Saranap (until 1913, Dewing Park) is a residential

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...

(CDP) within central

Contra Costa County ) of the San Francisco Bay , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1 = State , subdivision_name1 = California , subdivision_type2 ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. Lying at an elevation of 180 feet (55 m), it is bounded on the south and east by portions of

Walnut Creek A walnut is the edible seed of a drupe of any tree of the genus ''Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, ''Juglans regia''. Although culinarily considered a "nut" and used as such, it is not a true bo ...

(including the gated senior residential development Rossmoor) and on the north and west by

Lafayette Lafayette or La Fayette may refer to: People * Lafayette (name), a list of people with the surname Lafayette or La Fayette or the given name Lafayette * House of La Fayette, a French noble family ** Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette (1757� ...

. Saranap's ZIP code is 94595, but is addressed "Walnut Creek, CA" for delivery purposes as this is the postal designated city name used by residents. The community is in telephone

area code 925 Area code 925 is a telephone area code that was split from area code 510 in the U.S. state of California, on March 14, 1998. It covers the inland portions of the East Bay counties of Alameda and Contra Costa in the northern area of California. T ...

. Saranap's population as of the 2010 census was 5,202. Saranap has had numerous opportunities to be

annexed Annexation (Latin ''ad'', to, and ''nexus'', joining), in international law, is the forcible acquisition of one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. It is generally held to be an illegal act ...

as either part of Lafayette, or of Walnut Creek. These have been largely resisted by the occupants, whose land use is governed by county rules. These include the ability to keep small aviaries and bees, which can be highly restricted by law in surrounding cities, and in newer neighborhoods by

restrictive covenant A covenant, in its most general sense and historical sense, is a solemn promise to engage in or refrain from a specified action. Under historical English common law, a covenant was distinguished from an ordinary contract by the presence of a se ...

s. As the local school district is independent of these city boundaries, and some of the cities impose additional parcel taxes, residents have little incentive to change the status quo. Only a minor addition was made to Lafayette from Saranap in recent decades, adding only one more street and being largely motivated by marginally superior housing values associated with the city of Lafayette.

Etymology

The community's name comes from an early 20th-century inter-urban commuter rail system. The local station, located near the intersection of Tice Valley Boulevard and Olympic Way, was named after the railroad developer's mother, Sara Napthaly. This developer promoted the railroad to enhance the value of land developments, a process that led to a development pattern similar to a

trolley car suburb A streetcar suburb is a residential community whose growth and development was strongly shaped by the use of streetcar lines as a primary means of transportation. Such suburbs developed in the United States in the years before the automobile, when ...

, although in fact the railroad was a conventional

regional rail Regional rail, also known as local trains and stopping trains, are passenger rail services that operate between towns and cities. These trains operate with more stops over shorter distances than inter-city rail, but fewer stops and faster serv ...

line.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the CDP has a total area of , all of it land.

Demographics

The

2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servin ...

reported that Saranap had a population of 5,202. The population density was . The racial makeup of Saranap was 4,275 (82.2%)

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, 70 (1.3%)

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 15 (0.3%) Native American, 451 (8.7%)

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 10 (0.2%)

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...

, 113 (2.2%) from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 268 (5.2%) from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 437 persons (8.4%). The Census reported that 5,176 people (99.5% of the population) lived in households, 11 (0.2%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 15 (0.3%) were institutionalized. There were 2,173 households, out of which 706 (32.5%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 1,097 (50.5%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 194 (8.9%) had a female householder with no husband present, 74 (3.4%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 95 (4.4%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 27 (1.2%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 634 households (29.2%) were made up of individuals, and 189 (8.7%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38. There were 1,365

families Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Ideall ...

(62.8% of all households); the average family size was 2.98. The population was spread out, with 1,192 people (22.9%) under the age of 18, 281 people (5.4%) aged 18 to 24, 1,367 people (26.3%) aged 25 to 44, 1,687 people (32.4%) aged 45 to 64, and 675 people (13.0%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41.9 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.6 males. There were 2,257 housing units at an average density of , of which 2,173 were occupied, of which 1,474 (67.8%) were owner-occupied, and 699 (32.2%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.9%; the rental vacancy rate was 4.1%. 3,764 people (72.4% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 1,412 people (27.1%) lived in rental housing units.

Education

Much of Saranap is in the

Walnut Creek Elementary School District A walnut is the edible seed of a drupe of any tree of the genus ''Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, ''Juglans regia''. Although culinarily considered a "nut" and used as such, it is not a true bot ...

while some is in the

Lafayette Elementary School District Lafayette or La Fayette may refer to: People * Lafayette (name), a list of people with the surname Lafayette or La Fayette or the given name Lafayette * House of La Fayette, a French noble family ** Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette (1757� ...

. All of Saranap is in the

Acalanes Union High School District Acalanes Union High School District is a public high school district in Contra Costa County, located in the Bay Area of California. The district takes its name from Rancho Acalanes, an 1834 Mexican rancho grant which occupied much of the area ...

External links

Google Map
Centered at Tice Valley/Boulevard Way and Olympic Blvd., location of the original Saranap Station.

References

{{authority control Census-designated places in Contra Costa County, California Census-designated places in California