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Santa Ana () is the second most populous city and 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 ...
of
Orange County, California Orange County is located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,186,989, making it the third-most-populous county in California, the sixth-most-populous in the United States, ...
. Located in the
Greater Los Angeles Greater Los Angeles is the second-largest metropolitan region in the United States with a population of 18.5 million in 2021, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino ...
region of Southern California, the city's population was 310,227 at the 2020 census, making Santa Ana the 13th-most populous city in California and the 4th densest large city in the United States (behind only
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...
,
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
, and
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...
). Santa Ana is a major regional economic and cultural hub for the
Orange Coast The Orange Coast is the string of cities and neighborhoods fronting the Pacific Coast in Orange County, California. From northwest to southeast, these cities are Seal Beach, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, Dana Point and San Clem ...
. Santa Ana's origins began in 1810, when the Spanish governor of California granted Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana to José Antonio Yorba. Following the
Mexican War of Independence The Mexican War of Independence ( es, Guerra de Independencia de México, links=no, 16 September 1810 – 27 September 1821) was an armed conflict and political process resulting in Mexico's independence from Spain. It was not a single, co ...
, the Yorba family
rancho Rancho or Ranchos may refer to: Settlements and communities *Rancho, Aruba, former fishing village and neighbourhood of Oranjestad *Ranchos of California, 19th century land grants in Alta California **List of California Ranchos *Ranchos, Buenos Ai ...
was enlarged, becoming one of the largest and most valuable in the region and home to a diverse Californio community. Following the American Conquest of California, the rancho was sold to the
Sepúlveda family __NOTOC__ Sepulveda or Sepúlveda may refer to: Places California * Sepulveda Boulevard, a major street in Los Angeles * Sepulveda Dam, a flood control dam in the San Fernando Valley which regulates the Sepulveda Basin * Sepulveda Pass, a pa ...
, who subsequently lost their land claim. In 1869, William H. Spurgeon then purchased the rancho and formally founded the modern city of Santa Ana. Approximately four-fifths Latino, Santa Ana has been characterized by ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' as the "face of a new California, a state where Latinos have more influence in everyday life—electorally, culturally and demographically—than almost anywhere else in the country."


History

Members of the Tongva and Juaneño/ Luiseño are indigenous to the area. The Tongva called the Santa Ana area "Hotuuk." The village of Pajbenga was located at modern day Santa Ana along the Santa Ana River.


Spanish and Mexican eras

After the 1769 expedition of Gaspar de Portolá out of
Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley of ...
, then capital of
New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( es, Virreinato de Nueva España, ), or Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain during the Spanish colonization of the Am ...
, Friar Junípero Serra named the area Vallejo de Santa Ana (Valley of
Saint Anne According to Christian apocryphal and Islamic tradition, Saint Anne was the mother of Mary and the maternal grandmother of Jesus. Mary's mother is not named in the canonical gospels. In writing, Anne's name and that of her husband Joachim co ...
, or Santa Ana Valley). On November 1, 1776, Mission San Juan Capistrano was established within this valley. In 1810, the first year of the
Mexican War of Independence The Mexican War of Independence ( es, Guerra de Independencia de México, links=no, 16 September 1810 – 27 September 1821) was an armed conflict and political process resulting in Mexico's independence from Spain. It was not a single, co ...
, Jose Antonio Yorba, a sergeant of the Spanish army, was granted land that he called Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana. Yorba's rancho included the lands where the cities of
Olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' ...
, Orange, Irvine, Yorba Linda, Villa Park, Santa Ana, Tustin, Costa Mesa and unincorporated El Modena, and Santa Ana Heights, are today. This rancho was the only land grant in Orange County granted under Spanish Rule. Surrounding land grants in Orange County were granted after Mexican Independence by the new government. After the Mexican-American war ended in 1848, Alta California became part of the
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 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...
and American settlers arrived in this area.


Post-Conquest era

Santa Ana was listed as a township of Los Angeles County in the 1860 and 1870 census, with an area encompassing most of what is now northern and central Orange County. It had a population of 756 in 1860 and 880 in 1870. The Anaheim district was enumerated separately from Santa Ana in 1870. Claimed in 1869 by Kentuckian William H. Spurgeon on land obtained from the descendants of Jose Antonio Yorba, Santa Ana was incorporated as a city in 1886 with a population of 2000 and in 1889 became the seat of the newly formed Orange County. In 1877, the
Southern Pacific Railroad The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Railroad classes#Class I, Class I Rail transport, railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was ...
built a branch line from
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...
to Santa Ana, which offered free right of way, land for a depot, and $10,000 in cash to the railroad in exchange for terminating the line in Santa Ana and not neighboring Tustin. In 1887, the California Central Railway (which became a subsidiary of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway the following year) broke the Southern Pacific's local monopoly on rail travel, offering service between Los Angeles and
San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...
by way of Santa Ana as a major intermediate station. In 1890, whites made up 71 percent of the city's population, most of whom migrated to Santa Ana from confederate states following the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by state ...
in search of real estate ventures and other economic opportunities.


