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Tracy, California

Tracy is a city in San Joaquin County, California, in the United States. As of the 2007, Sterling's Bestplaces.net showed total population of 80,000 and a July 1, 2005 Census estimate showed the fast-growing city's population at 75,800.

Tracy is part of the Stockton metro area, suburban in location to San Jose, and part of the combined metropolitan statistical area of San Jose/San Francisco Bay Area, around east of Livermore and just past Altamont Pass. It is considered by some to be an exurb of San Jose/ San Francisco, because many residents commute over the congested Interstate 580 to job centers in the Bay Area. Interstate 205 on the north side of the city connects I-580 to Interstate 5 and State Route 120, which goes to Yosemite National Park. I-580 also connects to I-5 south of the city for a route many Bay Area travelers take to Southern California. Together, I-580, I-205, and I-5 form a triangle around much of the city. The city is also west of nearby Modesto, Stockton, and Manteca.

Geography and environment

Located in the Central Valley, Tracy sits atop fertile agricultural lands, which have come under increasing development pressure as the San Francisco Bay Area's vigorous population growth has spilled over into the Tracy area as well as other fringe locations. Because of the historic use of DDT on area row crops, there are residual issues of soil contamination from this substance and related persistent chemicals. There is also a historic area chloroform groundwater plume associated with Georgia Pacific operations in the area. Faults considered active in the Tracy area are the Black Butte Fault, Midway Fault and Carnegie Corral Fault. The San Joaquin Fault traverses the Tracy area and is a potential source of risk for seismic events. Other nearby active faults not actually traversing the Tracy area are the San Andreas and Hayward Faults.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 56,929 people, 17,620 households, and 14,307 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,711.3 people per square mile (1,046.7/km²). There were 18,087 housing units at an average density of 861.4/sq mi (332.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 65.22% White, 5.48% African American, 0.91% Native American, 8.14% Asian, 0.55% Pacific Islander, 13.08% from other races, and 6.63% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 27.69% of the population.

There were 17,620 households out of which 51.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.0% were married couples living together, 10.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.8% were non-families. 14.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.21 and the average family size was 3.56.

In the city the population was spread out with 34.4% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 35.0% from 25 to 44, 16.7% from 45 to 64, and 6.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 100.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $62,794, and the median income for a family was $67,464. Males had a median income of $50,095 versus $35,143 for females. The per capita income for the city was $21,397. About 5.2% of families and 7.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.2% of those under age 18 and 10.8% of those age 65 or over.

According to a 2006 study, Tracy was the 56th safest city in the United States.

Transportation

Public transportation

Tracy is served by Tracer, a local bus service. Tracy also has an Altamont Commuter Express(ACE) station, which provides commuter service to the San Francisco Bay Area.

Air

Tracy is served by Tracy Municipal Airport, located south of the city. There is no scheduled service from the airport.

Local Media

Tracy's newspaper is the Tracy Press, a twice-weekly newspaper owned since the 19th century by the Matthews family.

Sister City

Tracy's sister city is Memuro, Japan. However, Tracy's Sister City Association sends people to both Memuro and Velas in the Azores.

Popular culture

Tracy was mentioned in Hunter S. Thompson's book, "Hell's Angels: The Strange and Terrible Saga of the Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs."
Tracy was mentioned in Jack Kerouac's book, "On the Road."
A scene in the film "The Candidate" was shot in Tracy.
The Tracy High School football field and MVP trophy are named after Peter B. Kyne, a novelist from San Francisco whose Bohemian Club friends orchestrated the naming in 1927, even though Kyne had very little to ever do with Tracy.
Kathy Griffin recorded her CD, "Kathy Griffin: For Your Consideration" live on February 17, 2008 at the ETK Theatre at the Grand Theatre Center For The Arts in Tracy.

Notable Tracyites

Troy Dayak - soccer player/coach
Nick Eddy - former NFL player.
MC Hammer - musician
Rod Lauren - singer/actor
Steve Perry - singer of the band Journey
Richard Pombo - former legislator
Megan Slankard - musician
Keena Turner - football star
Tiffany Rinehart - Kathy Griffin's assistant and star of Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List
Gary Bairos - All-America Wrestler / Tracy High School 1978-1981 / Arizona State Sun Devils 1981-1985 4 Time Pac 10 Champion. Team Captain 1980 ASU National Championship Team.