Demographics (2010): 62.0% White, 18.2% Hispanic, 15.5% Asian, 1.6% Black
Population (2010): 191,719
President: 58.64% D / 39.97% R (2004), 65.05% D / 32.93% R (2008), 64.34% D / 32.79% R (2012), 62.57% D / 31.81% R (2016)
MHI (2000): $41,805
% Bachelor's: 39.4%
Early on in its history, Glendale was a sundown town, even preventing the Civilian Conservation Corps from having blacks stay there. In 1964, George Lincoln Rockwell chose Glendale to be the home of the West Coast branch of the American Nazi Party, and the office there was open until the early 1980s.
Glendale was home to Grand Central Airport, which many famous aviation pioneers made their mark, such as when Charles Lindbergh departed from here on his first commercial west-to-east transcontinental flight, when Amelia Earhart bought her first plane, and when Laura Ingalls landed after flying across the country, the first woman to do so.
The burger restaurant chain Bob's Big Boy and ice cream chain Baskin Robbins started in Glendale. Today Glendale is home to the U.S. headquarters of the International House of Pancakes. Glendale has also been a production center for the country's entertainment industry, especially animation, in the 1960s after the Walt Disney Company expanded from neighboring Burbank. Today the Grand Central Business Center, built on the site of the former Grand Central Airport, is home to the Muppets Studio and Marvel Animation Studios. The Walt Disney Animation Studios were in Glendale in the 1980s and 1990s, and most of the animated movies from the Renaissance Era were actually made in Glendale.
Armenians have called Glendale home for about a century, though most of them came decades later, especially in the late 1980s from Soviet Armenia and from Iran. The Glendale school district at that point had more students from Armenia and the Middle East than it had Latino students. The heavy metal band System of a Down was formed in Glendale in 1994 by Armenian-Americans.
Demographics (2010): 47.5% White, 33.5% Hispanic, 11.1% Asian, 4.0% Black
Population (2010): 176,320
President: 59.68% R / 39.26% D (2004), 50.32% R / 47.57% D (2008), 52.32% R / 45.10% D (2012), 48.53% D / 45.33% R (2016)
MHI (2007): $79,004
% Bachelor's: 35.5%
Santa Clarita is a fairly new city, incorporating in 1987 after unsuccessful attempts to form a separate county. The city was formed via the merger of the communities of Canyon Country, Newhall, Saugus, and Valencia. The communities still maintain their own identities. Six Flags Magic Mountain is in the Valencia community.
When the Spanish came to the area, they named it and the Santa Clara River after Saint Claire of Assisi. So as not to have conflict with the city of Santa Clara in Northern California, the Southern California settlement was named "little Santa Clara". Newhall is named after businessman Henry Newhall, who prospered in the Gold Rush and purchased the Rancho San Francisco, where Santa Clarita would later develop.
California's oil industry started from an oil well in Mentryville, purchased by Charles Alexander Mentry in 1876. The second-deadliest disaster in California history after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake occurred in 1928 in the Santa Clarita Valley when the Saint Francis Dam collapsed, and nearly 600 people died.
Demographics (2010): 39.7% Hispanic, 31.1% White, 21.8% Black, 4.4% Asian
Population (2010): 156,633
President: 59.70% R / 39.03% D (2004), 50.78% D / 47.18% R (2008), 52.39% D / 45.06% R (2012), 53.07% D / 40.77% R (2016)
MHI (2010): $50,193
% Bachelor's: 16.2%
Lancaster started as a settlement on the Southern Pacific Railroad, along the line connecting San Francisco and Los Angeles. Its namesake isn't known, but the city of Lancaster, Pennsylvania has been suggested. Settlers came via the trains to the former water-stop, and Lancaster prospered from wheat and barley farming. A drought in the late 19th century hit Lancaster hard, but the discovery of gold and borax brought an improvement, which continued in the early 20th century with the development of the Los Angeles Aqueduct.