20th century

By 1905, the Los Angeles Interurban Railway, a predecessor to the
Pacific Electric Railway The Pacific Electric Railway Company, nicknamed the Red Cars, was a privately owned mass transit system in Southern California consisting of electrically powered streetcars, interurban cars, and buses and was the largest electric railway system ...
, extended from Los Angeles to Santa Ana, running along Fourth Street downtown.
Firestone Boulevard Firestone may refer to: *Flint or firestone *Firestone (surname) Places *Firestone District, Margibi County, Liberia *Firestone (Phoenix, Arizona), a listing on the National Register of Historic Places in Phoenix, Arizona, US *Firestone, Colorado ...
, the first direct automobile route between Los Angeles and Santa Ana, opened in 1935; it was enlarged into the Santa Ana Freeway in 1953. The Pacific Electric
Santa Ana Line The Santa Ana Line was an interurban railway route connecting Los Angeles and Santa Ana in Orange County. It ran between 1905 and 1958 (with the southern end truncated to Bellflower in 1950) and was predominantly operated by the Pacific Electr ...
ran from 1905 to 1958. Santa Ana was the home of the original Glenn L. Martin aviation company, founded in 1912 before merging with the Wright Company in 1916. Later, Glenn Luther Martin created a second company of the same name in
Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U ...
,
Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...
which eventually merged with the
Lockheed Corporation The Lockheed Corporation was an American aerospace manufacturer. Lockheed was founded in 1926 and later merged with Martin Marietta to form Lockheed Martin in 1995. Its founder, Allan Lockheed, had earlier founded the similarly named but ...
to form the largest defense contractor in the world, Lockheed Martin.Featuring Historical Information of Santa Ana
. Santa Ana History. Retrieved on September 6, 2013.
Although there was a significant wave of Mexican migration to the city following the 1910 Mexican Revolution, the city remained majority white in 1939. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, the
Santa Ana Army Air Base Santa Ana Army Air Base (SAAAB) was a World War II-era air base located near Santa Ana, California. The air base was decommissioned in 1946, and part of the land was annexed by Costa Mesa in 1953. The air base was used for basic training, alt ...
was built as a training center for the
United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
. The base was responsible for continued population growth in Santa Ana and the rest of Orange County as many veterans moved to the area to raise families after the end of the war. Santa Ana was at the center of Orange County's economic boom in the 1950s with its agricultural and defense industries. However, most of this prosperity was only experienced by the city's white residents, while Latinos did not similarly benefit. Instead,
economic inequality There are wide varieties of economic inequality, most notably income inequality measured using the distribution of income (the amount of money people are paid) and wealth inequality measured using the distribution of wealth (the amount of ...
between the two groups rapidly increased during this time. In 1958, the Honer Plaza and Bullock's Fashion Square malls opened and would supplant Downtown Santa Ana, with its department stores such as Rankin's, Ward's,
Penney's Primark Stores Limited (; trading as Penneys in the Republic of Ireland) is an Irish multinational fast fashion retailer with headquarters in Dublin, Ireland. It has stores across Europe and in the United States. The Penneys brand is not us ...
and
Buffums Buffums, originally written as Buffums' with an apostrophe, was a chain of upscale department stores, headquartered in Long Beach, California. The Buffums chain began in 1904, when two brothers from Illinois, Charles A. and Edwin E. Buffum, ...
. Fashion Square was completely renovated and became MainPlace Mall in 1987.


