San Luis Obispo County, California
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| San Luis Obispo County, California | |
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| Map | |
 Location in the state of California |
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 California's location in the U.S. |
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| Statistics | |
| Founded | 1850 |
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| Seat | San Luis Obispo |
| Area - Total - Land - Water |
3,616 sq mi (9,365 km²) 3,304 sq mi (8,557 km²) 311 sq mi (805 km²), 8.61% |
| Population - (2000) - Density |
246,681 75/sq mi (29/km²) |
| Website: www.slocounty.ca.gov | |
San Luis Obispo County is a county located along the Pacific Ocean in the Central Coast of the U.S. state of California, between Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area. As of 2000 its population was 246,681. The county seat is San Luis Obispo, with about 46,000 residents.
The county's distance from the large metro areas of San Francisco and Los Angeles has helped it to retain its rural character and reminders of old California abound. Commonly referred to as "the central coast", the area is more rural and agricultural than many other coastal regions in California. Father Junipero Serra founded the Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa in 1772 and the Mission is today an active part of downtown San Luis Obispo (popularly referred to as SLO or SLO-town). The small size of the county's communities, scattered along the beaches, coastal hills, and mountains of the Santa Lucia range, provides a wide variety of coastal and inland hill ecologies to support many kinds of fishing, agriculture, and tourist activities.
The mainstays of the economy are California Polytechnic State University with its 18,000 students, tourism, and agriculture. San Luis Obispo County is the third largest producer of wine in California, surpassed only by Sonoma and Napa Counties. Wine grapes are by far the largest agricultural crop in the county, and the wine production they support creates a direct economic impact and a growing wine country vacation industry.
Other towns include Cambria. Just north of Cambria is San Simeon, at the foot of the Enchanted Hill where newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst built Hearst Castle. Just south of Cambria lies Harmony, the smallest town in California with a population of 18. Other coastal towns include Morro Bay and Cayucos to the north of San Luis Obispo city, and Avila Beach and the Five Cities to the south: Arroyo Grande, Grover Beach, Oceano, Pismo Beach and Shell Beach. Nipomo, just south of the Five Cities, borders northern Santa Barbara County. Inland, the cities of Paso Robles, Templeton, and Atascadero lie along the Salinas River, near the Paso Robles wine region.
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[edit] History
Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa was founded on September 1, 1772 in the area that is now the city of San Luis Obispo.
San Luis Obispo County was one of the original counties of California, created in 1850 at the time of statehood.
The Salinas River Valley, a region that figures strongly in several Steinbeck novels, stretches north from San Luis Obispo County. The remote California Valley near Soda Lake is the region most untouched by modernity. Travels through this area and the hills east of highway 101 during wildflower season are very beautiful and can be incorporated with wine tasting at local vineyards.
[edit] Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 3,616 square miles (9,364 km²), of which, 3,304 square miles (8,558 km²) of it is land and 311 square miles (806 km²) of it (8.61%) is water.
[edit] Cities and towns
[edit] CDPs
[edit] Unincorporated communities
[edit] Adjacent counties
- Santa Barbara County, California - south
- Kern County, California - east
- Kings County, California - northeast
- Monterey County, California - north
[edit] National protected areas
- Carrizo Plain National Monument (part)
- Los Padres National Forest (part)
[edit] Transportation Infrastructure
[edit] Major highways
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[edit] Public Transportation
San Luis Obispo County is served by Amtrak trains and Greyhound Lines buses. The San Luis Obispo Regional Transit Authority provides countywide service along US 101 as well as service to Morro Bay, Los Osos, Cambria and San Simeon.
The cities of San Luis Obispo, Atascadero and Paso Robles operate their own local bus services; all of these connect with SLORTA routes.
Intercity service is provided by Amtrak trains, Greyhound and Orange Belt Stages buses.
[edit] Airports
- San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport (SBP) is located just south of the City of San Luis Obispo. Commercial flights are available.
[edit] Demographics
As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 246,681 residents, 92,739 households, and 58,611 families in the county. The population density was 75 people per square mile (29/km²). There were 102,275 housing units at an average density of 31 per square mile (12/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 84.60% White, 2.03% Black or African American, 0.95% Native American, 2.66% Asian, 0.12% Pacific Islander, 6.21% from other races, and 3.44% from two or more races. 16.29% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 13.9% were of German, 11.4% English, 9.7% Irish, 6.1% American and 5.7% Italian ancestry according to Census 2000. 85.7% spoke English and 10.7% Spanish as their first language.
There were 92,739 households out of which 28.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.40% were married couples living together, 9.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.8% were non-families. 26.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 3.01.
In the county the population was spread out with 21.7% under the age of 18, 13.60% from 18 to 24, 27.0% from 25 to 44, 23.3% from 45 to 64, and 14.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 105.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 105.2 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $42,428, and the median income for a family was $52,447. Males had a median income of $40,726 versus $27,450 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,864. About 6.8% of families and 12.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.4% of those under age 18 and 5.9% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Golf
The county supports many excellent Golf courses. Including Avila Bay, Morro Bay, Dairy Creek, Black Lake, Cyprus Ridge, Hunter Ranch, The Links Course, and Chalk Mountain.
[edit] Politics
| Year | GOP | DEM | Others |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 52.7% 67,995 | 45.5% 58,742 | 1.8% 2,313 |
| 2000 | 52.2% 56,859 | 40.9% 44,526 | 6.9% 7,501 |
| 1996 | 46.5% 46,733 | 40.2% 40,395 | 13.3% 13,372 |
| 1992 | 34.8% 36,384 | 38.4% 40,136 | 26.9% 28,099 |
| 1988 | 55.9% 46,613 | 42.7% 35,667 | 1.4% 1,187 |
| 1984 | 63.7% 49,035 | 35.0% 26,946 | 1.3% 969 |
| 1980 | 55.6% 38,631 | 29.5% 20,508 | 14.9% 10,388 |
| 1976 | 51.2% 27,785 | 45.9% 24,296 | 2.9% 1,587' |
| 1972 | 56.0% 28,566 | 40.7% 20,779 | 3.3% 1,688 |
| 1968 | 51.3% 19,420 | 41.8% 15,828 | 7.0% 2,633 |
| 1964 | 40.1% 14,906 | 59.8% 22,252 | 0.1% 28 |
| 1960 | 54.0% 17,862 | 45.3% 14,975 | 0.7% 218 |
San Luis Obispo County, as a whole, tends toward a Republican plurality in presidential and congressional elections. The last Democrat to win a majority in the county was Lyndon Johnson in 1964.
Coastal San Luis Obispo is part of California's 23rd congressional district, which is held by Democrat Lois Capps, while the inland is part of the 22nd district, which is held by Republican Kevin McCarthy. In the state legislature, San Luis Obispo is part of the 33rd Assembly district, which is held by Republican Sam Blakeslee, and the 15th Senate district, which is held by Republican Abel Maldonado.
As of April, 2008, the California Secretary of State reports that there are 147,326 registered voters in San Luis Obispo County. Of those voters, 52,586 (35.7%) are registered Democratic, 61,226 (41.6%) are registered Republican, 8,030 (5.4%) are registered with other political parties, and 25,484 (17.3%) declined to state a political party. The cities of Grover Beach, Morro Bay, and San Luis Obispo have pluralities or majorities of registered Democratic voters, whereas the rest of the county's towns, cities, and the unincorporated areas have a plurality or majority of registered Republican voters.[citation needed]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
[edit] External links
- Official San Luis Obispo County website
- County of San Luis Obispo Tourism Info
- SLOweather.com has weather conditions, web cams, and weather forecasts for the County seat and surrounding areas
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