San Ardo, formerly known as San Bernardo ( Spanish for "St. Bernard"), 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 ...

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 United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. San Ardo is located southeast of King City at an elevation of . The population was 392 at the 2020 census, down from 517 in 2010.

History

The owner of the San Bernardo land grant, M.J. Brandenstein, laid out the town when the railroad reached his land in 1887. The San Bernardo post office opened in 1886, and changed its name to San Ardo in 1887. The former name of San Bernardo was changed to avoid confusion with San Bernardino, California.

Geography

San Ardo is near the point where the broad Salinas Valley has its southeastern terminus and pinches out within the converging portions of the

California Coast Ranges The Coast Ranges of California span from Del Norte or Humboldt County, California, south to Santa Barbara County. The other three coastal California mountain ranges are the Transverse Ranges, Peninsular Ranges and the Klamath Mountains. P ...

, including the

Santa Lucia Mountains The Santa Lucia Mountains (sæntə luˈsiːə) or Santa Lucia Range is a rugged mountain range in coastal central California, running from Carmel southeast for to the Cuyama River in San Luis Obispo County. The range is never more than from t ...

on the west and the

Cholame Hills The Cholame Hills are a low mountain range in extreme southeastern Monterey County, California. They are a northern extension of the Temblor Range, both of the California Coast Ranges System. To the south of the range lie California State Route ...

and the

Diablo Range The Diablo Range is a mountain range in the California Coast Ranges subdivision of the Pacific Coast Ranges in northern California, United States. It stretches from the eastern San Francisco Bay area at its northern end to the Salinas Valley are ...

on the east.

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 ...

passes west of the town, leading northwest to to King City and to Salinas, the Monterey

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 ...

, while to the southeast it leads to

Paso Robles Paso Robles ( ), officially El Paso de Robles (Spanish for "The Pass of Oaks"), is a city in San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. Located on the Salinas River approximately north of San Luis Obispo, the city is known for its hot ...

. 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 CDP has a total area of , all of it land. The Salinas River flows northward along the west side of the community.

Climate

This region experiences warm (but not hot) and dry summers, with no average monthly temperatures above 71.6 °F. According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

system, San Ardo has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate, abbreviated "Csb" on climate maps.

Economy

The huge

San Ardo Oil Field The San Ardo Oil Field is a large oil field in Monterey County, California, in the United States. It is in the Salinas Valley, about five miles (8 km) south of the small town of San Ardo, and about 20 miles (32 km) north of Paso Robles. ...

is about south of town. Much of the local economy is based on

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

(including

farming Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

and

ranching A ranch (from es, rancho/Mexican Spanish) is an area of land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of a farm. These terms are most often ...

), and servicing the oil field.

Demographics

2010

At the 2010 census San Ardo had a population of 517. The population density was . The racial makeup of San Ardo was 252 (48.7%) White, 1 (0.2%) African American, 3 (0.6%) Native American, 5 (1.0%) Asian, 0 (0.0%) Pacific Islander, 245 (47.4%) from other races, and 11 (2.1%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 363 people (70.2%). The whole population lived in households, no one lived in non-institutionalized group quarters and no one was institutionalized. There were 140 households, 76 (54.3%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 82 (58.6%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 16 (11.4%) had a female householder with no husband present, 13 (9.3%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 6 (4.3%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 1 (0.7%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 22 households (15.7%) were one person and 9 (6.4%) had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 3.69. There were 111 families (79.3% of households); the average family size was 4.13. The age distribution was 185 people (35.8%) under the age of 18, 66 people (12.8%) aged 18 to 24, 139 people (26.9%) aged 25 to 44, 83 people (16.1%) aged 45 to 64, and 44 people (8.5%) who were 65 or older. The median age was 26.6 years. For every 100 females, there were 112.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 129.0 males. There were 158 housing units at an average density of 351.7 per square mile, of the occupied units 47 (33.6%) were owner-occupied and 93 (66.4%) were rented. The homeowner vacancy rate was 4.1%; the rental vacancy rate was 9.6%. 145 people (28.0% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 372 people (72.0%) lived in rental housing units.

2000

At the 2000 census there were 501 people, 157 households, and 110 families in the CDP. The population density was . There were 167 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 CDP was 47.90% White, 0.40% African American, 2.40% Native American, 0.40% Asian, 46.91% from other races, and 2.00% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 65.67%. Of the 157 households 41.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.1% were married couples living together, 10.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.3% were non-families. 24.2% of households were one person and 7.6% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 3.19 and the average family size was 3.82. The age distribution was 35.3% under the age of 18, 11.8% from 18 to 24, 27.7% from 25 to 44, 15.8% from 45 to 64, and 9.4% 65 or older. The median age was 27 years. For every 100 females, there were 106.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 114.6 males. The median household income was $25,208 and the median family income was $31,500. Males had a median income of $30,417 versus $14,375 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $11,379. About 15.4% of families and 24.0% 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 32.5% of those under age 18 and 13.5% of those age 65 or over.