La Puente, California
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

La Puente ( Spanish for "The Bridge") is a city in east Los Angeles County,
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 The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. The city had a population of 39,816 at the 2010 census and is approximately east of downtown
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
.


History

The original inhabitants of the area now occupied by the city of La Puente were the Tongva lived in a village called Awingna, which linguists translate as "abiding place." The Awingna chief Matheo (who also held sway over several other nearby villages) was baptized at Mission San Gabriel in 1774. In 1769, the Spanish Portolá expedition became the first
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
ans to see inland portions of
Alta California Alta California (, ), also known as Nueva California () among other names, was a province of New Spain formally established in 1804. Along with the Baja California peninsula, it had previously comprised the province of , but was made a separat ...
. On July 30, the party camped on the east side of the San Gabriel River, in today's unincorporated area of Bassett. Father Juan Crespi wrote in his diary that, the next day, they had to build a bridge (Spanish "puente") to cross the miry San Gabriel River. With the establishment of Mission San Gabriel, the area encompassing Awingna and what is now the city of La Puente became part of Rancho La Puente, established as a mission outpost and ranch. The rancho was visited by the Jedediah Smith party in November 1826, the first Americans to travel overland to California. Following secularization of the missions in the 1830s, former mission ranchos passed into private ownership. In 1842, John Rowland and William Workman were granted the Rancho La Puente. In 1884, the area was named ''Puente'' (''bridge'' in Spanish; in old Spanish the noun was often feminine, as opposed to modern Spanish ''el puente''). In Crespi's diary, it was written as "la puente", and that spelling has persisted. The area was known for its fruit and
walnut A walnut is the edible seed of any tree of the genus '' Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''. They are accessory fruit because the outer covering of the fruit is technically an i ...
groves during the 1930s. The city was even home to the world's largest walnut packing plant. A small airport called the 'Skyranch' operated in La Puente from 1944 to 1951 before it was closed and developed for housing. Today, the city is heavily urbanized, but the area still has some historical landmarks from its founding days nearby, for instance, the Workman and Temple Family Homestead Museum in neighboring City of Industry. Redevelopment of the business districts in La Puente have been ongoing. However, the local government has been relatively unsuccessful in its attempts to attract big-box retailers and restaurant chains. La Puente retains many aging 1950s-era strip malls.


Geography

La Puente is located at (34.032410, -117.955195). The city, which is mostly flat, covers about of land 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 ...
.


Demographics

La Puente first appeared as a city in the 1960 U.S. Census as part of the East San Gabriel Valley census county division. Prior to 1960, the area was part of the unincorporated portion of the now-defunct El Monte Township.


2020


2010

The 2010 United States census reported that La Puente had a population of 39,816. The population density was . La Puente is 49.4% White (4.6% Non-Hispanic White), 1.4% Black or African American, 1.1% Native American, 8.4% Asian, and 0.1% Pacific Islander.
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 33,896 persons (85.1%). The Census reported that 39,773 people (99.9% of the population) lived in households, 43 (0.1%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized. There were 9,451 households, out of which 5,186 (54.9%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 5,367 (56.8%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 1,824 (19.3%) had a female householder with no husband present, 930 (9.8%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 584 (6.2%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 65 (0.7%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 989 households (10.5%) were made up of individuals, and 472 (5.0%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 4.21. There were 8,121 families (85.9% of all households); the average family size was 4.34. The population was spread out, with 11,423 people (28.7%) under the age of 18, 4,640 people (11.7%) aged 18 to 24, 11,468 people (28.8%) aged 25 to 44, 8,619 people (21.6%) aged 45 to 64, and 3,666 people (9.2%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31.5 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.8 males. There were 9,761 housing units at an average density of , of which 5,693 (60.2%) were owner-occupied, and 3,758 (39.8%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.0%; the rental vacancy rate was 3.9%. 24,961 people (62.7% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 14,812 people (37.2%) lived in rental housing units. According to the 2010 United States census, La Puente had a median household income of $53,794, with 14.3% of the population living below the federal poverty line.


