Sunset Beach is a

Huntington Beach Huntington Beach is a seaside city in Orange County in Southern California, located southeast of Downtown Los Angeles. The city is named after American businessman Henry E. Huntington. The population was 198,711 during the 2020 census, maki ...

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shel ...

front community in

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, a ...

. It was established on September 8, 1904 and developed as a result of the 1920 discovery of oil in the

Huntington Beach Oil Field The Huntington Beach Oil Field is part of rich pools of oil found along the West Coast of the United States in the early 1920s stretching from Huntington Beach, California to Santa Barbara, California. History On May 24, 1920, the first Huntingt ...

. The

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 ...

of Sunset Beach, and its population of 971 as of the 2010 census, was annexed by Huntington Beach in 2011. The elevation is above sea level and the community is stretched out along Pacific Coast Highway bracketed by the ocean and Huntington Harbour.

History

Sunset Beach was established in 1904 and developed as a result of the 1920 discovery of oil in the

. On August 2, 2010, the Huntington Beach city council, in a 5-2 vote, voted to annex Sunset Beach making the community a part of the much larger Huntington Beach. The annexation was to have officially begun in January 2011 but a group of residents filed suit on December 9, 2010, to stop the annexation due to new taxes that would be imposed on them once they become part of Huntington Beach. A hearing for a preliminary injunction was scheduled for January 19, 2011, in Orange County Superior Court. Huntington Beach officially annexed Sunset Beach in August 2011.

Geography

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 covered an area of 0.2 square miles (0.5 km²), 97.51% of it land, and 2.49% of it water.

Demographics

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 Sunset Beach had a population of 971. The population density was . The racial makeup of Sunset Beach was 863 (88.9%)

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 ...

, 4 (0.4%)

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 ...

, 6 (0.6%) Native American, 42 (4.3%)

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 ...

, 2 (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 ...

, 18 (1.9%) 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 36 (3.7%) 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 79 persons (8.1%). The Census reported that 971 people (100% of the population) lived in households, 0 (0%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized. There were 515 households, out of which 69 (13.4%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 179 (34.8%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 19 (3.7%) had a female householder with no husband present, 23 (4.5%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 29 (5.6%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 5 (1.0%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 224 households (43.5%) were made up of individuals, and 48 (9.3%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.89. There were 221

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. Ideal ...

(42.9% of all households); the average family size was 2.64. The population was spread out, with 106 people (10.9%) under the age of 18, 72 people (7.4%) aged 18 to 24, 280 people (28.8%) aged 25 to 44, 365 people (37.6%) aged 45 to 64, and 148 people (15.2%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46.9 years. For every 100 females, there were 120.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 117.3 males. There were 641 housing units at an average density of , of which 211 (41.0%) were owner-occupied, and 304 (59.0%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 4.4%; the rental vacancy rate was 8.9%. 455 people (46.9% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 516 people (53.1%) lived in rental housing units.

Economy

Sunset Beach has a number of restaurants and bars, including Captain Jack's, founded by noted surfer Jack Haley Sr., the father of basketball player

Jack Haley John Joseph Haley Jr. (August 10, 1897 – June 6, 1979) was an American actor, comedian, dancer, radio host, singer and vaudevillian. He was best known for his portrayal of the Tin Man and his farmhand counterpart Hickory in the 1939 Metro-G ...

Arts and culture

The Sunset Beach Art Festival is held annually during Mothers Day weekend. It was created in 1948 by the local women's group as a way to promote education and social activities and was initially called the Beachcomber's Carnival. The festival generates $30,000 to $40,000, with all the proceeds going to charity.

Parks and recreation

Sunset Beach features one of the widest beaches in southern California. Running parallel to the beach, from the north of town to the southern edge is the Green Belt, a bucolic 14 acre park on which residents walk their dogs and celebrate Mother's Day with the historic Sunset Beach Art Festival, sponsored by Las Damas. Southeast of Sunset Beach is Bolsa Chica State Beach. To the east is the bayfront community of Huntington Harbour (part of Huntington Beach), and roughly north is the

Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach is a United States Navy weapons and munitions loading, storage and maintenance facility located in Seal Beach, California, with detachments in Fallbrook, California, Fallbrook and Norco, California, Norco, both als ...

, and the Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge. The small gated community of Surfside located between Sunset Beach and the Weapons Station is part of

Seal Beach Seal Beach is a coastal city in Orange County, California, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 25,242, up from 24,168 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 census. Seal Beach is located in the w ...

, with the rest of Seal Beach on the other side of the Weapons Station.

Infrastructure

Sunset Beach does not have residential mail delivery. Instead, residents pick up their mail at post office boxes in the centrally-located post office or at private post office boxes located on 22nd Street. The main Post Office features an award-winning wall mural designed and painted by local artist Katy Brack. Sunset Beach is served by the Sunset Beach Sanitary District and emergency services are provided by the Huntington Beach Police Department and the Huntington Beach Fire Department. Sunset Beach residents are civic minded and the town boasts three long term associations - The Sunset Beach Community Association SBCA, The Sunset Beach Woman's Club and Las Damas, a woman's philanthropic organization.

References

External links

Community profile in Northwest Fisheries Science Center
{{Authority control Former census-designated places in California Geography of Huntington Beach, California History of Orange County, California