Encino, California

Encino ( Spanish for "oak") is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California.

History

In 1769, the Spanish Portolá expedition, first Europeans to see inland areas of California, traveled north through Sepulveda Pass into the San Fernando Valley on August 5 and stayed two nights at a native village near what is now Los Encinos State Historic Park. Fray Juan Crespi, a Franciscan missionary traveling with the expedition, named the valley "El Valle de Santa Catalina de Bolonia de Los Encinos" (The Valley of St. Catherine of Bologna of the Holm Oaks). All of Crespi's name was later dropped except "Encino".

Rancho Los Encinos (''Ranch of Holm Oaks'') was established in 1845 when a large parcel of former Mission San Fernando land was granted to three Mission Indians by governor Pio Pico. Many ranchos were created after the secularization of the California missions, which began in 1834. Encino derives its name from the rancho.

Demographics

The 2000 U.S. census counted 41,905 residents in the Encino neighborhood — , among the lowest population densities for the city but average for the county. In 2008, the city estimated that the resident population had increased to 44,581.

In 2000 the median age for residents was 42, considered old for city and county neighborhoods; the percentages of residents aged 50 and older were among the county's highest.
"Encino," Mapping L.A., ''Los Angeles Times''

The neighborhood demographic breakdown was Non-Hispanic Whites, whites, 80.1%; Latinos, 8.5%; Asians, 4.9%; blacks, 2.4%; and others, 4.1%. Iran (30.1%) and Russia (6.4%) were the most common places of birth for the 32.8% of the residents who were born abroad—an average percentage for Los Angeles.

The median yearly household income in 2008 dollars was $78,529, considered high for the city. The percentage of households that earned $125,000 and up was high for Los Angeles County. The average household size of 2.3 people was low when compared to the rest of the city and the county. Renters occupied 38.4% of the housing stock and house- or apartment-owners held 61.6%.

The percentages of divorced residents and of widowed men and women were among the county's highest. In 2000 military veterans amounted to 10.6% of the population, a high rate for the county.

Geography

Encino is situated in the central portion of the southern San Fernando Valley and on the north slope of the Santa Monica Mountains. It is flanked on the north by Reseda, Lake Balboa