''Latino'' city

By the 1970s, Santa Ana was becoming an increasingly Latino city, with white flight to surrounding suburbs coinciding with the city's downtown becoming increasingly frequented by Latinos. This changed perceptions of the city and its economic value, with property values dropping significantly by 1974, while surrounding cities of Laguna Beach,
Newport Beach Newport Beach is a coastal city in South Orange County, California. Newport Beach is known for swimming and sandy beaches. Newport Harbor once supported maritime industries however today, it is used mostly for recreation. Balboa Island draws v ...
, and Villa Park increased in value. Santa Ana entered the 1980s as a city of equal numbers of whites and Latinos. What had been the white commercial center of the city, Fourth Street, was now a street of Latino businesses and character. Latino immigrant and working-class families could now be found in every neighborhood of the city, rather than in just a few
ethnic enclaves In sociology, an ethnic enclave is a geographic area with high ethnic concentration, characteristic cultural identity, and economic activity. The term is usually used to refer to either a residential area or a workspace with a high concentratio ...
, as they were previously. ''Santa Ana'' became more often referred to as ''Santana'' and ''Fourth Street'' as ''La Cuatro.'' Having been a charter city since November 11, 1952, the citizens of Santa Ana amended the charter in November 1988 to provide for the direct election of the Mayor who until that point had been appointed from the council membership.
Miguel A. Pulido Miguel A. Pulido (born 1956) is an American politician and businessman who served as mayor of Santa Ana, California from 1994 to 2020. Early life and education Pulido was born in Mexico City. He and his parents immigrated to the United States i ...
was the first mayor of Latino descent in the city's history and the first Mayor directly elected by the voters. Since the 1980s, Santa Ana has been characterized by an effort to revitalize the downtown area which had declined in influence, even as it had become a dynamic commercial and entertainment center for working-class Latinos. The Santa Ana Artist's Village was created around Cal State Fullerton's Grand Central Art Center to attract artists and young professionals to live-work lofts and new businesses. The process continued into 2009 with the reopening of the historic
Yost Theater The Yost Theater is a concert and events venue in Santa Ana, California. It is a National Register of Historic Places-listed building located in Santa Ana's Downtown Historic District. Under the ownership of the Olivos Family it became a movie ...
.In the 2010s, gentrification became a larger concern of Santa Ana residents, with its roots starting in the 1990s. Despite strong Latino political representation, gentrification efforts have increasingly displaced the Mexican immigrant presence in the downtown area of the city in favor of outsiders. Primarily
Spanish-speaking Hispanophone and Hispanic refers to anything relating to the Spanish language (the Hispanosphere). In a cultural, rather than merely linguistic sense, the notion of "Hispanophone" goes further than the above definition. The Hispanic culture is th ...
businesses that served immigrant populations have been demolished in favor of arts projects to draw in outside investment, which bring clientele who further question why Spanish-speaking businesses are present, leading to a cycle of displacement. Residents formed a social movement to address lead concentrations in lower-income areas of the city. A 2020 study found that areas of Santa Ana with a median income below $50,000 had five times higher lead concentrations than higher-income areas of the city, which is particularly a concern for children. Residents continue to advocate for
environmental justice Environmental justice is a social movement to address the unfair exposure of poor and marginalized communities to harms from hazardous waste, resource extraction, and other land uses.Schlosberg, David. (2007) ''Defining Environmental Justice ...
in the city.


Geography

Santa Ana is located at (33.740717, -117.881408). 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 An economy is an area of th ...
, the city has a total area of . of it is land and of it (0.90%) is water. With 12,471.5 people per sq. mile, it is the fourth-most densely populated city in the United States with a population of 300,000 or more. Santa Ana is nested on flat, low-lying plains with little land elevation change. Running through the west end of the city is the mostly
channelized Channelized in a telecommunications environment means that the line that communications have been transmitted over contains more than one message thread, separated in some fashion. Typical channelization methods include packetizing, frequency-d ...
Santa Ana River, which is also largely seasonal due to the construction of the Prado Dam and
Seven Oaks Dam Seven Oaks Dam is a high earth and rock fill embankment dam across the Santa Ana River in the San Bernardino Mountains, about northeast of Redlands in San Bernardino County, southern California. It impounds Seven Oaks Reservoir in the San Berna ...
. The river has caused several severe floods in the 20th century, and is a continued threat despite the existence of the dams.


