From the early 20th century until the beginning of the 1980s, Hayward's economy was dominated by its now defunct food canning and salt production industries.

A rail line between Oakland and San Jose, the South Pacific Coast Railroad, was established but later destroyed in the 1868 earthquake.

The city's downtown area was slated for redevelopment in 2012 and 2013, with landscaping, new businesses opening up, and older ones getting façade upgrades.

In May 2015, the city's former shoreline landfill was declared a site for conversion to a solar farm, set to generate enough electricity to power 1,200 homes.

The Russell City Energy Center, a 429-megawatt natural gas-fired power plant built by Calpine, is located there.

The census-designated places bordering on Hayward are Castro Valley, San Lorenzo, Cherryland, Sunol, and Fairview.

[38] Hayward's historic city hall lies atop the fault line and was closed due to damage from gradual seismic activity.

A street curb in Hayward that ran perpendicular to the fault was used for over 40 years by local geologists to record the movement of the plates; it had drifted 8 inches (20 cm) out of alignment by the time it was inadvertently removed by the city government in 2016.

The census determined racial and ethnic makeup of Hayward was 49,309 (34.2%) White, 17,099 (11.9%) African American, 1,396 (1.0%) Native American, 31,666 (22.0%) Asian (10.4% Filipino, 3.9% Chinese, 3.0% Indian, 2.7% Vietnamese, 0.5% Japanese, 0.5% Korean, 0.2% Cambodian, 0.1% Pakistani), 4,535 (3.1%) Pacific Islander, 30,004 (20.8%) from other races, and 10,177 (7.1%) from two or more races.

Hispanic or Latino of any race were 58,730 persons (40.7%), giving Hayward an aggregate Hispanic/Latino plurality population as categorized by census determined racial and ethnic groups.

30.2% of Hayward's population was Mexican, 2.5% Salvadoran, 1.5% Puerto Rican, 1.2% Nicaraguan, 1.0% Honduran, 0.5% Peruvian, and 0.2% Cuban.

The Hayward Hall of Justice, a branch of the California Superior Court, is the largest full-service courthouse in Alameda County.

This includes some high-tech companies, with Hayward considered part of a northern extension of Silicon Valley.

[66] Manufacturing plants in Hayward include Annabelle Candy,[67] Columbus Salame,[68] the Shasta soft drink company, and a PepsiCo production and distribution center.

The economy of Hayward in the first half of the twentieth century was based largely on the Hunt Brothers Cannery.

The cannery was opened in Hayward in 1895 by brothers William and Joseph Hunt, who were fruit packers originally from Sebastopol, California.

[70] The Hunts initially packed local fruit, including cherries, peaches, and apricots, then added tomatoes, which became the mainstay of their business.

At its height in the 1960s and 1970s, Hunt's operated three canneries in Hayward, at A, B, and C Streets; an adjacent can-making company; a pickling factory; and a glass manufacturing plant.

[81] Mission, Jackson, and Foothill all converge at one congested intersection south of downtown, known historically as "Five Flags" for a line of flagpoles located there.

Amtrak, the national rail passenger system, provides daily service at its Hayward station for the Capitol Corridor train, which runs between San Jose in the South Bay, and Auburn in the Greater Sacramento area.

The Hayward Air National Guard station was located at the airport in 1942, until being reassigned to Moffett Field in 1980.

In 2013, plans were under development to construct a $60 million library across the street from the existing building, with funding uncertain.

The city introduced road signs in 2015 encouraging better behavior while walking or driving, using phrases like "It's a speed limit, not a suggestion".

This project was part of a broader initiative to create a new, modern community space while adhering to environmentally sustainable building practices, making it a net-zero energy facility Many of Hayward's cultural landmarks and points of interest are in its downtown area.

Hayward has two sites in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP): the Green Shutter Hotel and Eden Congregational Church.

A third site, Meek Mansion (also in the NRHP), while not within city limits, is managed by HARD and the Hayward Area Historical Society.

The Eden Landing Ecological Reserve is located at the Hayward shoreline, and includes 600 acres (240 ha) of salt ponds set to be converted to tidal wetlands.

[citation needed] The Hayward Area Recreation and Park District operates the Skywest and Mission Hills golf courses.

[129][130][131] The East Bay Echo, which publishes regularly online and prints a monthly newspaper, offers local coverage.

[135] High-profile people from Hayward include Los Angeles Sparks point guard Chelsea Gray,[136] football coach Bill Walsh,[137] former Oakland Raiders coach Jack Del Rio,[138] figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi,[139] two-time Oscar winner Mahershala Ali,[140] professional wrestler and actor Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson,[141] rapper Spice 1,[142] former Treasurer of the United States Rosa Gumataotao Rios[143] and rapper Saweetie.