The area was first settled by theChumash Native Americans around 10,000 years ago.[11] TheAlta California (Upper California) coast was settled bySpanishFranciscan missionaries in the late 18th century.
In about 1800, Miguel Ortega was granted a Spanish grazing concession calledRancho Las Virgenes or El Rancho de Nuestra Señora La Reina de Las Virgenes. The grant was abandoned after Ortega's death in 1810, and José Maria Dominguez was given Rancho Las Virgenes as a Mexican land grant in 1834.Maria Antonia Machado de Reyes purchased the rancho from Dominguez in 1845. (The "Reyes Adobe" ranch headquarters sits today in central Agoura Hills, where it is part of the Reyes Adobe Museum built around 2004 and owned by the Los Angeles County Parks and Recreation Department.[12])
By 1900, the area was being used as a popular stage stop for travelers because of its natural spring.
In the 1920s, the community was briefly known as Picture City, asParamount Pictures owned a ranch known asParamount Ranch used for filmingWesterns.[13] To obtain a post office of their own, the residents were required to choose a one-word name, and in 1927 chose the shortest name proposed: a misspelling of the last name of Pierre Agoure, a local Basque man and French immigrant who had settled in the area in 1871 to live the lifestyle of the Mexican rancher. Styling himself Don Pierre Agoure, he was a successful sheep herder.[14][15]
Agoura began to grow in the late 1960s after theVentura Freeway section ofU.S. Route 101 was built through the area, dividing the community into northern and southern sections. The first housing tracts in Agoura wereHillrise, Liberty Canyon andLake Lindero. Rapid growth continued during the 1970s when schools were built and much of downtown erected.
In 1982, the residents of the proposed city voted in favor of cityhood by a 68% majority. Agoura Hills became the 83rd City inLos Angeles County. Elected to the first City Council were MayorFran Pavley, Mayor Pro Tem Carol Sahm, Councilmembers Ernest Dynda, John Hood, and Vicky Leary.[16] Incorporating a year after neighboringWestlake Village, the drive for cityhood in the region was largely based on public discontent with the county's failure to limit residential development of the area, motives that influencedCalabasas to follow suit in 1991.[17]
The 1980s was a period of growth, with large land areas being subdivided intohousing tracts. In the 1990s, businesses set up shop downtown including shops and restaurants.
Map showing Agoura Hills districts
In 1995, themurder of Jimmy Farris awakened the city to a risingdrug problem andpetty theft by its young. As a result, the city began sponsoring live music competitions and concerts in local parks.[citation needed]
In November 2018, theWoolsey Fire occurred duringSanta Ana winds burning through the community.[18] One victim was found in the ruins of an Agoura Hills home.[19][20]
In January 2025, many areas of Agoura Hills and neighboring Oak Park were under evacuation warnings due to theKenneth Fire.[21]
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 8.2 square miles (21 km2), of which 8.2 square miles (21 km2) of it is land and 0.04 square mile (0.1 km2) of it (0.37%) is water.
Agoura Hills has a mountain calledBallard Mountain named after pioneer settler and freed slave John Ballard.[22] The name of the mountain was officially changed from Negrohead to Ballard in a ceremony on February 20, 2010.[23] Ladyface Mountain is another prominent mountain on the west side of the Conejo Valley and stands at an elevation of 2,031 feet (619 m).[24]
Panorama of Agoura Hills and Westlake Village with Ballard Mountain prominent as the leftmost peak in the image
Western Agoura Hills from the hills north ofMorrison Ranch
Natural areas of Agoura Hills are part of theCalifornia chaparral and woodlands ecoregion and are covered by hundreds of local plant species, some of which are very rare, and others of which have become popular ornamentals. The range is host to an immense variety of wildlife, frommountain lions to the endangered Southern CaliforniaDistinct Population Segment ofsteelhead.[26] Themountain lion population within the Santa Monica Mountains (which includes the Simi Hills & Santa Susana Pass) is severely depleted with only seven known living adult individuals. The primary cause of the decline is due to a combination of traffic-related mortality (three from the area were killed within a matter of months,) anti-coagulants ingested from human-poisoned prey (two individuals within the Simi Hills), and attacks by other, more dominant mountain lions (an elder male, known as P1, killed both his son and his mate, this is thought to be due to a lack of space available.)
