Carson, California
Carson is a city in the South Bay and Harbor regions of Los Angeles County, California, located south of downtown Los Angeles and approximately away from Los Angeles International Airport. It was incorporated on February 20, 1968. The city is locally known for its plurality of Filipino-Americans and immigrants. As of the 2020 United States census, the city had a population of 95,558.
History
For thousands of years before the arrival of the first Europeans, Tongva Indians lived in the area. Carson lies on part of the Spanish land grant Rancho San Pedro, from the King of Spain in 1784. The Dominguez Rancho Adobe Museum on Alameda Street in Compton is the historic ranch home of the grantees Juan Dominguez and Manuel Dominguez. Carson was named after George Henry Carson, who married a daughter of the Dominguez family in 1857 and managed the rancho.The first oil drilling took place in 1921 at Dominguez Hill, on the northwest side of the Rancho San Pedro, site of the famous battle during the Mexican–American War called the Battle of Rancho Domínguez in 1846. The mineral rights to this property were owned by Carson Estate Company, the Hellman family, the Dominguez Estate Company, and the Burnham Exploration Company of Frederick Russell Burnham. On September 7, 1923, Burnham Exploration partnering with Union Oil brought in the first producer on the site: Callender No. 1-A well at a depth of and.
In 2011, Shell was ordered by the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board to clean up the Carousel Tract neighborhood after the discovery of benzene and methane gas contamination, as well as soil and groundwater contamination.
In 2021, Carson was subjected to an air pollution event as a result of hydrogen sulfide emanating from the nearby Dominguez Channel.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, Carson has an area of, of it being land and, or 1.29%, being water.Carson is bordered by West Rancho Dominguez on the north, Rancho Dominguez and Long Beach on the southeast, West Carson on the southwest and Compton to the north.
Bixby Marshland, a wetland habitat, is located in Carson.
Climate
Carson experiences a warm-summer Mediterranean climate, similar to that of the Los Angeles Basin with noticeably cooler temperatures during the summer due to the nearby Pacific Ocean, which is approximately away. Rainfall is scarce during the summer in Carson but receives enough rainfall throughout the year to avoid Köppen's BSh. Carson, like many of the Southern California coastal areas, is subject to a late spring/early summer weather phenomenon called "June Gloom." This involves overcast or foggy skies in the morning which yield to sun by early afternoon.Demographics
| Race / Ethnicity | Pop 1980 | Pop 1990 | Pop 2000 | Pop 2010 | % 1980 | % 1990 | % 2000 | % 2010 | ||
| White alone | 26,076 | 18,956 | 10,767 | 7,022 | 6,569 | 31.71% | 22.57% | 12.00% | 7.66% | 6.87% |
| Black or African American alone | 23,667 | 21,542 | 22,485 | 21,385 | 21,264 | 28.78% | 25.65% | 25.06% | 23.32% | 22.25% |
| Native American or Alaska Native alone | 617 | 341 | 180 | 152 | 185 | 0.75% | 0.41% | 0.20% | 0.17% | 0.19% |
| Asian alone | 11,505 | 19,875 | 19,711 | 23,105 | 25,011 | 13.99% | 23.66% | 21.97% | 25.19% | 26.17% |
| Pacific Islander alone | 11,505 | 19,875 | 2,589 | 2,291 | 1,585 | 13.99% | 23.66% | 2.89% | 2.50% | 1.66% |
| Other race alone | 343 | 228 | 171 | 226 | 484 | 0.42% | 0.27% | 0.19% | 0.25% | 0.51% |
| Mixed race or Multiracial | x | x | 2,495 | 2,116 | 2,817 | x | x | 2.78% | 2.31% | 2.95% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 19,013 | 23,413 | 31,332 | 35,417 | 37,643 | 23.12% | 27.87% | 34.92% | 38.62% | 39.39% |
| Total | 81,221 | 83,995 | 89,730 | 91,714 | 95,558 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% |
2020
The U.S. Census accounts for race by two methodologies. "Race alone" and "Race alone less Hispanics" where Hispanics are delineated separately as if a separate race.According to the 2020 U.S. census, the racial makeup was 11.85% White, 22.76% Black, 1.12% Native American, 26.69% Asian, 1.79% Pacific Islander, 23.61% Other Race, and 12.19% Multiracial.
When residents of Hispanic or Latino ancestry were counted in their own category, the population was 6.87% Non-Hispanic White, 22.25% Non-Hispanic Black, 0.19% Native American, 26.17% Asian, 1.66% Pacific Islander alone, 0.51% Other Race alone, 2.95% Multiracial and 39.39% of Hispanic or Latino origin.
