California City, California

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

California City, incorporated in 1965, is a city located in the northern Antelope Valley in Kern County in the U.S. state of California. The population was 8,385 at the 2000 census.

California City has one prison (the California City Correctional Center, operated by the Corrections Corporation of America), one landowners' resort, one PGA golf course, one municipal airport (site of a skydiving club), and one stop light. Much of the city's workforce is supported by Edwards Air Force Base, which is located just to the south of the city. Other major sources of employment include California City Prison, Silver Saddle, and nearby cities such as Tehachapi, Boron and Lancaster.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Demographics
4 External links
5 References

[edit] History

The area where California City now exists was largely uninhabited prior to the last half century. Padre Francisco Garcés, a Franciscan missionary, camped at Castle Butte in what is now California City in 1776 during his exploration of Arizona and southern California. In the late 19th century, the Twenty Mule Team Trail, which carried loads of borax to the railhead in Mojave from mines in the east, ran through the California City area.^[1]

California City had its origins in 1958 when real estate developer and sociology professor Nat Mendelsohn purchased 80,000 acres of Mojave Desert land with the aim of master-planning California's next great city. He designed a model city, which he hoped would one day rival Los Angeles, around a Central Park with a 26-acre manmade lake. Growth did not happen quite as quickly as he expected. To this day a grid of crumbling paved roads, intended to lay out residential blocks, extends well beyond the developed area of the city. California City was incorporated in 1965.

Most recently, CHiPs star Erik Estrada has been promoting real estate property for California City in infomercials as spokesperson for National Recreation Properties.

[edit] Geography

California City is located at 35°9′40″N, 117°52′23″W (35.161119, -117.873033)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 527.4 km² (203.6 mi²). 527.2 km² (203.6 mi²) of it is land and 0.2 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (0.04%) is water. Although one of California's smaller cities in terms of population, California City is the third largest city in California by land area (34th in the United States, and 21st when consolidated city-counties are excluded).

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 8,385 people, 3,067 households, and 2,257 families residing in the city. The population density was 15.9/km² (41.2/mi²). There were 3,560 housing units at an average density of 6.8/km² (17.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 68.19% White, 12.82% Black or African American, 1.56% Native American, 3.73% Asian, 0.32% Pacific Islander, 7.43% from other races, and 5.94% from two or more races. 16.96% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 3,067 households out of which 39.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.8% were married couples living together, 13.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.4% were non-families. 21.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.72 and the average family size was 3.15.

In the city the population was spread out with 30.7% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 27.7% from 25 to 44, 23.5% from 45 to 64, and 10.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 99.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $45,735, and the median income for a family was $51,402. Males had a median income of $44,657 versus $28,152 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,902. About 12.5% of families and 17.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.0% of those under age 18 and 12.4% of those age 65 or over.

Although the growth of the city has not met its founders' expectations, California City has seen substantial population growth over the past several years. The Demographic Research Unit of the California Department of Finance estimates California City's population at 12,048 as of 1 January 2006. California City's population increased an estimated 4.2% in 2005, over three times the growth rate of the state as a whole. California City currently ranks 345th out of 478 incorporated cities in California, up from 348th in 2005.^[2]

As of 2006 the city is still minus a supermarket.