Azusa, California


Azusa is a city in the San Gabriel Valley region of Los Angeles County, California, United States, at the foot of the San Gabriel Mountains and located east of downtown Los Angeles.
Its population was 50,000 in 2020, an increase from 46,361 at the 2010 census. Azusa is located along historic Route 66, which passes through the city on Foothill Boulevard and Alosta Avenue.
Azusa is bordered by the San Gabriel Mountains range to the north, Irwindale to the west, the unincorporated community of Vincent to the southwest, Glendora and the unincorporated community of Citrus to the east, and Covina to the south.

History

The name "Azusa" appears to have been derived from the Tongva place name Asuksa-nga, meaning "skunk place," with asuksa meaning skunk and -nga denoting place.
The first human settlements in the area date back to approximately 6000 BC. The Takic people moved into the area and the Tongva people, now commonly regarded as the indigenous people of the region, arrived by at least 55 BC. A backronym, "Azusa stands for everything from A to Z in the U.S.A.", has been a phrase used for many years by organizations such as the Chamber of Commerce to promote the city.
The first Mexican settlement in Azusa was at the Rancho el Susa in 1841, a Mexican land grant from the Alta California Governor Juan Bautista Alvarado to Luis Arenas. In 1844, Arenas sold the rancho's land to Henry Dalton, an English immigrant and wealthy merchant from the Pueblo of Los Angeles, for $7,000. He renamed it Rancho Azusa de Dalton, and had built a winery, distillery, vinegar house, meat smokehouse, and flour mill. Also, a vineyard was planted. Dalton built a house here on a place known as Dalton Hill, near 6th Street and Cerritos Avenue in Azusa.
Dalton was also the owner of the large, adjacent Rancho San Francisquito and Rancho Santa Anita properties. In the end, Dalton owned an unbroken expanse of land from present-day San Dimas to the eastern edge of Pasadena. A portion of Azusa west of the San Gabriel River was within adjacent Rancho Azusa de Duarte.
With the cession of California to the United States following the Mexican–American War, the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo provided that the land grants would be honored. As required by the Land Act of 1851, a claim for Rancho San Francisquito was filed with the Public Land Commission in 1852 and confirmed by the Commission in 1853, but rejected by the US District Court in 1855, on the grounds that Henry Dalton was not, at the time of the grant, a citizen of Mexico. The decree was reversed by the US Supreme Court, and the grant was patented to Henry Dalton in 1867.
Azusa was listed in the 1860 US census as a township with a population of 363. The 1870 US census listed the area as the township of Azusa – El Monte Township and 1880 US census listed the area as the township of San Jose and Azusa. There were a few corrections to cross out the San Jose name on most of the census pages, but this was done sporadically and there remain many index errors in the online census due to these errors.
Dalton had borrowed money from Los Angeles banker Jonathan S. Slauson to fund 24 years of litigation, and had to sign the land over to him in 1880. Slauson laid out the plan for the city in 1887 and the city was officially incorporated in 1898.
The completion of the Los Angeles and San Gabriel Valley Railroad in January 1887, later sold to the Santa Fe railroad, brought new people looking for homes and investment opportunities to Azusa. Part of this land boom was the short-lived town of Gladstone in 1887, which merged into Azusa in 1905. The Pacific Electric also provided the community with passenger rail service via its Monrovia-Glendora Line from 1907 to 1951. The A Line Foothill light rail line was built on the old Sante Fe right-of-way.

Geography

The city is located at the entrance to the San Gabriel Canyon, giving the city its nickname "The Canyon City." It is on the east side of the San Gabriel River.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of ; over 99% of it is land.

Climate

This region experiences warm, dry summers, with no average monthly temperatures above. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Azusa has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate, abbreviated "Csb" on climate maps.

Demographics

Azusa first appeared as a city in the 1860 US census.
Race / ethnicity Pop 1980Pop 1990Pop 2000Pop 2010% 1980% 1990% 2000% 2010
White alone 15,15314,98010,8248,9557,75151.58%36.24%24.21%19.32%15.50%
Black or African American alone 4611,4211,5761,2931,5891.57%3.44%3.52%2.79%3.18%
Native American or Alaska Native alone 3051502021141131.04%0.36%0.45%0.25%0.23%
Asian alone 9432,5832,6573,8967,1873.21%6.25%5.94%8.40%14.37%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone 9432,5835667653.21%6.25%0.13%0.14%0.13%
Other race alone 75107103622340.26%0.26%0.23%0.13%0.47%
Mixed race or multiracial xx7726461,041xx1.73%1.39%2.08%
Hispanic or Latino 12,44322,09228,52231,32832,02042.35%53.45%63.79%67.57%64.04%
Total29,38041,33344,71246,36150,000100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%

2020

The 2020 United States census reported that Azusa had a population of 50,000. The population density was. The racial makeup of Azusa was 27.6% White, 3.5% African American, 2.6% Native American, 14.8% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 31.2% from other races, and 20.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 64.0% of the population.
The census reported that 94.4% of the population lived in households, 5.3% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0.3% were institutionalized.
There were 14,735 households, out of which 38.1% included children under the age of 18, 46.3% were married-couple households, 7.7% were cohabiting couple households, 28.4% had a female householder with no partner present, and 17.6% had a male householder with no partner present. 17.6% of households were one person, and 6.5% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 3.2. There were 11,071 families.
The age distribution was 21.2% under the age of 18, 14.9% aged 18 to 24, 28.3% aged 25 to 44, 24.1% aged 45 to 64, and 11.6% who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 34.1years. For every 100 females, there were 94.2 males.
There were 15,315 housing units at an average density of, of which 14,735 were occupied. Of these, 53.3% were owner-occupied, and 46.7% were occupied by renters.
In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that 31.8% of the population were foreign-born. Of all people aged 5 or older, 44.9% spoke only English at home, 42.8% spoke Spanish, 2.0% spoke other Indo-European languages, 9.3% spoke Asian or Pacific Islander languages, and 1.0% spoke other languages. Of those aged 25 or older, 80.2% were high school graduates and 26.9% had a bachelor's degree.
The median household income in 2023 was $85,727, and the per capita income was $31,884. About 8.7% of families and 12.6% of the population were below the poverty line.

2010

The 2010 United States census reported that Azusa had a population of 46,361. The population density was. The racial makeup of Azusa was 26,715 White, 1,499 African American, 562 Native American, 4,054 Asian, 87 Pacific Islander, 11,270 from other races, and 2,174 from two or more races. There were 31,328 people of Hispanic or Latino origin, of any race.
The census reported that 43,559 people lived in households, 2,691 lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 111 were institutionalized.
There were 12,716 households, out of which 5,955 had children under the age of 18 living in them, 6,310 were opposite-sex married couples living together, 2,275 had a female householder with no husband present, 1,014 had a male householder with no wife present. There were 891 unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 104 same-sex married couples or partnerships. 2,238 households were made up of individuals, and 761 had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.43. There were 9,599 families ; the average family size was 3.85.
The population was spread out, with 12,407 people under the age of 18, 7,724 people aged 18 to 24, 13,185 people aged 25 to 44, 9,469 people aged 45 to 64, and 3,576 people who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29.3 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.8 males.
There were 13,386 housing units at an average density of, of which 6,802 were owner-occupied, and 5,914 were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.4%; the rental vacancy rate was 6.6%. 22,805 people lived in owner-occupied housing units and 20,754 people lived in rental housing units.
During 2009-2013, Azusa had a median household income of $52,001, with 20.1% of the population living below the federal poverty line.
In 2000, Mexican and German were the most common ancestries. Mexico and the Philippines were the most common foreign countries of birth.