Atwater is a city on State Route 99 in

Merced County Merced County ( ), is a county located in the northern San Joaquin Valley section of the Central Valley, in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 281,202. The county seat is Merced. The county is named after ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, United States. Atwater is west-northwest of

Merced Merced (; Spanish for "Mercy") is a city in, and the county seat of, Merced County, California, United States, in the San Joaquin Valley. As of the 2020 Census, the city had a population of 86,333, up from 78,958 in 2010. Incorporated on April 1 ...

, at an elevation of . The population as of the 2020 census was 31,970, up from 28,168 in 2010.

Geography

Atwater is in northern Merced County, between Merced, the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

, to the southeast and

Livingston Livingston may refer to: Businesses * Livingston Energy Flight, an Italian airline (2003–2010) * Livingston Compagnia Aerea, an Italian airline (2011–2014), also known as Livingston Airline * Livingston International, a North American custom ...

to the northwest. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the city has a total area of . 99.92% of it is land and 0.08% is water. The city includes

Castle Air Museum Castle Air Museum is a military aviation museum located in Atwater, California, United States adjacent to Castle Airport, a former United States Air Force Strategic Air Command base which was closed in 1995, after the end of the Cold War. It is o ...

, but does not include the former

Castle Air Force Base Castle Air Force Base (Castle AFB, 1941–1995) is a former United States Air Force Strategic Air Command base in California, located northeast of Atwater, northwest of Merced, and about south of Sacramento. The Central Valley base in uni ...

proper, now repurposed as

Castle Airport Castle Airport is a public airport in unincorporated Merced County, California, northwest of Merced. The airport is operated by the Merced County Department of Commerce, Aviation, and Economic Development. It is owned jointly by the city of Me ...

History

The railroad reached Atwater in the 1870s, and a town grew around it. The first post office opened in 1880. Atwater incorporated in 1922. The name honors Marshall D. Atwater, a wheat farmer whose land was used by the railroad for its station. North of the town is the site of

, the former World War II

Merced Army Airfield Castle Air Force Base (Castle AFB, 1941–1995) is a former United States Air Force Strategic Air Command base in California, located northeast of Atwater, northwest of Merced, and about south of Sacramento. The Central Valley base in unin ...

. Castle was selected for closure under the

1991 Base Realignment and Closure Commission The preliminary 1991 Base Realignment and Closure Commission list was released by the United States Department of Defense in 1991 as part of the ongoing Base Realignment and Closure Commission. The list recommended closing 28 major United States m ...

and the base closed September 30, 1995. The site is now a public airport. On May 15, 2020, Atwater declared itself a business "sanctuary city" during the coronavirus pandemic.

Demographics

2010

At the 2010 census Atwater had a population of 28,168. The population density was . The racial makeup of Atwater was 18,410 (65.4%) White, 14,808 (52.6%) Hispanic or Latino of any race, 1,225 (4.3%) African American, 364 (1.3%) Native American, 1,416 (5.0%) Asian, 76 (0.3%) Pacific Islander, 5,300 (18.8%) from other races, and 1,377 (4.9%) from two or more races. The census reported that 28,066 people (99.6% of the population) lived in households, 31 (0.1%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 71 (0.3%) were institutionalized. There were 8,838 households, 4,255 (48.1%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 4,593 (52.0%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 1,558 (17.6%) had a female householder with no husband present, 672 (7.6%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 615 (7.0%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 60 (0.7%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 1,615 households (18.3%) were one person and 738 (8.4%) had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 3.18. There were 6,823 families (77.2% of households); the average family size was 3.61. The age distribution was 9,016 people (32.0%) under the age of 18, 2,968 people (10.5%) aged 18 to 24, 7,492 people (26.6%) aged 25 to 44, 5,760 people (20.4%) aged 45 to 64, and 2,932 people (10.4%) who were 65 or older. The median age was 30.0 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.5 males. There were 9,771 housing units at an average density of 1,602.9 per square mile, of the occupied units 4,905 (55.5%) were owner-occupied and 3,933 (44.5%) were rented. The homeowner vacancy rate was 3.3%; the rental vacancy rate was 10.9%. 14,920 people (53.0% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 13,146 people (46.7%) lived in rental housing units.

2000

At the 2000 census there were 23,113 people in 7,247 households, including 5,667 families, in the city. The population density was . There were 8,114 housing units at an average density of . The

racial makeup A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...

of the city was 57.34% White, 4.99% Black or African American, 1.27% Native American, 5.43% Asian, 0.36% Pacific Islander, 24.48% from other races, and 6.14% from two or more races. 41.51% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

or Latino of any race. Of the 7,247 households 45.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.9% were married couples living together, 16.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.8% were non-families. 17.6% of households were one person and 6.9% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 3.15 and the average family size was 3.55. The age distribution was 34.9% under the age of 18, 10.0% from 18 to 24, 28.6% from 25 to 44, 17.4% from 45 to 64, and 9.1% 65 or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.4 males. The median

income Income is the consumption and saving opportunity gained by an entity within a specified timeframe, which is generally expressed in monetary terms. Income is difficult to define conceptually and the definition may be different across fields. For ...

for a household in Atwater is $37,344, and the median family income was $39,789. Males had a median income of $32,983 versus $22,450 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,162. About 15.3% of families and 18.7% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 25.1% of those under age 18 and 5.3% of those age 65 or over.

