Fountain Valley, California | |
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.jpg) View of Fountain Valley | |
 Flag  Seal  Logo | |
| Nickname: Gospel Swamps[1] | |
| Motto: "A Nice Place to Live"[2] | |
 Location of Fountain Valley in Orange County, California | |
  Fountain Valley Location in California Show map of California Fountain Valley Location in the United States Show map of the United States | |
| Coordinates:33°42′31″N117°57′23″W / 33.70861°N 117.95639°W /33.70861; -117.95639 | |
| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| County | Orange |
| Incorporated | June 13, 1957[3] |
| Government | |
| • Type | Council-Manager |
| • Mayor | Ted Bui (R) |
| • Vice Mayor | Jim Cunneen |
| • City Council[4] | Kim Constantine Jim Cunneen Patrick Harper Glenn Grandis |
| • City Manager | Maggie Le |
| Area | |
• Total | 9.08 sq mi (23.53 km2) |
| • Land | 9.07 sq mi (23.50 km2) |
| • Water | 0.012 sq mi (0.03 km2) 0.14% |
| Elevation | 33 ft (10 m) |
| Population | |
• Total | 57,047 |
| • Density | 6,287/sq mi (2,428/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-8 (Pacific) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-7 (PDT) |
| ZIP codes | 92708, 92728 |
| Area codes | 657/714 |
| FIPS code | 06-25380 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1652712 |
| Website | www |
Fountain Valley is asuburban city inOrange County, California. The population was 57,047 at the2020 census.
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The Indigenous people of the Fountain Valley area are theTongva. The closest village to present-day site of the city was the village ofPasbenga. The village was part of a series of villages along what the Spanish would refer to as theSanta Ana River.[7][8]
European settlement of the area began whenManuel Nieto was granted the land forRancho Los Nietos, laterRancho Las Bolsas, which encompassed over 300,000 acres (1,200 km2), including present-day Fountain Valley. Control of the land was subsequently transferred toMexico upon independence fromSpain, and then to theUnited States as part of theTreaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.
Talbert was a settlement at what is now the intersection of Talbert and Bushard. It was also known as Gospel Swamp by residents.
Thomas B. Talbert was born outsideMonticello inPiatt County, Illinois, in 1878. When Talbert was 13, his family moved toLong Beach, California. Around 1896, the family purchased more than 300 acres (120 ha) of peat and swampland in what is now Fountain Valley. The Talberts opened a general store and thus the settlement of Talbert was established.[9]
The area was full of farms growing beets that were processed at some of the nation's largest plants at Huntington Beach (Holly Sugar Plant) and at Delhi, now part of southwestern Santa Ana. The post office was established in 1899, with Thomas B. Talbert serving as the first postmaster.[10]
The All-Saints Church is the only structure remaining from that era. TheSanta Ana–Huntington Beach Line of thePacific Electric Railway passed through Talbert and opened on July 5, 1909.[11]
The city was incorporated in 1957. The name of Fountain Valley refers to the very highwater table in the area at the time the name was chosen, and the many correspondingartesian wells in the area. Early settlers constructed drainage canals to make the land usable for agriculture, which remained the dominant use of land until the 1960s, when construction of large housing tracts accelerated.[12] The first mayor of Fountain Valley wasJames Kanno, who with this appointment became one of the first Japanese-American mayors of a mainland United States city.[13][14]
After theFall of Saigon in 1975, there was a large influx ofVietnameserefugees settling in Fountain Valley, especially in the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s, forming a large percentage ofAsian Americans in the city.
The city is located southwest and northeast of theSan Diego Freeway (Interstate 405), which diagonally bisects the city, and is surrounded byHuntington Beach on the south and west,Westminster andGarden Grove on the north,Santa Ana on the northeast, andCosta Mesa on the southeast. Its eastern border is theSanta Ana River.
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 23.4 km2 (9.0 sq mi), 0.14% of which is water.