Cityscape

Now fully developed, Santa Ana has several distinct districts. The core of the city is the downtown area, which contains both retail and housing, as well as the Santa Ana Civic Center, which is a dense campus of administrative buildings for both the city and the county of Orange. The civic center is also home to the Ronald Reagan Federal Building and Courthouse. Several historic homes dating from the late 1800s can be found as well, and their preservation is a key issue as development of the downtown area continues. North of downtown is the "Midtown" district along Main St., home to entertainment destinations such as the
Bowers Museum The Bowers Museum is an art museum located in Santa Ana, California. The museum's permanent collection includes more than 100,000 objects, and features notable strengths in the areas of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, Native American art, the art ...
, MainPlace Mall, and the Discovery Science Center. Near the intersection of the Santa Ana Freeway and the Costa Mesa Freeway is the newly designated "Metro East" area, which the city council has envisioned as a secondary mixed-use development district. Currently the area is occupied by several office towers, but little retail or housing. Also on the east side of the city is the Santa Ana Zoo, notable for its collection of
monkey Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as the simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes, which constitutes an incom ...
s and species from South and
Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...
. The southeast end of the city is part of the
South Coast Metro The South Coast Metro is a district in Orange County, California within the cities of Santa Ana and Costa Mesa. The area is a dense mix of residential, office, and retail developments that spreads out from the South Coast Plaza mall. It forms pa ...
area, which is shared with the city of Costa Mesa. South Coast Plaza, a major shopping center, is the primary destination of this area, which also contains several high-rise office and apartment buildings. Yokohama Tire Corporation's United States headquarters are located at 1 MacArthur Place in the South Coast Metro area of Santa Ana, and Banc of California's headquarters relocated from the neighboring city of Irvine.


Climate

Santa Ana experiences a hot semi-arid climate ( Köppen: BSh), with hot, dry summers and mild winters with moderate rainfall. The summer months of June to September average a daytime high of and a nighttime low of . The winter months of December to March average a daytime high of and a nighttime low of . Rainfall averages about per year, most of which falls from November through April. There are an average of 36 days with measurable precipitation annually. The record high temperature for Santa Ana was on June 14, 1917. The record low temperature was on December 31, 1918, and January 1, 1919. There are an average of 25.6 days with highs of or higher and an average of 0.2 days with lows of or lower. The wettest "rain year" in Santa Ana was from July 1940 to June 1941 with , and the driest was from July 2017 to June 2018 with a mere . The most rainfall in one month was in February 1998. The most rainfall in 24 hours was on February 16, 1927.


Demographics

The most common Hispanic ancestries in Santa Ana are Mexican, Salvadorian and Guatemalan. The most common European ancestries are German, Irish, English and Italian. By the late 1970s,
African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
families began to move out of Santa Ana.


2020

The 2020 United States Census reported that Santa Ana had a population of 310,227. The racial makeup of Santa Ana was 8.5%
Non-Hispanic White Non-Hispanic whites or Non-Latino whites are Americans who are classified as "white", and are not of Hispanic (also known as "Latino") heritage. The United States Census Bureau defines ''white'' to include European Americans, Middle Eastern Am ...
, 1.1%
African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
, 3.7% Native American, 12.3% Asian, 0.3% Pacific islander, 45.1% Other, 19.1% two or more races, and 76.7% Hispanic or Latino.


2010

The 2010 United States Census reported that Santa Ana had a population of 324,528. The population density was . The racial makeup of Santa Ana was 148,838 (45.9%)
White White is the lightness, 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 diffuse reflection, reflect and scattering, scatter all the ...
(9.2%
Non-Hispanic White Non-Hispanic whites or Non-Latino whites are Americans who are classified as "white", and are not of Hispanic (also known as "Latino") heritage. The United States Census Bureau defines ''white'' to include European Americans, Middle Eastern Am ...
), 4,856 (1.5%)
African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
, 3,260 (1.0%) Native American, 34,138 (10.5%) Asian, 976 (0.3%) Pacific Islander, 120,789 (37.2%) from other races, and 11,671 (3.6%) from two or more races.
Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, 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 viceroyalties for ...
or Latino people of any race were 253,928 persons (78.2%). The census reported that 319,870 people (98.6% of the population) lived in households, 1,415 (0.4%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 3,243 (1.0%) were institutionalized. There were 73,174 households, out of which 41,181 (56.3%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 41,389 (56.6%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 11,808 (16.1%) had a female householder with no husband present, 6,451 (8.8%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 4,933 (6.7%)
unmarried opposite-sex partnerships POSSLQ ( , plural POSSLQs) is an abbreviation (or acronym) for "Person of Opposite Sex Sharing Living Quarters", a term coined in the late 1970s by the United States Census Bureau as part of an effort to more accurately gauge the prevalence of ...
, and 556 (0.8%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 9,254 households (12.6%) were made up of individuals, and 3,378 (4.6%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 4.37. There were 59,648 families (81.5% of all households); the average family size was 4.54. The age distribution of the population was as follows: 99,678 people (30.7%) under the age of 18, 39,165 people (12.1%) aged 18 to 24, 102,399 people (31.6%) aged 25 to 44, 61,375 people (18.9%) aged 45 to 64, and 21,911 people (6.8%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29.1 years. For every 100 females, there were 104.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.6 males. There were 76,896 dwelling units at an average density of , of which 34,756 (47.5%) were owner-occupied, and 38,418 (52.5%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.9%; the rental vacancy rate was 4.9%. 154,045 people (47.5% of the population) lived in owner-occupied dwelling units and 165,825 people (51.1%) lived in rental dwelling units. During 20092013, Santa Ana had a median household income of $53,335, with 21.5% of the population living below the federal poverty line.


