Norwalk is a city in
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. The population was 102,773 at the
2020 census.
Founded in the late 19th century, Norwalk was incorporated as a city in 1957. It is located southeast of
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 ...
and is part of the
Greater Los Angeles area
Greater Los Angeles is the most populous metropolitan area in the U.S. state of California, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino County and Riverside County in the east, ...
.
Norwalk is a member of the
Gateway Cities Council of Governments. Norwalk's sister cities are
Morelia
Morelia (; from 1545 to 1828 known as Valladolid; Otomi language, Otomi: ) is a city and municipal seat of the municipalities of Mexico, municipality of Morelia in the north-central part of the state of Michoacán in central Mexico. It is both th ...
in the Mexican state of Michoacán, and
Hermosillo
Hermosillo (), formerly called Pitic (as in ''Santísima Trinidad del Pitic'' and ''Presidio del Pitic''), is a city in the center of the northwestern Mexican state of Sonora. It is the municipal seat of the Hermosillo municipality, the state's ...
, in the Mexican state of Sonora.
History
The area known as "Norwalk" was first home to the
Shoshonean Native American tribe. They survived primarily on
honey
Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several species of bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of pl ...
, an array of berries, acorns, sage, squirrels, rabbits and birds. Their huts were part of the Sejat Indian village.
In the late 1760s, settlers and missions flourished under Spanish rule with the famous
El Camino Real trail traversing the area.
Manuel Nieto, a Spanish soldier, received a
Spanish land grant (
Rancho Los Nietos) in 1784 that included Norwalk.
After the
Mexican–American War
The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...
in 1848, the Rancho and mining days ended. Portions of the land were subdivided and made available for sale when
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 ...
was admitted into the union of the United States. Word of this land development reached the Sproul Brothers in Oregon. They recalled the fertile land and huge sycamore trees they saw during an earlier visit to the Southern California area. In 1869, Atwood Sproul, on behalf of his brother, Gilbert, purchased of land at $11 an acre ($2,700/km
2) in an area known as ''Corazón de los Valles'', or "Heart of the Valleys".
By 1873, railroads were being built in the area and the Sprouls deeded , stipulating a "passenger stop" clause in the deed. Three days after the Anaheim Branch Railroad crossed the "North-walk" for the first time, Gilbert Sproul surveyed a town site. In 1874, the name was recorded officially as Norwalk. While a majority of the Norwalk countryside remained undeveloped during the 1880s, the Norwalk Station allowed potential residents the opportunity to visit the "country" from across the nation.
The families referred to as the "first families" of Norwalk (including the Sprouls, the Dewitts, the Settles, and the Orrs) settled in the area in the years before 1900. D.D. Johnston pioneered the first school system in Norwalk in 1880. Johnston was also responsible for the first real industry in town, a cheese factory, by furnishing Tom Lumbard with the money in 1882. Norwalk's prosperity was evident in the 1890s with the construction of a number of fine homes that were located in the middle of orchards, farms and dairies. Headstones for these families can be found at Little Lake Cemetery, which was founded in 1843 on the border between Norwalk and
Santa Fe Springs at Lakeland Road.

At the turn of the 19th century, Norwalk had become established as a dairy center. Of the 50 local families reported in the 1900 census, most were associated with farming or with the dairy industry. Norwalk was also the home of some of the largest sugar beet farms in all of Southern California during this era. Many of the dairy farmers who settled in Norwalk during the early part of the 20th century were Dutch.

After the 1950s, the Hispanic population in Norwalk grew significantly as the area became increasingly residential.
Airplane disaster
In February 1958, two military aircraft, a Douglas
C-118A military transport and a U.S. Navy
P2V-5F Neptune patrol bomber, collided over Norwalk at night. Forty-seven servicemen were killed, as was a civilian 23-year-old woman on the ground who was hit by falling debris. A plaque commemorating the disaster and erected by the American Legion in 1961 marks the spot of the accident, today a mini-mall at the corner of Firestone Boulevard and Pioneer Boulevard.
The Hargitt House
Built in 1891 by the D.D. Johnston family, the
Hargitt House was built in the architectural style of
Victorian Eastlake. The Hargitt House Museum, located at 12426 Mapledale, was donated to the people of Norwalk by Charles ("Chun") and Ida Hargitt.
