Wrightwood, California

Wrightwood
—  census-designated place  —
Downtown Wrightwood is dotted with many old resort cabins from the 1930s
Location in San Bernardino County and the state of California
Coordinates:
Country  United States
State  California
County San Bernardino
Area[1]
 • Total 5.929 sq mi (15.357 km2)
 • Land 5.926 sq mi (15.348 km2)
 • Water 0.003 sq mi (0.009 km2)  0.06%
Elevation 5,935 ft (1,809 m)
Population (2010)
 • Total 4,525
 • Density 763.2/sq mi (294.7/km2)
Time zone PST (UTC-8)
 • Summer (DST) PDT (UTC-7)
ZIP code 92397
Area code(s) 760
FIPS code 06-86594
GNIS feature ID 1652816

Wrightwood is a census-designated place in San Bernardino County, California. It sits at an elevation of 5,935 feet (1,809 m). The population was 4,525 at the 2010 census.

Contents

History

Located in a pine covered valley in the San Gabriel Mountains, the area was first developed as cattle ranches in the 19th century by Nathan and Truman Swarthout, then later the main ranch, owned by Sumner Wright was broken up into residential and commercial lots and by the 1920s a community took roots. Early ski enthusiasts discovered the north facing slopes of the San Gabriels above the Swarthout Valley. As highways were developed coming out of the major routes in the Cajon Pass, Wrightwood became an easy destination, with no serious mountain driving required for city dwellers. Through the last 60 years, Wrightwood has evolved from a vacation community to home to over 4000 full time residents. Thirty-five years ago, parents realized they wanted their students closer to home and the result was Serrano High School, that serves not only Wrightwood but neighboring communities of Phelan and Pinon Hills. At nearly 6000 feet in elevation, its valley is protected by the Blue Ridge to the South.

Geography

Wrightwood is located at (34.355921, -117.629233)[2].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 5.9 square miles (15 km2), 99.94% of it land and 0.06% of it water.

Demographics

2010

The 2010 United States Census[3] reported that Wrightwood had a population of 4,525. The population density was 763.2 people per square mile (294.7/km²). The racial makeup of Wrightwood was 4,126 (91.2%) White, 38 (0.8%) African American, 28 (0.6%) Native American, 51 (1.1%) Asian, 7 (0.2%) Pacific Islander, 112 (2.5%) from other races, and 163 (3.6%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 538 persons (11.9%).

The Census reported that 4,525 people (100% of the population) lived in households, 0 (0%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized.

There were 1,857 households, out of which 553 (29.8%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 1,012 (54.5%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 161 (8.7%) had a female householder with no husband present, 95 (5.1%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 113 (6.1%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 13 (0.7%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 476 households (25.6%) were made up of individuals and 161 (8.7%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44. There were 1,268 families (68.3% of all households); the average family size was 2.91.

The population was spread out with 1,046 people (23.1%) under the age of 18, 301 people (6.7%) aged 18 to 24, 957 people (21.1%) aged 25 to 44, 1,610 people (35.6%) aged 45 to 64, and 611 people (13.5%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44.3 years. For every 100 females there were 105.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.8 males.

There were 2,686 housing units at an average density of 453.0 per square mile (174.9/km²), of which 1,390 (74.9%) were owner-occupied, and 467 (25.1%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.8%; the rental vacancy rate was 10.6%. 3,346 people (73.9% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 1,179 people (26.1%) lived in rental housing units.

2000

As of the census[4] of 2000, there were 3,837 people, 1,486 households, and 1,056 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 1,742.4 inhabitants per square mile (673.4/km²). There were 2,319 housing units at an average density of 1,053.1 per square mile (407.0/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 90.9% White, 0.3% African American, 0.7% Native American, 0.8% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 2.7% from other races, and 4.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.8% of the population.

There were 1,486 households out of which 35.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.2% were married couples living together, 8.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.9% were non-families. 23.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.6 and the average family size was 3.1.

In the CDP the population was spread out with 28.6% under the age of 18, 5.6% from 18 to 24, 27.9% from 25 to 44, 28.1% from 45 to 64, and 9.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 105.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.4 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $50,338, and the median income for a family was $57,197. Males had a median income of $51,424 versus $40,045 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $22,902. About 5.8% of families and 6.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.9% of those under age 18 and 14.3% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

In the state legislature Wrightwood is located in the 17th Senate District, represented by Republican Sharon Runner, and in the 36th Assembly District, represented by Republican Steve Knight. Federally, Wrightwood is located in California's 26th congressional district, which has a Cook PVI of R +4[5] and is represented by Republican David Dreier.

Mountain High

Just west from Wrightwood sits Big Pines, CA, which hosts the Mountain High Resort, a popular ski/snowboard resort consisting of Three Mountains.[6]

Trivia

Punk band Down By Law thanked the entire town of Wrightwood in the liner notes of their Self-Titled album in 1991

References

  1. ^ U.S. Census
  2. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2011-04-23. 
  3. ^ All data are derived from the United States Census Bureau reports from the 2010 United States Census, and are accessible on-line here. The data on unmarried partnerships and same-sex married couples are from the Census report DEC_10_SF1_PCT15. All other housing and population data are from Census report DEC_10_DP_DPDP1. Both reports are viewable online or downloadable in a zip file containing a comma-delimited data file. The area data, from which densities are calculated, are available on-line here. Percentage totals may not add to 100% due to rounding. The Census Bureau defines families as a household containing one or more people related to the householder by birth, opposite-sex marriage, or adoption. People living in group quarters are tabulated by the Census Bureau as neither owners nor renters. For further details, see the text files accompanying the data files containing the Census reports mentioned above.
  4. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
  5. ^ "Will Gerrymandered Districts Stem the Wave of Voter Unrest?". Campaign Legal Center Blog. http://www.clcblog.org/blog_item-85.html. Retrieved 2008-02-10. 
  6. ^ Krig, Pat; Van Houten, Barbara (2004). Images of America: Wrightwood & Big Pines. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 0-7385-2899-4. http://books.google.com/?id=RKMRY8BdVEoC&printsec=frontcover&dq=big+pines+california#v=onepage&q=big%20pines%20california&f=false. Retrieved 29 August 2011. 

External links