The City of Oakland, California has grown tremendously right from the very beginning of the early settlement into one of the major cities of the United States. This page provides information on the population growth of Oakland all in one location.

Total Population

  • 1860 1,543 (18 black residents 2; the population of Oakland doubled from 1862 to 1866)
  • 1870: 10,500 (55 black residents - Daniels, Douglas Henry. Pioneer Urbanites: A Social and Cultural History of Black San Francisco. University of California Press: 1990.)
  • 1880: 34,555 (593 black residents- Daniels)
  • 1890: 48,682 (644 black residents- Daniels)
  • 1900: 66,960 (1026 black residents- Daniels)
  • 1904: 82,974 (special census for post office. See Thomas Dargie.)
  • 1910 150,174
  • 1916: ~235,675 (1916 directory estimate; ~5000 black residents - Tilghman)
  • 1920: 216,261

Note on the 20s: In the 1920s, Oakland had half the population of San Francisco but twice as many black residents. (Daniels)

  • 1930: 284,063
  • 1940: 302,163 (8,462 black residents/2.8%- Daniels)
  • 1945: 405,301 (special census) 1

Note in the 1940s: By World War II, Oakland had more than 8,000 black residents. (Daniels)

  • 1950: 384,575 (47,610 black residents/12.4%/463% increase- Daniels)
  • 1960: 367,548
  • 1970: 361,561
  • 1980: 339,337
  • 1990: 372,242
  • 2000: 399,484
  • 2010: 390,724
  • 2011 (estimated): 395,817
  • 2016 (estimated): 422,856
  • 2018 (estimated): 428,827
  • 2019 (estimated): 433,031
  • 2020 (estimated): 440,646

Population by Race/Ethnicity

2000

White 125,013 31.3%
Black or African American 142,460 35.7%
American Indian and Alaska Native 2,655 0.7%
Asian 60,851 15.2%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 2,002 0.5%
Some other race 46,592 11.7%
Two or more races 19,911 5.0%
Total 399,484 100%
Hispanic or Latino (of any race) 87,467 21.9%
Not Hispanic or Latino 312,017 78.1%

2010

White 134,925 34.5%
Black or African American 109,471 28.0%
American Indian and Alaska Native 3,040 0.8%
Asian 65,811 16.8%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 2,222 0.6%
Some other race 53,378 13.7%
Two or more races 21,877 5.6%
Total 390,724 100%

Hispanic or Latino (of any race)

 99,068 25.4%

Not Hispanic or Latino

 291,656 74.6%

Links and References

  1. The Beginnings of Oakland by Peter T. Conmy, 1961

  2. Historical Census Statistics On Population Totals By Race, 1790 to 1990... census.gov

Edit tags