During the Spanish colonial period, northern Orange County along with much of theLA Basin had been granted to Manuel Nieto in 1784 under theRancho Los Nietos.[8] After Nietos' death, his heirs partitioned the land into five smaller ranchos under Mexican governance.[9] The current boundaries of the city roughly lies over two of five descending ranchos ofRancho Los Alamitos andRancho Los Coyotes.[9]
On November 4, 1905, the Los Angeles Interurban Railway[10] started service on theSanta Ana Line. It ran along an almost perfectly straight line betweenWatts andSanta Ana. Access to transportation allowed the population of the rural area to grow. This area is now Stanton and West Anaheim.[citation needed]
The original name recorded by the Railway was Benedict.[11] In 1911, the name was changed to Stanton after Philip A. Stanton, aRepublican assemblyman forLos Angeles from 1903 to 1909, who was recorded to have assisted the formation of the territory.[12]
In 1908, the privately ownedPacific Electric Railway leased the Santa Ana Line and took over the service, extending its regional light-rail system. Passenger service to Santa Ana was discontinued in 1950, shortly after the railway was taken over by the Metropolitan Transportation Agency. Today, the easement still is owned by theOrange County Transportation Authority (OCTA). It crosses the intersections ofBeach Boulevard/Pacific Street and Cerritos Avenue/Western Avenue.[citation needed]
The first City of Stanton was incorporated in 1911 and was then the largest city in Orange County by area.[13] The main motivation for incorporation was the City of Anaheim's plan to build a "sewage farm" to the west of their city. Former Speaker of the California State Assembly Phillip Ackley Stanton assisted in the incorporation and the city was named Stanton in his honor. In 1924, the residents voted to dis-incorporate to avoid the cost of building roads in the city.[14]
In the early 1950s, the area had experienced a post-war population boom and the neighboring cities rapidly annexed land. In May 1956, the citizens responded by re-incorporating into today's City of Stanton.[citation needed]
Stanton is directly bordered byAnaheim to the north andCypress to the west. A southernsalient of the city largely bisects the city ofGarden Grove from itsWest Garden Grove neighborhood, making the city as a whole a neighbor of Stanton to the east, south, and west.[15]
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.15 square miles (8.2 km2), all land.
Stanton first appeared as a city in the1920 U.S. census and was coextensive with the now defunct Stanton Township.[23] In 1960, it was assigned to the newly defined Santa-Ana Orange census county division.[29]
Stanton 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 98.2% of the population lived in households, 0.8% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 1.0% were institutionalized.[38]
There were 11,018 households, out of which 40.8% included children under the age of 18, 48.1% were married-couple households, 7.2% werecohabiting couple households, 27.3% had a female householder with no partner present, and 17.4% had a male householder with no partner present. 16.9% of households were one person, and 8.2% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 3.39.[38] There were 8,399families (76.2% of all households).[39]
The age distribution was 22.7% under the age of 18, 9.9% aged 18 to 24, 26.9% aged 25 to 44, 26.9% aged 45 to 64, and 13.6% who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 37.4years. For every 100 females, there were 97.5 males.[38]
There were 11,361 housing units at an average density of 3,663.7 units per square mile (1,414.6 units/km2), of which 11,018 (97.0%) were occupied. Of these, 49.4% were owner-occupied, and 50.6% were occupied by renters.[38]
In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that the median household income was $81,455, and theper capita income was $36,027. About 9.4% of families and 11.9% of the population were below the poverty line.[40]
The Census reported that 37,836 people (99.1% of the population) lived in households, 92 (0.2%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 258 (0.7%) were institutionalized.
There were 10,825 households, out of which 5,015 (46.3%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 5,551 (51.3%) wereopposite-sex married couples living together, 1,798 (16.6%) had a female householder with no husband present, 860 (7.9%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 645 (6.0%)unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 74 (0.7%)same-sex married couples or partnerships. 1,958 households (18.1%) were made up of individuals, and 846 (7.8%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.50. There were 8,209families (75.8% of all households); the average family size was 3.90.
The population was spread out, with 10,566 people (27.7%) under the age of 18, 4,062 people (10.6%) aged 18 to 24, 11,289 people (29.6%) aged 25 to 44, 8,455 people (22.1%) aged 45 to 64, and 3,814 people (10.0%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33.0 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.8 males.
There were 11,283 housing units at an average density of 3,582.0 per square mile (1,383.0/km2), of which 5,418 (50.1%) were owner-occupied, and 5,407 (49.9%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.1%; the rental vacancy rate was 4.3%. 18,033 people (47.2% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 19,803 people (51.9%) lived in rental housing units.
According to the 2010 United States Census, Stanton had a median household income of $50,542, with 16.9% of the population living below the federal poverty line.[43]
Stanton has ten parks,[46] including Stanton Central Park, which features a tennis center, sports complex, and community garden.[47] Lions-Stock Park includes a sports facility and community center.[48]
Under itscity charter, Stanton operates under acouncil–manager government. Legislative authority is vested in acity council of fivenonpartisan members, who hire a professional city manager to oversee day-to-day operations. The mayor serves as the presiding officer of the city council in afirst among equals role. Under the city'sterm limits, an individual may serve a maximum of two terms as a city council member.
In response to aCalifornia Voting Rights Act lawsuit, the city transitioned to council members elected by district instead of at large.[60]
Water in Stanton is supplied by the Golden State Water,[68] which sources its water from theMetropolitan Water District of Southern California, importing water from the Colorado River Aqueduct and the State Water Project. In addition, groundwater is pumped from the Orange County Groundwater Basin.[14]