San Ardo, formerly known as San Bernardo (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

for "St. Bernard"), 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

Monterey County Monterey County ( ), officially the County of Monterey, is a county located on the Pacific coast in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 439,035. The county's largest city and county seat is ...

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 ...

. San Ardo is located southeast of King City at an elevation of . The population was 392 at the 2020 census, down from 517 in 2010.

History

The owner of the San Bernardo land grant, M.J. Brandenstein, laid out the town when the railroad reached his land in 1887. The San Bernardo post office opened in 1886, and changed its name to San Ardo in 1887. The former name of San Bernardo was changed to avoid confusion with

San Bernardino, California San Bernardino ( ) is a city in and the county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a population of 222,101 in the 2020 census, making it the List of ...

Geography

San Ardo is near the point where the broad

Salinas Valley The Salinas Valley (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Valle de Salinas'') is one of the major valleys and most productive Agriculture, agricultural regions in California. It is located west of the San Joaquin Valley and south of San Francisco Bay and ...

has its southeastern terminus and pinches out within the converging portions of the

California Coast Ranges The Coast Ranges of California span from Del Norte County, California, Del Norte or Humboldt County, California, south to Santa Barbara County, California, Santa Barbara County. The other three coastal California mountain ranges are the Trans ...

, including the

Santa Lucia Mountains The Santa Lucia Range (sæntə luˈsiːə) or Santa Lucia Mountains is a rugged mountain range in coastal Central California, running from Carmel southeast for to the Cuyama River in San Luis Obispo County. The range is never more than fro ...

on the west and the Cholame Hills and the

Diablo Range The Diablo Range is a mountain range in the California Coast Ranges subdivision of the Pacific Coast Ranges in northern California, United States. It stretches from the eastern San Francisco Bay Area at its northern end to the Salinas Valley a ...

on the east.

U.S. Route 101 U.S. Route 101, or U.S. Highway 101 (US 101), is a major north–south highway that traverses the states of California, Oregon, and Washington on the West Coast of the United States. It is part of the United States Numbered Highway Syst ...

passes west of the town, leading northwest to to King City and to Salinas, the Monterey

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 ...

, while to the southeast it leads to Paso Robles. 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. The Salinas River flows northward along the west side of the community.

Climate

This region experiences warm (but not hot) and dry summers, with no average monthly temperatures above 71.6 °F. 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, San Ardo 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 "Csb" on climate maps.

Economy

The huge

San Ardo Oil Field The San Ardo Oil Field is a large oil field in Monterey County, California, in the United States. It is in the Salinas Valley, about five miles (8 km) south of the small town of San Ardo, and about 20 miles (32 km) north of Paso Robles ...

is about south of town. Much of the local economy is based on

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

(including

farming Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

and

ranching A ranch (from /Mexican Spanish) is an area of land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of farm. These terms are most often applied to li ...

), and servicing the oil field.

Demographics

San Ardo first appeared as 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 ...

in the 2000 U.S. Census.

2020

The 2020 United States census reported that San Ardo had a population of 392. The population density was . The racial makeup of San Ardo was 105 (26.8%)

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 ...

, 0 (0.0%)

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 ...

, 9 (2.3%) Native American, 0 (0.0%) Asian, 3 (0.8%)

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 ...

, 238 (60.7%) from other races, and 37 (9.4%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 310 persons (79.1%). The whole population lived in households. There were 124 households, out of which 52 (41.9%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 57 (46.0%) were married-couple households, 15 (12.1%) were

cohabiting Cohabitation is an arrangement where people who are not legally married live together as a couple. They are often involved in a romantic or sexually intimate relationship on a long-term or permanent basis. Such arrangements have become incr ...

couple households, 23 (18.5%) had a female householder with no partner present, and 29 (23.4%) had a male householder with no partner present. 28 households (22.6%) were one person, and 10 (8.1%) were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 3.16. There were 85

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 ...

(68.5% of all households). The age distribution was 136 people (34.7%) under the age of 18, 37 people (9.4%) aged 18 to 24, 94 people (24.0%) aged 25 to 44, 77 people (19.6%) aged 45 to 64, and 48 people (12.2%) who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 28.8years. For every 100 females, there were 136.1 males. There were 132 housing units at an average density of , of which 124 (93.9%) were occupied. Of these, 43 (34.7%) were owner-occupied, and 81 (65.3%) were occupied by renters.

2010

At the 2010 census San Ardo had a population of 517. The population density was . The racial makeup of San Ardo was 252 (48.7%) White, 1 (0.2%) African American, 3 (0.6%) Native American, 5 (1.0%) Asian, 0 (0.0%) Pacific Islander, 245 (47.4%) from other races, and 11 (2.1%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 363 people (70.2%). The whole population lived in households, no one lived in non-institutionalized group quarters and no one was institutionalized. There were 140 households, 76 (54.3%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 82 (58.6%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 16 (11.4%) had a female householder with no husband present, 13 (9.3%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 6 (4.3%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 1 (0.7%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 22 households (15.7%) were one person and 9 (6.4%) had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 3.69. There were 111 families (79.3% of households); the average family size was 4.13. The age distribution was 185 people (35.8%) under the age of 18, 66 people (12.8%) aged 18 to 24, 139 people (26.9%) aged 25 to 44, 83 people (16.1%) aged 45 to 64, and 44 people (8.5%) who were 65 or older. The median age was 26.6 years. For every 100 females, there were 112.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 129.0 males. There were 158 housing units at an average density of 351.7 per square mile, of the occupied units 47 (33.6%) were owner-occupied and 93 (66.4%) were rented. The homeowner vacancy rate was 4.1%; the rental vacancy rate was 9.6%. 145 people (28.0% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 372 people (72.0%) lived in rental housing units.

2000

At the 2000 census, the median household income was $25,208 and the median family income was $31,500. Males had a median income of $30,417 versus $14,375 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $11,379. About 15.4% of families and 24.0% 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 32.5% of those under age 18 and 13.5% of those age 65 or over.