Stevenson Ranch 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 ...

in the

Santa Clarita Valley The Santa Clarita Valley (SCV) is part of the upper watershed of the Santa Clara River in Southern California. The valley was part of the Rancho San Francisco Mexican land grant. Located in Los Angeles County, its main population center is the ...

Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, with 9,861,224 residents estimated as of 2022. It is the ...

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 ...

. Stevenson Ranch is set in the foothills of the

Santa Susana Mountains The Santa Susana Mountains are a transverse range of mountains in Southern California, north of the city of Los Angeles, in the United States. The range runs east-west, separating the San Fernando and Simi valleys on its south from the Santa Cla ...

and lies west of

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 Califor ...

and the city of

Santa Clarita Santa Clarita (; Spanish for "Little St. Clare") is a city in northwestern Los Angeles County in the U.S. state of California. With a 2020 census population of 228,673, it is the third-largest city by population in Los Angeles County, the 17t ...

. Stevenson Ranch encompasses about . About are set aside as parks, recreation areas, and open space. A

master-planned community A planned community, planned city, planned town, or planned settlement is any community that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically constructed on previously undeveloped land. This contrasts with settlements that evolve ...

, it was approved by the county in 1987. The population was 17,557 at the time of the 2010 census. For statistical purposes, the Census Bureau has designated it a

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). It is home to Stevenson Ranch, Pico Canyon, and Oak Hills elementary schools (part of the

Newhall School District The Newhall School District is an elementary school district in the Santa Clarita Valley that serves the Valencia and Newhall communities within the city of Santa Clarita, California, as well as the Stevenson Ranch community in unincorporated L ...

), and Rancho Pico Junior High and

West Ranch High School West Ranch High School is a public high school in the William S. Hart Union High School District located in Stevenson Ranch, California. The school mascot is the Wildcat, and navy blue and gold are the school's official colors. ''The Paw Print'' i ...

(part of the

William S. Hart Union High School District The William S. Hart Union High School District (commonly referred to simply as the Hart District) is a school district in the Santa Clarita Valley of Los Angeles County, California. It serves all of the valley's high school students (grades 9� ...

). The Valencia Marketplace and Stevenson Ranch Shopping Center are popular shopping areas in the community.

Six Flags Magic Mountain Six Flags Magic Mountain, formerly known and colloquially referred to as simply Magic Mountain, is a amusement park located in Valencia, California, northwest of downtown Los Angeles. It opened on May 29, 1971, as a development of the Newha ...

, an amusement park, is located about north of Stevenson Ranch. The area backs up to the historic oil-mining town of

Mentryville Mentryville was an oil drilling town in the Santa Susana Mountains in Los Angeles County, California, USA. It was started by Charles Alexander Mentry in the 1870s around the newly discovered oil reserves in that area. The first oil strike was ...

, founded in 1875. The names of many streets located in Stevenson Ranch are those of authors (e.g.,

Thackeray William Makepeace Thackeray (; 18 July 1811 – 24 December 1863) was a British novelist, author and illustrator. He is known for his satirical works, particularly his 1848 novel '' Vanity Fair'', a panoramic portrait of British society, and t ...

Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century fic ...

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

, and

Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is widel ...

). It is also the filming location of several film and television productions, including the television show ''Weeds'', a

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

original series, as well as the feature film '' Pleasantville''. Its master-planned nature is at the heart of the suburban commentary of ''Weeds'', such as the "

Little Boxes "Little Boxes" is a song written and composed by Malvina Reynolds in 1962, which became a hit for her friend Pete Seeger in 1963, when he released his cover version. The song is a social satire about the development of suburbia, and associat ...

" song and sprawling development portrayed in the opening of the show.

Geography

Stevenson Ranch to the left of I-5 northbound

The Stevenson Ranch census-designated place includes two major subdivisions: Westridge and Stevenson Ranch proper. Stevenson Ranch proper occupies the central and southern parts of the census-designated place. It includes the Valencia Marketplace and two elementary schools (Stevenson Ranch and Pico Canyon). Major thoroughfares in the community include Poe Parkway, Hemingway Avenue, Pico Canyon Road, and Stevenson Ranch Parkway. Pico Canyon Road and Stevenson Ranch Parkway continue east into the city of Santa Clarita as Lyons Avenue and McBean Parkway, respectively. Westridge occupies the northern part of the CDP. It includes Oak Hills Elementary School, Rancho Pico Junior High, and West Ranch High School. The Oaks Club at Valencia, a country club and golf course, is located in Westridge. The major east-to-west thoroughfare is Valencia Boulevard. It is a wealthy community, with some of the Santa Clarita Valley's most expensive real estate. Although Westridge lies in the Stevenson Ranch CDP and zip code 91381, it was developed as part of

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...

. The two subdivisions are connected by The Old Road. Both subdivisions are located west of Interstate 5. The

neighborhood of the city of

lies to the east and northeast, Newhall lies to the southeast, and unincorporated Valencia lies to the north.

Government and infrastructure

The

Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD), officially the County of Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, is a law enforcement agency serving Los Angeles County, California. LASD is the largest sheriff's department in the United States a ...

(LASD) operates the Santa Clarita Valley Station in

, serving Stevenson Ranch for law enforcement. Traffic enforcement is handled by the

California Highway Patrol The California Highway Patrol (CHP) is a state law enforcement agency of the U.S. state of California. The CHP has primary patrol jurisdiction over all California highways and roads and streets outside city limits, and can exercise law enfor ...

(CHP). The city of

has tried unsuccessfully to annex Stevenson Ranch.

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 Stevenson Ranch had a population of 17,557. The population density was . The racial makeup of Stevenson Ranch was 11,271 (64.2%)

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 ...

(53.9% Non-Hispanic White), 606 (3.5%)

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 ...

, 65 (0.4%) Native American, 4,028 (22.9%)

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 ...

, 34 (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 ...

, 765 (4.4%) 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 788 (4.5%) 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 2,827 persons (16.1%). The Census reported that 17,557 people (100% of the population) lived in households, 0 (0%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized. There were 5,663 households, out of which 3,006 (53.1%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 3,761 (66.4%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 533 (9.4%) had a female householder with no husband present, 231 (4.1%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 251 (4.4%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 42 (0.7%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. Of the households, 828 (14.6%) were made up of individuals, and 227 (4.0%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.10. There were 4,525

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. Ideall ...

(79.9% of all households); the average family size was 3.48. The population was spread out, with 5,659 people (32.2%) under the age of 18, 1,261 people (7.2%) aged 18 to 24, 4,871 people (27.7%) aged 25 to 44, 4,668 people (26.6%) aged 45 to 64, and 1,098 people (6.3%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36.5 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.0 males. There were 5,842 housing units at an average density of , of which 4,171 (73.7%) were owner-occupied, and 1,492 (26.3%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.3%; the rental vacancy rate was 5.1%. Of the population, 13,819 (78.7%) lived in owner-occupied housing units, and 3,738 people (21.3%) lived in rental housing units.

Climate

Notable people

* Ryan Newman, actor *

El Hefe Aaron Abeyta (born August 8, 1965), better known as El Hefe or simply Hefe, from ''el Jefe'' (Spanish for "the boss"), is an American musician and actor, best known as the lead guitarist and trumpet player for the California punk band NOFX. ...

(Aaron Abeyta), guitarist * Hunter Greene, professional baseball player

References

External links

{{authority control 1987 establishments in California Census-designated places in Los Angeles County, California Census-designated places in California Planned communities in California Populated places established in 1987