Winters, California

Winters is a city in rural Yolo County, and the western Sacramento Valley, in northern California, United States.

Winters has a 2024 population of 7,860. Winters is currently growing at a rate of 2.16% annually and its population has increased by 9.24% since the most recent census, which recorded a population of 7,195 in 2020.

The average household income in Winters is $148,333 with a poverty rate of 6.55%. The median age in Winters is 37.9 years: 38.1 years for males, and 37.9 years for females.

Geography

Winters is a small city located on Putah Creek in the western Sacramento Valley, near the California Coastal Range.

It is situated along Interstate 505, from Vacaville. Winters is nearly from Sacramento and about from San Francisco, California. It is located at .

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and of it (0.85%) is water.

History

William Wolfskill, a Kentucky immigrant to Mexican Alta California, received a Mexican land grant for Rancho Rio de los Putos in 1842 from Governor Juan Bautista Alvarado. His brother, John Reid Wolfskill, started the agricultural development of the Sacramento Valley by planting orchards and vineyards on his lands. In 1849, William Wolfskill transferred half of Rancho Rio de los Putos to John Wolfskill, and transferred the rest to his brother in 1854.

The Winters post office was established in 1875. Winters incorporated in 1898. The name honors Theodore Winters, whose ranch provided half of the town's land.

In 1935, Wolfskill's heirs deeded 100 acres of the Wolfskill Ranch in Winters to the University of California, Davis, which had been founded in 1908. The land was to be used for an experimental orchard.

Climate

Winters has hot, mostly dry summers and cool, wet winters. According to the Köppen climate classification system, Winters has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (''Csa''). Average January temperatures are a maximum of and a minimum of . Average July temperatures are a maximum of and a minimum of . There are an average of 102.0 days with highs of or higher and an average of 20.3 days with lows of . The record high temperature was on June 16, 1961, and July 14, 1972. The record low temperature was on December 23, 1990.

Average annual precipitation is . There are an average of 64 days with measurable precipitation. The wettest year was 1983 with and the driest year was 1976 with . The most rainfall in one month was in January 1995. The most rainfall in 24 hours was on March 29, 1907. Snowfall is a rarity in Winters, but fell in January 1973 and fell in December 1988.

Government

;Federal
*California's 4th congressional district

;State
* California's 3rd State Senate district
*California's 4th State Assembly district

;City
The current elected members of the Winters City Council are:
* Mayor — Bill Biasi
* Mayor Pro-Tempore — Albert Vallecillo
* Council Member — Jesse Loren
* Council Member — Richard Casavecchia
* Council Member — Carol Scianna

Other elected or appointed city officials include:

* City Manager — Jeremy Craig
* Police Chief John P. Miller
* Fire Chief Jack Snyder

Economy

Top employers

According to Winters' 2017 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:

Demographics

2020

The 2020 United States census reported that Winters had a population of 7,115. The population density was . The racial makeup of Winters was 47.5% White, 0.6% African American, 2.9% Native American, 1.3% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 28.4% from other races, and 19.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 55.3% of the population.

The census reported that 99.9% of the population lived in households, 0.1% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and no one was institutionalized.

There were 2,420 households, out of which 41.0% included children under the age of 18, 58.5% were married-couple households, 5.8% were cohabiting couple households, 22.8% had a female householder with no partner present, and 12.9% had a male householder with no partner present. 17.1% of households were one person, and 7.6% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.94. There were 1,865 families (77.1% of all households).

The age distribution was 24.8% under the age of 18, 7.7% aged 18 to 24, 26.6% aged 25 to 44, 26.3% aged 45 to 64, and 14.6% who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 37.7years. For every 100 females, there were 98.3 males.

There were 2,535 housing units at an average density of , of which 2,420 (95.5%) were occupied. Of these, 66.4% were owner-occupied, and 33.6% were occupied by renters.

2023 estimates

In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that 19.3% of the population were foreign-born. Of all people aged 5 or older, 57.4% spoke only English at home, 41.0% spoke Spanish, 0.9% spoke other Indo-European languages, and 0.6% spoke Asian or Pacific Islander languages. Of those aged 25 or older, 87.2% were high school graduates and 29.8% had a bachelor's degree.

The median household income was $132,650, and the per capita income was $49,451. About 2.5% of families and 6.2% of the population were below the poverty line.

Notable people

* Robert Crumb, cartoonist, lived in Winters until 1991
* Frank Demaree, Major League Baseball player
* Robert Craig McNamara, owner of Sierra Orchards and son of Robert S. McNamara, Secretary of the Department of Defense
* Catherine Squires Microbiologist, Moved to Winters 2009
* John Reid Wolfskill, Winters pioneer

See also

* 1892 Vacaville–Winters earthquakes

References

Sources

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External links

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Cities in Yolo County, California
Cities in Sacramento metropolitan area
Sacramento Valley
Populated places established in 1898
1898 establishments in California
Incorporated cities and towns in California