Santa Maria, California
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Santa Maria is the largest city in Santa Barbara County, California. According to the California State Department of Finance, Santa Maria's estimated population surpassed Santa Barbara's with an estimated population of 90,518. The 2000 census indicated Santa Maria's population at 77,423. The estimated population of the area is about 130,000, this area is the Santa Maria Valley which encompasses the city of Guadalupe and the unincorporated township of Orcutt and unincorporated areas of about 35,000. A further 12,000 people live in Nipomo, Santa Maria being the closest large town to it.
Contents |
[edit] Geography
Santa Maria is located at (34.951377, -120.433373)GR1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 51.2 km² (19.8 mi²). 50.1 km² (19.3 mi²) of it is land and 1.1 km² (0.4 mi²) of it (2.23%) is water.
Santa Maria is generally situated north of the unincorporated township of Orcutt, south of the Santa Maria River (which serves as the line between Santa Barbara County and San Luis Obispo County) and surrounded on the west and east by agricultural fields. The city of Guadalupe is approximately 9 miles to the west of Santa Maria.
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 77,423 people, 22,146 households, and 16,653 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,546.5/km² (4,005.8/mi²). There were 22,847 housing units at an average density of 456.4/km² (1,182.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 58.07% White, 1.87% African American, 1.76% Native American, 4.74% Asian, 0.18% Pacific Islander, 28.02% from other races, and 5.36% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 59.67% of the population.
There were 22,146 households out of which 42.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.4% were married couples living together, 13.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.8% were non-families. 20.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.40 and the average family size was 3.85.
In the city the population was spread out with 31.6% under the age of 18, 11.6% from 18 to 24, 29.5% from 25 to 44, 15.9% from 45 to 64, and 11.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females there were 103.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $36,541, and the median income for a family was $39,277. Males had a median income of $28,700 versus $22,364 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,780. About 15.5% of families and 19.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.5% of those under age 18 and 7.7% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Law and government
[edit] Courts
Santa Maria is home to one of the main two court locations of the Santa Barbara County Superior Court; the other is at Santa Barbara. From 2003 until 2005 the court in Santa Maria handled a felony complaint against Michael Jackson (see Michael Jackson: 2005 trial), including the trial January 2005 until verdict day June 13, 2005. Santa Maria was selected because the nearest normal courthouse was deemed too small to handle the trial.
[edit] Police Department
As the primary law enforcement agency for the City of Santa Maria, the department operates on a 24-hour basis and handles approximately 75,700 calls for service each year. The Department has 106 sworn officers and 38 full-time support personnel. In order to provide the community with the highest level of service available, the Police Department is administratively divided into the three divisions, Administration, Operations, and Support. [1]
[edit] Transportation
[edit] Road
U.S. Route 101 runs through the middle of Santa Maria and is the main expressway connecting all Central Coast cities. It has been improved to freeway status (meaning all at-grade intersections have been eliminated) within the town of Santa Maria itself. There is currently a widening project that will expand the freeway from four to six lanes between Santa Maria Way and the Route 135 overcrossing. The $32 million project is due for completion in mid-2008.
California State Highway 1 runs around the western edge of the town and connects it to nearby Vandenberg Air Force Base. Oddly, though the section of 101 in the town is a freeway, and a small part of a nearby section of Highway 1 that runs between the town and the base is also a freeway, the two freeway segments do not directly connect to each other.
[edit] Air
Santa Maria Public Airport offers regular commercial flights to Los Angeles and Las Vegas, an airport hotel, and some rental car facilities. Alternative airports are found at San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Municipal Airport in Goleta
[edit] Rail
The Santa Maria Valley Railroad (SMVRR) is a shortline freight railroad to Guadalupe. Main business includes storage of railroad cars when northern California and southern California storage area are full.
The nearest train station with long-distance Amtrak service is in Guadalupe, to which Amtrak provides bus service from Santa Maria. Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner provides twice daily service in each direction, running to Paso Robles to the north and to San Diego via Los Angeles to the south.
[edit] Bus
SMAT, Santa Maria Area Transit, is a local bus service provided by both city and county-run lines, it has recently expanded its services during the evening that stretch to 10:15 P.M Long-distance intercity bus service is provided by Greyhound Lines.
San Luis Obispo RTA also runs the line 10 that travels between Santa Maria and San Luis Obispo primarily on weekdays, with three trips in each direction on Saturdays & sundays. It costs $1.75.
The Breeze Bus provides service to Lompoc, Vandenberg Air Force Base, and Santa Maria.
[edit] Education
Santa Maria has a well organized education system. Santa Maria-Bonita School District (SMBSD) educates grades K-8. The Santa Maria Joint Union High School District (SMJUHSD) runs the 3 primary high schools in the area inlcuding Santa Maria High School, Pioneer Valley High School, and Righetti High School. Delta High School is a continuation school also overseen by the high school district. Allan Hancock College is a two year community college located in the city.
[edit] External links
- City web site, also linking to Santa Maria Area Transit (SMAT)
- Central Coast Area Transit (CCAT)
- Pacific Surfliner schedules: bus serving Santa Maria and train serving Guadelupe
- SMVRR map
- Santa Maria Style Barbecue
- Community College with excellent computer classes for seniors
- Santa Maria Times Newspaper
- Department of Finance Population Estimates
- 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
Incorporated places
Santa Barbara (County seat) • Buellton • Carpinteria • Goleta • Guadalupe • Lompoc • Santa Maria • Solvang
Census-designated places
Isla Vista • Los Alamos • Mission Canyon • Mission Hills • Montecito • Orcutt • Santa Ynez • Summerland • Toro Canyon • Vandenberg Village