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 2,068 | — | |
| 1970 | 31,886 | 1,441.9% | |
| 1980 | 55,080 | 72.7% | |
| 1990 | 53,691 | −2.5% | |
| 2000 | 54,978 | 2.4% | |
| 2010 | 55,313 | 0.6% | |
| 2020 | 57,047 | 3.1% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census[15] 1860–1870[16][17] 1880-1890[18] 1900[19] 1910[20] 1920[21] 1930[22] 1940[23] 1950[24] 1960[25][26] 1970[27] 1980[28] 1990[29]2000[30] 2010[31] 2020[32] | |||
Fountain Valley first appeared as a city in the1960 U.S. census as part of the North Coast census county division.[25]
| Race / Ethnicity(NH = Non-Hispanic) | Pop 1980[33] | Pop 1990[34] | Pop 2000[35] | Pop 2010[36] | Pop 2020[32] | % 1980 | % 1990 | % 2000 | % 2010 | % 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White alone (NH) | 46,327 | 39,164 | 32,144 | 27,234 | 22,230 | 84.64% | 72.94% | 58.47% | 49.24% | 38.97% |
| Black or African American alone (NH) | 339 | 485 | 584 | 473 | 526 | 0.62% | 0.90% | 1.06% | 0.86% | 0.92% |
| Native American orAlaska Native alone (NH) | 393 | 247 | 171 | 127 | 71 | 0.72% | 0.48% | 0.31% | 0.23% | 0.12% |
| Asian alone (NH) | 4,102 | 9,368 | 14,100 | 18,324 | 22,532 | 7.49% | 17.45% | 25.65% | 33.13% | 39.50% |
| Native Hawaiian orPacific Islander alone (NH) | 202 | 159 | 126 | 0.37% | 0.29% | 0.22% | ||||
| Other race alone (NH) | 226 | 60 | 129 | 113 | 234 | 0.41% | 0.11% | 0.23% | 0.20% | 0.41% |
| Mixed race or Multiracial (NH) | x | x | 1,778 | 1,633 | 2,491 | x | x | 3.23% | 2.95% | 4.37% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 3,693 | 4,357 | 5,870 | 7,250 | 8,837 | 6.75% | 8.11% | 10.68% | 13.11% | 15.49% |
| Total | 54,734 | 53,691 | 54,978 | 55,313 | 57,047 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% |
The2020 United States census reported that Fountain Valley had a population of 57,047. The population density was 6,288.2 inhabitants per square mile (2,427.9/km2). The racial makeup of Fountain Valley was 41.9%White, 1.0%African American, 0.5%Native American, 39.8%Asian, 0.2%Pacific Islander, 6.4% fromother races, and 10.1% from two or more races.Hispanic or Latino of any race were 15.5% of the population.[37]
The census reported that 99.4% of the population lived in households, 0.4% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0.3% were institutionalized.[37]
There were 19,157 households, out of which 30.7% included children under the age of 18, 56.2% were married-couple households, 4.4% werecohabiting couple households, 25.4% had a female householder with no partner present, and 14.1% had a male householder with no partner present. 18.7% of households were one person, and 11.2% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.96.[37] There were 14,498families (75.7% of all households).[38]
The age distribution was 18.6% under the age of 18, 8.6% aged 18 to 24, 22.5% aged 25 to 44, 28.6% aged 45 to 64, and 21.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45.2 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.2 males.[37]
There were 19,561 housing units at an average density of 2,156.2 units per square mile (832.5 units/km2), of which 19,157 (97.9%) were occupied. Of these, 68.6% were owner-occupied, and 31.4% were occupied by renters.[37]
In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that 32.0% of the population were foreign-born. Of all people aged 5 or older, 53.9% spoke only English at home, 9.7% spokeSpanish, 3.2% spoke otherIndo-European languages, 29.5% spoke Asian or Pacific Islander languages, and 3.7% spoke other languages. Of those aged 25 or older, 90.4% were high school graduates and 44.9% had a bachelor's degree.[39]
The median household income was $111,797, and theper capita income was $48,238. About 3.8% of families and 7.3% of the population were below the poverty line.[40]
The2010 United States census[41] reported that Fountain Valley had a population of 55,313. The population density was 6,124.7 inhabitants per square mile (2,364.8/km2). The racial makeup of Fountain Valley was 31,225 (56.5%)White (49.2% Non-Hispanic White),[42] 510 (0.9%)African American,[42] 229 (0.4%)Native American, 18,418 (33.3%)Asian, 171 (0.3%)Pacific Islander, 2,445 (4.4%) fromother races, and 2,315 (4.2%) from two or more races.Hispanic orLatino of any race were 7,250 persons (13.1%).