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 in ...
of 2000, there were 337,977 people, 73,002 households, and 59,788 families residing in the city. The
population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...
was 4,808.2/km2 (12,451.9/mi2). There were 74,588 housing units at an average density of 1,061.1/km2 (2,748.0/mi2). The racial makeup of the city was 42.73%
White White is the lightness, 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 diffuse reflection, reflect and scattering, scatter all the ...
, 1.70%
African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
, 1.19% Native American, 8.81% Asian, 0.34% Pacific Islander, 40.64% from other races, and 4.58% from two or more races. 76.07% of the population were
Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, 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 viceroyalties for ...
or Latino of any race. There were 73,002 households, out of which 53.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.6% were married couples living together, 13.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.1% were non-families. 12.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 4.55 and the average family size was 4.72. In the city, the population was spread out, with 34.2% under the age of 18, 12.8% from 18 to 24, 34.1% from 25 to 44, 13.5% from 45 to 64, and 5.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 26 years. For every 100 females, there were 107.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 108.7 males. The median income for a household from 2005 to 2009 was $54,521. The median income for a household in the city was $43,412, and the median income for a family was $41,050. Males had a median income of $23,342 versus $21,637 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 city was $12,152. 19.8% of the population and 16.1% of families 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 ...
. Out of the total population, 24.1% of those under the age of 18 and 10.4% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.


Economy

Santa Ana is the corporate headquarters of several companies, including
Behr Paint Behr Paint Company (stylized as BEHR) is a supplier of architectural paint and exterior wood care products to the United States and Canadian do-it-yourself markets. BEHR manufactures interior house paints, exterior house paints, decorative finishe ...
, First American Corporation,
Greenwood & Hall Greenwood Hall was a publicly traded educational technology company that provided cloud-based people and technology-enabled solutions designed to help post-secondary institutions better manage the student lifecycle. Greenwood Hall was headquarte ...
, Ingram Micro, SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union,
STEC Stec or STEC may refer to: * Shigatoxigenic ''Escherichia coli'', bacterial strains * sTec, Inc., solid-state data storage company based in Santa Ana, California * Daewoo S-TEC engine S-TEC or M-TEC is a low-displacement engine range co-develop ...
, TTM Technologies,
Kern's ''For the California beverage company, see Kern's (beverage company)'' Kern's, or The Ernst Kern Dry Good Company, was a department store established in Detroit in 1883 by Ernst Kern, who was born in Germany. In 1886, the original store was cons ...
, and Wahoo's Fish Taco. It also houses major regional headquarters for the
Xerox Xerox Holdings Corporation (; also known simply as Xerox) is an American corporation that sells print and digital document products and services in more than 160 countries. Xerox is headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut (having moved from St ...
corporation, Ultimate Software, and
T-Mobile T-Mobile is the brand name used by some of the mobile communications subsidiaries of the German telecommunications company Deutsche Telekom AG in the Czech Republic ( T-Mobile Czech Republic), Poland ( T-Mobile Polska), the United States ( T-Mob ...
. Nonprofits based in Santa Ana include Open Doors. One of Santa Ana's most notable businesses is the
Rickenbacker Rickenbacker International Corporation is a string instrument manufacturer based in Santa Ana, California. The company is credited as the first known maker of electric guitars – a steel guitar in 1932 – and today produces a rang ...
musical instrument company, whose
electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gu ...
s and
bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and s ...
s earned fame in the hands of many
rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm an ...
legends. Then
Glenn L. Martin Company The Glenn L. Martin Company—also known as The Martin Company from 1957-1961—was an American aircraft and aerospace manufacturing company founded by aviation pioneer Glenn L. Martin, and operated between 1917-1961. The Martin Company produc ...
, a precursor to Lockheed Martin, was founded in Santa Ana in 1912 before merging with the Wright Company in 1916. In recent years, the nearby city of Irvine has outpaced Santa Ana in commercial growth, with the Irvine Business District located near John Wayne Airport. To compete with this, Santa Ana has approved commercial projects in the
South Coast Metro The South Coast Metro is a district in Orange County, California within the cities of Santa Ana and Costa Mesa. The area is a dense mix of residential, office, and retail developments that spreads out from the South Coast Plaza mall. It forms pa ...
area, as well as the "Metro East" development, located at the confluence of the Santa Ana Freeway and the Costa Mesa Freeway. The Historic South Main Business District contains many older retail shops and other small businesses. It extends from downtown Santa Ana southwards on Main Street to the South Coast Metro area. There was a recession in the 2000s, and the expected year for return to peak employment for the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana area was 2015. The pre-recession peak year was 2007. Due to the recession, 519,300 jobs were lost, a 9% decrease. According to the Employment Development Department, the unemployment rate for 2015 was 5 percent.