The Sproul House

The
Sproul House is a
Stick Style-influenced,
Victorian farm house built in 1870 by the founder of Norwalk, Gilbert Sproul. He and his family lived there while he founded Norwalk. His descendants lived in the house continually until 1962 when it was donated to the city. Today it houses the Gilbert Sproul Museum which covers Norwalk history through artifacts, photos, documents and other interpretive elements.
Geography
Norwalk is located at (33.906914, −118.083398).
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 of it (0.40%) is water.
Norwalk is bordered by
Downey to the northwest,
Bellflower to the southwest,
Cerritos and
Artesia to the south, and
Santa Fe Springs and
Whittier to the north and east.
Demographics
Norwalk first appeared as a city in the
1960 U.S. Census as part of the Downey-Norwalk census county division (pop. 272,729 in 1960).
2020
67.7% of persons age 5 years+, 2014–2018 live in a home where language other than English is spoken.
2010
The
2010 United States census reported that Norwalk had a population of 105,549. The population density was . The racial makeup of Norwalk was 52,089 (49.4%)
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 ...
(12.3% Non-Hispanic White),
4,593 (4.4%)
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 ...
, 1,213 (1.1%)
Native American, 12,700 (12.0%)
Asian (5.3% Filipino, 2.5% Korean, 0.9% Chinese, 0.8% Indian, 0.8% Vietnamese, 0.6% Cambodian, 0.3% Thai, 0.3% Japanese), 431 (0.4%)
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 ...
, 29,954 (28.4%) from
other races, and 4,569 (4.3%) 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 74,041 persons (70.1%)
The Census reported that 103,934 people (98.5% of the population) lived in households, 315 (0.3%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 1,300 (1.2%) were institutionalized.
There were 27,130 households, out of which 13,678 (50.4%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 15,190 (56.0%) were
opposite-sex married couples living together, 5,045 (18.6%) had a female householder with no husband present, 2,348 (8.7%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 1,712 (6.3%)
unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 178 (0.7%)
same-sex married couples or partnerships. 3,417 households (12.6%) were made up of individuals, and 1,631 (6.0%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.83. There were 22,583
families (83.2% of all households); the average family size was 4.10.
The population was spread out, with 29,164 people (27.6%) under the age of 18, 12,026 people (11.4%) aged 18 to 24, 30,138 people (28.6%) aged 25 to 44, 23,790 people (22.5%) aged 45 to 64, and 10,431 people (9.9%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32.5 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.3 males.
There were 28,083 housing units at an average density of , of which 17,671 (65.1%) were owner-occupied, and 9,459 (34.9%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.4%; the rental vacancy rate was 3.8%. 70,180 people (66.5% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 33,754 people (32.0%) lived in rental housing units.
During 2009–2013, Norwalk had a median household income of $60,770, with 12.9% 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 103,298 people, 26,887 households, and 22,531 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 27,554 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 44.82% 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 ...
, 4.62% 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 ...
, 1.16% Native American, 11.54% Asian, 0.39% 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 ...
, 32.75% from other races, and 4.71% 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 62.89% of the population.
There were 26,887 households, out of which 46.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.1% were 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 ...
living together, 16.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 16.2% were non-families. 12.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.79 and the average family size was 4.08.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 32.1% under the age of 18, 10.7% from 18 to 24, 30.5% from 25 to 44, 17.6% from 45 to 64, and 9.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $46,047, and the median income for a family was $47,524. Males had a median income of $31,579 versus $26,047 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 city was $14,022. About 9.5% of families and 11.9% 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 14.8% of those under age 18 and 7.6% of those age 65 or over.
Mexican (50.7%) and Filipino (4.3%) were the most common ancestries. Mexico (58.8%) and the Philippines (9.2%) were the most common foreign places of birth.
Government
City government
Norwalk operates under a Council/Manager form of government, established by the Charter of the City of Norwalk which was drafted in 1957. The five-member City Council acts as the city's chief policy-making body. Every two years, Council members are elected by the citizens of Norwalk to serve four-year, overlapping terms. Council members are not limited to the number of terms they may serve. The Mayor is selected by the council and serves a one-year term.
