Colton, California | |
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 ASt. Louis Southwestern Railway train passes throughColton Junction, 1989 | |
 Flag  Seal | |
| Nickname: Hub City | |
 Location of Colton in San Bernardino County, California. | |
  Colton Location in the United States | |
| Coordinates:34°04′26″N117°18′49″W / 34.07389°N 117.31361°W /34.07389; -117.31361[1] | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  California |
| County | San Bernardino |
| Established | July 11, 1887[2] |
| Named after | David D. Colton |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Frank J. Navarro |
| Area | |
• Total | 16.06 sq mi (41.59 km2) |
| • Land | 15.55 sq mi (40.27 km2) |
| • Water | 0.51 sq mi (1.32 km2) 3.18% |
| Elevation | 1,004 ft (306 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 53,909 |
| • Density | 3,466.9/sq mi (1,338.56/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-8 (PST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-7 (PDT) |
| ZIP codes | 92313, 92324 |
| Area codes | 909,840,951 |
| FIPS code | 06-14890 |
| GNIS feature IDs | 1652688,2410200 |
| Website | www |
Colton is a city inSan Bernardino County, California, United States. Nicknamed "Hub City", Colton is located in theInland Empire region of the state and is a suburb ofSan Bernardino, approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) south of the city'sdowntown. The population of Colton is 53,909 according to the2020 census, up from 52,154 at the2010 census.
Colton is the site ofColton Crossing, which was one of the busiest at-graderailroad crossings in the United States. The crossing was installed in 1882 by theCalifornia Southern Railroad to cross theSouthern Pacific Railroad tracks while building northward fromSan Diego. As a result of railroad acquisitions and mergers, this became the point at which the Burlington Northern Santa Fe's "Southern Transcontinental Route" crossed the Union Pacific's "Sunset Route". As traffic on each line began to soar in the mid-1990s, fueled largely by the vast increase in imports passing through the ports ofLos Angeles andLong Beach, the primitive crossing became a seriousbottleneck. On August 28, 2013, the at-grade crossing was officially replaced by a fly-over that raises the east–west UP tracks over the north–south BNSF tracks.
Despite its status as a railroad town, Colton does not have passenger rail service. Passenger trains operated byAmtrak andMetrolink pass through Colton but do not stop there.
Before Spanish settlement, the area was inhabited by theTongva,Serrano, and Cahuilla.[4][5] The Tongva village ofHomhoangna was located in the area that is now Colton, situated near the base of the foothills ofReche Canyon, historically known as Homhoa Canyon, derived from theTongva language wordhomhoabit or "hilly place."[5]
During the Mission Era theMission San Gabriel established a Spanish settlementPolitana in 1810, just northeast of what is now Colton.[6] By 1840, Colton was part of two private ranchos, Jurupa and San Bernardino Rancho.[4] From southwest area of modern-day Colton was known as "Agua Mansa" (Gentle Waters). It had been settled by New Mexico pioneers in 1842.[4] What is currently known as Cooley Ranch was known as Indian Knolls for nearly 100 years. This is because the Indians living in what is now the San Bernardino Valley found refuge on the knolls of the property during theflood of 1862.[4]
The original owner of the property was George Cooley ofKent, England who had moved to Colton in 1853 and who purchased 200 acres at $3.50 an acre along theSanta Ana River the next year.[4] Cooley was chairman of the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors inSan Bernardino County.[4] By 1873, the property had mushroomed into a 400-acre property. Eventually, when property taxes had increased, the property was sold to Villelli Enterprises ofLa Habra.[4] The city was named afterDavid Douty Colton, who had been abrigadier general of theCalifornia State Militia in 1855, prior to theCivil War.[7] He was later the vice president of theSouthern Pacific Railroad Company.[4]
Colton was created in its modern form when theSouthern Pacific Railway was built heading east fromLos Angeles in 1875.[4] It was founded in 1875 andincorporated in 1887. Colton was the site of conflict between theSouthern Pacific Transportation Company and theAtchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway atColton Crossing when both railroads wanted to cross through the town.
Virgil Earp lived in Colton at 528 West "H" Street[8] where he was the town's first marshal.[9] He resided in Colton from 1883 to 1889.Morgan Earp is buried at Hermosa Cemetery.
