San Marcos, California
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
San Marcos is a city located in the northern portion of San Diego County, California, USA. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 54,977. Outside the San Diego region, it is best known as the home of California State University, San Marcos.
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[edit] History
San Marcos is a community located in San Diego's north county with many strong businesses, churches, non-profit organizations, public schools and a social life. Once a mostly Latino (a well-rooted Mexican American) town until the 1960's, San Marcos became a diverse affluent suburban community home to professionals who work in the city of San Diego. Many residents work locally because more industrial and commercial businesses have appeared in San Marcos in the past decade.
The efforts in the late 1980s to 'land' the Cal State University campus (originally proposed as a North San Diego County satellite campus for San Diego State University) followed an area master-planning effort involving properties under contract for ownership to be developed as the Rancho Coronado project. The properties involved much of the area south of California State Route 78, and north of the Coronado Hills area, that had recently annexed into the City, and were proposed to be developed with a mix of residential and commercial uses. This came at the same time as City staff were participating in early inter-agency discussions regarding conversion of the existing Santa Fe Railroad line to commuter light rail service, leading to discussions of an overlap of interest in providing direct light rail service to the college campus grounds. The area master plan: "The Heart of the City" [also humorously referred to, given the inclusion of the former Prohoroff Chicken Farms site, as "The Gizzard of the City"], also included other planned transportation improvements to support the redevelopment of the City core area and a long-planned on-again/off-again construction of the [now-current] City Hall campus north of Highway 78.
In 1989, Cal State University San Marcos opened. This University has brought in an influx of young students, as well as academics of every race, religion, ethnicity, and creed. Cal State San Marcos is a rapidly growing, modern campus of new buildings, the latest computer technology, cutting-edge science labs, and has created a sense of excitement about the future of San Marcos.
[edit] Geography
San Marcos is located at (33.142077, -117.170233)GR1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 61.7 km² (23.8 mi²). 61.5 km² (23.8 mi²) of it is land and 0.2 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (0.29%) is water.
[edit] Colleges and universities
San Marcos is home to California State University, San Marcos (Cal State San Marcos), as well Palomar College and Coleman College.
[edit] Government
San Marcos is governed by a mayor-council system. The city council consists of a mayor and four City Council Members. They are elected at large to four-year terms. The current mayor is Jim Desmond. Current City Council Members are Rebecca Jones, Hal Martin, Chris Orlando and Mike Preston. The current City Manager is Paul Malone.
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 54,977 people, 18,111 households, and 13,221 families residing in the city. The population density was 893.4/km² (2,314.3/mi²). There were 18,862 housing units at an average density of 306.5/km² (794.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 67.39% White, 2.00% African American, 0.82% Native American, 4.67% Asian, 0.24% Pacific Islander, 20.39% from other races, and 4.48% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 36.87% of the population.
There were 18,111 households out of which 39.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.6% were married couples living together, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.0% were non-families. 20.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.03 and the average family size was 3.46.
In the city the population was spread out with 29.1% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 32.3% from 25 to 44, 17.3% from 45 to 64, and 11.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 98.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $45,908, and the median income for a family was $51,292. Males had a median income of $36,297 versus $27,015 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,657. About 7.8% of families and 12.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.5% of those under age 18 and 7.9% of those age 65 or over.
San Marcos has a diversity of races and ethnic groups common in suburban communities (not ranked, but for example): Irish, Italian, Portuguese, German, Polish, Ashkenazi Jewish, Russian, Armenian, Iranian, Indian, Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Mexican, Salvadorian, Argentine, Cuban, Puerto Rican, Hawaiian and Samoan.[citation needed]
[edit] Current estimates
According to estimates by the San Diego Association of Governments, the median household income of San Marcos in 2005 was $63,558 (not adjusted for inflation). When adjusted for inflation (1999 dollars; comparable to Census data above), the median household income was $51,611.
[edit] Attractions
San Marcos is known for having some of the best restaurants in North County. Old California Restaurant Row features a large concentration of restaurants offering a variety of cuisines. All of the following are available: steaks, fish, burgers, health food, and a variety of ethnic cuisine (reflects the local diversity of Asian, European, Latin American, Middle Eastern and Pacific Islander groups). San Marcos also features a variety of English pubs in proximity to "Restaurant Row". Other popular restaurants include The Old Spaghetti Factory, Applebee's, and the newly-opened Elephant Bar & Grill.
San Marcos features several golf courses, notably Lake San Marcos itself a recreational venue. San Marcos borders Carlsbad, which offers an array of golfing and tennis. Other golf courses in the area include the Aviara and La Costa resort golf courses.
People interested in technology often visit San Marcos due to the large Frys Electronics, which features an Atlantis theme. Recently, the growth of Cal State San Marcos has led to great opportunities for youth, such as the high-tech sector are increasingly setting up workshop in the city's robust economy.
[edit] External links
- San Marcos (California) travel guide from Wikitravel
- Official City of San Marcos Site
- San Marcos Chamber of Commerce
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
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