Calwa (formerly, Calwa City) is an unincorporated

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 ...

Fresno County Fresno County (), officially the County of Fresno, is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 1,008,654. The county seat is Fresno, the fifth-most populous city in Cali ...

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 population was 2,052 at the 2010 census, up from 762 in 2000. Calwa is located south-southeast of downtown

Fresno Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, maki ...

, at an elevation of 292 feet (89 m). The name was taken from the acronym for "California Wine Association" (CalWA).

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 community has a total area of , all land. Calwa is an almost complete

county island A county island is a small or large portion of an unincorporated area that is within the jurisdiction of a county, usually surrounded by adjacent areas that are incorporated into a municipality. On maps, these geopolitical anomalies will form ja ...

surrounded by the city of Fresno on all sides except the southeast corner.

History

In 1885, the land of what is now Calwa, was improved and cultivated by Hugh William La Rue to plant an orchard and vineyard. His first crop was ruined by a grasshopper pest in 1886 and he sought to plant elsewhere. Calwa became a railroad town when Santa Fe Railways invested one million dollars to build a switching yard and houses for railway employees.

Southern Pacific Railroad The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the ...

also passed through Calwa. The Calwa City post office opened in 1913, and changed its name to Calwa in 1949.

Demographics

2010

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 Calwa had a population of 2,052. The population density was . The racial makeup of Calwa was 995 (48.5%)

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 ...

, 24 (1.2%)

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 ...

, 67 (3.3%) Native American, 43 (2.1%)

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 ...

, 9 (0.4%)

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 ...

, 846 (41.2%) 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 68 (3.3%) 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 1,848 persons (90.1%). The Census reported that 2,052 people (100% of the population) lived in households, 0 (0%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized. There were 480 households, out of which 298 (62.1%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 221 (46.0%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 108 (22.5%) had a female householder with no husband present, 83 (17.3%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 74 (15.4%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 1 (0.2%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 41 households (8.5%) were made up of individuals, and 8 (1.7%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 4.28. There were 412

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 ...

(85.8% of all households); the average family size was 4.33. The population was spread out, with 735 people (35.8%) under the age of 18, 268 people (13.1%) aged 18 to 24, 567 people (27.6%) aged 25 to 44, 359 people (17.5%) aged 45 to 64, and 123 people (6.0%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 25.6 years. For every 100 females, there were 114.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 120.6 males. There were 531 housing units at an average density of , of which 480 were occupied, of which 196 (40.8%) were owner-occupied, and 284 (59.2%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.0%; the rental vacancy rate was 7.8%. 817 people (39.8% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 1,235 people (60.2%) lived in rental housing units.

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 incl ...

of 2000, there were 762 people, 208 households, and 177 families residing in Calwa. The population density was . There were 227 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the community was 25.46%

, 0.92%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

, 2.62% Native American, 0.52%

, 65.88% from

, and 4.59% from two or more races. 94.62% of the population were

of any race. There were 208 households, out of which 44.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.7% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 22.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 14.9% were non-families. 9.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.66 and the average family size was 3.90. The population was spread out, with 30.8% under the age of 18, 12.2% from 18 to 24, 26.5% from 25 to 44, 17.7% from 45 to 64, and 12.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.9 males. The median income for a household in the community was $28,983, and the median income for a family was $28,285. Males had a median income of $32,167 versus $19,583 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 community was $8,292. About 27.9% of families and 28.0% 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 36.9% of those under age 18 and 14.6% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

Calwa is served by

Fresno Area Express Fresno Area Express (FAX), is a public transportation operator in Fresno, California. The system has over 100 buses, 1,606 bus stops, and 18 routes as of August 2022. In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of . FAX fixed r ...

buses.

References

{{authority control Census-designated places in Fresno County, California Populated places established in 1913 Census-designated places in California 1913 establishments in California