Potrero, California
Potrero is a census-designated place in the Mountain Empire area of southeastern San Diego County, California. The population was 648 at the 2020 United States census, down from 656 at the 2010 census.
Location
State Route 94 connects Potrero by road west to San Diego and east to Campo. Potrero is Spanish for 'pasture land'. Its closest neighbor is Tecate, Mexico.Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP covers an area of 3.2 square miles, all of it land.Demographics
Potrero first appeared as a census designated place in the 2010 U.S. census.| Race / Ethnicity | Pop 2010 | Pop 2020 | % 2010 | % 2020 |
| White alone | 140 | 101 | 21.34% | 15.59% |
| Black or African American alone | 0 | 6 | 0.00% | 0.93% |
| Native American or Alaska Native alone | 4 | 2 | 0.61% | 0.31% |
| Asian alone | 0 | 0 | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone | 3 | 0 | 0.46% | 0.00% |
| Other race alone | 0 | 0 | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| Mixed race or Multiracial | 10 | 8 | 1.52% | 1.23% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 499 | 531 | 76.07% | 81.94% |
| Total | 656 | 648 | 100.00% | 100.00% |
The 2020 United States census reported that Potrero had a population of 648. The population density was. The racial makeup of Potrero was 191 White, 8 African American, 5 Native American, 0 Asian, 0 Pacific Islander, 302 from other races, and 142 from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 531 persons.
The whole population lived in households. There were 180 households, out of which 77 had children under the age of 18 living in them, 114 were married-couple households, 8 were cohabiting couple households, 30 had a female householder with no partner present, and 28 had a male householder with no partner present. 27 households were one person, and 15 were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 3.6. There were 141 families.
The age distribution was 213 people under the age of 18, 48 people aged 18 to 24, 200 people aged 25 to 44, 127 people aged 45 to 64, and 60 people who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 30.6years. For every 100 females, there were 97.6 males.
There were 192 housing units at an average density of, of which 180 were occupied. Of these, 95 were owner-occupied, and 85 were occupied by renters.
Blackwater controversy
In 2007, Blackwater USA submitted plans to build a weapons training facility in Potrero. The plans generated substantial controversy in the community.Local activists organized a recall campaign against the members of the local planning group. On 11 December 2007, all five members of the Potrero Community Planning Group who approved the Blackwater project lost their seats in a recall election. On March 7, 2008, Blackwater USA pulled their application for this facility.