Top employers

According to the city's 2021 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, the top employers in the city are: Other large employers include Western Medical Center, TTM Technologies, MSC Software Corp, and Sterns Learning Inc.


Arts and culture

The
Bowers Museum The Bowers Museum is an art museum located in Santa Ana, California. The museum's permanent collection includes more than 100,000 objects, and features notable strengths in the areas of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, Native American art, the art ...
is art and history museum started in the 1930s with a large collection of fine art and artifacts from around the world and several traveling exhibits each year. Santa Ana has several wall paintings and
mural A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spani ...
s depicting local history, community events and cultural diversity in Orange County. The Chiarini Fountain, designed and carved by Chiarini Marble & Stone, was donated by the Chiarini family in honor of George C. Chiarini and to recognize the artists who have helped make Downtown Santa Ana a creative center in Orange County. Greenville, a former rural part of Santa Ana, has buildings over a century old, but industrial complexes have replaced the agricultural fields once surrounding the town. Santa Ana has a number of parks. The
Disneyland Disneyland is a theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney initially envisi ...
and Knott's Berry Farm amusement parks are located northwest of Santa Ana, several kilometers away. Beaches are located around 20 minutes to the south, accessible by the
55 freeway State Route 55 (SR 55) is an 18-mile (30-km) long north–south state highway that passes through suburban Orange County in the U.S. state of California. The portion of the route built to freeway standards is known as the Costa Mesa Fr ...
. Huntington Beach and
Newport Beach Newport Beach is a coastal city in South Orange County, California. Newport Beach is known for swimming and sandy beaches. Newport Harbor once supported maritime industries however today, it is used mostly for recreation. Balboa Island draws v ...
as well as other coastal communities offer shopping, dining, boating, swimming and surfing.


Sites of interest

*Artist Village and Civic Center (see
Downtown Santa Ana Historic Districts Downtown Santa Ana (DTSA), also called Downtown Orange County, is the historic city center of Santa Ana and the county seat of Orange County, California. It is the institutional center for the city of Santa Ana as well as Orange County, a ret ...
) * CSUF Grand Central Art Center - at the heart of the Artist Village in Santa Ana * Discovery Science Center * Downtown National Register District *
Downtown Santa Ana Historic Districts Downtown Santa Ana (DTSA), also called Downtown Orange County, is the historic city center of Santa Ana and the county seat of Orange County, California. It is the institutional center for the city of Santa Ana as well as Orange County, a ret ...
* El Centro Cultural de México *
Main Place Mall MainPlace Mall (formerly known as Westfield MainPlace) is a shopping mall at the north edge of Santa Ana, California, adjacent to the City of Orange and the Orange Crush interchange of the Santa Ana, Garden Grove and Orange freeways. The anch ...
- opened in 1987 * Old Orange County Courthouse * Santa Ana Civic Center * Santa Ana College, part of the Rancho Santiago Community College District * Santa Ana Zoo, built in 1960 *
Pacific Electric Sub-Station No. 14 The Pacific Electric Sub-Station No. 14 is a former traction substation in Santa Ana, California. It was built by the Pacific Electric Railway to provide electricity to run the railway's streetcars in central Orange County, California. The bu ...
* Rankin Building - once Santa Ana's iconic local department store *
Bowers Museum The Bowers Museum is an art museum located in Santa Ana, California. The museum's permanent collection includes more than 100,000 objects, and features notable strengths in the areas of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, Native American art, the art ...
*
Yost Theater The Yost Theater is a concert and events venue in Santa Ana, California. It is a National Register of Historic Places-listed building located in Santa Ana's Downtown Historic District. Under the ownership of the Olivos Family it became a movie ...
* Lyon Air Museum *The Kellogg House *
South Coast Metro The South Coast Metro is a district in Orange County, California within the cities of Santa Ana and Costa Mesa. The area is a dense mix of residential, office, and retail developments that spreads out from the South Coast Plaza mall. It forms pa ...
* John Wayne Airport * MainPlace Mall *Heritage Museum of Orange County


Sports

Santa Ana has highly competitive high school and collegiate sports teams playing at Santa Ana Stadium and the Santa Ana Unified School District Sports Complex Stadium. The Dons of Santa Ana College are one of the most successful soccer teams in the state of California, and is a frequent top finisher, statewide. In 2008, the Dons clinched their fifteenth consecutive Orange Empire Conference title. The college is also known for its historically successful baseball teams, and for producing former Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Angels pitcher C. J. Wilson. Mater Dei High School has one of the most successful and reputable football programs in the country.


