La Mirada, California
La Mirada is a city in southeast Los Angeles County, California United States, and is one of the Gateway Cities, on the border with Orange County. The population was 48,008 at the 2020 census. The La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts and the Splash! La Mirada Regional Aquatics Center are two of its major attractions. It is the home of Biola University, an evangelical Christian institution of higher education.
History
La Mirada was the creation of two men, Andrew McNally, a printer and mapmaker from Chicago and his son-in-law Edwin Neff. In 1888, McNally purchased over of Rancho Los Coyotes, south of Whittier, for $200,000. He developed into his own home called Windermere Ranch and surrounded it with olive, orange and lemon groves. McNally built a plant to process the olive oil, which was of the best quality, as well as a railroad station on Stage Road. From here his olive oil and fruit were shipped all over the U.S.In 1896, McNally turned his property over to his daughter and his son-in-law. McNally and Neff formed the La Mirada Land Company, which published a booklet entitled "The Country Gentleman in California", advertising parcels of land for sale including pictures, a map and descriptions of the scenic olive, alfalfa, lemon and grapefruit groves.
In 1946, "Along Your Way", a "Station by Station Description of the Santa Fe Route Through the Southwest," describes La Mirada with a population of 213, surrounded by orange, lemon, walnut and olive groves; oil wells; olive oil factory; and fruit packing houses.
The city received a lot of attention for the fact that it was going to be completely structured and planned out. Referred to as "the Nation's completely planned city" during the early 1950s, the city of La Mirada received a lot of attention from the State Fair. The Fair praised the city for planning for the future while still maintaining practicality for today.
In 1953, the land was sold to subdivisions for 5.2 million dollars, one of the largest real estate transactions in California.
In 1954, Louis M. Halper, a prominent Southland residential and commercial builder, purchased 2,100 acres of La Mirada land for $8,000,000. Halper launched construction on what was to be a $150,000,000 community with schools, shopping centers, and 10,000 homes that he completed by the end of two years. His firm had taken over the acreage from a group of corporations and Harold L. Shaw, who launched the original La Mirada development. He said at the time the entire community would be redesigned for maximum advantages of a modern planned city. Halper had developed a new pattern for community development by wholesaling land to other builders and establishing the La Mirada Civic Council to control quality. Three and four-bedroom homes were sold in the $13,000 price range. By 1960, the year the city was incorporated, La Mirada had grown from a mere 100 homes to over 8,000. The city was incorporated as "Mirada Hills" on March 23, 1960. On November 8, 1960, voters approved a change of name to the current La Mirada, which was officially certified on December 15, 1960.
Today, the current population is just over 50,000 with the addition of a new subdivision on the eastern portion of the town.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of. of it is land and of it is water. The city is on the border between Orange and Los Angeles counties. The cities that border it on the Los Angeles County side are Santa Fe Springs to the west and Cerritos to the southwest; and unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County such as East Whittier, and South Whittier to the north. The cities bordering it in Orange County are Fullerton and La Habra to the east and Buena Park to the south.Demographics
La Mirada first appeared as a city under the name Mirada Hills City in the 1960 U.S. census as part of the Whittier census county division; and then as La Mirada in the 1970 U.S. census.| Race / Ethnicity | Pop 1980 | Pop 1990 | Pop 2000 | Pop 2010 | % 1980 | % 1990 | % 2000 | % 2010 | ||
| White alone | 31,549 | 26,035 | 22,058 | 18,418 | 13,508 | 76.98% | 64.36% | 47.15% | 37.95% | 28.14% |
| Black or African American alone | 325 | 535 | 851 | 1,010 | 1,002 | 0.79% | 1.32% | 1.82% | 2.08% | 2.09% |
| Native American or Alaska Native alone | 257 | 180 | 138 | 138 | 126 | 0.63% | 0.44% | 0.29% | 0.28% | 0.26% |
| Asian alone | 1,072 | 3,182 | 6,900 | 8,530 | 10,820 | 2.62% | 7.87% | 14.75% | 17.58% | 22.54% |
| Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone | 1,072 | 3,182 | 104 | 114 | 103 | 2.62% | 7.87% | 0.22% | 0.23% | 0.21% |
| Other race alone | 54 | 61 | 120 | 102 | 241 | 0.13% | 0.15% | 0.26% | 0.21% | 0.50% |
| Mixed race or Multiracial | x | x | 955 | 943 | 1,556 | x | x | 2.04% | 1.94% | 3.24% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 7,729 | 10,459 | 15,657 | 19,272 | 20,652 | 18.86% | 25.86% | 33.47% | 39.71% | 43.02% |
| Total | 40,986 | 40,452 | 46,783 | 48,527 | 48,008 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% |
2020
The 2020 United States census reported that La Mirada had a population of 48,008. The population density was. The racial makeup of La Mirada was 36.8% White, 2.3% African American, 1.3% Native American, 22.9% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 17.1% from other races, and 19.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 43.0% of the population.The census reported that 95.7% of the population lived in households, 3.8% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0.5% were institutionalized.
There were 15,104 households, out of which 32.1% included children under the age of 18, 59.7% were married-couple households, 3.8% were cohabiting couple households, 23.7% had a female householder with no partner present, and 12.7% had a male householder with no partner present. 17.1% of households were one person, and 10.7% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 3.04. There were 11,878 families.
The age distribution was 17.7% under the age of 18, 12.3% aged 18 to 24, 23.4% aged 25 to 44, 27.0% aged 45 to 64, and 19.6% who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 42.1years. For every 100 females, there were 92.3 males.
There were 15,457 housing units at an average density of, of which 15,104 were occupied. Of these, 77.1% were owner-occupied, and 22.9% were occupied by renters.
In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that the median household income was $110,177, and the per capita income was $41,536. About 4.5% of families and 6.5% of the population were below the poverty line.
2010
The 2010 United States census reported that La Mirada had a population of 48,527. The population density was. The racial makeup of La Mirada was 29,462 White, 1,099 African American, 394 Native American, 8,650 Asian, 142 Pacific Islander, 6,670 from other races, and 2,110 from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 19,272 persons.The Census reported that 45,670 people lived in households, 2,586 lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 271 were institutionalized.
There were 14,681 households, out of which 5,368 had children under the age of 18 living in them, 8,971 were opposite-sex married couples living together, 1,731 had a female householder with no husband present, 802 had a male householder with no wife present. There were 544 unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 93 same-sex married couples or partnerships. 2,536 households were made up of individuals, and 1,578 had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.11. There were 11,504 families ; the average family size was 3.48.
The population was spread out, with 10,246 people under the age of 18, 7,092 people aged 18 to 24, 11,609 people aged 25 to 44, 12,203 people aged 45 to 64, and 7,377 people who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37.9 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.4 males.
There were 15,092 housing units at an average density of, of which 11,608 were owner-occupied, and 3,073 were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.8%; the rental vacancy rate was 4.0%. 36,660 people lived in owner-occupied housing units and 9,010 people lived in rental housing units.
During 2009-2013, La Mirada had a median household income of $81,961, with 7.0% of the population living below the federal poverty line.
2000
At the 2000 census, Mexican and German were the most common ancestries. 10,626 of residents were foreign born, low for Southeast and low for the county. Mexico and Korea were the most common foreign places of birth.Government and politics
The city is governed by a five-member council-manager government. Voters began electing council members by district in March 2017 in order to avoid litigation for alleged violation of the California Voting Rights Act. Each year the five members vote one of themselves to be the Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem.In the California State Legislature, La Mirada is in, and in.
In the United States House of Representatives, La Mirada is in.
The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services operates the Whittier Health Center in Whittier, serving La Mirada.