East Bay Hills Community
Welcome to Castro Valley, a large unincorporated community in the hills of Alameda County between Hayward and Dublin, with BART access to San Francisco.
Castro Valley is a large census-designated place in Alameda County, California, set in the hills of the East Bay between Hayward to the west and Dublin and Pleasanton to the east. It is an unincorporated community rather than an incorporated city, and at the 2020 census it ranked as the fourth most populous unincorporated area in California, with about 64,000 residents. Services are provided by Alameda County, giving the community a distinctive governance structure within the Bay Area. The area is named for Don Guillermo Castro, a Mexican-era Californio ranchero and magistrate who held the land grant covering the valley in the mid-1800s. Through the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Castro Valley remained rural, known for its chicken ranches and agriculture. After World War II, returning veterans and new commuters transformed it into a suburban community, and the population grew rapidly as single-family homes spread across the valley floor and into the hills. Today Castro Valley is a mature, family-oriented suburb with a strong school system and abundant open space. Lake Chabot Regional Park, operated by the East Bay Regional Park District, offers boating, fishing, and miles of trails, along with the 18-hole Redwood Canyon Public Golf Course, and is flanked by Anthony Chabot Regional Park and the Don Castro and Cull Canyon swim areas. The Castro Valley Unified School District serves roughly 9,000 students across the community. Transportation is anchored by the Castro Valley BART station on the Blue Line, which runs between Dublin/Pleasanton and Daly City and connects residents to Oakland and downtown San Francisco in about 30 minutes. Interstate 580 and nearby Interstates 238 and 880 provide highway links across the East Bay. This combination of suburban space, good schools, regional parkland, and fast transit access has made Castro Valley an enduringly popular place to live within the Bay Area.
Castro Valley is an unincorporated community and census-designated place, not an incorporated city. It is the fourth most populous unincorporated area in California, with services provided by Alameda County rather than a city government.
Castro Valley is in Alameda County, California, in the East Bay region. It sits in the hills between Hayward to the west and Dublin and Pleasanton to the east, along the Interstate 580 corridor.
Castro Valley is served by the Castro Valley Unified School District, a public preschool-through-adult district with roughly 9,000 students. The district operates several elementary schools, middle schools, and Castro Valley High School.
Yes, Castro Valley has a BART station on the Blue Line, which runs between Dublin/Pleasanton and Daly City. The station connects the community to Oakland and San Francisco, putting downtown San Francisco roughly 30 minutes away by transit.
Castro Valley's population was 64,392 at the 2020 census, making it a sizable East Bay suburb. The community is named for the 19th-century ranchero Don Guillermo Castro and remains one of California's largest unincorporated areas.
MARKET SNAPSHOT
How homes have been selling here over the last 90 days.
Market data reflects closed sales over the last 90 days and is provided for informational purposes.
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