The community boasted the state's first dormitory system at Antelope Valley Union High School in the 1910s. Muroc Air Force Base brought further growth. This base, now known as Edwards Air Force Base, hosted some Space Shuttle landings. The area prospered from the 1960s to the 1970s with the aerospace industry, and Lancaster incorporated in 1977. In 1993 the first state prison in Los Angeles County opened in Lancaster.
Demographics (2010): 60.2% Hispanic, 20.1% White, 12.5% Black, 4.7% Asian
Population (2010): 152,750
President: 50.59% R / 48.24% D (2004), 58.16% D / 39.79% R (2008), 59.79% D / 37.79% R (2012), 62.05% D / 31.94% R (2016)
MHI (2009): $53,922
% Bachelor's: 15.1%
Just south of Lancaster is the other anchor city in the Antelope Valley, Palmdale. The first settlement here, in the late 19th/early 20th century, was known as Palmenthal and was settled by Lutheran German and Swiss travelers from the Midwest. They were told that when they were close to the ocean, they would see palm trees. They thought the Joshua trees that populate the area were palms (and in fact they were then sometimes called yucca palms) and named the settlement after them. Palmenthal means "palm valley".
Like Lancaster, the Southern Pacific brought new settlers to Palmenthal, which was renamed to Palmdale. The Los Angeles Aqueduct and Little Rock Dam brought water and allowed for crop growing.
Thanks to Edwards Air Force Base and Lockheed establishing a facility at the Palmdale Airport, Palmdale became "the Aerospace Capital of America" and incorporated in 1962.
Palmdale, as well as Lancaster, were first seen as affordable alternatives to Los Angeles in the 1980s and 1990s and experienced a boom of commuters moving there.
In recent decades, gentrification in South Los Angeles drove many blacks to move to Palmdale. Latinos have also moved to Palmdale in increasing numbers, as have refugees from Iran and Iraq.
Demographics (2010): 56.7% White, 23.7% Hispanic, 12.5% Asian, 2.8% Black
Population (2010): 103,340
President: 56.80% D / 41.81% R (2004), 64.65% D / 33.24% R (2008), 64.01% D / 32.97% R (2012), 66.53% D / 27.44% R (2016)
MHI (2010): $66,240
% Bachelor's: 41.5%
Burbank is named after dentist/entrepreneur David Burbank, a New Hampshire native who built a sheep ranch there. He foresaw the value of rail transport and sold the Southern Pacific a way through his property. After Burbank, land speculators formed the Providencia Land, Water, and Development Company and offered farm lots. When the land boom went bust, the cantaloupe crop saved the town. The railroads helped farmers deliver their crops to markets, and brought tourists and immigrants to the area. Burbank incorporated in 1911.
In 1904 world heavyweight boxing champion James J. Jeffries bought land to form a ranch in Burbank, drawing international attention to Burbank. The barn he built was later removed and reassembled at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park in Orange County. Another farmer, Joseph Fawkes along with his wife Ellen got patents for the nation's first monorail. The first attempt, the Aerial Swallow, became known as "Fawkes' Folly", when the monorail completely fell apart after moving just about a foot.
Manufacturing began in 1887 with the Burbank Furniture Manufacturing Company. Shortly afterward, the Moreland Truck Company came to town and became the largest truck manufacturer west of the Mississippi River. Many trucks bore the label "Made in Burbank". More manufacturing companies set up shop in the next few decades, including aircraft manufacturers such as the Loughead brothers Allan and Malcolm, founders of Lockheed. In 1930 the United Airport (now Hollywood Burbank Airport, or Bob Hope Airport) was the largest commercial airport in the Los Angeles Area until 1946, when Los Angeles Municipal Airport, now Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), began operations.
During the Great Depression, the growing entertainment industry along with manufacturing brought more people to Burbank. Growth continued after World War II.
Known as "the Media Capital of the World", Burbank has a long history with the movie industry, dating to the 1920s. Many media companies have headquarters or other significant operations in Burbank. These include Warner Bros., Walt Disney Company, Nickelodeon Animation, and Cartoon Network. Burbank has two distinct sections, the flatland part and the foothills of the Verdugo Mountains, where the downtown is.
