Hawthorne was founded in 1905 as the "Hawthorne Improvement Company" by real estate developers B.L. Harding and H.D. Lombard. Harding's daughter shared her birthday—July 4, American Independence Day—with New England authorNathaniel Hawthorne, and a decision was made to name the small village after him.[12]
Hawthorne was once a "whites only" settlement, commonly called asundown town.[13] During the 1930s, signs warned African-Americans to be out of Hawthorne by sundown.[14]
To the north of Hawthorne is theunincorporated community ofLennox and the city ofInglewood. To the east is the unincorporated community ofAthens and the city ofGardena. To the south is the unincorporated community ofEl Camino Village, and the cities ofLawndale andRedondo Beach.Manhattan Beach is at the southwest corner of Hawthorne. To the west is the city ofEl Segundo, and theLos Angeles neighborhood ofWestchester is to the northwest of Hawthorne. Hawthorne surrounds the unincorporated community ofDel Aire on three sides. It also shares a small border on the northeast alongImperial Highway with the unincorporated community ofWestmont.
Hawthorne comprisesZIP codes 90250 and 90251. It is in the310 area code, except for a small portion of northeastern Hawthorne, which is located in the323 area code.
Hawthorne, like the rest of the Los Angeles basin, has a Mediterranean climate:
On average, the warmest month is August.
The highest recorded temperature was 111 °F (44 °C) in 1961.
On average, the coolest month is January.
The lowest recorded temperature was 15 °F (−9 °C) in 1963.
Most rainfall occurs during winter and spring.
Hawthorne has aMediterranean climate or dry-summer subtropical (Köppen climate classificationCsb on the coast,Csa inland), enjoying plenty of sunshine throughout the year, with an average of 263 sunshine days and only 35 days with measurable precipitation annually.[16]
Hawthorne, California – Racial and Ethnic Composition Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
The census reported that 99.3% of the population lived in households, 0.2% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0.5% were institutionalized.[36]
There were 30,541 households, out of which 37.6% included children under the age of 18, 36.8% were married-couple households, 8.3% werecohabiting couple households, 33.3% had a female householder with no partner present, and 21.7% had a male householder with no partner present. 24.9% of households were one person, and 6.2% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.86.[36] There were 20,718families (67.8% of all households).[37]
The age distribution was 23.7% under the age of 18, 9.4% aged 18 to 24, 32.1% aged 25 to 44, 24.4% aged 45 to 64, and 10.4% who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 34.8years. For every 100 females, there were 93.4 males.[36]
There were 31,578 housing units at an average density of 5,187.8 units per square mile (2,003.0 units/km2), of which 30,541 (96.7%) were occupied. Of these, 27.4% were owner-occupied, and 72.6% were occupied by renters.[36]
In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that the median household income was $72,719, and theper capita income was $33,651. About 13.3% of families and 16.4% of the population were below the poverty line.[38]
At the2010 census Hawthorne had a population of 84,293. The population density was 13,835.7 inhabitants per square mile (5,342.0/km2). The racial makeup of Hawthorne was 27,678 (32.8%) White (10.3% Non-Hispanic White),[6] 23,385 (27.7%) African American, 565 (0.7%) Native American, 5,642 (6.7%) Asian, 974 (1.2%) Pacific Islander, 22,127 (26.3%) from other races, and 3,922 (4.7%) from two or more races. There were 44,572 people of Hispanic or Latino origin, of any race (52.9%).[39]
The census reported that 83,754 people (99.4% of the population) lived in households, 208 (0.2%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 331 (0.4%) were institutionalized.
There were 28,486 households, 12,330 (43.3%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 10,833 (38.0%) wereopposite-sex married couples living together, 6,369 (22.4%) had a female householder with no husband present, 2,357 (8.3%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 2,309 (8.1%)unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 191 (0.7%)same-sex married couples or partnerships. Of the households, 7,125 (25.0%) were one person and 1,430 (5.0%) had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.94. There were 19,559 families (68.7% of households); the average family size was 3.54.
The age distribution was 23,157 people (27.5%) under the age of 18, 9,487 people (11.3%) aged 18 to 24, 27,035 people (32.1%) aged 25 to 44, 18,395 people (21.8%) aged 45 to 64, and 6,219 people (7.4%) who were 65 or older. The median age was 31.5 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.6 males.
There were 29,869 housing units at an average density of 4,902.7 per square mile, of the occupied units 7,623 (26.8%) were owner-occupied and 20,863 (73.2%) were rented. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.5%; the rental vacancy rate was 4.6%. 25,869 people (30.7% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 57,885 people (68.7%) lived in rental housing units.
During 2009–2013, Hawthorne had a median household income of $44,649, with 19.2% of the population living below the federal poverty line.[6]
According toMapping L.A. in 2000,Mexican (27.1%) andFilipino (2.6%) were the most common ancestries in the city.Mexico (45.1%) andGuatemala (9.3%) were the most common foreign places of birth in the city.[40]
As of 2022 the city is known as a center for the space industry and hosts numerous space related private companies, industries and startups.[42] The relatively large number of aerospace engineers and technicians, history of established aerospace companies, and the presence ofSpaceX has facilitated the development ofspace engineeringindustry cluster in the city.[42] According to the city's 2021Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,[43] the top employers in the city are:
Mynaric has an office and laboratory in Hawthorne.
Previously in Hawthorne:
Mattel (formerly), toy manufacturer; originally started in Hawthorne in 1945 and moved to their current facility in nearbyEl Segundo, California by 1991.[45]
The Boring Company, infrastructure and tunnel construction services company.
Northrop Corporation, founded in 1939 and headquartered in Hawthorne, became a major manufacturer of aircraft during World War II, as well as a major subcontractor to other aircraft companies.Jack Northrop developed his famous flying wings, which ultimately led to theB-2 stealth bomber. Northrop also produced theP-61 Black Widow fighter in its Hawthorne plant, which was on the south side of Northrop Field (present-day Hawthorne Airport). The facility was, for some time, used as an aircraft plant, producing fuselage sections forBoeing 747s and 787s.[46] The building is currently used as the headquarters and main factory ofSpaceX.[47]
According to the city's most recent[when?] "Comprehensive Annual Financial Report," its various funds had $126.1 million in revenues, $113.2 million in expenditures, $220.2 million in total assets, $152.7 million in total liabilities, and $29.6 million in cash and investments.[50] The city manager is Vontray Norris.[3]
^Ogden Hoffman, 1862,Reports of Land Cases Determined in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, Numa Hubert, San Francisco
^"Zoning Map"(PDF). City of Hawthorne.Archived(PDF) from the original on April 13, 2019. RetrievedApril 13, 2019. Compare this map to boundary maps issued by school districts.
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