Cypress is a city in northwestern
Orange County, California
Orange County (officially the County of Orange; often initialized O.C.) is a county (United States), county located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population ...
. Its population was 50,151 as of the
2020 census.
History
Cypress originally was nicknamed "Waterville" due to the preponderance of
artesian wells in the area, but was incorporated under the name Dairy City in 1956 by local
dairy farmers as a means of staving off developers and to preserve their dairies, much like the then-neighboring cities of Dairy Valley in
Cerritos and Dairyland in
La Palma. After
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, however, the land became too valuable for farming or ranching, and the dairies gradually sold out to housing developers during the 1960s, so that by the 1970s no dairies remained. Many of the dairymen moved their operations to
Chino, where development is once again pushing them out of the area.
In 1957, local residents voted to change the name of "Dairy City" to "Cypress". The name was taken from Cypress Elementary School (originally built in 1895) which took its name from the
cypress trees planted to protect the schoolhouse from the seasonal
Santa Ana winds. Cypress Elementary School also provided the name for new
Pacific Electric Railway station on Walker Street at Lincoln Avenue when the
Santa Ana Line was completed in 1906, as "Waterville" already had been used elsewhere in the system.
In 1981, the City of Cypress inaugurated an annual birthday celebration for the city. The event, the Cypress Community Festival, currently may be the largest single-day event of its kind in Orange County, California. The Cypress Community Festival is held annually on the 4th Saturday in July at Oak Knoll Park, located adjacent to the Cypress Community Center at 5700 Orange Avenue, between Valley View Street and Walker Avenue.
Geography
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 . of it is land and 0.14% is water.
Demographics
Cypress first appeared as a city in the
1960 U.S. Census as part of the Buena Park-Cypress census county division.
[
]
2023
As of 2023, the Census Bureau QuickFacts estimates the population of Cypress to be at 49,243. Cypress is a fairly diverse city. Asian Americans make up 37.1% of the population. White alone, not Hispanic or Latino, make up 33.5%. Hispanic or Latino make up 20.4% of the population. Those who identify as two or more races make up 10.6% of the population. Black or African Americans make up 3.4%. Foreign born residents make up 29.9% of the population.
2020
2010
At the 2010 census Cypress had a population of 47,802. The population density was . The racial makeup of Cypress was 26,000 (54.4%) White (43.6% Non-Hispanic White), 1,444 (3.0%) African American, 289 (0.6%) Native American, 14,978 (31.3%) Asian, 234 (0.5%) Pacific Islander, 2,497 (5.2%) from other races, and 2,360 (4.9%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8,779 persons (18.4%).
The census reported that 47,300 people (98.9% of the population) lived in households, 502 (1.1%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and no one was institutionalized.
There were 15,654 households, 6,481 (41.4%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 9,602 (61.3%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 2,203 (14.1%) had a female householder with no husband present, 833 (5.3%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 506 (3.2%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 86 (0.5%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 2,401 households (15.3%) were one person and 1,005 (6.4%) had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 3.02. There were 12,638 families (80.7% of households); the average family size was 3.35.
The age distribution was 11,343 people (23.7%) under the age of 18, 4,700 people (9.8%) aged 18 to 24, 11,685 people (24.4%) aged 25 to 44, 13,913 people (29.1%) aged 45 to 64, and 6,161 people (12.9%) who were 65 or older. The median age was 39.9 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.3 males.
There were 16,068 housing units at an average density of 2,438.1 per square mile, of the occupied units 10,960 (70.0%) were owner-occupied and 4,694 (30.0%) were rented. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.9%; the rental vacancy rate was 3.5%. 32,780 people (68.6% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 14,520 people (30.4%) lived in rental housing units.
According to the 2010 United States Census, Cypress had a median household income of $80,440, with 6.7% of the population living below the federal poverty line.
2000
At the 2000 census there were 46,229 people in 15,654 households, including 12,241 families, in the city. The population density was . There were 16,028 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 65.61% White, 20.81% Asian, 0.40% Pacific Islander, 2.77% Black or African American, 0.59% Native American, 5.44% from other races, and 4.38% from two or more races. 15.65% of the population were 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 the 15,654 households 38.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.0% were married couples living together, 13.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.8% were non-families. 17.6% of households were one person and 6.6% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.93 and the average family size was 3.31.
The age distribution was 27.0% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 30.2% from 25 to 44, 24.4% from 45 to 64, and 10.6% 65 or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.5 males.
The median household income was $64,377 and the median family income was $70,060 (these figures had risen to $80,331 and $86,286 respectively as of a 2007 estimate). Males had a median income of $50,781 versus $36,337 for females. The per capita income for the city was $25,798. About 4.6% of families and 6.0% 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 ...
, including 7.2% of those under age 18 and 5.1% of those age 65 or over.
The 2008 population estimated by the California Department of Finance was 49,541.
Economy
Real Mex Restaurants is headquartered in Cypress. The Los Alamitos Race Course is located in Cypress, even though it bears the name of its neighboring city of Los Alamitos.
Top employers
As of 2018, the top employers in the city are:
Government
The city uses plurality block voting
Plurality block voting is a type of block voting method for multi-winner elections. Each voter may cast as many votes as the number of seats to be filled. The candidates with the most votes are elected. The usual result when the candidates div ...
to elect two sets of city councilmembers (in staggered terms). The city council has received a letter written by attorney Kevin Shenkman that claims existence of racially-polarized voting within the city, which combines with this election system to result in a violation of the California Voting Rights Act. The city council held forums for public input on how to respond. The council reached a decision during the March 14, 2022, council meeting's closed session to have the city attorney send a response letter. This letter disagrees with the claims and asks for more evidence.
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). ...
, Cypress 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 ...
, Cypress is in .
According to the California Secretary of State
The secretary of state of California is the chief clerk of the U.S. state of California, overseeing a department of 500 people. The Secretary of state (U.S. state government), secretary of state is elected for four year terms, like the state's o ...
, as of October 19, 2020, Cypress has 30,207 registered voters. Of those, 11,029 (36.51%) are registered Democrats, 10,226 (33.85%) are registered Republicans, and 7,514 (24.88%) have declined to state a political party/are independents.
Education
Schools inside the Cypress city limits belong to the Anaheim Union High School District and the Cypress Elementary School District. However, some Cypress students are part of the attendance areas for the Savanna Elementary School District, Garden Grove Unified School District, and Los Alamitos Unified School District.
Public schools within Cypress:
* Cypress High School
* Lexington Junior High
* Oxford Academy
*Christine P. Swain Elementary
*Margaret Landell Elementary
*A.E. Arnold Elementary
*Juliet Morris Elementary
*Frank Vessels Elementary
*Robert C. Cawthon Elementary
*Clara J. King Elementary
*Steve Luther Elementary
Private schools:
*St Irenaeus Parish School
Cypress College is located in the city.
Notable people
* Shannel - drag queen
* John Stamos - actor and musician
* Brian Tochi - actor
* Matthew Morrison - entertainer
* Tiger Woods
Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins, PGA Tour wins, ranks second in List of men's major championships winning golfers, men's m ...
- professional golfer
* Adrian Young - drummer of rock band No Doubt
* Jerry Quarry - professional boxer
* Troy O'Leary - Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
player
* David Fletcher - Major League Baseball player
* Dominic Fletcher- Major League Baseball player
* Scott Aukerman - Comedian and Broadcaster
* Jamil Douglas- National Football League player
References
*
External links
*
Official website
2005 Population estimates
{{authority control
Cities in Orange County, California
Incorporated cities and towns in California
1956 establishments in California
Populated places established in 1956