Kensington, California
Kensington is an
unincorporated community and
census-designated place located in the East Bay, part of the
San Francisco Bay Area, in
Contra Costa County, California. The population was 4,936 at the 2000 census.
Kensington is an unincorporated area of
Contra Costa County that borders
Alameda County. As such, Kensington does not have a
mayor,
city council, or other municipal-level officials. It does, however, have its own
police and
fire departments.
 |
Location of Kensington, California |
Kensington is located at (37.906200, -122.278810).
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 3.0
km² (1.1
mi²). 3.0 km² (1.1 mi²) of it is land and 0.87% is water.
Kensington borders
Berkeley to the south;
El Cerrito to its west and north; and
Wildcat Canyon Regional Park and
Tilden Regional Park to the east.
The Census data report that Kensington is 0.87% water, which is unusual for a town at the top of a hill. The percentage most likely includes
Summit Reservoir, a drinking water reservoir that was covered to cut evaporation losses after several drought years in the late 1970s.
As of the
census of 2000, there were 4,936 people, 2,192 households, and 1,372 families residing in the CDP. The
population density was 1,657.2/km² (4,301.9/mi²). There were 2,245 housing units at an average density of 753.7/km² (1,956.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 81.77%
White, 2.55%
Black or
African American, 0.24%
Native American, 10.58%
Asian, 0.02%
Pacific Islander, 0.91% from
other races, and 3.93% from two or more races. 3.48% of the population were
Hispanic or
Latino of any race.
There were 2,192 households out of which 23.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.5% were
married couples living together, 6.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.4% were non-families. 26.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.25 and the average family size was 2.69.
In the CDP the population was spread out with 17.7% under the age of 18, 3.1% from 18 to 24, 25.4% from 25 to 44, 31.7% from 45 to 64, and 22.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 47 years. For every 100 females there were 89.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.3 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP was $93,247, and the median income for a family was $102,601. Males had a median income of $71,278 versus $55,347 for females. The
per capita income for the CDP was $55,275. About 1.7% of families and 3.3% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 3.0% of those under age 18 and 3.8% of those age 65 or over.
*Until 1948, a streetcar line of the
Key System ran to Kensington from Berkeley along The Arlington, terminating in the small commercial area at Amherst Avenue.
*The late local historian
Louis Stein Jr. lived in Kensington, and for a time, kept one of the East Bay's oldest
horsecars in his yard---one that had probably seen service between
Temescal, Oakland and the
University of California in Berkeley. The horsecar is now at the
Western Railway Museum.
*A relic of the
Cold War sits in the hills directly behind Kensington---a
Nike missile battery, now sealed up, but still evident by its concrete blocks. The preferred access is a foot and bike trail from Inspiration Point in
Tilden Regional Park. [
1]
*
Blake Gardenhttp://www.aboutkensington.com