The Census reported that 54,876 people (99.2% of the population) lived in households, 257 (0.5%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 180 (0.3%) were institutionalized.
There were 18,648 households, out of which 6,341 (34.0%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 11,142 (59.7%) wereopposite-sex married couples living together, 2,102 (11.3%) had a female householder with no husband present, 970 (5.2%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 646 (3.5%)unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 108 (0.6%)same-sex married couples or partnerships. 3,451 households (18.5%) were made up of individuals, and 1,772 (9.5%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.94. There were 14,214families (76.2% of all households); the average family size was 3.34.
The population was spread out, with 11,643 people (21.0%) under the age of 18, 4,624 people (8.4%) aged 18 to 24, 13,310 people (24.1%) aged 25 to 44, 16,020 people (29.0%) aged 45 to 64, and 9,716 people (17.6%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42.6 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.2 males.
There were 19,164 housing units at an average density of 2,122.0 per square mile (819.3/km2), of which 13,458 (72.2%) were owner-occupied, and 5,190 (27.8%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.8%; the rental vacancy rate was 3.8%. 40,718 people (73.6% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 14,158 people (25.6%) lived in rental housing units.
According to the 2010 United States census, Fountain Valley had a median household income of $81,212, with 6.7% of the population living below the federal poverty line.[42]
As asuburban city, most of Fountain Valley's residents commute to work in other urban centers. However, in recent years, the city has seen an increase in commercial jobs in the city, with the growth of a commercial center near theSanta Ana River known as the "Southpark" district.
Although the economy of the area was once based mainly on agriculture, the remaining production consists of several fields ofstrawberries or other small crops, which are gradually being replaced by new office development. Efforts to bolster economic activity are evidenced by the city enacting policies to benefit small businesses, and even going so far as to paint a mural on the facade of a large water treatment building facing the freeway that depicts two shopping bags headlined by the words, "Shop in Fountain Valley."[43]
Fountain Valley is home to the national headquarters ofHyundai Motor America[44] andD-Link Corporation, the global headquarters of memory chip manufacturerKingston Technology, and the corporate headquarters ofSurefire, LLC, maker of military and commercial flashlights. The Southpark commercial area is also home to offices for companies such asD-Link,Starbucks, Satura and the Orange County Register. There are also a limited number of light industrial companies in this area. In addition, Fountain Valley is the location for Noritz, atankless water heater manufacturer, and the main west coast offices ofCeridian, aprofessional employer organization.
The increasing commercial growth can be evidenced by the frequent rush-hour traffic bottlenecks on the San Diego (405) Freeway through Fountain Valley.
According to the city's 2023 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report,[45] the top ten employers in the city are:
| # | Employer | # of employees |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Orange Coast Memorial Medical Center | 1,563 |
| 2 | UCI Health - Fountain Valley | 1,518 |
| 3 | Memorial Health Services | 913 |
| 4 | Hyundai Motor America | 749 |
| 5 | Kingston Technology | 609 |
| 6 | Memorial Health Medical Foundation | 493 |
| 7 | Costco | 400 |
| 8 | SureFire | 326 |
| 9 | Spec Services, Inc. | 238 |
| 10 | Sam's Club | 219 |
Fountain Valley holds an annual Summerfest in June inMile Square Regional Park. The event features a car show, rides, music, and booths.[46]
The city has 18 churches, oneReformsynagogue, a mosque and a public library.
Fountain Valley is home toMile Square Regional Park, a 640-acre (2.6 km2) park containing two lakes, three 18-hole golf courses, playing fields, picnic shelters, and a 20-acre (81,000 m2) urban nature area planted withCalifornia native plants, a 55-acre (220,000 m2) recreation center with tennis courts, basketball courts, racquetball courts, a gymnasium, and the Kingston Boys & Girls Club; There is also a community center and a 16,652-square-foot (1,547 m2) senior center that opened in September 2005. A major redevelopment of the recreation center and city-administered sports fields was completed in early 2009.