In 2010, theLos Angeles Times reported that theNew Zealand mud snail had infested watersheds in the Santa Monica Mountains, posing serious threats to native species and complicating efforts to improve stream-water quality for the endangeredsteelhead trout. According to the article, the snails have expanded "from the first confirmed sample in Medea Creek in Agoura Hills to nearly 30 other stream sites in four years." Researchers at the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Commission believe that the snails' expansion may have been expedited after the mollusks traveled from stream to stream on the gear of contractors and volunteers.[27]
Agoura Hills first appeared as a city in the1990 U.S. census, part of the Calabasas census community division (CCD).[43]
Strawberry Hill Apartments, in the Forest Grove neighborhood
Agoura Hills city, 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 and 148 people (0.7%) were institutionalized.[50]
There were 7,427 households, out of which 34.4% included children under the age of 18, 61.2% were married-couple households, 4.2% werecohabiting couple households, 22.0% had a female householder with no partner present, and 12.6% had a male householder with no partner present. 18.2% of households were one person, and 8.3% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.71.[50] There were 5,704families (76.8% of all households).[51]
The age distribution was 21.4% under the age of 18, 8.1% aged 18 to 24, 20.0% aged 25 to 44, 30.6% aged 45 to 64, and 19.8% who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 45.3years. For every 100 females, there were 94.0 males.[50]
There were 7,621 housing units at an average density of 977.7 units per square mile (377.5 units/km2), of which 7,427 (97.5%) were occupied. Of these, 74.8% were owner-occupied, and 25.2% were occupied by renters.[50]
In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that 17.4% of the population were foreign-born. Of all people aged 5 or older, 79.9% spoke only English at home, 7.6% spokeSpanish, 4.6% spoke otherIndo-European languages, 5.1% spoke Asian or Pacific Islander languages, and 2.8% spoke other languages. Of those aged 25 or older, 96.7% were high school graduates and 66.5% had a bachelor's degree.[52]
The median household income in 2023 was $171,944, and theper capita income was $78,264. About 4.0% of families and 5.7% of the population were below the poverty line.[53]
At the2010 census, Agoura Hills had a population of 20,330. The population density was 2,599.0 inhabitants per square mile (1,003.5/km2). The racial makeup of Agoura Hills was 17,147 (84.3%) White, (78.6% Non-Hispanic White), 267 (1.3%) African American, 51 (0.3%) Native American, 1,521 (7.5%) Asian, 24 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 590 (2.9%) from other races, and 730 (3.6%) from two or more races. There were 1,936 Hispanic or Latino residents, of any race (9.5%).[54]
The census reported that 20,242 people (99.6% of the population) lived in households, 15 (0.1%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 73 (0.4%) were institutionalized.
There were 7,327 households, 2,799 (38.2%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 4,565 (62.3%) wereopposite-sex married couples living together, 726 (9.9%) had a female householder with no husband present, 302 (4.1%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 263 (3.6%)unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 36 (0.5%)same-sex married couples or partnerships. 1,346 households (18.4%) were one person and 438 (6.0%) had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.76. There were 5,593 families (76.3% of households); the average family size was 3.15.
The age distribution was 4,904 people (24.1%) under the age of 18, 1,582 people (7.8%) aged 18 to 24, 4,465 people (22.0%) aged 25 to 44, 7,089 people (34.9%) aged 45 to 64, and 2,290 people (11.3%) who were 65 or older. The median age was 42.4 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.6 males.
There were 7,585 housing units at an average density of 969.7 per square mile, of the occupied units 5,715 (78.0%) were owner-occupied and 1,612 (22.0%) were rented. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.5%; the rental vacancy rate was 6.8%. 16,111 people (79.2% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 4,131 people (20.3%) lived in rental housing units. The median household income was $107,885, according to the 2010 United States Census, with 7.1% of the population living below the federal poverty line.
Agoura Hills is governed by aCity Council/City Manager form of government. A five-memberCity Council is elected by the residents to oversee city operations and guide the development of the community. Councilmembers are elected to four-year terms.[56] The terms are staggered so that a measure of continuity is maintained from one Council to the next. The role ofMayor rotates among the Councilmembers. The Mayor is chosen by the City Councilmembers to serve a one-year term.[56] The City Manager is appointed by the City Council to supervise the administrative personnel and contract services.[57]
As of December 2025 the Agoura Hills City Council consists of Jeremy Wolf (Mayor), Deborah Klein Lopez (Mayor Pro Tem), Chris Anstead, Kate Anderson, and Penny Sylvester.[58] The City Manager is Nathan Hamburger[59] and the city attorney is contracted through RWG Law.[60]
As of 1990 the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District includes Agoura Hills.[61]
The Board of Supervisors is the governing body of the County of Los Angeles, a charter county. Lindsay P. Horvath is the Supervisor for Los Angeles County's 3rd District where Agoura Hills is incorporated.[64]
Agoura Hills is home to the Great Race of Agoura Hills, an annual running event held at Chumash Park in Agoura Hills in March of every year.[73] The Great Race was established in 1986 and features six races including Pacific Half (half-marathon), Chesebro Half (half-marathon), Old Agoura 10K, Deena Kastor (5 kilometers), Kids 1 Mile, and the Family Fun Run (1 mile). The Chesebro Half was voted best half-marathon in the U.S. in 2011.[74]
^RASMUSSEN, CECILIA (December 26, 1989)."LOS ANGELES COUNTY'S 86 CITIES".Los Angeles Times. RetrievedFebruary 7, 2021.The name Agoura comes from the Pierre Agoure family, whose ranch encompassed 16,880 acres of Rancho Las Virgenes.
^abCity of Agoura Hills Website: Local Election Information."Archived copy". Archived fromthe original on August 13, 2011. RetrievedAugust 20, 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
