Oak Park, California

Oak Park
—  census-designated place  —
Location in Ventura County and the state of California
Coordinates: 34°10′18″N 118°45′28″W / 34.17167°N 118.75778°W / 34.17167; -118.75778Coordinates: 34°10′18″N 118°45′28″W / 34.17167°N 118.75778°W / 34.17167; -118.75778
Country	United States
State	California
County	Ventura
Government
- N/A
- Senate	Tony Strickland (R)
- Assembly	Julia Brownley (D)
- U. S. Congress	Elton Gallegly (R)
Area[1]
- Total	5.290 sq mi (13.702 km2)
- Land	5.290 sq mi (13.702 km2)
- Water	0 sq mi (0 km2)  0%
Elevation	1,106 ft (337 m)
Population (2010)
- Total	1,466
- Density	277.1/sq mi (107/km2)
Time zone	PST (UTC-8)
- Summer (DST)	PDT (UTC-7)
ZIP code	91377
Area code(s)	818
FIPS code	06-53116
GNIS feature ID	1817380

Oak Park is a census-designated place located in the Simi Hills, in Ventura County, California. As of the 2010 census, Oak Park had a population of 14,266, up from 14,225 at the 2000 census. It is located in the Conejo Valley, north from Malibu and Agoura Hills and is a part of Ventura County.

Panoramic shot of Oak Park.

History

Oak Park was formed from ranchland owned by Cosmo Stevens and Marian Jordan, stars of the radio show Fibber McGee and Molly. The land was purchased by Metropolitan Development Corporation in the 1940s and '50s. Homes were developed starting in the late 1960s. Kanan Road (named after a local family) was the only access road to the community, from Agoura Hills, California in neighboring Los Angeles County. As such, the community was served by police and firefighters based in the nearest Ventura County city, Thousand Oaks, 10 miles (16 km) away, with L.A. County services responding when able.

In 1967 Ventura County officials who were concerned about the isolation of the community proposed a land swap with L.A. County, but they were rebuffed. The isolation—coupled with the distance to junior and senior high schools—also drove down the property values, and homeowners found it difficult to sell their properties.

The Ventura County Board of Supervisors created a Municipal Advisory Council (MAC) in 1975 to represent the community to County agencies. The MAC persuaded the Ventura County Board of Supervisors to trim Metropolitan Development Corp.'s initial development plan from a population of 26,000. Today there are about 15,000 residents. All available land within Oak Park has now been developed, with the remaining vacant land owned by the Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District.

The community was initially served by the Simi Valley Unified School District, with the nearest post-elementary schools being Sinaloa Junior High (about 20 miles (32 km) away) and Royal High (about 22 (35 km) miles away). Since the Simi Valley Unified School District had no plans to build post-elementary schools in Oak Park, the residents seceded and formed Oak Park Unified School District in June 1977. Oak Park High School opened for classes (initially grades 6-12) in the spring of 1981.

In 1999 the United States Postal Service assigned Oak Park its own ZIP code, 91377.

Geography

Oak Park is located at 34°10'18" North, 118°45'28" West (34.171756, -118.757899)^[2].

The CDP has a total area of 5.29 sq mi (13.7 km²). All of the area is land and none of it is covered by water. However, there are many small creeks in the area.

Demographics

2010

The 2010 United States Census^[3] reported that Oak Park had a population of 13,811. The population density was 2,610.6 people per square mile (1,007.9/km²). The racial makeup of Oak Park was 11,473 (83.1%) White, 141 (1.0%) African American, 32 (0.2%) Native American, 1,556 (11.3%) Asian, 9 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 162 (1.2%) from other races, and 438 (3.2%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 826 persons (6.0%).

The Census reported that 13,810 people (100% of the population) lived in households, 1 (0%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized.

There were 5,158 households, out of which 2,112 (40.9%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 3,054 (59.2%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 590 (11.4%) had a female householder with no husband present, 184 (3.6%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 204 (4.0%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 34 (0.7%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 1,046 households (20.3%) were made up of individuals and 258 (5.0%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.68. There were 3,828 families (74.2% of all households); the average family size was 3.14.

The population was spread out with 3,622 people (26.2%) under the age of 18, 1,004 people (7.3%) aged 18 to 24, 3,031 people (21.9%) aged 25 to 44, 4,981 people (36.1%) aged 45 to 64, and 1,173 people (8.5%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41.7 years. For every 100 females there were 92.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.5 males.

There were 5,297 housing units at an average density of 1,001.2 per square mile (386.6/km²), of which 3,842 (74.5%) were owner-occupied, and 1,316 (25.5%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.2%; the rental vacancy rate was 3.5%. 10,706 people (77.5% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 3,104 people (22.5%) lived in rental housing units.

2000

As of the census of 2000, there are 14,625 people in approximately 5000 households. The population density is 3,567 people per square mile (1,393/km²). The racial makeup of the town is 92.41% White, 0.01% African American, 0.26% Native American, 6.41% Asian, 0.23% Pacific Islander, 1.16% from other races, and 2.59% from two or more races. 4.35% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

49.7% of the households have children under the age of 18 living with them, 76.7% are married couples living together, 9.2% have a female householder with no husband present, and 11.5% are non-families. 8.7% of all households are made up of individuals and 2.9% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 3.11 and the average family size is 2.83.

In the town the population is spread out with 33% under the age of 18, 5.5% from 18 to 24, 25.2% from 25 to 44, 31.4% from 45 to 64, and 5% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 36.3 years. For every 100 females there are 97.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 94.4 males.

The median income for a household in the town is $106,921, and the median income for a family is $121,170. Males have a median income of $91,698 versus $42,083 for females. The per capita income for the town is $33,905. 7.5% of the population and 5.6% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 8.4% are under the age of 18 and 0.0% are 65 or older.

Education

Among residents age 25 or greater, 11% have no education beyond a high school diploma, 22% have some college education without earning a degree, 10% have an associate degree, 35% have a bachelor degree, and 18% have advanced degrees.

The community is served by the Oak Park Unified School District (OPUSD), which has three elementary schools (K-5), a middle school (6-8), Oak Park High School (9-12), and Oak View High School (an alternative high school for ages 16 and above).

Oak Park High School offers baseball, boys and girls basketball, cheer, cross country, dance, football, golf, lacrosse, boys and girls soccer, softball, boys and girls tennis, track and field, and boys and girls volleyball. Oak park is in the Tri-Valley and Frontier League depending on the sport.

Libraries

Public Libraries: Ventura County Library - one of their branches is in Oak Park: Oak Park Library and also, the nearby Agoura branch of the County of Los Angeles Public Library.

References

1. ^ U.S. Census
2. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2011-04-23. 
3. ^ 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.

• Pool, Bob (April 2, 2006). "Rebuffed, Then Polished". Los Angeles Times. 

External links

• Oak Park Now, Oak Park News and Events
• Oak Park Update, a Web site for community news, events, and activities.
• - Conejo Post - News, Issues, History and Outdoors in the Conejo Valley, including Oak Park
• Oak Park @ The Official Conejo Valley Website, a Web site with local history and community information.
• Oak Park, California 91377, a Web site with climate, geography, and links to government services. Pages linked from this site include demographics from the 2000 census and a calendar of community meetings and events.