Union City is located in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area, in Alameda County, and is tied with Fremont and Newark to become the East Bay Tri-City, which was previously known as the name in Washington Township. The local population is about 73402, of which more than half of the population (43.3%) are Asian, with Filipinos being the largest, followed by Indians and Chinese. The city was established in 1959 from the combination of the communities of Alvarado and Decoto. The city maintains the small-town feel while living in the center of the Bay Area, with San Francisco and Silicon Valley just minutes away. Union City is the location of the American Licorice Company's West Coast operations, having moved there in 1971 from San Francisco. Union City is home to three major healthcare providers: a Kaiser Permanente facility, the Tiburcio Vasquez Health Center, and Washington Hospital's Nakamura Clinic. Union City also has many industrial and shipping companies, including R&S Manufacturing, RCD Concrete, Jatco, and EntirelyPets.
Several transit systems serve Union City, including AC Transit, the Dumbarton Express, Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), and the city's own Union City Transit. The traffic in Union City is very convenient, connected to Highway 880, running through major cities in the East Bay, including San Jose, Fremont, Berkeley, etc. Highway 84 and the Dumbarton Bridge directly connect to Menlo Park, the central city of Silicon Valley. It is also very convenient for employees of Facebook or other Palo Alto companies. Approximately a half-hour drive from high-tech companies such as Google and Apple. The BART station is located near Decoto-Avarado-Niles and conveniently connects to other places in the East Bay, San Francisco, and multiple airports.
Most of the city's population is concentrated on the east and west sides, and most employees will go to work in commercial or industrial areas such as Silicon Valley during working hours, resulting in a sharp decrease in the population during the day. But during holidays, people like to watch movies, have dinner together or exercise and take a walk in the park. Alvarado Avenue, Alvarado Niles, and other avenues make it easier for people to shop at Walmart and Target malls.
The Union City Historical Museum is a repository of documents, research material, and artifacts chronicling the city's history and the personal histories of notable former residents. In addition, the city's Sugar Mill Landing Park features the San Francisco Bay Area Flight 93 Memorial, which honors the passengers and crew of United Airlines Flight 93, bound for San Francisco before being hijacked and crashing in rural Pennsylvania on September 11, 2001. And the Union City Sports Center, a state-of-the-art 37,000-square-foot recreational facility, opened in early 2007.
New Haven Unified School District serves the cities of Union City and Hayward (south). The district consists of seven (K-5) elementary schools, two (6-8) middle schools, one comprehensive high school, and one adult/K-12 independent study school. The school district has also invested in going all solar at school sites to cut energy costs. Union City lies within the Ohlone Community College District and Chabot-Las Positas Community College District. As of 2019, the median house price in Union City is between $800,000 and $1,000,000.
