Aromas (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

for "Perfumes") is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...

(CDP) in

Monterey County Monterey County ( ), officially the County of Monterey, is a county located on the Pacific coast in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, its population was 439,035. The county's largest city and county seat is Salinas. Montere ...

and

San Benito County San Benito County (; ''San Benito'', Spanish for "St. Benedict"), officially the County of San Benito, is a county located in the Coast Range Mountains of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 64,209. The coun ...

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. The population was 2,708 at the 2020 census. The CDP straddles the border of the two counties, with Monterey County to the west and San Benito County to the east. The Santa Cruz County line is less than a mile to the northwest, and

Santa Clara County Santa Clara County, officially the County of Santa Clara, is the sixth-most populous county in the U.S. state of California, with a population of 1,936,259, as of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Santa Clara County and neighboring Sa ...

is about to the north. Its population was almost equally distributed between the two counties with 1,358 in Monterey County and 1,292 in San Benito County; this was down from a population of 2,797 during the 2000 census (1,427 in Monterey County and 1,370 in San Benito County). Aromas is one of four CDPs in California that are divided between two or more counties. The others are Kingvale (divided between

Placer County Placer County ( ; Spanish for "sand deposit"), officially the County of Placer, is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 404,739. The county seat is Auburn. Placer County is included in the Great ...

and Nevada County), Kirkwood (divided between

Alpine County , other_name = , settlement_type = List of counties in California, County , image_skyline = , image_flag = Flag of Alpine County, California.svg , flag_size = , image_seal ...

and

Amador County Amador County () is a county located in the U.S. state of California, in the Sierra Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,474. The county seat is Jackson. Amador County, located within California's Gold Country, is known as "The ...

), and Tahoma (divided between Placer County and

El Dorado County El Dorado County (), officially the County of El Dorado, is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 191,185. The county seat is Placerville. The County is part of the Sacramento- Roseville-A ...

).U.S. Census Bureau

History

The settlement was originally known as "Sand Cut", named from the

Southern Pacific Railroad The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the ...

tunnel constructed nearby in 1871. The settlement was renamed Aromas, after

Rancho Las Aromitas y Agua Caliente Rancho Las Aromitas y Agua Caliente, commonly known as Rancho Las Aromas, was a Mexican land grant in present-day San Benito County, California given in 1835 by Governor José Castro to Juan Miguel Anzar. The name means "little perfumes and hot ...

, around 1895.

Geography

Aromas is located in northern Monterey County and northwestern San Benito County at (36.886988, -121.641396). Is it bordered to the south by Prunedale.

U.S. Route 101 U.S. Route 101, or U.S. Highway 101 (US 101), is a north–south United States Numbered Highway that runs through the states of California, Oregon, and Washington, on the West Coast of the United States. It is also known as (The Royal Roa ...

runs along the southeastern edge of the community, leading north to Gilroy and south to Salinas. 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 Aromas CDP has a total area of . of it are land and , or 0.22%, are water. The center of town is on the south side of the valley of the

Pajaro River The Pajaro River (''pájaro'' is ''bird'' in Spanish language, Spanish) is a U.S. river in the Central Coast (California), Central Coast region of California, forming part of the border between San Benito County, California, San Benito and Santa ...

, about southwest of where the river cuts through Pajaro Gap (Chittenden Pass) at the south end of the

Santa Cruz Mountains The Santa Cruz Mountains, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges, are a mountain range in central and Northern California, United States. They form a ridge down the San Francisco Peninsula, south of San Francisco. They separate the Pacific Ocean from ...

Demographics

2010

The

2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servin ...

reported that Aromas had a population of 2,650. The population density was . The racial makeup of Aromas was 1,987 (75.0%)

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, 16 (0.6%)

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 37 (1.4%) Native American, 49 (1.8%)

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 4 (0.2%)

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...

, 401 (15.1%) from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 156 (5.9%) from two or more races.

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 ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 924 persons (34.9%). The Census reported that 2,650 people (100% of the population) lived in households, 0 (0%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized. There were 884 households, out of which 328 (37.1%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 558 (63.1%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 93 (10.5%) had a female householder with no husband present, 45 (5.1%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 36 (4.1%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 11 (1.2%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 143 households (16.2%) were made up of individuals, and 49 (5.5%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.00. There were 696

families Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Ideall ...

(78.7% of all households); the average family size was 3.36. The population was spread out, with 619 people (23.4%) under the age of 18, 244 people (9.2%) aged 18 to 24, 552 people (20.8%) aged 25 to 44, 956 people (36.1%) aged 45 to 64, and 279 people (10.5%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42.2 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.3 males. There were 923 housing units at an average density of , of which 680 (76.9%) were owner-occupied, and 204 (23.1%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.2%; the rental vacancy rate was 2.3%. 2,022 people (76.3% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 628 people (23.7%) lived in rental housing units.

2000

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

of 2000, there were 2,797 people, 889 households, and 731 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were 915 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the CDP was 79.23%

, 0.18%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

, 1.32% Native American, 2.61%

, 0.07%

, 11.01% from

, and 5.58% from two or more races. 22.92% of the population were

of any race. There were 889 households, out of which 45.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.6% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 7.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 17.7% were non-families. 11.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.15 and the average family size was 3.42. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 30.3% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 29.1% from 25 to 44, 26.5% from 45 to 64, and 7.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.2 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $69,145, and the median income for a family was $70,000. Males had a median income of $51,771 versus $41,875 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the CDP was $25,220. About 5.7% of families and 6.2% 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 7.2% of those under age 18 and 10.2% of those age 65 or over.

Schools

The Aromas-San Juan School District has three schools – Aromas Elementary School, San Juan School and Anzar High School. Aromas has one K-8 school, Aromas Elementary School with less than 400 students, (in 2000). Heather Howell is the current principal of Aromas School. Anzar High School, which opened in 1994, was named after early area pioneers.

Economy

Aromas is home to a

Graniterock Graniterock is an American corporation, founded in 1900 as "Granite Rock", and based in Watsonville, California. It operates in the construction industry providing crushed gravel, sand, concrete, asphalt and paving services. History Beginnings Gr ...

quarry. Since 1986, Fireclay Tile has been manufacturing architectural tile in Aromas.

Notes

References

* U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates
U.S. Census website
Retrieved 2013-10-21.

External links

at ''Explore Monterey County''
Aromas-San Juan Unified School District
* Shor

of Ygnacio Villegas's writing about "Las Aromas rancho" from

California Legacy Project 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 ...

. {{authority control Census-designated places in San Benito County, California Census-designated places in Monterey County, California Census-designated places in California