Wofford Heights, California

Wofford Heights
census-designated place
Location in Kern County and the state of California
Wofford Heights Location in the United States
Coordinates: 35°42′25″N 118°27′22″W / 35.70694°N 118.45611°W / 35.70694; -118.45611Coordinates: 35°42′25″N 118°27′22″W / 35.70694°N 118.45611°W / 35.70694; -118.45611
Country	United States
State	California
County	Kern
Government
• State senator	Jean Fuller (R)[1]
• Assemblymember	Devon Mathis (R)[1]
• U. S. rep.	Kevin McCarthy (R)[2]
Area[3]
• Total	6.057 sq mi (15.689 km2)
• Land	6.057 sq mi (15.688 km2)
• Water	0 sq mi (0 km2)  0%
Elevation[4]	2,684 ft (818 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	2,200
• Density	360/sq mi (140/km2)
Time zone	PST (UTC-8)
• Summer (DST)	PDT (UTC-7)
ZIP code	93285
Area codes	442/760
FIPS code	06-86174
GNIS feature ID	1661706

Wofford Heights is a census-designated place (CDP) in the southern Sierra Nevadas, in Kern County, California, United States. Wofford Heights is located in the west Kern River Valley, 3.5 miles (5.6 km) south-southwest of Kernville,^[5] at an elevation of 2684 feet (818 m).^[4] The population was 2,200 at the 2010 census, down from 2,276 at the 2000 census.

Geography

Wofford Heights is located at 35°42′25″N 118°27′22″W / 35.70694°N 118.45611°W / 35.70694; -118.45611.^[4] California State Route 155 is the only highway in Wofford Heights, leading south to Lake Isabella and west through Alta Sierra and the Greenhorn Mountains.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 6.1 square miles (16 km²), all of it land.

Climate

According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Wofford Heights has a semi-arid climate, abbreviated "BSk" on climate maps.^[6] Here, the summers can be brutal and have reached as high as 113°F while the winters are a bit more mild and have gone as low as -3°F. ^[7] Wofford Heights' eastern front borders Lake Isabella. There are two major access points to the lake from Wofford Blvd: The first is the entrance to North Fork Marina and Tillie Creek Campground, and the second is Freear which is at the very end of East Evans Road near Wofford Heights Park.

History

I.L. Wofford founded the community as a resort in 1948.^[5] The Wofford Heights post office opened in 1953.^[5] It was a location for the 1970 biker film Angels Die Hard.

Demographics

2010

The 2010 United States Census^[8] reported that Wofford Heights had a population of 2,200. The population density was 363.2 people per square mile (140.2/km²). The racial makeup of Wofford Heights was 2,037 (92.6%) White, 6 (0.3%) African American, 41 (1.9%) Native American, 10 (0.5%) Asian, 1 (0.0%) Pacific Islander, 26 (1.2%) from other races, and 79 (3.6%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 156 persons (7.1%).

The Census reported that 2,200 people (100% of the population) lived in households, 0 (0%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized.

There were 1,143 households, out of which 173 (15.1%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 428 (37.4%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 110 (9.6%) had a female householder with no husband present, 55 (4.8%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 108 (9.4%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 13 (1.1%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 440 households (38.5%) were made up of individuals and 255 (22.3%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.92. There were 593 families (51.9% of all households); the average family size was 2.50.

The population was spread out with 280 people (12.7%) under the age of 18, 111 people (5.0%) aged 18 to 24, 261 people (11.9%) aged 25 to 44, 731 people (33.2%) aged 45 to 64, and 817 people (37.1%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 58.3 years. For every 100 females there were 97.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.7 males.

There were 1,924 housing units at an average density of 317.6 per square mile (122.6/km²), of which 866 (75.8%) were owner-occupied, and 277 (24.2%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 4.7%; the rental vacancy rate was 15.9%. 1,613 people (73.3% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 587 people (26.7%) lived in rental housing units.

2000

As of the census^[9] of 2000, there were 2,276 people, 1,162 households, and 670 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 375.4 people per square mile (145.0/km²). There were 1,989 housing units at an average density of 328.1 per square mile (126.7/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 93.28% White, 0.13% Black or African American, 1.23% Native American, 0.66% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 1.36% from other races, and 3.30% from two or more races. 6.24% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 1,162 households out of which 14.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.2% were married couples living together, 7.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.3% were non-families. 36.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 21.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.94 and the average family size was 2.46.

In the CDP the population was spread out with 14.4% under the age of 18, 3.2% from 18 to 24, 15.0% from 25 to 44, 28.5% from 45 to 64, and 38.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 58 years. For every 100 females there were 98.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.8 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $24,326, and the median income for a family was $29,157. Males had a median income of $31,641 versus $30,294 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $15,937. About 13.4% of families and 20.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 34.6% of those under age 18 and 9.4% of those age 65 or over.

References