Alum Rock, San Jose

Alum Rock (/ˈæləm/) is a district of San Jose, California, located in East San Jose. Formerly an independent town, it has been a neighborhood of San Jose since the 1950s,^[3] though some portions are still unincorporated as a census-designated place.^[4] Alum Rock is one of San Jose's most notable and historic Chicano/Mexican-American districts.^[5][6] It is home to Alum Rock Park, the oldest municipal park in California and one of the largest in the country.

Alum Rock
Neighborhood of San Jose
Clockwise from top left: Alum Rock Village; Overfelt Gardens; Mayfair; Alum Rock Park
Location in Santa Clara County and the state of California
Alum Rock Location in the United States
Coordinates: 37°22′3″N 121°49′32″W
Country	United States
State	California
County	Santa Clara
City	San Jose
Region	East San Jose
Area [1]
• Total	0.87 sq mi (2.25 km2)
• Land	0.87 sq mi (2.25 km2)
• Water	0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)
Elevation [2]	164 ft (50 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	12,042
• Density	13,857.31/sq mi (5,350.74/km2)
Time zone	UTC-8 (Pacific)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-7 (PDT)
ZIP code	95127
Area codes	408/669
FIPS code	06-01458
GNIS feature ID	2407736[2]

History

Calvary Cemetery was founded in 1852.

Alum Rock was named after a rock formerly thought to be composed of alum in nearby Alum Rock Park.^[7]

In the 19th century and early 20th century Alum Rock was mostly fruit orchard land. During the 1940s and 1950s, developers began building housing and formed the community of Alum Rock. During that time, Alum Rock Avenue and a passenger railroad passed through the town on the way to Alum Rock Park.

In the 1980s and 1990s, the neighborhood became older and increasingly populated with Latino immigrants as "white flight" affected the area of East San Jose. Today, Alum Rock remains a distinct community separated from the rest of San Jose.

Geography

Alum Rock is a vast district of East San Jose, made up of numerous smaller neighborhoods.^[8] Neighborhoods include Little Portugal, Little Saigon, Mayfair, King & Story, East Foothills, Alum Rock Village, Mount Pleasant, among others.

Alum Rock is located north of the Evergreen district, south of the Berryessa district, and east of Downtown San Jose. Alum Rock is bound by the Diablo Range to the east, Coyote Creek to the west, Mabury Road to the north and Ocala Avenue to the south.

Demographics

The following demographic data is about the Alum Rock CDP, not the larger Alum Rock district of San Jose.

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
2000	13,479		—
2010	15,536		15.3%
2020	12,042		−22.5%
U.S. Decennial Census[9] 1850–1870[10][11] 1880-1890[12] 1900[13] 1910[14] 1920[15] 1930[16] 1940[17] 1950[18] 1960[19] 1970[20] 1980[21] 1990[22] 2000[23] 2010[24]

Mexican Heritage Plaza in Alum Rock's Mayfair neighborhood.

Alum Rock Park, founded in 1872, is California's oldest municipal park.

The 2020 United States census reported that the CDP had a population of 12,042. The population density was 13,857.3 inhabitants per square mile (5,350.3/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 16.7% White, 1.4% African American, 3.4% Native American, 19.0% Asian, 0.3% Pacific Islander, 43.3% from other races, and 15.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 67.1% of the population.^[25]

The census reported that 98.7% of the population lived in households, 0.4% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 1.0% were institutionalized.^[25]

There were 2,922 households, out of which 47.1% included children under the age of 18, 53.1% were married-couple households, 7.2% were cohabiting couple households, 24.0% had a female householder with no partner present, and 15.7% had a male householder with no partner present. 14.1% of households were one person, and 5.8% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 4.07.^[25] There were 2,332 families (79.8% of all households).^[26]

The age distribution was 23.4% under the age of 18, 10.3% aged 18 to 24, 29.1% aged 25 to 44, 25.5% aged 45 to 64, and 11.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35.8 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.8 males.^[25]

There were 3,029 housing units at an average density of 3,485.6 units per square mile (1,345.8 units/km²), of which 2,922 (96.5%) were occupied. Of these, 62.0% were owner-occupied, and 38.0% were occupied by renters.^[25]

Mt. St. Joseph Monastery is a Carmelite novitiate.

In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that 45.3% of the population were foreign-born. Of all people aged 5 or older, 27.3% spoke only English at home, 54.6% spoke Spanish, 1.9% spoke other Indo-European languages, 16.0% spoke Asian or Pacific Islander languages, and 0.2% spoke other languages. Of those aged 25 or older, 66.8% were high school graduates and 19.8% had a bachelor's degree.^[27]

The median household income was $111,976, and the per capita income was $34,255. About 5.1% of families and 8.7% of the population were below the poverty line.^[28]

Government

The Dr. Roberto Cruz Alum Rock Branch of the San José Public Library

In the California State Legislature, Alum Rock is in the 15th senatorial district, represented by Democrat Dave Cortese, and in the 25th Assembly district, represented by Democrat Ash Kalra.^[29]

In the United States House of Representatives, Alum Rock is in California's 18th congressional district, represented by Democrat Zoe Lofgren.^[30]

Regarding San Jose City Council, most of Alum Rock falls inside of District 5, represented by Magdalena Carrasco, though small portions are inside of District 7 and District 4.

Education

James Lick High School

Most of Alum Rock CDP is in Alum Rock Union Elementary School District. A small portion is in Mount Pleasant Elementary School District. All of it is in East Side Union High School District.^[31]

The Alum Rock school district operates elementary and middle schools.^[32]

Schools in Alum Rock include:

• Cassell Elementary School
• César Chávez Elementary School
• Dorsa Elementary School
• Joseph George Middle School
• Linda Vista Elementary School
• McCollam Elementary School
• Meyer Elementary School
• San Antonio Elementary School
• Sheppard Middle School
• James Lick High School
• Mt. Pleasant High School
• William C. Overfelt High School

Parks and plazas

Delano Manongs Park

The Chinese Cultural Garden memorial hall at Overfelt Gardens

Parks in the Alum Rock district include:

• Alum Rock Park
• Cimarrón Park
• Delano Manongs Park
• Emma Prusch Farm Park
• Overfelt Gardens (including the Chinese Cultural Garden)
• Mayfair Park
• Plata Arroyo Park
• Zolezzi Park

Transportation

Alum Rock Transit Center

The Alum Rock Transit Center is an important transit center for East San Jose, operated by the Valley Transportation Authority. It is serviced by bus and light rail.

VTA light rail stations along Capitol Expressway within Alum Rock:

• McKee station
• Alum Rock station

Penitencia Creek station is located right at the border of Alum Rock and Berryessa.

The Eastridge Expansion of the VTA light rail plans the construction of another light rail station at Story Road and Capitol Expressway.

Both the Bayshore Freeway (US-101) and the Sinclair Freeway (I-680) pass through Alum Rock.

Gallery

• 
  Alum Rock Village
• 
  Station 2 of the San Jose Fire Department
• 
  Alum Rock Village
• 
  Alum Rock Transit Center