Walnut, California

Geography

Walnut is located on the southern slopes of the San Jose Hills, with West Covina to the northwest, Covina to the north, San Dimas to the northeast, Pomona to the east, Diamond Bar, Rowland Heights, and the City of Industry to the south, and La Puente to the west. Several small creeks (i.e. Snow Creek, Lemon Creek) run mostly to the south toward the valley of San Jose Creek, which runs west to the San Gabriel River.

Climate

location = Walnut, California |Jan record high F = 91 |Feb record high F = 94 |Mar record high F = 100 |Apr record high F = 104 |May record high F = 106 |Jun record high F = 117 |Jul record high F = 113 |Aug record high F = 109 |Sep record high F = 113 |Oct record high F = 107 |Nov record high F = 97 |Dec record high F = 93 |year record high F =117

|Jan record low F = 21 |Feb record low F = 22 |Mar record low F = 27 |Apr record low F = 29 |May record low F = 31 |Jun record low F = 38 |Jul record low F = 37 |Aug record low F = 43 |Sep record low F = 38 |Oct record low F = 29 |Nov record low F = 25 |Dec record low F = 22 |year record low F =21 |access-date = November 25, 2020}}

History

The area are the traditional lands of the Tongva people. Spanish missionaries who arrived in the 18th century called the indigenes Gabrieleño, because the area where they lived was controlled by the San Gabriel Mission. The Walnut area was part of the network of outlying ranches used for the grazing of cattle and sheep by the Mission.

Following secularization of the missions in the 1830s, former mission lands were divided into ranchos, and given away as land grants by the Mexican government of Alta California. In the Walnut area, the first grants were Rancho San Jose (granted to Ricardo Vejar and Ygnacio Palomares in 1837); Rancho Los Nogales (granted to Jose De La Cruz Linares in 1840); and Rancho La Puente (granted to John Rowland and William Workman in 1842). In 1868, John Rowland and William Workman divided Rancho La Puente, leaving Rowland the eastern half and Workman the western half. Rowland's land included the western portion of Walnut and the adjacent community now called Rowland Heights. The land was used mainly for raising cattle and growing wheat, grapes, and fruit trees (mostly citrus).

In 1895, the first U.S. post office was established and given the name "Lemon". In 1908, the post office name was changed to Walnut. As a reminder of those early days, the U.S. Post Office is on Lemon Avenue, one of the town's main streets.

Demographics

|align-fn=center 1860–1870 1880–1890 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020

Walnut first appeared as a city in the 1960 U.S. census as part of the East San Gabriel Valley census county division.

2020 census

The 2020 United States census reported that Walnut had a population of 28,430. The population density was 3,162.8 PD/sqmi. The racial makeup was 12.1% White, 2.5% African American, 0.4% Native American, 67.5% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 7.9% from other races, and 9.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 18.7% of the population.

The census reported that 99.98% of the population lived in households, 0.02% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and no one was institutionalized.

There were 8,861 households, out of which 33.0% included children under the age of 18, 66.8% were married-couple households, 2.6% were cohabiting couple households, 20.1% had a female householder with no partner present, and 10.5% had a male householder with no partner present. 10.1% of households were one person, and 5.6% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 3.21.

The age distribution was 17.1% under the age of 18, 9.5% aged 18 to 24, 21.6% aged 25 to 44, 29.6% aged 45 to 64, and 22.2% who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 46.5years. For every 100 females, there were 94.7 males.

There were 9,169 housing units at an average density of 1,020.0 /mi2, of which 8,861 (96.6%) were occupied. Of these, 83.0% were owner-occupied, and 17.0% were occupied by renters.

In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that the median household income was $133,762, and the per capita income was $51,555. About 7.1% of families and 8.6% of the population were below the poverty line.

2010 census

According to the 2010 United States census, Walnut had a median household income of $101,250, with 6.2% of the population living below the federal poverty line.

The 2010 United States census reported that Walnut had a population of 29,172. The population density was 3,242.8 PD/sqmi. The racial makeup of Walnut was 18,567 (63.6%) Asian, 6,913 (23.7%) White (12.5% Non-Hispanic White), 824 (2.8%) African American, 69 (0.2%) Native American, 28 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 1,750 (6.0%) from other races, and 1,021 (3.5%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5,575 persons (19.1%).

The Census reported that 29,138 people (99.9% of the population) lived in households, 22 (0.1%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 12 (0%) were institutionalized.

There were 8,533 households, out of which 3,492 (40.9%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 6,298 (73.8%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 985 (11.5%) had a female householder with no husband present, 394 (4.6%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 163 (1.9%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 26 (0.3%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 627 households (7.3%) were made up of individuals, and 237 (2.8%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.41. There were 7,677 families (90.0% of all households); the average family size was 3.55.