In 1953, a significant portion of the historic downtown of Colton was bulldozed to make room for the Ramona Freeway, which would later be named theSan Bernardino Freeway. This included the block on the west side of Eighth Street north of J, including the then 70-year-old Helman's Department Store building, originally housing the First National Bank of Colton, on the corner and theWillet's Department Store building to its north. Both stores moved to locations further north on Eighth.[10]
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 16.1 square miles (42 km2). 15.5 square miles (40 km2) of it is land and 0.5 square miles (1.3 km2) of it (3.18%) is water.[3]
Slover Mountain, once the highest point in San Bernardino Valley and the site of theColton Liberty Flag, is located in the city.[11]
According to theKöppen Climate Classification system, Colton has awarm-summer Mediterranean climate, abbreviated "Csa" on climate maps.[12]
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1890 | 1,315 | — | |
| 1900 | 1,285 | −2.3% | |
| 1910 | 3,980 | 209.7% | |
| 1920 | 4,282 | 7.6% | |
| 1930 | 8,014 | 87.2% | |
| 1940 | 9,686 | 20.9% | |
| 1950 | 14,465 | 49.3% | |
| 1960 | 18,666 | 29.0% | |
| 1970 | 20,016 | 7.2% | |
| 1980 | 21,310 | 6.5% | |
| 1990 | 40,213 | 88.7% | |
| 2000 | 47,662 | 18.5% | |
| 2010 | 52,154 | 9.4% | |
| 2020 | 53,909 | 3.4% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census[13] | |||
The2020 United States census reported that Colton had a population of 53,909. The population density was 3,466.8 inhabitants per square mile (1,338.5/km2). The racial makeup of Colton was 24.7%White, 8.8%African American, 2.4%Native American, 4.8%Asian, 0.3%Pacific Islander, 42.2% fromother races, and 16.9% from two or more races.Hispanic or Latino of any race were 73.8% of the population.[14]
The census reported that 99.0% of the population lived in households, 0.6% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0.4% were institutionalized.[14]
There were 16,018 households, out of which 44.2% included children under the age of 18, 44.7% were married-couple households, 8.6% werecohabiting couple households, 28.4% had a female householder with no partner present, and 18.2% had a male householder with no partner present. 17.0% of households were one person, and 5.2% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 3.33.[14] There were 12,298families (76.8% of all households).[15]
The age distribution was 26.6% under the age of 18, 10.8% aged 18 to 24, 29.6% aged 25 to 44, 22.6% aged 45 to 64, and 10.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32.2 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.5 males.[14]
There were 16,632 housing units at an average density of 1,069.6 units per square mile (413.0 units/km2), of which 16,018 (96.3%) were occupied. Of these, 50.4% were owner-occupied, and 49.6% were occupied by renters.[14]
In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that the median household income was $69,581, and theper capita income was $26,757. About 12.1% of families and 15.3% of the population were below the poverty line.[16]
At the2010 census Colton had a population of 52,154. The population density was 3,251.7 inhabitants per square mile (1,255.5/km2). The racial makeup of Colton was 22,613 (43.4%) White (13.0% Non-Hispanic White),[17] 5,055 (9.7%) African American, 661 (1.3%) Native American, 2,590 (5.0%) Asian, 176 (0.3%) Pacific Islander, 18,413 (35.3%) from other races, and 2,646 (5.1%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 37,039 persons (71.0%).[18]
The census reported that 51,824 people (99.4% of the population) lived in households, 85 (0.2%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 245 (0.5%) were institutionalized.
There were 14,971 households, 7,826 (52.3%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 7,167 (47.9%) wereopposite-sex married couples living together, 3,233 (21.6%) had a female householder with no husband present, 1,340 (9.0%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 1,268 (8.5%)unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 106 (0.7%)same-sex married couples or partnerships. 2,452 households (16.4%) were one person and 614 (4.1%) had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 3.46. There were 11,740 families (78.4% of households); the average family size was 3.86.
The age distribution was 16,671 people (32.0%) under the age of 18, 6,360 people (12.2%) aged 18 to 24, 14,965 people (28.7%) aged 25 to 44, 10,495 people (20.1%) aged 45 to 64, and 3,663 people (7.0%) who were 65 or older. The median age was 28.4 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.6 males.
There were 16,350 housing units at an average density of 1,019.4 per square mile, of the occupied units 7,766 (51.9%) were owner-occupied and 7,205 (48.1%) were rented. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.6%; the rental vacancy rate was 9.2%. 28,063 people (53.8% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 23,761 people (45.6%) lived in rental housing units.
According to the 2010 United States Census, Colton had a median household income of $41,496, with 22.5% of the population living below the federal poverty line.[17]
According to the city's 2021 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,[19] the top employers in the city are:
| # | Employer | # of Employees |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arrowhead Regional Medical Center | 3510 |
| 2 | Colton Joint Unified School District | 2320 |
| 3 | Walmart | 1148 |
| 4 | Lineage Logistics | 550 |
| 5 | County of San Bernardino | 427 |
| 6 | Ashley Furniture | 330 |
| 7 | City of Colton | 286 |
| 8 | Brill, Inc | 250 |
| 9 | Reche Canyon rehabilitation & Health Center | 245 |
| 10 | Stater Bros |
In theCalifornia State Senate, Colton is split betweenthe 29th senatorial district, represented byDemocrat Eloise Reyes, andthe 19th senatorial district, represented byRepublican Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh. In theCalifornia State Assembly, Colton is inthe 50th Assembly district, represented byDemocrat Robert Garcia.[20]
In theUnited States House of Representatives, Colton is inCalifornia's 33rd congressional district, represented byDemocrat Pete Aguilar.[21]
Most of Colton is in theColton Unified School District. A portion is in theRialto Unified School District.[22]
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Places adjacent to Colton, California | |
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| Other | |
