California is 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 ...

and community in St. Mary's County,

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

, United States. The population was 11,857 at the 2010 census, an increase of 27.4% from the 2000 census. California has been growing with the spread of population from the older adjacent community of Lexington Park and the growth in both technology-related and defense-related jobs at the Patuxent River Naval Air Station. There are department stores and numerous shopping centers situated along Maryland Highway 235 ("Three Notch Road").

Maryland Route 4 Maryland Route 4 (MD 4) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. The highway runs from Maryland Route 5, MD 5 in Leonardtown, Maryland, Leonardtown north to Southern Avenue (Washington, D.C.), Southern Avenue in Suitland, Maryland, S ...

crosses Highway 235 in California, providing access to the wide Governor Thomas Johnson Bridge and the popular weekend resort town of Solomons on its opposite side. Bridge-bound traffic is notorious for backing up during rush hour.

History

The community was named after the state of California before 1897. The exact origins are unknown, however one story is that a family from the state moved to the area, using materials from their home state to build their new house, called the “California

Farmstead A farmstead refers to the buildings and service areas associated with a farm. It consists of a house belonging to a farm along with the surrounding buildings. The characteristics of a specific farmstead reflect the local landscape, which provides ...

.” Eventually, the name stuck.

Geography

California is located at . 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 ...

, California has a total area of , of which is land and (12.64%) is water.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 11,857 people residing in California in 4,327 households. The population density was . There were 4,697 housing units and a 71.8% home ownership rate. The racial makeup was 70.7%

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 ...

, 18.3%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

, 5.7%

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, 4.6% Asian, 0.5% Indigenous American, and 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 ...

. Of the 4,327 households, 42.7% had children under the age of 18 living in them, 57.2% had

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

, 9.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.4% were non-families. 25.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.74 and the average family size was 3.31. The population consisted of 29.8% under the age of 20, 6.6% from 20 to 24, 17.7% from 25 to 34, 17.3% from 35 to 44, 11.4% from 45 to 54, 10.5% from 55 to 64, and 6.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32.5 years. The population was 49.1% male and 50.9% female. The median household income was $85,240 and the median family income was $91,935. Male full-time year-round workers had a median income of $63,657 versus $44,390 for females. 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 ...

for the CDP was $35,386. Just 0.8% of families and 3.1% of people 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 2.3% of people under age 18 and 4.8% of those age 65 or over. In 2017, California, Maryland was listed as the metropolitan area with the fourth highest number of households with investable assets above one million dollars. In 2019, Forbes Magazine listed California, Maryland as one of the best small places for business and careers in the nation with a ranking of 69.

References

{{authority control Census-designated places in St. Mary's County, Maryland Census-designated places in Maryland Maryland populated places on the Chesapeake Bay