Pioneer, California
Pioneer is a census-designated place in Amador County, California. It is located east-northeast of Pine Grove, at an elevation of 2986 feet, along State Route 88. The community is in ZIP code 95666 and area code 209. The population was 1,066 at the 2020 census.
Pioneer Station, built approximately 1925, is located in Pioneer; however, it was never a Pony Express stop, a popular fallacy. It was a general store selling gas, water, and offering camping sites.
A post office opened in Pioneer in 1947.
Demographics
Pioneer first appeared as a census designated place in the 2010 U.S. census.The 2020 United States census reported that Pioneer had a population of 1,066. The population density was. The racial makeup of Pioneer was 84.0% White, 0.3% African American, 0.8% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 0.6% Pacific Islander, 2.5% from other races, and 11.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 10.2% of the population.
There were 481 households, out of which 16.0% included children under the age of 18, 52.8% were married-couple households, 6.4% were cohabiting couple households, 18.9% had a female householder with no partner present, and 21.8% had a male householder with no partner present. 27.2% of households were one person, and 16.8% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.22. There were 314 families.
The age distribution was 14.4% under the age of 18, 4.6% aged 18 to 24, 17.4% aged 25 to 44, 30.3% aged 45 to 64, and 33.3% who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 56.8years. For every 100 females, there were 105.0 males.
There were 598 housing units at an average density of, of which 481 were occupied. Of these, 89.6% were owner-occupied, and 10.4% were occupied by renters.
Points of interest
The scenery and environment around Pioneer includes a number of centuries-old tall pine trees and oak trees, as well as lakes for water sports and fishing.- The Kirkwood Lake Tract
- Mace Meadow Golf Course — golf and restaurant
- Scenic Hwy 88 drive
- Outdoor Activities —
- Pioneer Park — tennis, basketball, baseball/softball, play structures, community center
- Pioneer Branch Library
- Mollie Joyce Park — baseball, disc golf course
- Tiger Creek, a popular swimming hole that takes advantage of small natural waterfalls and lies behind a PGE hydroelectric power generating plant.