Perris, California

History

Native Americans inhabited the hills. Gold deposits were found when Spanish and Mexican miners entered the area.

The coming of the California Southern Railroad led to the founding of the city around the new depot, on the rail connection between the present-day cities of Barstow and San Diego. The Perris Depot is included in the Library of Congress’ Historic American Buildings Survey. Due to a land title dispute at Pinacate, most of its citizens moved two miles north on the railroad and established Perris in 1885. The city is named in honor of Fred T. Perris, chief engineer of the California Southern Railroad. The city of Perris was incorporated in 1911. It originally was within San Diego County but, in 1892, it was transferred to the newly established Riverside County.

In 2005, the National Archives and Records Administration opened the National Archives at Riverside, which is its regional branch for federal documents relating to the Pacific Region (Arizona, southern California, and Clark County, Nevada) in Perris.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 31.64 sqmi, of which, 31.53 sqmi of it is land and 0.11 sqmi of it (0.34%) is water.

Climate

Perris has a Mediterranean climate, with long, hot summers and short, mild winters. The climate in this area is described by the Köppen Climate Classification System as "dry-summer subtropical" often referred to as "Mediterranean" and abbreviated as Csa.

|Jan record high F = 87|Feb record high F = 99|Mar record high F = 95|Apr record high F = 98|May record high F = 106|Jun record high F = 107|Jul record high F = 110|Aug record high F = 110|Sep record high F = 114|Oct record high F = 101|Nov record high F = 94|Dec record high F = 84|year record high F= 114 |Jan record low F = 17|Feb record low F = 23|Mar record low F = 23|Apr record low F = 25|May record low F = 34|Jun record low F = 37|Jul record low F = 41|Aug record low F = 41|Sep record low F = 38|Oct record low F = 26|Nov record low F = 24|Dec record low F = 12|year record low F= 12

Demographics

2020

The 2020 United States census reported that Perris had a population of 78,700. The population density was 2,495.7 PD/sqmi. The racial makeup of Perris was 18.8% White, 10.5% African American, 2.2% Native American, 3.7% Asian, 0.3% Pacific Islander, 45.8% from other races, and 18.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 75.7% of the population.

The census reported that 99.7% of the population lived in households, 0.2% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0.1% were institutionalized.

There were 19,027 households, out of which 59.0% included children under the age of 18, 55.8% were married-couple households, 7.8% were cohabiting couple households, 22.4% had a female householder with no partner present, and 14.0% had a male householder with no partner present. 8.6% of households were one person, and 3.0% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 4.12.

The age distribution was 31.2% under the age of 18, 11.7% aged 18 to 24, 28.6% aged 25 to 44, 21.1% aged 45 to 64, and 7.4% who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 29.5years. For every 100 females, there were 98.1 males.

There were 19,424 housing units at an average density of 616.0 /mi2, of which 19,027 (98.0%) were occupied. Of these, 65.4% were owner-occupied, and 34.6% were occupied by renters.

In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that 29.8% of the population were foreign-born. Of all people aged 5 or older, 34.0% spoke only English at home, 62.5% spoke Spanish, 0.5% spoke other Indo-European languages, 1.9% spoke Asian or Pacific Islander languages, and 1.0% spoke other languages. Of those aged 25 or older, 70.9% were high school graduates and 11.6% had a bachelor's degree.

The median household income in 2023 was $82,523, and the per capita income was $24,862. About 9.3% of families and 11.9% of the population were below the poverty line.

2010

At the 2010 census Perris had a population of 68,386. The population density was 2,170.7 PD/sqmi. The racial makeup of Perris was 28,937 (42.3%) White (11.0% Non-Hispanic White), 8,307 (12.1%) African American, 589 (0.9%) Native American, 2,461 (3.6%) Asian, 286 (0.4%) Pacific Islander, 24,345 (35.6%) from other races, and 3,461 (5.1%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 49,079 persons (71.8%).

The census reported that 68,146 people (99.7% of the population) lived in households, 140 (0.2%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 100 (0.1%) were institutionalized.

There were 16,365 households: 10,836 (66.2%) had children under the age of 18 living in them; 9,778 (59.7%) were opposite-sex married couples living together; 3,128 (19.1%) had a female householder with no husband present; 1,441 (8.8%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 1,314 (8.0%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 120 (0.7%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 1,442 households (8.8%) were one person and 383 (2.3%) had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 4.16. There were 14,347 families (87.7% of households); the average family size was 4.32.

The age distribution was 25,288 people (37.0%) under the age of 18, 7,951 people (11.6%) aged 18 to 24, 20,088 people (29.4%) aged 25 to 44, 11,711 people (17.1%) aged 45 to 64, and 3,348 people (4.9%) who were 65 or older. The median age was 25.9 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.9 males.

