San Martin or San Martín ( Spanish for Saint Martin) is a village and

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, suc ...

(CDP) in

Santa Clara County Santa Clara County, officially the County of Santa Clara, is the sixth-most populous county in the U.S. state of California, with a population of 1,936,259, as of the 2020 census. Santa Clara County and neighboring San Benito County together ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, in the southern

Santa Clara Valley The Santa Clara Valley is a geologic trough in Northern California that extends 90 miles (145 km) south–southeast from San Francisco to Hollister. The longitudinal valley is bordered on the west by the Santa Cruz Mountains and on the east ...

. Located to the south of Morgan Hill and north of Gilroy, San Martin is characterized by ranches, wineries, and orchards, as well as large estates in the foothills of the

Santa Cruz Mountains The Santa Cruz Mountains, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges, are a mountain range in central and Northern California, United States. They form a ridge down the San Francisco Peninsula, south of San Francisco. They separate the Pacific Ocean from ...

History

View of Lions Peak near Gilroy CA, April 2018

San Martin was named after

St. Martin of Tours Martin of Tours ( la, Sanctus Martinus Turonensis; 316/336 – 8 November 397), also known as Martin the Merciful, was the third bishop of Tours. He has become one of the most familiar and recognizable Christian saints in France, heralded as the ...

, the patron

saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Or ...

pioneer Martin Murphy, a Mexican citizen who built the first Catholic church in the area. The community has considered incorporating as a city since 2004, but concerns over the community's small size and its ability to pay for municipal services have held efforts back. Other options considered have been annexation by Morgan Hill.

Geography

San Martin is located at (37.087746, -121.600020). It is approximately south of

San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popu ...

, north of

Gilroy, California Gilroy is a city in Northern California's Santa Clara County, south of Morgan Hill and north of San Benito County. Gilroy is the southernmost city in the San Francisco Bay Area, with a population of 56,766 as of the 2019 U.S. Census Projection ...

, and inland from the

Pacific Coast Pacific coast may be used to reference any coastline that borders the Pacific Ocean. Geography Americas Countries on the western side of the Americas have a Pacific coast as their western or southwestern border, except for Panama, where the Pac ...

. Lying in a roughly 6 km-wide (4-mi-wide) southern extension of the

, it is bounded by the

to the west and the

Diablo Range The Diablo Range is a mountain range in the California Coast Ranges subdivision of the Pacific Coast Ranges in northern California, United States. It stretches from the eastern San Francisco Bay area at its northern end to the Salinas Valley ...

to the east. Rocca's Market in San Martin, California 0223

San Martin lies at an elevation of about 86 m (282 ft) above MSL 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 th ...

, the CDP has a total area of , all of it land.

Climate

Due to the moderating influence of the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the conti ...

, San Martin enjoys a warm, Mediterranean climate. Temperatures range from an average midsummer maximum of 90.2 °F (32.3

°C The degree Celsius is the unit of temperature on the Celsius scale (originally known as the centigrade scale outside Sweden), one of two temperature scales used in the International System of Units (SI), the other being the Kelvin scale. The d ...

) to an average midwinter low of 33.6 °F (0.9 °C). Average annual rainfall is 480 mm (18.9 in), and the summer months are typically dry. Snowfall is rare, about once every 20 years, and is light and short-lived when it occurs. Summer months are characterized by coastal fog which arrives from the ocean around 10 p.m. and dissipates the next morning by 10 a.m. Winter months have many sunny and partly cloudy days, with frequent breaks between rainstorms. The local terrain is inconducive to tornadoes, severe windstorms and thunderstorms. The local climate supports

chaparral Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant community and geographical feature found primarily in the U.S. state of California, in southern Oregon, and in the northern portion of the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico. It is shaped by a Mediterranea ...

and grassland

biome A biome () is a biogeographical unit consisting of a biological community that has formed in response to the physical environment in which they are found and a shared regional climate. Biomes may span more than one continent. Biome is a broader ...

s, with stands of live oak at higher elevations.

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 serving ...

reported that San Martin had a population of 7,027. The population density was . The racial makeup of San Martin was 4,329 (61.6%)

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 ...

, 27 (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 ...

, 71 (1.0%) Native American, 470 (6.7%) Asian, 18 (0.3%)

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 1,752 (24.9%) from other races, and 360 (5.1%) 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 of any race were 3,249 persons (46.2%). The Census reported that 6,896 people (98.1% of the population) lived in households, 114 (1.6%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 17 (0.2%) were institutionalized. There were 1,993 households, out of which 812 (40.7%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 1,267 (63.6%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 199 (10.0%) had a female householder with no husband present, 124 (6.2%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 131 (6.6%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 14 (0.7%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 279 households (14.0%) were made up of individuals, and 98 (4.9%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.46. There were 1,590 families (79.8% of all households); the average family size was 3.70. The population was spread out, with 1,780 people (25.3%) under the age of 18, 713 people (10.1%) aged 18 to 24, 1,613 people (23.0%) aged 25 to 44, 2,098 people (29.9%) aged 45 to 64, and 823 people (11.7%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38.5 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 106.9 males. There were 2,122 housing units at an average density of , of which 1,309 (65.7%) were owner-occupied, and 684 (34.3%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.9%; the rental vacancy rate was 1.7%. 4,491 people (63.9% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 2,405 people (34.2%) 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 inc ...

of 2000, there were 4,230 people, 1,210 households, and 994 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were 1,254 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the CDP was 65.46%

, 0.83%

, 1.63% Native American, 6.12% Asian, 0.24%

, 20.97% from other races, and 4.75% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 39.41% of the population. There were 1,210 households, out of which 37.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 67.2% 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 ...

living together, 9.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 17.8% were non-families. 12.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 3.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.44 and the average family size was 3.66. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 28.3% under the age of 18, 9.2% from 18 to 24, 27.6% from 25 to 44, 26.7% from 45 to 64, and 8.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.6 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $70,064, and the median income for a family was $70,708. Males had a median income of $56,625 versus $34,792 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 CDP was $25,944. About 5.2% of families and 8.4% 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 ...

, including 4.8% of those under age 18 and 10.4% of those age 65 or over. According to ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...

'' Magazine, San Martin is rated as one of the country's most expensive ZIP codes with a median home price of $824,390 in 2010, despite a drop in home value of almost 20% from 2008.

Economy

left, San Martin Airport. Like neighboring Morgan Hill and Gilroy, San Martin is a large producer of

garlic Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plant in the genus '' Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, Welsh onion and Chinese onion. It is native to South Asia, Central Asia and northeas ...

, table

mushroom A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans. The standard for the name "mushroom" is ...

s, and

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented grapes. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different ...

. It is also home to the volunteer-run Wings of History aviation museum, located next to San Martin Airport. Santa Clara County changed the facility's name from South County Airport in January 2014.

Transportation

San Martin is adjacent to a

freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...

U.S. Route 101 U.S. Route 101, or U.S. Highway 101 (US 101), is a north–south United States Numbered Highway that runs through the states of California, Oregon, and Washington, on the West Coast of the United States. It is also known as (The Royal Roa ...

, and is the location of an uncontrolled airport, South County Airport (E16), operated by Santa Clara County. Public transportation needs are provided by

Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, more commonly known simply as the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), is a Special district (United States), special district responsible for public transit services, Congestion management agenc ...

(VTA) buses and a commuter rail station served by

Caltrain Caltrain (reporting mark JPBX) is a California commuter rail line serving the San Francisco Peninsula and Santa Clara Valley (Silicon Valley). The southern terminus is in San Jose at Tamien station with weekday rush hour service running as fa ...

Airport Expansion

South County Airport was one of three County-owned or leased airports addressed in the Santa Clara County Airports Master Plan (1982). The Master Plan examined the feasibility of providing new development (e.g., additional aircraft parking, FBO sites, etc.) at the airport while providing maximum efficiency and convenience. A key purpose of an airport master plan is to define the role of the airport. The airport’s adopted role in turn drives its basing capacity, which is the type and number of aircraft that the airport will be developed to accommodate. Once a role is defined, then the facilities necessary to implement the role can be specified. In July 2006, a new Master Plan was adopted by the County for the airport.

Government

In the

California State Legislature The California State Legislature is a bicameral state legislature consisting of a lower house, the California State Assembly, with 80 members; and an upper house, the California State Senate, with 40 members. Both houses of the Legislatu ...

, San Martin is in , and in . 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 they ...

, San Martin is in .

References

External links

Factual Information from www.city-data.com
*
How San Martin Came to Be
" ''Gilroy Dispatch'', September 16, 2006
Wings of History Museum

AirNav airport information for South County Airport (E16)
{{authority control Census-designated places in Santa Clara County, California Unincorporated communities in California Census-designated places in California Unincorporated communities in Santa Clara County, California