Government

Santa Ana utilizes a mayor-council form of government. The council consists of six members who are elected by the populace of the city. Each member serves for four years and can serve a total of three terms. A mayor pro tem is elected by the council members from within the council. In the California State Legislature, Santa Ana is in and is split between and . 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 chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together the ...
, Santa Ana is split between , and . Like most majority-minority cities in the United States, Santa Ana is a stronghold of the Democratic Party. Despite the city's high percentage of Democrats, the city tends to vote conservatively on social issues, much like the rest of northern Orange County. It voted in favor of Proposition 8—California's amendment defining marriage in the state as a legal union between a man and a woman—by 61.9%, above the county's average of 57.7%. On Proposition 4, which would have amended the California Constitution to require minors to notify their parents before having an abortion, Santa Ana voted in favor of the measure by 62.0%, much higher than the county as a whole, which voted in favor of the measure by only 54.3%. The Consulate-General of Mexico in Santa Ana is located on 828 North Broadway Street. The Consulate-General of El Salvador in Santa Ana is located in Suite 103 at 840 North Grand Avenue.


Education

Santa Ana Unified School District The Santa Ana Unified School District (SAUSD) is a school district in Orange County, California that serves most of the city of Santa Ana and small portions of the cities of Irvine, Tustin, Costa Mesa and Newport Beach. Although its geograph ...
includes 37 K–5 elementary schools, nine 6–8 intermediate schools, eight 9–12 high schools, five special schools, and one charter school. Some elementary schools are: John Adams Elementary School, Manuel Esqueda Elementary School, Diamond Elementary School. The school district provides an online accountability report card. The Garden Grove Unified School District also includes some schools within Santa Ana.
Santa Ana Unified School District The Santa Ana Unified School District (SAUSD) is a school district in Orange County, California that serves most of the city of Santa Ana and small portions of the cities of Irvine, Tustin, Costa Mesa and Newport Beach. Although its geograph ...
's public high schools include
Valley High School (Santa Ana) Santa Ana Valley High School, also referred to as Valley High School is located at 1801 S. Greenville St. in Santa Ana, CA 92704. Valley High was built in 1959. Background Santa Ana Valley High School was the second high school constructed for ...
, Middle College High School, Santa Ana High School, Saddleback High School, Century High School, newly opened Segerstrom Fundamental High School and
Godinez Fundamental High School Hector Godinez Fundamental High School is a public high school in Santa Ana, California, and is part of the Santa Ana Unified School District The Santa Ana Unified School District (SAUSD) is a school district in Orange County, California that ser ...
, and other public schools in the area, along with the Orange County School of the Arts in the midtown district. The Roman Catholic Diocese operates Mater Dei High School. The Diocese also operates several K–8 schools in Santa Ana, including School of Our Lady, Saint Anne, Saint Barbara, and Saint Joseph. Immaculate Heart Of Mary And Our Lady Of the Pillar schools were closed in 2005 and merged into the School of Our Lady, which is located at Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish. (See Roman Catholic Diocesan Schools in Santa Ana, California). In September 2005 the Orange County Campus of International School of Los Angeles (LILA) moved to Santa Ana. In July 2015 it moved back to Orange. The city is also home to Santa Ana College, a two-year public
community college A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an "open enrollment" for students who have graduated from high school (also known as senior se ...
, as well as California Coast University, and the Orange County branch of the Art Institute of California.
Taft Law School Taft Law School is a private for-profit online law school in Santa Ana, California. It was founded in 1976 and operates through the Taft University System ( William Howard Taft University). The school offers Juris Doctor (J.D.) and Master of ...
, a correspondence law school, is also based in Santa Ana. Trinity Law School is a Christian, CBE-accredited law school that is the only California campus of the Trinity International University system of schools.
Detective Training Institute A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads th ...
is a correspondence/distance learning institution that offers private investigator diplomas and is approved to operate by the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education. Career Networks Institute College, a post-secondary occupational learning center for allied health, is also based in the city.


