Avocado Heights () is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

and census-designated place (CDP) in the

San Gabriel Valley The San Gabriel Valley (), sometimes referred to by its initials as SGV, is one of the principal valleys of Southern California, with the city of Los Angeles directly bordering it to the west and occupying the vast majority of the southeastern ...

Los Angeles County, California Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles and sometimes abbreviated as LA County, is the List of United States counties and county equivalents, most populous county in the United States, with 9,663,345 residents estimated in 202 ...

, United States. It is almost entirely surrounded by the

City of Industry The City of Industry is a city in the San Gabriel Valley, in eastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city is almost entirely industrial, containing over 3,000 businesses employing 67,000 people, with only 264 residents as of ...

with only a small strip of unincorporated Los Angeles County separating it from South El Monte. It is in close proximity to both the Pomona (SR-60) and San Gabriel (I-605) freeways. To the west is the San Gabriel River and the California Country Club. Avocado Heights is approximately from the

downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) is the central business district of the city of Los Angeles. It is part of the Central Los Angeles region and covers a area. As of 2020, it contains over 500,000 jobs and has a population of roughly 85,000 residents ...

Civic Center A civic center or civic centre is a prominent land area within a community that is constructed to be its focal point or center. It usually contains of one or more dominant public buildings, which may also include a government building. Recently, ...

. The population was 13,317 at the 2020 census. A significant portion of Avocado Heights remains equestrian and semi-rural, with many homes on lots of 0.5 acres or more. The proximity of polluting industries in what became the City of Industry, as well as the Puente Hills Landfill, suppressed property values throughout the post-World War II era—discouraging the development that transformed most of the San Gabriel Valley into a relatively densely developed

suburban area A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

Geography

Avocado Heights is located at (34.038610, −118.004575), or about 1.7 miles (2.7 km) southeast of El Monte. 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 CDP has a total area of , of which 99.90% is land and 0.10% is water. The primary thoroughfare is Don Julian Road, named for the nickname given to early Anglo settler William Workman by local Californios; his homestead lies on Don Julian Road just to the east in Industry. The community is served by Don Julian Elementary School, which is part of the Bassett Unified School District.

Culture

Avocado Heights is known for its private ranches with horse riding. From the 1920s until the early 2000s, there was a tall, single white tower on 3rd Avenue and Starlight Lane. From the 2010s a skatepark was built in Avocado Heights.

Climate

Avocado Heights is classified as Hot Summer Mediterranean climate. It is characterized by warm winters and very hot summers and receives a shielding effect from nearby hills to the south which keeps it warmer than other cities nearby.

Demographics

Avocado Heights first appeared as an unincorporated place in the 1970 U.S. Census as part of the East San Gabriel Valley census county division; and as a

census designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), 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 counte ...

in the

1980 U.S. Census The 1980 United States census, conducted by the United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States to be 226,545,805, an increase of 11.4% over the 203,184,772 persons Enumeration, enumerated dur ...

2020 census

The 2020 United States census reported that Avocado Heights had a population of 13,317. The population density was . The racial makeup of Avocado Heights was 17.8%

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 ...

, 0.7%

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 ...

, 2.6% Native American, 12.4% 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 ...

, 38.1% from other races, and 28.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 79.9% of the population. The census reported that 99.0% of the population lived in households, 1.0% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and no one was institutionalized. There were 3,477 households, out of which 42.6% included children under the age of 18, 56.6% were married-couple households, 6.3% 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, 23.1% had a female householder with no partner present, and 14.0% had a male householder with no partner present. 10.7% of households were one person, and 5.3% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 3.79. There were 2,963

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 ...

(85.2% of all households). The age distribution was 21.2% under the age of 18, 10.9% aged 18 to 24, 26.7% aged 25 to 44, 25.8% aged 45 to 64, and 15.5% who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 37.8years. For every 100 females, there were 96.0 males. There were 3,581 housing units at an average density of , of which 3,477 (97.1%) were occupied. Of these, 73.1% were owner-occupied, and 26.9% were occupied by renters. In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that the median household income was $95,000, 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 $34,032. About 8.3% of families and 10.6% of the population were below the poverty line.

2010 census

The 2010 United States census reported that Avocado Heights had a population of 15,411. The population density was . The racial makeup of Avocado Heights was 8,564 (55.6%)

(7.8% Non-Hispanic White), 136 (0.9%)

, 107 (0.7%) Native American, 1,359 (8.8%) Asian, 13 (0.1%)

, 4,726 (30.7%) from other races, and 506 (3.3%) from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 12,648 persons (82.1%). The Census reported that 15,332 people (99.5% of the population) lived in households, 79 (0.5%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized. There were 3,813 households, out of which 1,900 (49.8%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 2,351 (61.7%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 622 (16.3%) had a female householder with no husband present, 331 (8.7%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 205 (5.4%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 23 (0.6%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 368 households (9.7%) were made up of individuals, and 181 (4.7%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 4.02. There were 3,304

(86.7% of all households); the average family size was 4.16. The population was spread out, with 4,210 people (27.3%) under the age of 18, 1,676 people (10.9%) aged 18 to 24, 4,277 people (27.8%) aged 25 to 44, 3,575 people (23.2%) aged 45 to 64, and 1,673 people (10.9%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33.7 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.4 males. There were 3,922 housing units at an average density of , of which 2,934 (76.9%) were owner-occupied, and 879 (23.1%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.7%; the rental vacancy rate was 3.1%. 11,422 people (74.1% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 3,910 people (25.4%) lived in rental housing units. According to the 2010 United States Census, Avocado Heights had a median household income of $72,240, with 14.1% of the population living below the federal 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). ...

, Avocado Heights 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 ...

, Avocado Heights is in .

Education

Students in the northern portion of Avocado Heights are zoned to Don Julian Elementary School in the Bassett Unified School District and to Bassett High School while students in the southern portion are zoned to Wallen Andrews Elementary School in the Whittier City School District and to Pioneer High School in the

Whittier Union High School District Whittier Union High School District is a California high school district in Los Angeles County, California, headquartered in Whittier. The union high school district was formed in 1900 and is currently composed of five comprehensive high schoo ...

References

{{authority control Communities in the San Gabriel Valley Census-designated places in Los Angeles County, California Puente Hills Census-designated places in California