Public safety
Norwalk is a contract city, in which the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD), officially the County of Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, is a law enforcement agency serving Los Angeles County, California. LASD is the largest sheriff's department in the United States a ...
provides police services. It maintains its own station, which also provides police services to La Mirada and unincorporated South Whittier. At one time the station also provided contracted police services to Santa Fe Springs, but those services ended when the city entered into a contract with the Whittier Police Department. The station is staffed with 206 sworn personnel.
Fire protection in Norwalk is provided by the Los Angeles County Fire Department
The Los Angeles County Fire Department (LACoFD) provides firefighting and emergency medical services for the unincorporated parts of Los Angeles County, California, as well as 59 cities through Contract city, contracting, including the city of ...
with ambulance transport by Care Ambulance Service.
County, state, and federal representation
In the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors (LACBOS) is the five-member Board of Supervisors, governing body of Los Angeles County, California, United States.
History
On April 1, 1850 the citizens of Los Angeles elected a three-man Court of Se ...
, Norwalk is in the Fourth District, represented by Janice Hahn.
In the California State Senate
The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature (the lower house being the California State Assembly). The state senate convenes, along with the state assembly, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento.
...
, Norwalk is in . In the California State Assembly
The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature (the upper house being the California State Senate). The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, Califor ...
, it is split between , 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 ...
, Norwalk is in .
The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services
Health Services Los Angeles County, officially the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, operates the public hospitals and clinics in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County and is the United States' second largest municip ...
operates the Whittier Health Center in Whittier, serving Norwalk.
The United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...
operates the Norwalk Post Office at 14011 Clarkdale Avenue and the Paddison Square Post Office at 12415 Norwalk Boulevard.
Superior Court
The Southeast District
A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...
of the Los Angeles County Superior Court is located in Norwalk.
Infrastructure
Transportation
Freeways
Three freeways travel through the city. The Santa Ana Freeway ( I-5) and San Gabriel River Freeway ( I-605) pass through and intersect just above its northern edge, while the Century Freeway (I-105) ends in Norwalk at Studebaker Road.
Norwalk Transit
Norwalk Transit serves Norwalk and its adjacent communities. Six bus lines operate in Norwalk and adjacent cities, including Artesia, Bellflower, Cerritos, La Mirada and Whittier. Norwalk Transit Buses make connections with Los Angeles Metro Rail C Line from Route 2 and Metrolink from Route 7
Long Beach Transit
Long Beach Transit provides service to the Metro C Line Station via Studebaker Road from Long Beach.
Los Angeles Metro
The Los Angeles MTA ("Metro") provides both bus and rail service from Norwalk. The Metro C Line (formerly the Green Line) light rail
Light rail (or light rail transit, abbreviated to LRT) is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology National Conference of the Transportation Research Board while also having some features from ...
provides service from the C Line station to LAX (via shuttle from Aviation Station) and Redondo Beach. Metro bus routes provide service to the west on Florence Avenue, Firestone Boulevard, Imperial Highway, and Rosecrans Avenue from the Norwalk C Line Station. Express routes also connect to Disneyland, El Monte Bus Station, Long Beach and downtown Los Angeles.
Metrolink
The Metrolink Orange County Line and 91/Perris Valley Line (which operate on the same track in this area) trains connect Norwalk (the Norwalk/Santa Fe Springs station) with Orange County, Riverside County, and Downtown Los Angeles.
Healthcare
Metropolitan State Hospital
The Metropolitan State Hospital, a psychiatric and mental health facility operated by the California Department of State Hospitals, is located in Norwalk. It has four different types of categories for patient intake. The four categories being; incompetent to stand trial (PC 1370), offender with a mental health disorder (PCS 2962/2972), not guilty by reason of insanity (PC 1026), and conservatorship lanterman-petris-short (LPS) Act.
Economy
Top employers
According to the city's 2013 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:
Education
Although Norwalk is credited with being the home to Cerritos College, only the east half of the campus is actually in Norwalk, the west half is in Cerritos. Founded in 1955, Cerritos College is a public community college serving an area of of southeastern Los Angeles county. The college offers degrees and certificates in 87 areas of study in nine divisions. Over 1,200 students complete their course of studies each year.
