Onyx, California

Onyx
—  census-designated place  —
Overview of Onyx, CA
Location in Kern County and the state of California
Coordinates: 35°41′25″N 118°13′14″W / 35.69028°N 118.22056°W / 35.69028; -118.22056Coordinates: 35°41′25″N 118°13′14″W / 35.69028°N 118.22056°W / 35.69028; -118.22056
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	11.529 sq mi (29.861 km2)
– Land	11.451 sq mi (29.658 km2)
– Water	0.078 sq mi (0.203 km2)  0.68%
Elevation[2]	2,795 ft (852 m)
Population (2010)
– Total	475
– Density	41.2/sq mi (15.9/km2)
Time zone	PST (UTC-8)
– Summer (DST)	PDT (UTC-7)
ZIP code	93255
Area code(s)	760
FIPS code	06-53910
GNIS feature ID	1661150

Onyx (formerly, Scodie)^[3] is a census-designated place (CDP) in Kern County, California, United States. Onyx is located 3.5 miles (6 km) east-northeast of Weldon,^[3] at an elevation of 2795 feet (852 m).^[2] The population was 475 at the 2010 census, down from 476 at the 2000 census.

Geography

Onyx is located at 35°41′25″N 118°13′14″W / 35.69028°N 118.22056°W / 35.69028; -118.22056.^[2]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 11.5 square miles (30 km²), over 99% of it land.

History

The place was originally called Scodie in honor of William Scodie, who opened a store in 1861.^[3] The first post office at Onyx opened in 1889.^[3]

Demographics

2010

The 2010 United States Census^[4] reported that Onyx had a population of 475. The population density was 41.2 people per square mile (15.9/km²). The racial makeup of Onyx was 406 (85.5%) White, 4 (0.8%) African American, 9 (1.9%) Native American, 0 (0.0%) Asian, 0 (0.0%) Pacific Islander, 16 (3.4%) from other races, and 40 (8.4%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 30 persons (6.3%).

The Census reported that 475 people (100% of the population) lived in households, 0 (0%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized.

There were 214 households, out of which 40 (18.7%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 89 (41.6%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 19 (8.9%) had a female householder with no husband present, 13 (6.1%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 13 (6.1%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 1 (0.5%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 82 households (38.3%) were made up of individuals and 44 (20.6%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.22. There were 121 families (56.5% of all households); the average family size was 2.97.

The population was spread out with 82 people (17.3%) under the age of 18, 28 people (5.9%) aged 18 to 24, 68 people (14.3%) aged 25 to 44, 184 people (38.7%) aged 45 to 64, and 113 people (23.8%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 51.4 years. For every 100 females there were 98.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.5 males.

There were 295 housing units at an average density of 25.6 per square mile (9.9/km²), of which 154 (72.0%) were owner-occupied, and 60 (28.0%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 8.8%; the rental vacancy rate was 14.3%. 343 people (72.2% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 132 people (27.8%) lived in rental housing units.

2000

As of the census^[5] of 2000, there were 476 people, 197 households, and 128 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 41.2 people per square mile (15.9/km²). There were 281 housing units at an average density of 24.3 per square mile (9.4/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 93.49% White, 0.21% Black or African American, 1.89% Native American, 0.63% from other races, and 3.78% from two or more races. 4.62% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 197 households out of which 22.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.7% were married couples living together, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.0% were non-families. 27.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 2.92.

In the CDP the population was spread out with 24.4% under the age of 18, 4.0% from 18 to 24, 19.5% from 25 to 44, 23.5% from 45 to 64, and 28.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 47 years. For every 100 females there were 97.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.5 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $16,058, and the median income for a family was $29,583. Males had a median income of $31,818 versus $13,438 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $9,370. About 25.7% of families and 34.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 52.1% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.

Images

• 

  Onyx California post office.

• 

  CalTrans guide sign along State Route 178.

• 

  The Onyx store, Since 1851.

References

1. ^ U.S. Census
2. ^ ^{a b c} U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Onyx, 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. 1084. ISBN 9781884995149. 
4. ^ 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.
5. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 

External links

• River stage and discharge: South Fork Kern River near Onyx.
• Kangaroo Rat report (PDF) - CA Resources Agency, Dept. of Fish and Game