Demographics (2010): 40.3% White, 26.9% Hispanic, 23.7% Black, 5.4% Asian
Population (2010): 42,777
President: .% D / % R (2004), .% D / .% R (2008), .% D / .% R (2012), .% D / .% R (2016)
MHI (2010): $82,895
% Bachelor's: 44.5%
Altadena is so named because of its geography, Upper (alta) Pasadena (dena). Pasadena has unsuccessfully tried to annex Altadena. One of the few places where African Americans could buy homes in California was Altadena Meadows. In the 1960s, whites moved out and nonwhites from Pasadena moved in, having been displaced by redevelopment in Pasadena.
San Fernando
Demographics (2010): 92.5% Hispanic, 5.3% White, 1.0% Asian, 0.9% Black
Population (2010): 23,645
President: 71.30% D / 27.43% R (2004), 77.57% D / 20.62% R (2008), 79.64% D / 18.13% R (2012), 80.86% D / 13.73% R (2016)
MHI (2010): $55,192
% Bachelor's: 10.7%
San Fernando was named after the Mission San Fernando Rey de España (Saint Ferdinand of Spain). While surrounding towns were annexed into Los Angeles, abundant groundwater allowed San Fernando, which incorporated in 1911, to remain separate even with the postwar changes in the mid-20th century. Like much of the San Fernando Valley east of the San Diego Freeway, the city became much less white and more Hispanic, as the former moved to Santa Clarita and the Antelope Valley.
Demographics (2010): 57.9% White, 27.3% Asian, 11.4% Hispanic, 0.7% Black
Population (2010): 19,653
President: .% D / % R (2004), .% D / .% R (2008), .% D / .% R (2012), .% D / .% R (2016)
MHI (2010): $89,375
% Bachelor's: 51.3%
The La Crescenta part of the community's name is artificial, as "the crescent" in Spanish means "el creciente". Montrose was chosen via contest. In 1933, major wildfires ravaged the San Gabriel Mountains setting the stage for the Great Flood of 1934, when winter storms dumped rain on the mountains, sending mud sliding down that destroyed many homes. Afterwards, the Army Corps of Engineers built a flood control system so a disaster would not be seen again. The flood is commemorated in the Woody Guthrie song "Los Angeles New Year's Flood".
Demographics (2010): 57.1% White, 24.8% Hispanic, 11.4% Asian, 3.3% Black
Population (2010): 19,015
President: .% D / % R (2004), .% D / .% R (2008), .% D / .% R (2012), .% D / .% R (2016)
MHI (2010): $106,538
% Bachelor's: 35.2%
Castaic, named after a Chumash word for "eyes" or "wet spot", is home to a hydroelectric power plant. The Range War from 1890 to 1916 began after the acquittal of William Chormicle and a friend killed two cowhands of Justice of the Peace William 'Wirt' Jenkins. Today Castaic has the last traditional cattle roundup in Los Angeles County.
Demographics (2010): 53.9% White, 22.9% Asian, 16.1% Hispanic, 3.5% Black
Population (2010): 17,557
President: .% D / % R (2004), .% D / .% R (2008), .% D / .% R (2012), .% D / .% R (2016)
MHI (2018): $132,924
% Bachelor's: 51.7%
Stevenson Ranch is a master-planned suburban community that is one of the newest in the Santa Clarita Valley. It was also where the television show Weeds and the movie Pleasantville were filmed.
Demographics (2010): 53.6% Hispanic, 31.9% White, 11.3% Black, 0.9% Asian
Population (2010): 12,328
President: .% D / % R (2004), .% D / .% R (2008), .% D / .% R (2012), .% D / .% R (2016)
MHI (2010): $45,440
% Bachelor's: 7.2%
The community was named after the lakes (that have since dried up) to bring settlers to the area.
Demographics (2010): 63.2% Hispanic, 27.5% White, 7.0% Black, 1.1% Asian
Population (2010): 11,565
President: .% D / % R (2004), .% D / .% R (2008), .% D / .% R (2012), .% D / .% R (2016)
MHI (2018): $46,754
% Bachelor's: 5.7
Until the 1960s Sun Village was one of very few places in Los Angeles County where African Americans were allowed to buy homes. Jackie Robinson County Park is named after the legendary baseball player who came in person to dedicate the park. Frank Zappa played his music here.