Most of Norwalk is served by the Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School District,
headquartered at 12820 Pioneer Boulevard in Norwalk. NLMUSD also contains The California distinguished school J.B. Morrison Elementary Magnet School in Norwalk.
Certain areas of Norwalk are served by the Little Lake City School District (elementary school district), headquartered in Santa Fe Springs, and the Whittier Union High School District. Another section is within the ABC Unified School District, based in Cerritos.[
Among the several parochial schools in Norwalk are Saint John of God School (Roman Catholic, of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles), Pioneer Baptist School (Baptist Christian), and Saint Linus School (Roman Catholic).
]
Media
The independent TV station KHJ-TV/KCAL-TV channel 9 was licensed to Norwalk for a year in 1989 during an ownership transfer as part of a settlement with the FCC by former owner RKO General; the one-year change in city of license
In U.S., Canadian, and Mexican broadcasting, a city of license or community of license is the community that a radio station or television station is officially licensed to serve by that country's broadcast regulator.
In North American broadcast ...
was barely noted on-air (it returned to a city of license of Los Angeles in 1990), and the station never had any actual assets based in Norwalk. '' Los Cerritos Community News'' serves the city.
Notable people
* Ruth Asawa, sculptor
* Shirley Babashoff, swimmer, winner of eight Olympic medals and 1975 world championship, Norwalk High School graduate, 1973
* Dick Bass, born Richard Lee Bass, played professional football as running back for Los Angeles Rams
The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...
from 1960 through 1969
* William Conrad (1920–94), actor, director and producer in film and television; lived in Bellflower, graduate of Excelsior High School
* Tiffany Darwish, 1980s singer and actress
* James Gattuso, analyst and pundit in Washington, D.C., who often appears on television and radio to give opinions on domestic policy; Excelsior High School Class of 1975
* Keith Ginter, MLB player for Houston Astros, Milwaukee Brewers, and Oakland Athletics
* Bob Kevoian, radio host, ''The Bob & Tom Show'', Norwalk High Class of 1969
* Joseph "Mang0" Marquez, professional Super Smash Bros. player for Cloud9, graduate of John Glenn High School class of 2010
* Ron McGovney, the first bass player of Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band. It was formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...
* Lindsay Mendez, Broadway actress
* Grace Napolitano, former U.S. representative, California state assemblywoman, and mayor of Norwalk
* Alexandra Nechita, artist, considered youngest cubist ever discovered (at age 8) and nicknamed "petite Picasso"; attended Moffit Elementary School prior to her fame when she relocated outside of Norwalk
*Pat Nixon
Thelma Catherine "Pat" Nixon (; March 16, 1912 – June 22, 1993) was First Lady of the United States from 1969 to 1974 as the wife of President Richard Nixon. She also served as the Second ladies and gentlemen of the United States, second lady ...
(1912–93), First Lady of United States 1969–74, wife of President Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...
; graduate of Excelsior High School Class of 1929 (family bought a truck farm in Dairy Valley, formerly in Artesia, now part of Cerritos)
* Donald Novis, actor, died in Norwalk 1966
* Rashaad Penny, running back, Seattle Seahawks
* Ron Rinehart, lead singer, Dark Angel
* Poncho Sanchez, Latin jazz artist
* Cindy Sheehan, anti-Iraq War activist
* Gene Taylor, blues-rock and boogie-woogie pianist, Norwalk High Class of 1970
* Cristina Valenzuela, voice actress
* Delta Work, drag queen and stylist
* Nikki Schieler Ziering, Playboy Playmate, actress and Ian Ziering's ex-wife
Neighborhoods
* Carmenita (South Norwalk)
* Civic Center (Central Norwalk)
* Norwalk Hills (North Norwalk)
* South Norwalk
* Studebaker (North Norwalk)
* Norwalk Manor (South East Norwalk) (not to be confused with Norwalk Manor, a major subdivision built in 1947 to 1949)
See also
References
External links
*
Norwalk Chamber of Commerce
Norwalk Municipal Code
{{authority control
1957 establishments in California
Cities in Los Angeles County, California
Gateway Cities
Incorporated cities and towns in California
Populated places established in 1957