Lost Hills, California

Lost Hills (formerly, Lost Hill) is a unincorporated community in Kern County, California, United States. Lost Hills is located west-northwest of Bakersfield, at an elevation of . For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined Lost Hills as a census-designated place (CDP). The population was 2,412 at the 2010 census, up from 1,938 at the 2000 census.

A rest stop by Interstate 5 including restaurants, gasoline stations, and motels is located about from the town.

Geography

Lost Hills stands on the east bank of the California Aqueduct. Interstate 5 is located near, but not adjacent, to Lost Hills. The town is at the intersection of State Route 46 and Lost Hills Road. The enormous Lost Hills Oil Field, which is sixth largest by remaining reserves in California, is west and northwest of town, extending about along the range of the low Lost Hills Range, for which the town was named.

According to the United States Census Bureau, Lost Hills has a total area of , of which over 99% is land and 0.21% is water.

Climate

According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Lost Hills has a semi-arid climate, abbreviated "BSk" on climate maps.

History

The Lost Hills post office opened in 1911, closed in 1912, re-opened in 1913 (having transferred from Cuttens), and moved in 1937. At one time, the post office was a small rented room, in Edmondson's cafe and bar. Later it was a small mobile-home size building.

Paramount Farms built a new park and housing development in Lost Hills in the early 2000s.

After the death of a pedestrian trying to cross the highway, a green pedestrian bridge was constructed spanning California Highway 46. It was funded by the Wonderful Company. Its design somewhat invoked a lizard and is able to funnel any precipitation that lands on it to the sides to allow for collection.

Demographics

2020

The 2020 United States census reported that Lost Hills had a population of 2,370. The population density was . The racial makeup of Lost Hills was 235 (9.9%) White, 5 (0.2%) African American, 37 (1.6%) Native American, 4 (0.2%) Asian, 0 (0.0%) Pacific Islander, 879 (37.1%) from other races, and 1,210 (51.1%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2,323 persons (98.0%).

The whole population lived in households. There were 582 households, out of which 353 (60.7%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 316 (54.3%) were married-couple households, 65 (11.2%) were cohabiting couple households, 90 (15.5%) had a female householder with no partner present, and 111 (19.1%) had a male householder with no partner present. 79 households (13.6%) were one person, and 17 (2.9%) were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 4.07. There were 476 families (81.8% of all households).

The age distribution was 858 people (36.2%) under the age of 18, 268 people (11.3%) aged 18 to 24, 721 people (30.4%) aged 25 to 44, 410 people (17.3%) aged 45 to 64, and 113 people (4.8%) who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 26.2years. For every 100 females, there were 114.1 males.

There were 584 housing units at an average density of , of which 582 (99.7%) were occupied. Of these, 188 (32.3%) were owner-occupied, and 394 (67.7%) were occupied by renters.

In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that the median household income was $42,333, and the per capita income was $13,361. About 21.8% of families and 26.9% of the population were below the poverty line.

2010

At the 2010 census Lost Hills had a population of 2,412. The population density was . The racial makeup of Lost Hills was 132 (5.5%) White, 5 (0.2%) African American, 1 (0.0%) Native American, 17 (0.7%) Asian, 1 (0.0%) Pacific Islander, 2,232 (92.5%) from other races, and 24 (1.0%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2,354 persons (97.6%).

The whole population lived in households, no one lived in non-institutionalized group quarters and no one was institutionalized.

There were 448 households, 353 (78.8%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 288 (64.3%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 50 (11.2%) had a female householder with no husband present, 83 (18.5%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 51 (11.4%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 2 (0.4%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 9 households (2.0%) were one person and 3 (0.7%) had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 5.38. There were 421 families (94.0% of households); the average family size was 5.02.

The age distribution was 970 people (40.2%) under the age of 18, 356 people (14.8%) aged 18 to 24, 730 people (30.3%) aged 25 to 44, 295 people (12.2%) aged 45 to 64, and 61 people (2.5%) who were 65 or older. The median age was 22.6 years. For every 100 females, there were 134.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 147.3 males.

There were 469 housing units at an average density of 84.3 per square mile, of the occupied units 178 (39.7%) were owner-occupied and 270 (60.3%) were rented. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.7%; the rental vacancy rate was 1.8%. 976 people (40.5% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 1,436 people (59.5%) lived in rental housing units.

References

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Census-designated places in Kern County, California
Census-designated places in California