Biohazard Cleanup Near Laurelbrook Tracy, CA

Tracy is a railroad town in San Joaquin County founded on September 8, 1878, when the Central Pacific Railroad built a new line from Oakland through Martinez that bypassed the hills of Altamont Pass.

Tracy was named for Lathrop J. Tracy, a grain merchant from Mansfield, Ohio, who was a director of the railroad.

Much of Tracy's railroad was built by Chinese laborers, and the nearby town of Ellis literally moved bag and baggage, including two hotels, to the new townsite of Tracy.

In 1894 the Central Pacific moved its railroad headquarters from Lathrop to Tracy, making Tracy the railroad's hub for the San Joaquin Valley.

Tracy was incorporated in 1910 and boomed after its first irrigation district was formed in 1915; the city seal still honors its twin roots in railroads and agriculture.

Tracy is the second most populous city in San Joaquin County, behind only Stockton.

Tracy had a population of 93,000 at the 2020 census, up from 82,922 in 2010, driven by Bay Area commuters spilling over Altamont Pass.

Tracy has about 28,920 households averaging 3.34 persons each, and about 65% of its homes are owner-occupied, according to Census QuickFacts.

Tracy sits inside a triangle formed by Interstate 205, Interstate 5, and Interstate 580 at the western edge of the Central Valley.

After Tracy voters passed the Measure A growth limits in 1990, much of the region's new housing spilled into Mountain House, the giant planned community built just west of the city.