is notable; Piedmont is one of very few California public school systems to achieve such success. This may be attributed to the dedicated and affluent population paying large amounts of property tax and putting forth large donations frequently to subsidise their public schools.
Critics of the community find fault in the disparity between Piedmont and the nearby Oakland public school system. While residents of Piedmont, and other similar communities, benefit in some way from the services of Oakland, their property taxes do not contribute to services outside of Piedmont. However, sales taxes for goods and services purchased outside of Piedmont primarily benefit the state of California and the communities where the money is spent. Also, Piedmont fire and police services do have mutual aid agreements with Oakland and other nearby governments.
Piedmont is largly zoned for residential- not commercial- use. In fact, the only businesses are two gas stations, three banks, a realty office, and a small convenience store. It also features it own, citizen run weekly newspaper, the Piedmont Post.
Witter field, home of the Piedmont Highlanders High School Football team, was recently (1998-2000) rebuilt improving it from an aging, undersized sports field to a new facility, the envy of neighboring communities.
The city itself is located in Oakland's north-eastern section, although it technically borders closer to West Oakland. It is situated almost centrally in regards to the bay area's fuller shape, putting it nearly directly across the bay bridge from San Francisco, California, and very close to Berkeley, California.
Geography
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Location of Piedmont, California
Piedmont is located at 37°49'19" North, 122°13'53" West (37.821994, -122.231405)1. Piedmont, literally foot of the mountain in Italian, sits at the base of the Oakland Hills.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.4 km² (1.7 mi²). None of the area is covered with water. There is, however, a small pond in the Mountain View Cemetery, within the borders.
The city of Piedmont is entirely surrounded by the city of Oakland, California, of which it was a part until 1907, when it seceded from the larger city.
Piedmont's major streets include Oakland Avenue, which runs from Piedmont's small city center down into Oakland, Highland Avenue, and Moraga Avenue. A nearby shopping center based on Piedmont Avenue comes within blocks of Piedmont, but never actually enters the city's borders.
Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there are 10,952 people, 3,804 households, and 3,104 families residing in the city. The population density is 2,502.1/km² (6,488.7/mi²). There are 3,859 housing units at an average density of 881.6/km² (2,286.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 78.59% White, 1.24% African American, 0.11% Native American, 16.02% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.63% from other races, and 3.38% from two or more races. 2.97% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 3,804 households out of which 47.3% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 70.9% are married couples living together, 8.5% have a female householder with no husband present, and 18.4% are non-families. 14.5% of all households are made up of individuals and 7.8% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.88 and the average family size is 3.18.
In the city the population is spread out with 30.3% under the age of 18, 3.8% from 18 to 24, 18.5% from 25 to 44, 34.0% from 45 to 64, and 13.5% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 44 years. For every 100 females there are 92.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 87.8 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $134,270, and the median income for a family is $149,857. Males have a median income of $100,000 versus $58,553 for females. The per capita income for the city is $70,539. 2.0% of the population and 1.0% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 2.6% of those under the age of 18 and 1.6% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
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