2010
The 2010 United States census reported that Carson had a population of 91,714. The population density was. The racial makeup of Carson was 21,864 White, 21,856 African American, 518 Native American, 23,522 Asian, 2,386 Pacific Islander, 17,151 from other races, and 4,417 from two or more races. There were 35,417 residents of Hispanic or Latino origin, of any race ; 32.6% of the population was of Mexican ancestry, 1.1% Salvadoran, 1.0% Guatemalan, 0.6% Puerto Rican, 0.3% Cuban, 0.2% Honduran, 0.2% Peruvian, and 0.2% Ecuadorian.The Census reported that 90,411 people lived in households, 1,170 lived in non-institutionalized group quarters and 133 were institutionalized.
There were 25,432 households, out of which 10,980 had children under the age of 18 living in them, 14,178 were married couples living together, 4,787 had a female householder with no husband present, 1,761 had a male householder with no wife present. 3,776 households were made up of individuals, and 1,790 had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.56. There were 20,726 families ; the average family size was 3.90.
There were 21,992 people under the age of 18, 9,964 people aged 18 to 24, 23,105 people aged 25 to 44, 24,013 people aged 45 to 64, and 12,640 people who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37.6 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.5 males.
There were 26,226 housing units at an average density of, of which 19,529 were owner-occupied, and 5,903 were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.3%; the rental vacancy rate was 3.7%. 68,924 people lived in owner-occupied housing units and 21,487 people lived in rental housing units.
2000
As of the census of 2000, there were 89,730 people, 24,648 households and 20,236 families residing in the city. The population density was. There were 25,337 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the city was 25.69% White, 25.41% Black or African American, 0.56% Native American, 22.27% Asian, 2.99% Pacific Islander, 17.98% from other races, and 5.09% from two or more races. 34.92% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.According to a 2006 estimate, the median income for a household in the city was $60,457, and the median income for a family was $66,468. Males had a median income of $33,579 versus $31,110 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,107. About 7.2% of families and 9.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.9% of those under age 18 and 8.6% of those age 65 or over. Carson has the distinction of being the only incorporated city in the United States where the black population has a higher median income than the white population.
Philippines and Mexico are the most common foreign places of birth in Carson.
Irish, German, English, Nigerian and African are the most common ancestries. The most common non-English languages spoken in Carson are Spanish and Tagalog.
Economy
Top employers
As of 2021, the top ten employers in the city were:| # | Employer | # of Employees |
| 1 | Marathon Refining Logistics Services | 1,530 |
| 2 | See's Candy Shops Inc. | 876 |
| 3 | Select Staffing | 585 |
| 4 | Lakeshore Learning | 505 |
| 5 | Mag Aerospace Industries | 450 |
| 6 | Natural History Museum of LA County | 350 |
| 7 | Defense Contract Management Agency | 345 |
| 8 | The Pepsi Bottling Group | 329 |
| 9 | Prime Wheel Corporation | 271 |
| 10 | Huck International Inc. | 203 |
Former companies
previously had its North American headquarters in Carson. The property consisted of 13 buildings, with a total of of office and light industrial space. One of the buildings, a nine-story tower, had the Nissan logo on it. Vincent Roger of the Los Angeles Times wrote that it "was a familiar sight to drivers passing the intersection of the Harbor and San Diego freeways." Around 2006 the company had 1,500 employees at the headquarters. In 2005 a leak revealed that Nissan planned to move its offices to Franklin, Tennessee. In the summer of 2006, the Nissan headquarters completed the move. Over half of the employees chose to stay in the Los Angeles area.Arts and culture
operates the Carson Regional Library and the Dr. Martin Luther King Library. Both libraries are in Carson.Carson is the site of California State University, Dominguez Hills. CSUDH is a major commuter school, particularly for students from the surrounding cities of Long Beach, Compton, and the census-designated place of West Carson. It was founded as South Bay College and then renamed California State University at Palos Verdes. It moved to the City of Carson to meet a significant need for higher education opportunities in the largely black middle class suburbs of Los Angeles. Today it is among the most racially diverse campuses in the United States. The student body does not have a racial or ethnic majority.
Carson is also the location of Dignity Health Sports Park, a sports complex including a soccer-specific stadium used by the Los Angeles Galaxy and formerly the Los Angeles Sol, C.D. Chivas USA, and the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League, a tennis stadium which hosted the LA Women's Tennis Championships, and a track and field facility.
Carson Mall, now SouthBay Pavilion, opened in 1973 and is located at the Avalon Boulevard exit off the San Diego Freeway.
One of the three US-based Goodyear blimps, Wingfoot Three, is based in Carson at the Goodyear Blimp Base Airport.