La Verne, California


La Verne is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 31,334 at the 2020 census.
WWW Official Site

History

The area was home to Native Americans.
The European history of the area dates back to the 1830s when Ygnacio Palomares and Ricardo Véjar received the Rancho San Jose land grant from Governor Juan Bautista Alvarado in 1837. The land included the present day cities Pomona, Claremont, San Dimas, Glendora, and La Verne. The adobe that Palomares built in 1837 is still preserved in Pomona as La Casa Primera de Rancho San Jose. Palomares soon moved a mile or so northeast and constructed the Ygnacio Palomares Adobe. He ensured that a nephew, Jose Dolores Palomares, secured a tract of land a mile west.
In the mid-1880s, entrepreneur Isaac W. Lord purchased a tract of Jose Palomares' land and convinced the Santa Fe Railroad company to run its line across towards Los Angeles. Lord had the land surveyed for building lots and in 1887 had a large land sale, naming the new town 'Lordsburg' after himself. He also had a large Lordsburg Hotel constructed, but the land boom was over when it was completed. It sat empty for several years until sold to four members of the German Baptist Brethren Church, who persuaded others of that denomination that it would be an excellent site for a new institution of higher learning. Lordsburg College was founded in 1891.
In 1906 the town was incorporated as "La Verne." Residents grew field crops, and then began planting citrus trees, which flourished. Lordsburg became known as the "Heart of the Orange Empire." The city of La Verne flourished as a center of the citrus industry until after World War II, when the citrus industry slowly faded away. Two orange groves are on the grounds of the La Verne Heritage Foundation.

Geography

La Verne is a suburb east of Los Angeles, located in the Pomona Valley below the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains part of the Angeles National Forest, a habitat known to support black bears. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of. It is to the east of San Dimas and to the west of Claremont. The city of Pomona lies to the south. California State Route 210 bisects La Verne in an east–west direction, and Historic U.S. Route 66 also passes through the city.

Climate

According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, La Verne has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate, abbreviated "Csb" on climate maps.

Demographics

La Verne first appeared as a city in the 1910 U.S. census as part of the now defunct San Jose Township. It became part of the larger East San Gabriel Valley Division in the 1960 U.S. census and since 2000, as the East San Gabriel Valley Census County Division.
Race / Ethnicity Pop 1980Pop 1990Pop 2000Pop 2010% 1980% 1990% 2000% 2010
White alone 18,34022,03820,12917,19714,37378.02%71.33%63.62%55.36%45.87%
Black or African American alone 5628769759929062.39%2.84%3.08%3.19%2.89%
Native American or Alaska Native alone 13213011098810.56%0.42%0.35%0.32%0.26%
Asian alone 7582,1292,2442,3103,3793.22%6.89%7.09%7.44%10.78%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone 7582,1294154473.22%6.89%0.13%0.17%0.15%
Race and ethnicity in [the United States census|Other race] alone 294944581830.12%0.16%0.14%0.19%0.58%
Mixed race or Multiracial xx7807191,180xx2.47%2.31%3.77%
Hispanic or Latino 3,6875,6757,3159,63511,18515.68%18.37%23.12%31.02%35.70%
Total23,50830,89731,63831,06331,334100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%

2020

The 2020 United States census reported that La Verne had a population of 31,334. The population density was. The racial makeup of La Verne was 55.3% White, 3.1% African American, 1.1% Native American, 11.2% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 11.9% from other races, and 17.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 35.7% of the population.
The census reported that 99.4% of the population lived in households, 0.4% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0.2% were institutionalized.
There were 11,844 households, out of which 29.1% included children under the age of 18, 53.5% were married-couple households, 4.2% were cohabiting couple households, 28.7% had a female householder with no partner present, and 13.7% had a male householder with no partner present. 24.0% of households were one person, and 14.7% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.63. There were 8,439 families.
The age distribution was 19.2% under the age of 18, 8.0% aged 18 to 24, 21.8% aged 25 to 44, 27.5% aged 45 to 64, and 23.5% who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 45.9years. For every 100 females, there were 90.0 males.
There were 12,218 housing units at an average density of, of which 11,844 were occupied. Of these, 71.1% were owner-occupied, and 28.9% were occupied by renters.
In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that the median household income was $104,565, and the per capita income was $50,951. About 6.3% of families and 8.2% of the population were below the poverty line.

