California, Maryland

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

California is a census-designated place and community in St. Mary's County, Maryland, United States. The population was 9,307 at the 2000 census. California continues to grow with the spread of population out from the older adjacent community of Lexington Park and the growth in defense-related jobs at the Patuxent River Naval Air Station. The attractive wooded Wildewood housing development is especially notable; there are department stores and numerous shopping centers situated along Maryland Highway 235 ("Three Notch Road"). Maryland Route 4 crosses Highway 235 in California, providing access to the wide Governor Thomas Johnson Bridge and the popular weekend resort town of Solomons, MD on the other side. Bridge-bound traffic can back-up during rush hours.

[edit] Geography

California is located at 38°18′20″N, 76°29′40″W (38.305506, -76.494517)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, California has a total area of 38.3 km² (14.8 mi²). 33.5 km² (12.9 mi²) of it is land and 4.8 km² (1.9 mi²) of it (12.64%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 9,307 people, 3,423 households, and 2,450 families residing in California. The population density was 278.1/km² (720.3/mi²). There were 3,735 housing units at an average density of 111.6/km² (289.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 78.68% White, 14.72% African American, 0.40% Native American, 3.62% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.70% from other races, and 1.85% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.74% of the population.

There were 3,423 households out of which 39.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.5% were married couples living together, 10.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.4% were non-families. 22.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.71 and the average family size was 3.19.

In the CDP the population was spread out with 29.4% under the age of 18, 7.1% from 18 to 24, 34.8% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 7.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 100.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.2 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $62,320, and the median income for a family was $66,429. Males had a median income of $45,651 versus $31,636 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $25,614. About 3.1% of families and 4.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.1% of those under age 18 and 3.2% of those age 65 or over.