 Welcome to Stockton! |
 Stockton is the seat of government in San Joaquin County (the fifth largest agricultural county in the United States). According to the California Department of Finance (January 2005), Stockton has a population of 279,513 and is the 12th largest city in California. Stockton is the fourth largest inland city in California, trailing Fresno, Sacramento and Bakersfield. Stockton's Area Code is 209 and ZIP Code range is 95201 to 95211.
Linked by Interstate 5, State Route 99 and State Route 4, Stockton is strategically located about 60 miles east of the San Francisco bay area and 45 miles south of Sacramento, the state capital. Stockton is nestled in California's fertile Central Valley and is home to the state's largest inland seaport. In and around Stockton are numerous waterways which comprise the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. 
Stockton and the nearby communities of Tracy and Manteca have experienced a population boom. This is largely due to thousands of people settling in the area to escape the relatively high cost of living in San Francisco and Silicon Valley. This influx of new residents resulted in a sharp increase in the cost of living of Stockton, although it is still significantly lower than Bay Area cities of comparable size. In the midst of a city-wide redevelopment project (still in progress), Stockton was named an All-America City in 1999 and 2004.
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| City Government |
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SRC's boathouse is in Buckley Cove, which is in Stockton City Council District 3, an area represented by Stockton Vice-Mayor Leslie Baranco Martin. Martin's accolades include the Susan B. Anthony Award and the African American Chamber's Women of Color Award. She is a graduate of U.C. Berkeley and Hastings School of Law.
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| Colleges and Universities |
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Stockton is home to several institutions of higher education. These include San Joaquin Delta Community College, Humphrey's College and School of Law, and the University of the Pacific (UOP).
University of the Pacific is a famous institution and has been used to film several Hollywood films, partly due to its aesthetic likeness to East Coast Ivy League universities. Its most famous such appearance is probably Steven Spielberg's "Raiders of the Lost Ark."
Stockton used to be the site of a California State Hospital, the oldest in the state system, founded a few years after statehood. Stockton State Hospital was closed in 1996 and has been converted into the Stockton Campus of California State University, Stanislaus.
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| International Reach |
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Stockton has 6 sister cities worldwide:
* Parma, Italy
* Foshan, China
* Empalme, Mexico
* Shimizu, Japan
* Battambag, Cambodia
* Ililo City, Phillipines
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| Professional Sports |
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Stockton is home to a Class A California League (minor league) baseball team, the Stockton Ports, affiliated with MLB's Oakland Athletics. After playing for several years at Billy Hebert Field, a new 5,000 seat facility, Stockton Ballpark, was built for the Ports in downtown Stockton on Banner Island. A new 10,000 seat arena is also located in downtown Stockton. It is the home of the Stockton Thunder (an ECHL Ice Hockey team). The Stockton Lightning, an Arena Football League (AF2) team, also plays in the arena.
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| Stockton Trivia |
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* Stockton was originally named "Tuleburg" due to the large quantity of tules (a native plant) in the area at one time.
* Stockton was named an All-America City in 1999 and 2004.
* With more than 100,000 trees thriving in town, Stockton was named "best tree city" in the Western United States by Sunset magazine.
* Several high-profile people have visited Stockton, including former New York City mayor Rudy Guiliani, former President Bill Clinton, and President George W. Bush.
* The Port of Stockton is the furthest east inland seaport in California.
Famous Stocktonians
* Maxine Hong Kingston - Author
* Daniel Goleman - Psychologist
* Alex Spanos - Billionaire tycoon and owner of the NFL San Diego Chargers
* Janet Leigh - Actress
* Benjamin Holt - Inventor
* Dave Brubeck - Jazz Musician
* Chris Isaak - Singer
* Pavement - Renowned indie rock band
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