McKittrick, California

McKittrick
—  census-designated place  —
Location in Kern County and the state of California
Coordinates: 35°18′20″N 119°37′21″W / 35.30556°N 119.6225°W / 35.30556; -119.6225Coordinates: 35°18′20″N 119°37′21″W / 35.30556°N 119.6225°W / 35.30556; -119.6225
Country	United States
State	California
County	Kern
Government
– N/A
– Senate	Roy Ashburn (R)
– Assembly	Jean Fuller (R)
– U. S. Congress	Kevin McCarthy (R)
Area[1]
– Total	2.617 sq mi (6.778 km2)
– Land	2.617 sq mi (6.778 km2)
– Water	0 sq mi (0 km2)  0%
Elevation[2]	1,056 ft (322 m)
Population (2010)
– Total	115
– Density	43.9/sq mi (17/km2)
Time zone	PST (UTC-8)
– Summer (DST)	PDT (UTC-7)
ZIP code	93251
Area code(s)	661
FIPS code	06-44924
GNIS feature ID	0245709

McKittrick is a census-designated place (CDP) in Kern County, California, United States. McKittrick is located 14 miles (23 km) northwest of Taft,^[3] at an elevation of 1056 feet (322 m).^[2] The population was 115 at the 2010 census, down from 160 at the 2000 census.

Geography

McKittrick is located at 35°18′20″N 119°37′21″W / 35.30556°N 119.6225°W / 35.30556; -119.6225.^[2] It is at the junction of State Routes 33 and 58.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 2.6 square miles (6.7 km²), all of it land.

The town is in the center of a large oil-producing region in western Kern County. Along State Route 33 to the south of the town is the Midway-Sunset Oil Field, the second-largest oil field in the contiguous United States; within the town itself, as well as to the west is the McKittrick Field; to the northwest is the huge Cymric Field; and along Highway 33 beyond Cymric is the large South Belridge Oil Field, run by Aera Energy LLC. East of McKittrick is Occidental Petroleum's Elk Hills Field, formerly the U.S. Naval Petroleum Reserve.^[4]

The McKittrick Tar Pits, which are similar to the more famous La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles, contain an assemblage of bones of ice age mammals. They are a series of surface seeps from the underlying McKittrick Oil Field.

History

The first post office at McKittrick opened in 1910.^[3] The name honors Capt. William McKittrick, local landowner and rancher.^[3] McKittrick incorporated in 1911.^[3]

Demographics

2010

The 2010 United States Census^[5] reported that McKittrick had a population of 115. The population density was 43.9 people per square mile (17.0/km²). The racial makeup of McKittrick was 101 (87.8%) White, 1 (0.9%) African American, 1 (0.9%) Native American, 0 (0.0%) Asian, 0 (0.0%) Pacific Islander, 7 (6.1%) from other races, and 5 (4.3%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 9 persons (7.8%).

The Census reported that 115 people (100% of the population) lived in households, 0 (0%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized.

There were 42 households, out of which 14 (33.3%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 21 (50.0%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 7 (16.7%) had a female householder with no husband present, 2 (4.8%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 5 (11.9%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 0 (0%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 9 households (21.4%) were made up of individuals and 3 (7.1%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.74. There were 30 families (71.4% of all households); the average family size was 3.07.

The population was spread out with 21 people (18.3%) under the age of 18, 11 people (9.6%) aged 18 to 24, 24 people (20.9%) aged 25 to 44, 45 people (39.1%) aged 45 to 64, and 14 people (12.2%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45.4 years. For every 100 females there were 101.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.8 males.

There were 46 housing units at an average density of 17.6 per square mile (6.8/km²), of which 27 (64.3%) were owner-occupied, and 15 (35.7%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0%; the rental vacancy rate was 6.3%. 80 people (69.6% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 35 people (30.4%) lived in rental housing units.

2000

At the 2000 census^[6], there were 160 people, 54 households and 48 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 63.8 per square mile (24.6/km²). There were 61 housing units at an average density of 24.3 per square mile (9.4/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 96.88% White, and 3.12% from two or more races. 10.00% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 54 households of which 42.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.3% were married couples living together, 27.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 11.1% were non-families. 9.3% of all households were made up of individuals and none had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.96 and the average family size was 3.04.

Age distribution was 31.9% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 30.0% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 6.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 102.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.2 males.

The median household income was $43,333, and the median family income was $42,917. Males had a median income of $30,625 versus $28,750 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $14,174. About 11.8% of families and 15.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.2% of those under the age of eighteen and none of those sixty five or over.

References

1. ^ U.S. Census
2. ^ ^{a b c} U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: McKittrick, California
3. ^ ^{a b c d} Durham, David L. (1998). California's Geographic Names: A Gazetteer of Historic and Modern Names of the State. Quill Driver Books. p. 1070. ISBN 9781884995149. 
4. ^ California Oil and Gas Fields, Volumes I, II and III. Vol. I (1998), Vol. II (1992), Vol. III (1982). California Department of Conservation, Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR). 1,472 pp. Regional information on p. ix. PDF file available on CD from www.consrv.ca.gov.
5. ^ All data are derived from the United States Census Bureau reports from the 2010 United States Census, and are accessible on-line here. The data on unmarried partnerships and same-sex married couples are from the Census report DEC_10_SF1_PCT15. All other housing and population data are from Census report DEC_10_DP_DPDP1. Both reports are viewable online or downloadable in a zip file containing a comma-delimited data file. The area data, from which densities are calculated, are available on-line here. Percentage totals may not add to 100% due to rounding. The Census Bureau defines families as a household containing one or more people related to the householder by birth, opposite-sex marriage, or adoption. People living in group quarters are tabulated by the Census Bureau as neither owners nor renters. For further details, see the text files accompanying the data files containing the Census reports mentioned above.
6. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 

Photographs

• 

  Historic landmark sign along SR58.

• 

  View of the community from the south.

• 

  Kern County Fire Dept., Station 24.