A Tale of 3 Cities : Santa Clarita and Antelope Valleys Growing Up

The 1980 to 1990 population surge that transformed the formerly distinct northern Los Angeles County cities of Santa Clarita, Palmdale and Lancaster into the distant edge of suburban sprawl continues, although somewhat more slowly than previously. Despite the county’s economic downturn and the troubles in the aerospace industry, Palmdale has grown by a third since 1990--making it the fastest growing in the county--and Santa Clarita and Lancaster each have grown by a tenth. The new residents of these burgeoning cities generally are younger and substantially more affluent than those elsewhere in the county. They are also more likely to be members of families with children. Relatively low housing prices are expected to generate further growth.

Santa Clarita

Incoporated: Dec. 15, 1987, 39.5 squae miles Current size: 42.3 square miles Median resident age: 31 years

Median household Income: $53, 607 Average single-family house resale value: $196,000 % households with children under 18: 41.3 Population 1980: 56,203* 1990: 110,638 1993: 122,918 * Estimate, before city was incorporated. Education H.S. grad or less: 35% Some college: 39% Bachelor’s degree or higher: 26% Ethnicity White: 80.8% Hispanic: 13.2% Asian or Pacific Islander: 3.9% Black: 1.5% American Indian, Eskimo or Aleut: 0.5% Other: 0.2% Lancaster Incoporated: November, 1977, 37 squae miles Current size: 94 square miles Median resident age: 29.6 years

Median household Income: $38,388 Average single-family house resale value: $117,000 % households with children under 18: 41.7 Population 1980: 48,027 1990: 97,291 1993: 107,675 Education H.S. grad or less: 41.1% Some college: 36.6% Bachelor’s degree or higher: 16.1% Ethnicity White: 73% Hispanic: 15.1% Asian or Pacific Islander: 7.1% Black: 3.4% American Indian, Eskimo or Aleut: 1% Other: 0.2% Palmdale Incoporated: August, 1962, 3.1 squae miles Current size: 99.5 square miles Median resident age: 27.6 years

Median household Income: $41,974 Average single-family house resale value: $130,000 % households with children under 18: 52.4 Population 1980: 12,277 1990: 68,917 1993: 89,717 Education H.S. grad or less: 48.2% Some college: 38% Bachelor’s degree or higher: 13.2% Ethnicity White: 67% Hispanic: 21.9% Asian or Pacific Islander: 4.1% Black: 6.1% American Indian, Eskimo or Aleut: 0.6% Other: 0.2% Source: U.S. Census Bureau and individual cities