| Year | Democratic | Republican | Third Parties |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020[47] | 47.11%15,109 | 50.98%16,349 | 1.91%613 |
| 2016[48] | 46.85%12,009 | 46.54%11,391 | 6.61%1,694 |
| 2012[49] | 41.82%10,679 | 55.69%14,219 | 2.49%636 |
| 2008[50] | 42.14%11,277 | 55.55%14,864 | 2.31%618 |
| 2004[51] | 30.00%8,748 | 64.82%16,678 | 1.19%305 |
| 2000[52] | 37.05%8,892 | 59.12%14,191 | 3.83%920 |
| 1996[53] | 36.05%8,169 | 53.88%12,209 | 10.07%2,282 |
| 1992[54] | 29.20%7,672 | 46.32%12,169 | 24.48%6,432 |
| 1988[55] | 28.54%6,834 | 70.39%16,855 | 1.07%257 |
| 1984[56] | 20.90%4,922 | 78.25%18,426 | 0.85%201 |
| 1980[57] | 20.16%4,537 | 70.77%15,928 | 9.07%2,042 |
| 1976[58] | 32.22%6,522 | 66.19%13,401 | 1.59%322 |
In theCalifornia State Legislature, Fountain Valley is inthe 36th senatorial district, represented byRepublican Tony Strickland, and inthe 70th Assembly district, represented byRepublican Tri Ta.[59]
In theUnited States House of Representatives, Fountain Valley is inCalifornia's 45th congressional district, represented byDemocrat Derek Tran.[60]
Fountain Valley is a reliably Republican stronghold in presidential elections; however, formerSecretary of StateHillary Rodham Clinton won a plurality of the city in 2016, becoming the first Democrat in over four decades to carry the municipality. However, in2020, the city moved back into the Republican column, asDonald Trump carried the city with 51.0% of the vote,[61] having made gains in Orange County's Vietnamese community.
According to theCalifornia Secretary of State, as of October 22, 2018, Fountain Valley has 32,884 registered voters. Of those, 12,935 (39.34%) are registered Republicans, 9,674 (29.42%) are registered Democrats, and 8,967 (27.27%) have declined to state a political party/are independents.[62]
There are threehigh schools, threemiddle schools, nineelementary schools, one K-12 school, and two K-8 schools. However, some students who live in the city of Fountain Valley actually attend schools in other cities.
Fountain Valley is also home toCoastline Community College. Community colleges in the area includeOrange Coast College andGolden West College, located nearby in the cities of Costa Mesa and Huntington Beach, respectively.
High schools inHuntington Beach Union High School District:
High schools inGarden Grove Unified School District:
Middle schools inFountain Valley School District:
Middle schools inOcean View Middle School District:
Elementary schools in Garden Grove Unified School District:
Elementary schools in Fountain Valley School District:
TheLycée International de Los Angeles previously had its Orange County campus in Fountain Valley, but it moved toOrange by 2001.[66]
Fountain Valley has its own newspaper, theFountain Valley View, operated by theOrange County Register.
In addition to the San Diego Freeway, which bisects the city, Fountain Valley is served by several bus lines operated by theOrange County Transportation Authority. Bus routes 33, 35, 37, 43, 70, 72, 76 and 543 cover the city's major streets.
Most of the major roads are equipped withbicyclelanes, especially around Mile Square Park, which offers wide bike paths along the major streets that mark its boundary. Dedicated bike paths along theSanta Ana River run from the city ofCorona to thePacific Ocean.
Historically, Fountain Valley had Red Car service along the Santa Ana/Huntington Beach Pacific Electric Spur Line.[67] This line ran along Bushard Street. Passenger service started in 1909, ended in 1922, and the lines were torn out in 1930.
Fire protection and emergency medical services are provided by two stations of the Fountain Valley Fire Department. Law enforcement is provided by the Fountain Valley Police Department. Ambulance service is provided byCare Ambulance Service.
The Orange County Sanitation District's administrative offices and primary plant is located in Fountain Valley next to the Santa Ana River. The agency is the third-largest sanitation district in the western United States. Fountain Valley is also home to the offices of the Municipal Water District of Orange County, a member of theMetropolitan Water District of Southern California and of theOrange County Water District. The Orange County Water District manages the groundwater basin in central and northern Orange County and operates the Groundwater Replenishment System, the world's largest water purification plant forgroundwater recharge.[68]
Fountain Valley has two fully accredited major medical centers: theFountain Valley Regional Hospital with 400 beds available, andOrange Coast Memorial Medical Center with 230 beds, a medical clinic, and an outpatient medical building.
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Places adjacent to Fountain Valley, California | |
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