Murrieta, California

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Westward view of Murrieta/Temecula.

Murrieta is a city in southwestern Riverside County, California, United States. The population was 44,282 at the 2000 census. Population was estimated to be 92,933 in 2006, making it one of the fastest growing cities in the state. Largely residential in character, Murrieta is considered a "bedroom community", with large numbers of its residents commuting to jobs in San Diego and Orange counties, and the more industrialized neighboring city of Temecula to the south.

Murrieta is bordered by Temecula to the South and incorporated areas on all other sides.

Murrieta should not be confused with Rancho Murieta, which is an unincorporated community in northern California, near Sacramento.

1 History
2 Education
3 Famous residents
4 Geography
5 Demographics
6 References
7 External links

[edit] History

Murrieta was settled first in 1863 by Spaniard Don Juan Murrieta, who fell in love with the area filled with oak, sycamore, and grasses on rolling foothills. He brought flocks of over 100,000 sheep to the valley.

Murrieta experienced two significant booms: first in the late 19th century, and then a century later in the 1980s. The first boom was started when a railroad line was built through the town; by 1890 there were approximately 800 people living in Murrieta. In 1935, the trains stopped using the route through Murrieta, and the town would remain small until 1987, the beginning of a period of explosive growth. On 1 July 1991 Murrieta decided to become a city upon reaching 29,000 people.

[edit] Education

The City of Murrieta is served by the Murrieta Valley Unified School District (MVUSD). The district contains ten elementary (K-5) schools, three middle (6-8) schools, two comprehensive high (9-12) schools, Vista Murrieta High School and Murrieta Valley High School, one continuation school (Creekside High School), and one independent study school. Because of the explosive growth in the area, two more elementary schools, another middle school, and another high school are in the making.

[edit] Famous residents

Professional Baseball player Barry Bonds lived in Murrieta's Bear Creek Gated Community.

Professional cyclist Floyd Landis, disputed winner of the 2006 Tour de France, makes his home in Murrieta with his family when he is not racing or training in Europe.

Professional tennis player and Olympic gold medalist, Lindsay Davenport graduated from Murrieta Valley High School in 1994.

Professional golfer Tom Pernice Jr., a two-time winner on the PGA Tour, makes his home in Murrieta.

Track athlete Tyree Washington, world record holder in the 4x400m relay and 5-event IAAF World Championship gold medalist ('97 & '03 world, '06 - world indoor), resides in Murrieta.

Film Producers Harrison Scolinos and Brandon Williams of Niggle Productions

[edit] Geography

Murrieta is located at 33°34′10″N, 117°12′9″W (33.569566, -117.202453)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 73.6 km² (28.4 mi²). 73.5 km² (28.4 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it (0.14%) is water.

The climate stays fairly constant year round.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 44,282 people, 14,320 households, and 11,699 families residing in the city. The population density was 602.2/km² (1,560.0/mi²). There were 14,921 housing units at an average density of 202.9/km² (525.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 81.64% White, 3.39% African American, 0.66% Native American, 4.01% Asian, 0.22% Pacific Islander, 5.77% from other races, and 4.32% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 17.48% of the population.

There were 14,320 households out of which 47.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 70.2% were married couples living together, 8.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.3% were non-families. 14.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.08 and the average family size was 3.42.

In the city the population was spread out with 33.7% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 30.8% from 25 to 44, 17.6% from 45 to 64, and 11.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 96.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.7 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $67,720, and the median income for a family was $65,904. Males had a median income of $49,107 versus $32,468 for females. The per capita income for the city was $23,290. About 3.0% of families and 4.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.3% of those under age 18 and 5.4% of those age 65 or over.