Le Grand (also Legrand) 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 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 ...

(CDP) in Merced 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 ...

. Le Grand is east-southeast of Merced, the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

at an elevation of . The population was 1,592 at the 2020 census, down from 1,659 at the 2010 census.

History

The first post office opened in 1896. The name honors William Le Grand Dickinson, who sold the railroad (the

San Francisco and San Joaquin Valley Railroad The San Francisco and San Joaquin Valley Railroad was a California rail line between Stockton and Bakersfield constructed in the late 1890s and very shortly thereafter purchased by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad and became their Val ...

, later the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Valley Division) land for the town.

Geography

Le Grand is located in eastern Merced County 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 ...

, the CDP has a total area of , all of it land. At the 2000 census, according to the

, the CDP had a total area of , all of it land.

Climate

According to the

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 ...

system, Le Grand has a

warm-summer 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 ...

, abbreviated "Csa" on climate maps.

Demographics

2020

The 2020 United States census reported that Le Grand had a population of 1,592. The population density was . The racial makeup of Le Grand was 531 (33.4%)

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 ...

, 11 (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 ...

, 30 (1.9%) Native American, 9 (0.6%) Asian, 1 (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 ...

, 645 (40.5%) from other races, and 365 (22.9%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1,330 persons (83.5%). The whole population lived in households. There were 472 households, out of which 207 (43.9%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 235 (49.8%) were married-couple households, 36 (7.6%) were cohabiting couple households, 130 (27.5%) had a female householder with no partner present, and 71 (15.0%) had a male householder with no partner present. 77 households (16.3%) were one person, and 33 (7.0%) were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 3.37. There were 369

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 ...

(78.2% of all households). The age distribution was 442 people (27.8%) under the age of 18, 176 people (11.1%) aged 18 to 24, 382 people (24.0%) aged 25 to 44, 385 people (24.2%) aged 45 to 64, and 207 people (13.0%) who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 35.3years. For every 100 females, there were 109.7 males. There were 502 housing units at an average density of , of which 472 (94.0%) were occupied. Of these, 304 (64.4%) were owner-occupied, and 168 (35.6%) were occupied by renters. In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that the median household income $53,750, 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 $19,620. About 12.3% of families and 14.6% of the population were below the poverty line.

2010

At the 2010 census Le Grand had a population of 1,659. The population density was . The racial makeup of Le Grand was 869 (52.4%) White, 19 (1.1%) African American, 35 (2.1%) Native American, 17 (1.0%) Asian, 1 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 659 (39.7%) from other races, and 59 (3.6%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1,357 persons (81.8%). The whole population lived in households, no one lived in non-institutionalized group quarters and no one was institutionalized. There were 458 households, 246 (53.7%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 290 (63.3%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 74 (16.2%) had a female householder with no husband present, 27 (5.9%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 24 (5.2%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 0 (0%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 59 households (12.9%) were one person and 32 (7.0%) had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 3.62. There were 391 families (85.4% of households); the average family size was 3.96. The age distribution was 534 people (32.2%) under the age of 18, 178 people (10.7%) aged 18 to 24, 418 people (25.2%) aged 25 to 44, 367 people (22.1%) aged 45 to 64, and 162 people (9.8%) who were 65 or older. The median age was 31.5 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.3 males. There were 503 housing units at an average density of 441.1 per square mile, of the occupied units 315 (68.8%) were owner-occupied and 143 (31.2%) were rented. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.9%; the rental vacancy rate was 10.0%. 1,145 people (69.0% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 514 people (31.0%) lived in rental housing units.

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). ...

, Le Grand 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 ...

, Le Grand is in .

References

{{authority control Census-designated places in Merced County, California Census-designated places in California 1896 establishments in California