2000

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 2000, there were 41,063 people, 9,461 households, and 8,183 families living in the city. The
population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...
is 4,542.8/km2 (11,757.3/mi2). There were 9,660 housing units at an average density of 1,068.7/km2 (2,765.9/mi2). The racial makeup of the city was 39.11%
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 ...
, 1.96%
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 ...
, 1.28% Native American, 7.16% Asian, 0.17% Pacific Islander, 45.14% from other races, and 5.19% from two or more races. 83.10% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 9,461 households, out of which 50.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.4% were married couples living together, 17.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 13.5% were non-families. 10.1% of all households were someone living alone and 4.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 4.34 and the average family size was 4.48. The population age distribution was 33.8% under the age of 18, 11.6% from 18 to 24, 31.0% from 25 to 44, 15.9% from 45 to 64, and 7.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.8 males. The median income for a household in the city was $41,222, and the median income for a family was $41,079. Males had a median income of $26,381 versus $22,018 for females. The per capita income for the city was $11,336. 18.9% of the population and 16.3% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 24.6% were under the age of 18 and 9.3% were 65 or older.


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). ...
, La Puente is in , and in and . 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 ...
, La Puente is in .


Infrastructure

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department operates the Industry Station in the City of Industry, serving La Puente. The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services operates the Pomona Health Center in Pomona, serving La Puente. The city is served by Los Angeles County Fire Department Battalion 12's Fire Stations 26 and 43.


Economy

The income per capita of the city of La puente is $16,899, which includes all children and adults. The city's median household income is $62,709.


Top employers

According to the city's Annual Budget for FY2020–21, the top employers in the city are:


Education

School districts include: * Hacienda La Puente Unified School District * Bassett Unified School District * Rowland Unified School District Elementary (primary) schools: Lasallette Elementary School, Temple Academy (Closed starting 2021-22), Baldwin Academy, Nelson Elementary School, Sparks Elementary School, California Elementary School, Sunkist Elementary School, Del Valle Elementary School, Northam Elementary School Private (primary) schools: Saint Joseph School, Saint Louis of France, Saint Martha's Catholic School High (secondary) schools: Bassett High School, La Puente High School, Nogales High School, William Workman High School (in the City of Industry) Private high schools: Bishop Amat Memorial High School


Notable people

* Eric Winter - Actor, Model * Alfie Agnew mathematician, songwriter and musician * Sutan Amrull make-up artist and performer * Tony Baltazar professional boxer (former resident) * Eric Bieniemy University of Colorado Boulder and NFL running back, attended Bishop Amat HS * Anthony Calvillo record-breaking
Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...
quarterback * David Denson first professional baseball player affiliated with an MLB organization to come out as gay * Cecil Fielder former Nogales HS and
Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...
slugger, father of Prince Fielder * Jeff Garcia voice actor and comedian; voice for the character Sheen Estevez in The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius * Norberto Garrido lineman for the NFL's Carolina Panthers * Pat Haden former
USC USC may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...
and NFL quarterback, attended Bishop Amat HS * Dan Haren MLB pitcher, attended Bishop Amat HS * Efren Herrera
UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...
and NFL kicker, attended La Puente HS * Padma Lakshmi Indian American author, activist, model, and television host. * Mike Lamb MLB infielder, attended Bishop Amat HS * Billy Laughlin "Froggy" from the
Our Gang ''Our Gang'' (also known as ''The Little Rascals'' or ''Hal Roach's Rascals'') is an American series of comedy short films chronicling a group of poor neighborhood children and their adventures. Created by film producer Hal Roach, who also pr ...
comedies * Darryll Lewis
University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...
and NFL cornerback, attended Nogales HS * Steven Luevano professional boxer * Kid Congo Powers musician who has played in bands such as The Cramps, The Gun Club and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds * Lionel Manuel University of the Pacific and NFL wide receiver, attended Bassett HS * Arturo Marquez composer of orchestra music (former resident) * Crispin Castro Monroy municipal president of Santa Cruz Atizapán * Max Montoya UCLA and NFL offensive lineman, attended La Puente HS * D'Angelo Ross NFL cornerback * William R. Rowland eleventh Los Angeles County Sheriff, major La Puente landowner * Kelly Seyarto - Firefighter and politician. Former mayor of
Murrieta, California Murrieta is a city in southwestern Riverside County, California, United States. The population of Murrieta was 110,949 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Murrieta experienced a 133.7% population increase between 2000 and 2010, ma ...
. Member of the California State Senate from the District 32. Born in La Puente.() * John Sciarra UCLA and NFL quarterback, attended Bishop Amat HS * Hilda Solis politician, member of Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors for the First District * Michael Young MLB 7-time All-Star infielder, attended Bishop Amat HS


References


External links

*
Regional Chamber of Commerce - San Gabriel Valley
{{DEFAULTSORT:La Puente, California Chicano and Mexican neighborhoods in California Cities in Los Angeles County, California Communities in the San Gabriel Valley Incorporated cities and towns in California 1956 establishments in California Populated places established in 1956