Wofford Heights, California

Wofford Heights is a census-designated place (CDP) in the southern Sierra Nevada, in Kern County, California, United States. Wofford Heights is located in the west Kern River Valley, south-southwest of Kernville, at an elevation of . The population was 2,213 at the 2020 census, up from 2,200 at the 2010 census.

Geography

Wofford Heights is located at . California State Route 155 is the only highway in Wofford Heights, leading south to Lake Isabella and west through Alta Sierra and the Greenhorn Mountains.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , all of it land.

Climate

According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Wofford Heights has a semi-arid climate, abbreviated "BSk" on climate maps. Here, the summers can be brutal and have reached as high as while the winters are a bit more mild and have gone as low as .
Wofford Heights' eastern front borders Lake Isabella. There are two major access points to the lake from Wofford Blvd: The first is the entrance to North Fork Marina and Tillie Creek Campground, and the second is Freear which is at the very end of East Evans Road near Wofford Heights Park.

History

I.L. Wofford founded the community as a resort in 1948. The Wofford Heights post office opened in 1953. It was a location for the 1970 biker film Angels Die Hard.

In 2016 the Erskine and Cedar fires burned more than 77,000 acres and more than 300 structures. As of 2019 the Lake Isabella area was considered a "very high fire hazard severity zone" due to desert winds and the nearby Sequoia National Forest. In addition, the median age of residents is 62, and many live on narrow roads which would be poor escape routes.

Demographics

2020

The 2020 United States census reported that Wofford Heights had a population of 2,213. The population density was . The racial makeup of Wofford Heights was 82.3% White, 0.0% African American, 2.2% Native American, 0.8% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 3.4% from other races, and 11.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.9% of the population.

The whole population lived in households. There were 1,189 households, out of which 11.2% included children under the age of 18, 32.6% were married-couple households, 5.2% were cohabiting couple households, 31.1% had a female householder with no partner present, and 31.0% had a male householder with no partner present. 46.0% of households were one person, and 25.8% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 1.86. There were 572 families (48.1% of all households).

The age distribution was 12.7% under the age of 18, 3.3% aged 18 to 24, 14.5% aged 25 to 44, 33.0% aged 45 to 64, and 36.6% who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 59.6years. For every 100 females, there were 102.7 males.

There were 1,856 housing units at an average density of , of which 1,189 (64.1%) were occupied. Of these, 75.4% were owner-occupied, and 24.6% were occupied by renters.

2023 estimates

In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that the median household income was $40,168, and the per capita income was $36,040. About 10.1% of families and 16.1% of the population were below the poverty line.

References

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Census-designated places in California
Census-designated places in Kern County, California
Kern River Valley
Populated places in the Sierra Nevada (United States)
Populated places established in 1948
1948 establishments in California