The population was spread out, with 6,088 people (20.9%) under the age of 18, 3,092 people (10.6%) aged 18 to 24, 6,089 people (20.9%) aged 25 to 44, 10,339 people (35.4%) aged 45 to 64, and 3,564 people (12.2%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43.1 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.6 males.

There were 8,753 housing units at an average density of 973.0 /sqmi, of which 7,536 (88.3%) were owner-occupied, and 997 (11.7%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.8%; the rental vacancy rate was 4.4%. 25,504 people (87.4% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 3,634 people (12.5%) lived in rental housing units.

Mapping L.A.

Mapping L.A. reported that Chinese (21.0%) and Mexican (14.6%) were the most common ancestries in the 2000 census. Taiwan (20.7%) and Philippines (17.3%) were the most common foreign places of birth in 2000.

Economy

Shea Homes, and the United States divisions of the Filipino home video company Viva Video, Inc. and the Japanese card game company Bushiroad are based in Walnut.

According to the 2010 United States census, Walnut had a median household income of $101,250, with 6.2% of the population living below the federal poverty line.

According to the city's 2017 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the principal employers in the city are:

Sports

Mt. SAC Relays

Main article: Mt. SAC Relays

Started in 1959, the Mt. SAC Relays are an annual track and field festival held primarily at Hilmer Lodge Stadium on the Mt. San Antonio College campus. The April festival attracts many elite athletes from around the world to the city of Walnut. This meet and other elite track meets held at the stadium, including the 1968 Olympic Trials and two editions of the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships have emblazoned the identification of "Walnut, California" in numerous national records in athletics around the world. At various points in time, many world records were set at the Mt. SAC Relays.

The October Mt. SAC Cross Country Invitational, run in the hills surrounding the stadium, proclaims itself to be the largest Cross Country meeting in the world. Much of the same course is used as the annual CIF Southern Section championships and the western qualifier for the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships.

Proposed NFL stadium

Main article: Los Angeles Stadium (Industry)

In April 2008, billionaire land developer and co-owner of the Los Angeles Lakers and Kings Edward P. Roski unveiled plans for the construction of an $800 million NFL stadium in the neighboring City of Industry. In March 2009, Walnut filed a lawsuit opposing construction of the stadium, but dropped those charges in September.

On October 23, 2009, California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill allowing the 75,000-seat stadium to be built in neighboring Industry in hopes of attracting an NFL team there. This bill would also nullify a lawsuit filed by local residents over the project's environmental impact report.

Government

Municipal

The five-member Walnut City Council is the elected legislative body governing the City. The City Manager, Tom Weiner, runs the day-to-day operations of the agency, and has served in this role since 2022. Alex Merkel Medina is the City Treasurer and Director of Finance.

State and federal

In the California State Legislature, Walnut is in , and in .{{Cite web | access-date = January 5, 2023

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

While the Congressional, State Senate, and State Assembly districts that Walnut is located in may have tendencies to vote for Republican candidates, since the 2000 election Walnut has voted only for Democratic presidential, gubernatorial, and senatorial candidates, with the exceptions of 2003 and 2006 when they voted for Arnold Schwarzenegger. Walnut voters break down by party affiliation 63.102% Democratic and 35.598% Republican.

Education

Primary education in Walnut is generally served by the prestigious Walnut Valley Unified School District (WVUSD), which has been ranked by numerous sources to be one of the top public school districts in all of Southern California; it also serves parts of the city of Diamond Bar. Schools located in and around Walnut include:

• C.J. Morris Elementary School
• Collegewood Elementary School
• Oswalt Academy (Formerly known as Oswalt Elementary School) (Rowland Unified School District)
• Vejar Elementary School
• Walnut Elementary School
• Westhoff Elementary School
• Suzanne Middle School
• Southlands Christian Schools
• South Pointe Middle School
• Chaparral Middle School
• Ronald Hockwalt Academies (Formerly known as Del Paso High School)
• Walnut High School
• Diamond Bar High School

Portions of the western side of Walnut are also served by the Rowland Unified School District.

In addition, Mt. San Antonio College, one of the California Community Colleges, is also located in Walnut near its border with Pomona.

Infrastructure

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD) operates the Walnut/Diamond Bar Station in Walnut.

The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services operates the Pomona Health Center in Pomona, serving Walnut.

Los Angeles County Fire Department Station 61 is located in the City of Walnut.

Surrounding suburban cities

• Diamond Bar, California (which shares the same school district with Walnut)
• City of Industry, California
• Pomona, California
• La Puente, California
• West Covina, California

Notable people

• David Ji (born 1952), Chinese-American electronics entrepreneur who co-founded Apex Digital.
• Aja Naomi King, actress, How to Get Away with Murder
• Kyle MacKinnon, ice hockey center who played for the San Diego Gulls
• Darius McCrary, actor, singer, and producer; known most for playing Eddie Winslow on the television show Family Matters
• Lance Parrish, MLB baseball catcher

References

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