Saranap is a residential census-designated place within central Contra Costa County, California. Lying at an elevation of 180 feet, it is bounded on the south and east by portions of Walnut Creek and on the north and west by Lafayette. Saranap's ZIP code is 94595, but is addressed "Walnut Creek, CA" for delivery purposes as this is the postal designated city name used by residents. The community is in telephone area code 925. Saranap's population as of the 2010 census was 5,202. Saranap has had numerous opportunities to be annexed as either part of Lafayette, or of Walnut Creek. These have been largely resisted by the occupants, whose land use is governed by county rules. These include the ability to keep small aviaries and bees, which can be highly restricted by law in surrounding cities, and in newer neighborhoods by restrictive covenants. As the local school district is independent of these city boundaries, and some of the cities impose additional parcel taxes, residents have little incentive to change the status quo. Only a minor addition was made to Lafayette from Saranap in recent decades, adding only one more street and being largely motivated by marginally superior housing values associated with the city of Lafayette.
Etymology
The community's name comes from an early 20th-century inter-urban commuter rail system. The local station, located near the intersection of Tice Valley Boulevard and Olympic Way, was named after the railroad developer's mother, SaraNapthaly. This developer promoted the railroad to enhance the value of land developments, a process that led to a development pattern similar to a trolley car suburb, although in fact the railroad was a conventional regional rail line.
The 2010 United States Census reported that Saranap had a population of 5,202. The population density was 4,583.6 people per square mile. The racial makeup of Saranap was 4,275 White, 70 African American, 15 Native American, 451 Asian, 10 Pacific Islander, 113 from other races, and 268 from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 437 persons. The Census reported that 5,176 people lived in households, 11 lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 15 were institutionalized. There were 2,173 households, out of which 706 had children under the age of 18 living in them, 1,097 were opposite-sex married couplesliving together, 194 had a female householder with no husband present, 74 had a male householder with no wife present. There were 95 unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 27 same-sex married couples or partnerships. 634 households were made up of individuals and 189 had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38. There were 1,365 families ; the average family size was 2.98. The population was spread out with 1,192 people under the age of 18, 281 people aged 18 to 24, 1,367 people aged 25 to 44, 1,687 people aged 45 to 64, and 675 people who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41.9 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.6 males. There were 2,257 housing units at an average density of 1,988.7 per square mile, of which 2,173 were occupied, of which 1,474 were owner-occupied, and 699 were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.9%; the rental vacancy rate was 4.1%. 3,764 people lived in owner-occupied housing units and 1,412 people lived in rental housing units.
