Shandon, California

Etymology

The town is named for a town that appeared in Harper's Magazine in 1891.

Geography

Shandon is located at the bottom of the San Juan Valley, where San Juan Creek and Cholame Creek come together to form the Estrella River, which flows west to meet the Salinas River north of Paso Robles. Shandon is also at the junction of State Routes 41 and 46, at the southwestern portion of the stretch where the two highways merge for approximately six miles. The San Andreas Fault cuts perpendicular to the highways here, six miles from Shandon.

Shandon is located at (35.656178, -120.378817).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 3.0 sqmi, 98.54% of it land and 1.46% of it water.

Climate

Shandon experiences a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification: Csa), characterized by hot, dry summers and cool, moist winters. Owing to its location inland from the coast, diurnal temperature variation is high, reaching a maximum of 40 °C during summer.

Demographics

|align-fn=center 1860–1870 1880-1890 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010

Shandon first appeared as a census designated place in the 2000 U.S. census.

2020

The 2020 United States census reported that Shandon had a population of 1,168. The population density was 395.9 PD/sqmi. The racial makeup of Shandon was 489 (41.9%) White, 14 (1.2%) African American, 14 (1.2%) Native American, 5 (0.4%) Asian, 0 (0.0%) Pacific Islander, 379 (32.4%) from other races, and 267 (22.9%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 702 persons (60.1%).

The whole population lived in households. There were 369 households, out of which 161 (43.6%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 210 (56.9%) were married-couple households, 24 (6.5%) were cohabiting couple households, 64 (17.3%) had a female householder with no partner present, and 71 (19.2%) had a male householder with no partner present. 63 households (17.1%) were one person, and 31 (8.4%) were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 3.17.

The age distribution was 352 people (30.1%) under the age of 18, 104 people (8.9%) aged 18 to 24, 321 people (27.5%) aged 25 to 44, 278 people (23.8%) aged 45 to 64, and 113 people (9.7%) who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 33.2years. For every 100 females, there were 101.4 males.

There were 377 housing units at an average density of 127.8 /mi2, of which 369 (97.9%) were occupied. Of these, 252 (68.3%) were owner-occupied, and 117 (31.7%) were occupied by renters.

In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that the median household income was $91,389, and the per capita income was $32,248. About 2.1% of families and 2.5% of the population were below the poverty line.

2010

At the 2010 census Shandon had a population of 1,295. The population density was 433.2 PD/sqmi. The racial makeup of Shandon was 840 (64.9%) White, 34 (2.6%) African American, 18 (1.4%) Native American, 7 (0.5%) Asian, 2 (0.2%) Pacific Islander, 352 (27.2%) from other races, and 42 (3.2%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 693 people (53.5%).

The census reported that 1,293 people (99.8% of the population) lived in households, 2 (0.2%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and no one was institutionalized.

There were 371 households, 187 (50.4%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 219 (59.0%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 46 (12.4%) had a female householder with no husband present, 24 (6.5%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 18 (4.9%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 2 (0.5%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 62 households (16.7%) were one person and 15 (4.0%) had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 3.49. There were 289 families (77.9% of households); the average family size was 3.83.

The age distribution was 418 people (32.3%) under the age of 18, 127 people (9.8%) aged 18 to 24, 373 people (28.8%) aged 25 to 44, 284 people (21.9%) aged 45 to 64, and 93 people (7.2%) who were 65 or older. The median age was 30.6 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.9 males.

There were 412 housing units at an average density of 137.8 per square mile, of the occupied units 239 (64.4%) were owner-occupied and 132 (35.6%) were rented. The homeowner vacancy rate was 5.5%; the rental vacancy rate was 8.3%. 732 people (56.5% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 561 people (43.3%) lived in rental housing units.

Government

In the California State Legislature, Shandon is in , and in .

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

Business

This part of the county's economy is largely based in agriculture. Several large vineyard plantings, including Arciero, Sunview Shandon, Shandon Valley Partners, Red Cedar Vineyards, and French Camp Vineyards, represent important employers in the region.

Shandon has a 15-member paid-call firefighter company who respond to all incidents via radio pager. Company 31 is responsible for maintaining and responding Engine 31 during the summer months. There also is CalFire Station 51 at 501 West Centre Street.

The town has a State of California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) District 5 yard located at 400 West Centre Street.

Shandon is home to Shandon Unified School District, which includes Shandon Elementary, Shandon High School, and Parkfield Elementary.

The Shandon Post Office is located at 200 East Centre Street.

School

Public education in Shandon is provided by the Shandon Joint Unified School District.

Sports

Shandon High School's varsity mascot is the Outlaws, and the school presently competes in the Coast Valley League.

CIF Team Championships

• 1979, Southern Section/Small School Division: Girls Basketball

CIF Finalists/Team Runner-Up

• 1998, Southern Section/8-Man Small Division: Football

Notable residents

Former Deputy Secretary of State, National Security Advisor, and United States Secretary of the Interior William P. Clark, Jr. resided near Shandon until his death in August 2013; he built Chapel Hill on the hill above his ranch.

References

References

1. "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau.
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