San Lucas (

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. Luke Luke the Evangelist was one of the Four Evangelists—the four traditionally ascribed authors of the canonical gospels. The Early Church Fathers ascribed to him authorship of both the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles. Prominent figu ...

") 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. It was founded in 1886 and named after the

Rancho San Lucas Rancho San Lucas was a Mexican land grant in the Salinas Valley, in present-day Monterey County, California given in 1842 by Governor Juan B. Alvarado to Rafael Estrada. The grant extended along the west bank of the Salinas River south of ...

, which was granted in 1842. The post office was first established in 1892. San Lucas is located in the

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 ...

, on the Salinas River southeast of King City, at an elevation of . The population was 324 at the 2020 census, up from 269 in 2010.

History

The

Southern Pacific Railroad The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials) was an American Railroad classes#Class I, Class I Rail transport, railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was oper ...

reached the place in 1886 and named it for the

Mexican land grant. The San Lucas post office opened in 1887 (having been transferred from Griswold).

Geography

San Lucas is located in southeastern Monterey County at , on the east side of the Salinas Valley.

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 ...

runs along the western edge of the community, leading northwest to King City and Salinas, 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 ...

, while leading southeast to

Paso Robles Paso Robles ( ), officially El Paso de Robles (Spanish for The Pass of Oaks), is a city in San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. Located on the Salinas River about north of San Luis Obispo, the city is known for its hot springs, ...

California State Route 198 State Route 198 (SR 198) is an east–west state highway in the U.S. state of California that runs from U.S. Route 101 (US 101) south of King City to Sequoia National Park. It connects the California Central Coast to the mid– Centra ...

leads east from San Lucas across the San Andreas Rift Zone 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 ...

Coalinga Coalinga ( or ) is a city in the Pleasant Valley in Fresno County and the western San Joaquin Valley, in central California about 80 miles (128 km) southeast of Salinas. It was formerly known as ''Coaling Station A'', ''Coalingo'', and ' ...

. 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 San Lucas CDP has a total area of , all of it land. The San Lucas AVA (American Viticultural Area) is located in the area.

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 Lucas 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.

Demographics

San Lucas 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 Lucas had a population of 324. The population density was . The racial makeup of San Lucas was 139 (42.9%)

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 (0.3%)

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 ...

, 3 (0.9%) Native American, 1 (0.3%) Asian, 2 (0.6%)

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 ...

, 137 (42.3%) from other races, and 41 (12.7%) from two or more races.

Hispanic or Latino ''Hispanic'' and '' Latino'' are ethnonyms used to refer collectively to the inhabitants of the United States who are of Spanish or Latin American ancestry (). While many use the terms interchangeably, for example, the United States Census Bureau ...

of any race were 302 persons (93.2%). The whole population lived in households. There were 76 households, out of which 39 (51.3%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 45 (59.2%) were married-couple households, 10 (13.2%) 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, 14 (18.4%) had a female householder with no partner present, and 7 (9.2%) had a male householder with no partner present. 8 households (10.5%) were one person, and 2 (2.6%) were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 4.26. There were 67

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 ...

(88.2% of all households). The age distribution was 112 people (34.6%) under the age of 18, 31 people (9.6%) aged 18 to 24, 92 people (28.4%) aged 25 to 44, 60 people (18.5%) aged 45 to 64, and 29 people (9.0%) who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 28.8years. For every 100 females, there were 100.0 males. There were 76 housing units at an average density of , which were all occupied, 27 (35.5%) by homeowners and 49 (64.5%) by renters.

2010

The 2010 United States Census reported that San Lucas had a population of 269. The population density was . The racial makeup of San Lucas was 113 (42.0%)

, 0 (0.0%)

, 4 (1.5%) Native American, 6 (2.2%) Asian, 0 (0.0%)

, 127 (47.2%) from other races, and 19 (7.1%) 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 224 persons (83.3%). The Census reported that 269 people (100% of the population) lived in households, 0 (0%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized. There were 67 households, out of which 38 (56.7%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 46 (68.7%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 8 (11.9%) had a female householder with no husband present, 3 (4.5%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 4 (6.0%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 0 (0%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 7 households (10.4%) were made up of individuals, and 2 (3.0%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 4.01. There were 57

(85.1% of all households); the average family size was 4.23. The population was spread out, with 87 people (32.3%) under the age of 18, 38 people (14.1%) aged 18 to 24, 74 people (27.5%) aged 25 to 44, 58 people (21.6%) aged 45 to 64, and 12 people (4.5%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 26.3 years. For every 100 females, there were 110.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 111.6 males. There were 76 housing units at an average density of , of which 36 (53.7%) were owner-occupied, and 31 (46.3%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0%; the rental vacancy rate was 11.4%. 132 people (49.1% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 137 people (50.9%) lived in rental housing units.

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, the median income for a household in the CDP was $31,538, and the median income for a family was $30,536. Males had a median income of $27,000 versus $24,375 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 CDP was $7,834. About 23.3% of families and 29.7% 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 38.2% of those under age 18 and 11.4% of those age 65 or over.

Government

San Lucas is served by the San Lucas Water District.

References

External links

{{authority control Census-designated places in Monterey County, California Salinas Valley Salinas River (California) Census-designated places in California