Unincorporated-Area Address Changes

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Ashland, Cherry, Land, Hayward Acres, Fairview, San Lorenzo, Castro Valley - Proudly Unincorporated! Post Office Approved.
Map of USPS place names, opens PDF

CONTENTS ON THIS PAGE:

Project Overview

In response to years of community advocacy, the United States Postal Service (USPS) worked with Alameda County staff to change a 60-year-old naming convention impacting nearly 29,000 mailing addresses in the county's urban unincorporated communities. Residents of Ashland, Cherryland, Hayward Acres, Fairview, San Lorenzo, and Castro Valley will now see their unincorporated community name accurately reflected as the default "Place Name" on USPS.com. A "Place Name" (also called a "Preferred Last Line") is the "City, State" line in a USPS mailing address. When ZIP Codes were first established in the 1960s, many unincorporated-area addresses were assigned USPS Place Names based on ZIP Code boundaries. This included many unincorporated-area addresses that were assigned Place Names associated with the larger neighboring cities of Hayward and San Leandro for convenience.

This USPS Place Name change, envisioned by the Eden Area Livability Initiative and championed by Supervisor Nate Miley of District 4 and Supervisor Lena Tam of District 3, is an important step toward addressing longstanding community identity issues in urban unincorporated Alameda County. In September 2023, the Board of Supervisors voted unanimously (via Resolution R-2023-669) to request that the USPS officially recognize Alameda County's urban unincorporated communities as USPS Place Names. The County submitted its request to the USPS in September 2024, and the USPS implemented the requested changes in March 2025. As a result of these efforts, Ashland, Cherryland, Hayward Acres, Fairview, Castro Valley, and San Lorenzo are now the official USPS mailing address Place Names for urban unincorporated Alameda County.

What does this change mean for you?

If you live in Ashland, Cherryland, Hayward Acres, Fairview, San Lorenzo, or Castro Valley , your unincorporated community name is now the official USPS Place Name for your community (Not sure? Look up your address here!). You will now begin seeing your unincorporated community name on your mail, and your unincorporated community name is now the default Place Name for your address on USPS's address search page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can I still use my old Place Name?
A: Yes! Your unincorporated community name is now the default on USPS.com, but USPS will continue to accept mail with the old Place Name as long as you include the correct street name and ZIP Code.

Q: Has my ZIP Code changed?
A: No, this change does not impact your ZIP code.

Q: Which addresses were impacted by these changes?
A: This change impacts approximately 29,000 addresses in the unincorporated communities of Ashland, Cherryland, Hayward Acres, Fairview, San Lorenzo, and Castro Valley with ZIP Codes of 94578, 94580, 94541, 94542, 94552, and 94546. Because Castro Valley and San Lorenzo have their own Post Office branches, many addresses in Castro Valley and San Lorenzo already had correct Place Names and were not included in this change.

Q: How will this impact mail delivery to my house?
A: This change does not impact ZIP Codes, so it will not impact the way that mail is delivered to your house.

Q: Will my postal delivery person remain the same?
A: Yes, this change does not impact mail routes and will not impact USPS staffing assignments.

Q: If I need to pick up a package at the Post Office, which one do I go to?
A: Your mail will continue to be delivered by the USPS Branch associated with your ZIP Code. If you need to pick up a package from the post office, you will continue to go to the USPS Branch associated with your ZIP Code.

Q: Do I need to inform anyone about my address change?
A: This is optional for you. While your unincorporated Community Name is now the default Place Name in your area, USPS will continue to accept and deliver mail with your old Place Name as long as you include the correct street address and ZIP Code.

Q: Can I continue to use address labels with my old Place Name?
A: Yes. While your unincorporated Community Name is now the default Place Name in your area, USPS will continue to accept and deliver mail with your old Place Name as long as you include the correct street address and ZIP Code.

Q: Does this impact my tax rate?
A: No. You will continue to be taxed as a resident of unincorporated Alameda County. You can look up your sales tax rate by address on the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration's website.

Q: Am I now in a different school district?
A: No, this change does not impact school district boundaries.

Q: Does this impact who I call for essential services, like public safety, fire, sewer, and water?
A: No, your essential services are not impacted by this change. To learn more about services and other aspects of civic life in unincorporated Alameda County, visit https://www.acgov.org/uninc/.

Q: How was the community involved in the decision to make this change?
A: CDA staff conducted a community survey and presented at 8 public meetings prior to bringing recommendations to the Board of Supervisors. A summary of these activities is here.

Q: When will my corrected USPS Place Name show up in online mapping applications, private business address verification systems, and elsewhere outside the USPS databases?
A: It will take time before the USPS Place Name address changes are universally reflected in mapping applications, address verification systems, and elsewhere outside the USPS and County databases. While USPS is the official source for mailing address data, agencies and private companies acquire address data updates through a variety of sources, including through third-party address vendors and services. Residents will notice inconsistencies across various platforms until these decentralized systems catch up to the changes. Inconsistencies in USPS Place Names will not impact mail delivery as long as residents continue use the correct street address and ZIP Code.

Q: Where can I find documentation about my new official USPS Place Name?
The USPS address lookup tool (https://tools.usps.com/zip-code-lookup.htm?byaddress) shows the corrected default Place Name for all addresses in urban unincorporated Alameda County. Type in your address, state, and ZIP Code, and the tool will return your correct default USPS Place name.

Q: How does the County plan to communicate these changes to the community?
A: The County is launching an outreach campaign beginning in April 2025 to inform the public about the USPS Place Name changes. The multimedia outreach campaign will include social media posts, billboard announcements, traditional press releases, grassroots outreach via community partners, and postcards mailed to affected addresses.

Community Meetings

Before making recommendations to the Board of Supervisors related to the Place Name Change, CDA staff gathered public feedback through a community survey and 8 public meetings: