Arroyo Grande (Spanish for "Big Creek") is a town in

San Luis Obispo County San Luis Obispo County (), officially the County of San Luis Obispo, is a county on the Central Coast of California. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 282,424. The county seat is San Luis Obispo. Junípero Serra fou ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, United States.

History

The earliest inhabitants of Arroyo Grande Valley were the northern or Obispeno Chumash Indians. The Arroyo Grande area was still occupied by the Chumash at the time of contact with the first Spanish explorer,

Juan Cabrillo ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of '' John''. The name is of Hebrew origin and has the meaning "God has been gracious." It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking countries around the world and in the Phili ...

. During the colonial settlement of California, the Arroyo Grande Valley became separated into two major ranchos which were granted by the Mexican government around 1840. In 1862, the

San Luis Obispo ; ; ; Chumashan languages, Chumash: ''tiłhini'') is a city and county seat of San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. Located on the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California, San Luis Obispo is roughly halfway betwee ...

Board of Supervisors established the

township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

of Arroyo Grande. Businesses developed along a road called Branch Street to serve local agriculture. A railroad depot was built in 1882. The city of Arroyo Grande was incorporated on July 10, 1911. Arroyo Grande experienced rapid growth in the 1970s and 1980s, partially due to the expansion of the

wastewater treatment Wastewater treatment is a process which removes and eliminates contaminants from wastewater. It thus converts it into an effluent that can be returned to the water cycle. Once back in the water cycle, the effluent creates an acceptable impact on ...

plant, under an EPA Clean Water Grant, that removed a growth constraint. This federal grant program required preparation of an Environmental Impact Report, which provided much of the initial environmental database for Arroyo Grande.

The Village

The downtown area of Arroyo Grande is known as "The Village". It is where visitors and residents gather for events, festivals and farmer’s markets. In the center's Centennial Park is the Swinging Bridge. The Swinging Bridge was originally constructed in early 1875 by the Short family, whose land was divided by the Arroyo Grande Creek. The bridge spans a total length 171 feet and is suspended 40 feet above the creek. It is owned and maintained by the city of Arroyo Grande and is the only one of its kind in California. The Village corridor includes historic buildings dating back to the 1800’s.

Geography

Arroyo Grande is a small coastal town with historic, suburban, and rural elements located at (35.120878, -120.586799). Arroyo Grande is located in a coastal ecosystem within the California Floristic Province, and the native habitats include coast live oak woodland, central coastal scrub, willow and mixed

riparian A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. In some regions, the terms riparian woodland, riparian forest, riparian buffer zone, riparian corridor, and riparian strip are used to characterize a ripar ...

along Arroyo Grande Creek and numerous tributaries, native bunch-grass grassland, coastal prairie,

dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, flat ...

s and

intertidal zone The intertidal zone or foreshore is the area above water level at low tide and underwater at high tide; in other words, it is the part of the littoral zone within the tidal range. This area can include several types of habitats with various ...

, and non-native and agricultural areas. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

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

Climate

Arroyo Grande has a

Temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (approximately 23.5° to 66.5° N/S of the Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ran ...

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''Csb'').

Demographics

The 2020 United States census reported that Arroyo Grande had a population of 18,441. The population density was . The racial makeup of Arroyo Grande was 73.7%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 1.0%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.9% Native American, 3.8% Asian, 0.1%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, 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 th ...

, 6.6% from other races, and 13.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 19.8% of the population. The census reported that 98.6% of the population lived in households, 0.9% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0.4% were institutionalized. There were 7,438 households, out of which 27.6% included children under the age of 18, 53.1% were married-couple households, 5.3% were

cohabiting Cohabitation is an arrangement where people who are not legally married live together as a couple. They are often involved in a romantic or sexually intimate relationship on a long-term or permanent basis. Such arrangements have become incr ...

couple households, 27.6% had a female householder with no partner present, and 14.0% had a male householder with no partner present. 26.5% of households were one person, and 15.2% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.45. There were 5,010

families Family (from ) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictability, structure, and safety as ...

(67.4% of all households). The age distribution was 19.3% under the age of 18, 7.0% aged 18 to 24, 22.3% aged 25 to 44, 26.0% aged 45 to 64, and 25.4% who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 46.1years. For every 100 females, there were 90.2 males. Arroyo Grande 12

There were 7,979 housing units at an average density of , of which 7,438 (93.2%) were occupied. Of these, 66.4% were owner-occupied, and 33.6% were occupied by renters. The median household income was $103,258, and the

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

was $50,203. About 2.0% of families and 4.6% of the population were below the poverty line.

Government

In the

California State Legislature The California State Legislature is the bicameral state legislature of the U.S. state of California, consisting of the California State Assembly (lower house with 80 members) and the California State Senate (upper house with 40 members). ...

, Arroyo Grande is in , and in . In the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

, Arroyo Grande is in .

Notable people

* Sally Jane Bruce - actress in '' The Night of the Hunter'' *

Zac Efron Zachary David Alexander Efron (; born October 18, 1987) is an American actor. Efron began acting professionally in the early 2000s and rose to prominence as a teen idol for his leading role as Troy Bolton in the ''High School Musical'' film ...

- actor *

Lou Ferrigno Louis Jude Ferrigno Sr. (; born November 9, 1951) is an American actor and retired professional bodybuilder. He won an IFBB Mr. America title and two consecutive IFBB Mr. Universe titles, and appeared in the documentary film '' Pumping Iron'' ...

- TV and movie actor, best known for the title role in '' The Incredible Hulk'' * Kristin Smart- Young woman murdered by Paul Flores * Horace Grant - former professional basketball player * Jordan Hasay - middle-distance runner * Robert Hunter - lyricist and singer-songwriter * Gladys Ingle - early 20th-century woman pilot, wing walker, and aerial stunt performer * Ken Napzok - broadcaster, comedian, author of ''Why We Love Star Wars: The Great Moments That Built a Galaxy Far, Far Away'' * Rita Quigley - film actress * Harry Shum Jr. - actor, dancer and choreographer * Sheila Varian - breeder of

Arabian horse The Arabian or Arab horse ( , DIN 31635, DMG ''al-ḥiṣān al-ʿarabī'') is a horse breed, breed of horse with historic roots on the Arabian Peninsula. With a distinctive head shape and high tail carriage, the Arabian is one of the most easi ...

s * Robin Ventura - former professional baseball player and manager of

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

Jimy Williams James Francis Williams (October 4, 1943 – January 26, 2024) was an American professional baseball infielder, Coach (baseball), coach and Manager (baseball), manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1966 ...

- former baseball manager

References

External links

*
Arroyo Grande & Grover Beach Chamber Of Commerce
{{authority control Cities in San Luis Obispo County, California Incorporated cities and towns in California Populated places established in 1862 1862 establishments in California