There were 17,906 housing units at an average density of 568.4 per square mile, of the occupied units 10,854 (66.3%) were owner-occupied and 5,511 (33.7%) were rented. The homeowner vacancy rate was 5.5%; the rental vacancy rate was 6.8%. 44,695 people (65.4% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 23,451 people (34.3%) lived in rental housing units.

According to the 2010 United States Census, Perris had a median household income of $46,435, with 28.2% of the population living below the federal poverty line.

Economy

Top employers

According to Perris's 2022 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:

Arts and culture

The Southern California Railway Museum is the largest operating museum of its kind on the West Coast of the United States. The Southern California Fair has been held at the Lake Perris Fairgrounds since 1987.

The Farmer Boys restaurant chain, which has many locations throughout the Inland Empire, was started in Perris in 1981.

Rock Castle house is set on a hill above town.

Government

In the California State Legislature, Perris is in , and in .{{cite web | access-date = February 22, 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150201113744/http://statewidedatabase.org/gis/gis2011/index_2011.html | archive-date = February 1, 2015 | url-status = dead

In the United States House of Representatives, Perris is in .

Education

The city is served by several school districts. In portions, they are:

• The Perris Elementary School District and the Perris Union High School District (the latter also serves Menifee)
• The Romoland Elementary School District and Perris UHSD (for grades 9-12)
• The Menifee Union School District and Perris UHSD (for grades 9-12)
• The Val Verde Unified School District, which also serves the southern part of Moreno Valley.

Perris High School of the Perris high school district is the city's first public (grades 9–12) school. Established in 1887, the school was relocated in 1961, and the school's western annex on I-215 and Nuevo Road became a Continuation High School in 1993. Now, there are more high schools in the area, including Citrus Hill and Orange Vista of the Val Verde district.

Middle schools include Pinacate, Lakeside, Perris and Tomas Rivera. There are ten elementary (grades K–6) schools.

Infrastructure

Aviation

The nearby, privately owned, Perris Valley Airport (FAA designator: L65) has a 5100 ft runway. Perris has drawn a crowd of skydivers, amateur and professional, to Perris Valley Skydiving. The area's sudden fame gave Perris the nickname: "the skydiving capital of America". On April 22, 1992, a de Havilland Twin Otter crashed during takeoff at Perris Valley after an engine lost power. The National Transportation Safety Board determined that the accident was caused by contaminated fuel obtained from the improper handling of the airfield's fuel tanks and the pilot's improper actions after the power loss, as well as other factors. The aircraft never rose above 50 feet and 14 parachutists and the two pilots were killed.

Highways

Perris is served by Interstate 215 which runs from Murrieta to the south to San Bernardino to the north, and by State Route 74, which serves Lake Elsinore and Orange County to the west, and the San Jacinto and Coachella valleys to the east.

Public safety

The Riverside County Sheriff's Department provides police services to the entire Perris Valley area (including the nearby communities of Mead Valley and Glen Valley, and the cities of Canyon Lake and Menifee) from its regional station on 4th Street (in the former headquarters of the now-disbanded Perris Police Department).

The city of Perris contracts for fire and paramedic services with the Riverside County Fire Department through a cooperative agreement with CAL FIRE. The CAL FIRE/Riverside County Fire Department headquarters is located in Perris.

The California State Parks have a dispatch center located in the city as well – Southern Communications Center (SURCOM). Communications Centers operate multi-frequency/channel radio systems, law enforcement telecommunications systems (CLETS), computer terminals, and associated equipment to dispatch law enforcement/emergency response units and coordinate services with field personnel and other agencies.

Commuter Rail

Main article: Perris–Downtown station, Perris–South station

In June 2016, the 91/Perris Valley Line of the Metrolink commuter rail system was extended from Riverside to Perris, connecting it to downtown Los Angeles and the rest of the Greater Los Angeles megalopolis with two stations. Future expansion to Hemet has also been discussed.

Cemetery

The Perris Valley Cemetery District maintains the Perris Valley Cemetery.

Notable people

• Bobbi Althoff – podcaster and social media personality
• Ricardo Breceda – visual artist
• Louis B. Mayer – Hollywood film mogul, owned a horse ranch in Perris
• Alfred E. Green – film director, born in Perris
• Danny Harris – former Olympic hurdler, silver medalist in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games and the 1987 World Championships in Rome. Grew up in Perris and alumnus of Perris High School.
• Elmer Rieger – baseball player
• Abraham Placito – soccer player

References

References

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22. Lech, Steve. (September 28, 2014). "Back in the Day: Rock Castle graces Perris hilltop".
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