2010

At the 2010 census La Verne had a population of 31,063. The population density was. The racial makeup of La Verne was 23,057 White, 1,065 African American, 265 Native American, 2,381 Asian, 61 Pacific Islander, 2,822 from other races, and 1,412 from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 9,635 persons.
The census reported that 30,387 people lived in households, 501 lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 175 were institutionalized.
There were 11,261 households, 3,582 had children under the age of 18 living in them, 6,286 were married couples living together, 1,438 had a female householder with no husband present, 489 had a male householder with no wife present. There were 420 unmarried couples living together, and 74 homosexual partners living together. 2,517 households had one person and 1,429 had someone who was 65 or older living alone. The average household size was 2.70. There were 8,213 families ; the average family size was 3.16.
The age distribution was 6,605 people under the age of 18, 3,106 people aged 18 to 24, 6,678 people aged 25 to 44, 9,417 people aged 45 to 64, and 5,257 people who were 65 or older. The median age was 42.9 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.2 males.
There were 11,686 housing units at an average density of 1,364.9 per square mile, of the occupied units 8,388 were owner-occupied and 2,873 were rented. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.7%; the rental vacancy rate was 5.4%. 22,995 people lived in owner-occupied housing units and 7,392 people lived in rental housing units.
During 2009–2013, La Verne had a median household income of $77,040, with 7.9% of the population living below the federal poverty line.

2000

Mapping L.A. reported that in 2000, Mexican and German were the most common ancestries. Mexico and the Philippines were the most common foreign places of birth.

Government

La Verne is located in the 5th district of Los Angeles County, and is represented by supervisor Kathryn Barger.
In the state legislature, La Verne is in the 22nd Senate District, represented by Democrat Susan Rubio. and in.
In the United States House of Representatives, La Verne is in the 31st District represented by Democrat Gil Cisneros
In the United States Senate, California is represented by Alex Padilla and Adam B. Schiff.
The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services operates the Pomona Health Centre in Pomona, serving La Verne.

Public safety

The La Verne Police Department provides law enforcement services for the city of La Verne.
In 2018, the La Verne Police Department appointed its first woman captain, Colleen Flores.
Samuel Gonzalez is the current chief of police.
The La Verne Fire Department provides fire protection and emergency medical services for the city of La Verne.

Education

The University of La Verne is located on 3rd Street in La Verne.
The Bonita Unified School District serves the city. Bonita High School is located on D Street.
Lutheran High School was located on Fruit Street and closed in 2024. Damien High School is a Catholic boys' school located at the intersection of Damien and Bonita Avenues. Calvary Baptist Schools is located at the intersection of Damien Avenue and Forestdale Street.

Transportation

Regional train service is provided by Metrolink at the Pomona–North station, while local bus service is provided to the Pomona–Downtown station by Foothill Transit. A shuttle operates to Cal Poly Pomona. The Los Angeles Metro Rail A Line has been extended east from its current terminus in Azusa to Pomona. Light rail service at La Verne/Fairplex station, located between the University of La Verne and the Pomona Fairplex, commenced on September 19, 2025.

In popular culture

In the 1967 film The Graduate, the finale wedding scene was shot in La Verne at the United Methodist Church of La Verne.
The wedding scene in Wayne's World 2 was also filmed at the United Methodist Church of La Verne.
In 1998, actor Christian Slater was sentenced to 90 days in the La Verne jail for domestic assault

Notable people