Infrastructure


Transportation

A few freeways run through Santa Ana, connecting it to other areas in Orange County, the
Greater Los Angeles Area Greater Los Angeles is the second-largest metropolitan region in the United States with a population of 18.5 million in 2021, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino ...
, and beyond. The Santa Ana Freeway (
Interstate 5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels through the states of Calif ...
) heads north to
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...
, and south towards Southern Orange County and
San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...
. The Garden Grove Freeway (State Route 22) runs along near Santa Ana's northern border, connecting Long Beach to the west and the City of Orange to the east. The Costa Mesa Freeway (State Route 55) travels south to Costa Mesa; and then north to the Riverside Freeway (State Route 91), providing a connection to Riverside.
Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...
, the national passenger rail system, provides service to Santa Ana several times on weekdays with less frequent service on weekends. It operates its '' Pacific Surfliner'' between
San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...
to the south and either
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...
or San Luis Obispo to the north (see Santa Ana Regional Transportation Center). Greyhound Lines is the largest bus transportation service in Santa Ana, and serves the continental United States and Canada. The bus lines Crucero, Intercalifornias, and others serve all points into Mexico. The Santa Ana Regional Transportation Center is also served by commuter rail trains of Metrolink: the Orange County Line ( Oceanside to Union Station), and Inland Empire–Orange County Line ( San Bernardino to Oceanside). Public transit bus service is available via the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) and is mainly focused on busses and freeways. A 4.15-mile OCTA light rail line running between Santa Ana and Garden Grove, the OC Streetcar, is currently under construction and planned to enter service in 2022. John Wayne Airport is located at 18601 Airport Way Santa Ana, CA 92707. The IATA code for the airport is SNA.


Utilities

Electricity for the city is provided by Southern California Edison. The Southern California Gas Company provides natural gas service. Phone and cable television service is provided by AT&T.


Emergency services

Law enforcement is provided by the Santa Ana Police Department from three stations throughout the city. The department includes five canine units, an 11-officer equestrian unit and a 37-member SWAT team. The city shares a helicopter with the cities of Costa Mesa and
Newport Beach Newport Beach is a coastal city in South Orange County, California. Newport Beach is known for swimming and sandy beaches. Newport Harbor once supported maritime industries however today, it is used mostly for recreation. Balboa Island draws v ...
via the Airborne Law Enforcement (ABLE) program. In March 2012, the city disbanded its municipal fire department, which had provided fire protection for 128 years, and contracted with the
Orange County Fire Authority The Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) is the agency that provides fire protection and emergency medical services for unincorporated areas of Orange County, California as well as 25 cities within the county that contract OCFA's services. There ...
.


Notable people


See also

*
List of California communities with Hispanic majority populations The following is a list of California cities, towns, and census-designated places in which a majority (over 50%) of the population is Hispanic or Latino, according to data from the 2010 Census. Note: Although Hispanics or Latinos form 50% or more ...
*
List of U.S. cities with large Hispanic populations This list of U.S. cities by American Hispanic and Latino population covers all incorporated cities and Census-designated places with a population over 100,000 and a proportion of Hispanic and Latino residents over 30% in the 50 U.S. states, the ...
* Rancho Cañón de Santa Ana (Santa Ana Canyon Ranch) * Rancho San Juan Cajón de Santa Ana * Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana * Santa Ana (Amtrak station) * Santa Ana Canyon * Santa Ana Civic Center * Santa Ana Freeway * Santa Ana Heights * Santa Ana Mountains * Santa Ana River * Santa Ana Stadium *
Santa Ana Valley The Santa Ana Valley is located in Orange County, California and is bisected by the Santa Ana River. The valley is home to most of Orange County's central business districts. The cities of Anaheim, Buena Park, Costa Mesa, Fullerton, Irvine, Oran ...
* Santa Ana Watershed * Santa Ana wind * Santiago Creek *
Santora Building The Santora is a historic commercial building located in Downtown Historic District of Santa Ana, California. It now houses art galleries, retail stores, and restaurants. Architecture The building was designed by Frank Lansdowne, one of the pre ...
*
Yost Theater The Yost Theater is a concert and events venue in Santa Ana, California. It is a National Register of Historic Places-listed building located in Santa Ana's Downtown Historic District. Under the ownership of the Olivos Family it became a movie ...


References


External links

* {{Authority control 1869 establishments in California 1886 establishments in California Cities in Orange County, California County seats in California Incorporated cities and towns in California Populated places established in 1869 Populated places established in 1886 Populated places on the Santa Ana River