Government

In the

California State Legislature The California State Legislature is a bicameral state legislature consisting of a lower house, the California State Assembly, with 80 members; and an upper house, the California State Senate, with 40 members. Both houses of the Legisla ...

, Atwater is in , and in . In the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

, Atwater is in .

Education

Primary and secondary schools

Public schools

Most of the city is zoned to the

Atwater Elementary School District Atwater Elementary School District (AESD) is a school district in California. Its headquarters are in Atwater, California, Atwater.Merced City School District; that section is zoned to Rudolph Rivera Middle School. Franklin Elementary School is the closest elementary school to the section of Atwater.

Merced Union High School District The Merced Union High School District (MUHSD) is a school district headquartered in the Castle Commerce Center on the grounds of the Castle Airport Aviation and Development Center in unincorporated Merced County, California, near Atwater. The u ...

operates

Atwater High School Atwater High School is a secondary school in Atwater, California, United States. It is a part of the Merced Union High School District. AHS competes as a member of the Central California League of the Sac-Joaquin Section. Notable alumni *Jamill ...

and

Buhach Colony High School Buhach Colony High School is a public high school in Atwater, California, United States. Opened in 2001, the school is part of the Merced Union High School District. The school colors are black and gold, and the mascot is Thor. The name refer ...

, both of which serve and reside in Atwater.

Private schools

Newspapers

Atwater currently does not have a daily

newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports a ...

, although many of its residents use the daily paper, the ''

Merced Sun-Star The ''Merced Sun-Star'' is a daily broadsheet newspaper printed in Merced, California, in the United States. It has an estimated circulation of 20,000 copies. The newspaper is published every day except for Sundays. History The ''Merced Sun-Sta ...

'', which is published in nearby

. Additionally Atwater residents rely on local Facebook pages such as "Merced County news". Atwater has two weekly newspapers called ''The Atwater Signal'' and ''The Atwater Times''. ''The Atwater Signal'' was first published in 1911. ''The Atwater Times'' is published by Mid Valley Publications, once a week.

Notable residents

Bernard Berrian Bernard Berrian (born December 27, 1980) is a former American football wide receiver. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the third round of the 2004 NFL Draft. He played college football at Fresno State. Berrian also played for the Minnes ...

, NFL Chicago Bears, Minnesota Vikings wide receiver * Chuck Compton, NFL Green Bay Packers defensive back * Thomas W. Hayes, former California State Treasurer *

Carrie Henn ''Aliens'' is a 1986 science fiction action film written and directed by James Cameron. It is the sequel to the 1979 science fiction horror film '' Alien'', and the second film in the ''Alien'' franchise. The film is set in the far future; ...

, actress, Rebecca "Newt" Jorden in ''

Aliens Alien primarily refers to: * Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country ** Enemy alien, the above in times of war * Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth ** Specifically, intelligent extrate ...

'' (1986) *

Jamill Kelly Larry Jamill Kelly (born October 25, 1977) is an American freestyle wrestler. He represented the United States at the 2004 Summer Olympic Games where he earned a silver medal. He is currently a part of the University of North Carolina At Chape ...

, 2004 Olympics silver medal in wrestling *

Sheryl Underwood Sheryl Patrice Underwood (born October 28, 1963) is an American comedian, actress and television host. She first rose to prominence in the comedy world as the first female finalist in 1989's Miller Lite Comedy Search. Currently, Underwood is one ...

, actress * Willow Wisp, experimental Gothic/metal band

Sports

Atwater Aviators The Golden State Collegiate Baseball League (GSCBL) is a collegiate wood-bat baseball league based out of San Jose, California. It is a 5-team league that was created in 2012 following the folding of the Pacific West Baseball League, and featur ...

, of the

Golden State Collegiate Baseball League The Golden State Collegiate Baseball League (GSCBL) is a collegiate wood-bat baseball league based out of San Jose, California. It is a 5-team league that was created in 2012 following the folding of the Pacific West Baseball League, and featu ...

* Atwater Falcons - football and baseball * Buhach Colony Thunder - football and basketball

References

Compass Maps Compass Maps was a U.S. publisher of road maps. It was based in Modesto, California. It was founded in 1963 by Dick and Shirley Elke. They produced high quality maps of Northern and Southern California. They also did some maps of places in ...

: Merced, Atwater, Merced County
City of Atwater -- Approved Annexations

External links

* {{authority control Incorporated cities and towns in California Cities in Merced County, California 1922 establishments in California Populated places established in 1922