Demographics (2010): 62.3% White, 24.6% Hispanic, 7.3% Black, 1.3% Asian
Population (2010): 10,912
President: .% D / % R (2004), .% D / .% R (2008), .% D / .% R (2012), .% D / .% R (2016)
MHI (2010): $51,821
% Bachelor's: 20.3%
Between Lancaster and Palmdale, Quartz Hill was historically agricultural before shifting to aerospace manufacturing after their water was diverted to the growing Los Angeles. Today Quartz Hill celebrates the annual Almond Blossom Festival.
Demographics (2010): 76.1% White, 18.1% Hispanic, 2.0% Asian, 0.8% Black
Population (2010): 7,596
President: .% D / % R (2004), .% D / .% R (2008), .% D / .% R (2012), .% D / .% R (2016)
MHI (2015): $75,714
% Bachelor's: 28.5%
Located in the Sierra Pelona Mountains, Acton was founded by gold miners and named after the Massachusetts city. The prominent mines here were the Red Rover and Governor Mines. Governor Henry Gage (R) owned the Governor Mine, and Acton was considered as a state capital. The capital remained in Sacramento.
Acton still has a rural Western theme today. While it is not in the Antelope Valley, it is connected to Palmdale via Metrolink. Its first hotel/saloon, the 49er, opened in 1889 and is still in operation today.
Demographics (2010): 75.5% White, 18.3% Hispanic, 2.3% Asian, 1.8% Black
Population (2010): 3,342%
President: .% D / % R (2004), .% D / .% R (2008), .% D / .% R (2012), .% D / .% R (2016)
MHI (2010): $103,333
% Bachelor's: Unknown
Meaning "sweet water" in Spanish, Agua Dulce is home to Vasquez Rocks. Vasquez Rocks is a famous site, having been used in shows such as Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers and movies such as Blazing Saddles, The Flintstones, and Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey. The rocks were named after bandit Tiburcio Vasquez, who hid there.
Demographics (2010): 61.1% Hispanic, 29.9% White, 4.3% Black, 1.9% Asian
Population (2010): 2,468
President: .% D / % R (2004), .% D / .% R (2008), .% D / .% R (2012), .% D / .% R (2016)
MHI (2010): $58,971
% Bachelor's: Unknown
Val Verde started out as a short-lived boom town in then-Alta California settled by colonial Mexican settlers. In 1924 the modern settlement was founded and named Eureka Villa, and became one of the few places African Americans could go for recreation. It was nicknamed "Black Palm Springs". The cornerstone for the Olympic swimming pool was laid in Val Verde in 1939. After Civil Rights, African Americans largely moved out. The community was hard hit by the 1994 Northridge earthquake.
Demographics (2010): 53.1% Hispanic, 33.3% White, 7.7% Black, 2.1% Asian
Population (2010): 2,360
President: .% D / % R (2004), .% D / .% R (2008), .% D / .% R (2012), .% D / .% R (2016)
MHI (2010): $63,717
% Bachelor's: Unknown
Demographics (2010): 81.2% White, 13.2% Hispanic, 1.3% Asian, 1.2% Black
Population (2010): 1,756
President: .% D / % R (2004), .% D / .% R (2008), .% D / .% R (2012), .% D / .% R (2016)
MHI (2000): $67,614
% Bachelor's: Unknown
Originally called La Laguna de Chico Lopez, Elizabeth Lake was a watering spot. William Mulholland worked on the Elizabeth Lake Tunnel to transport water via the Los Angeles Aqueduct. The tunnel was the largest single project on the Aqueduct.
Demographics (2010): 82.9% White, 12.3% Hispanic, 1.7% Asian, 0.7% Black
Population (2010): 1,607
President: .% D / % R (2004), .% D / .% R (2008), .% D / .% R (2012), .% D / .% R (2016)
MHI (2010): $79,375
% Bachelor's: Unknown
Leona Valley has historically been agricultural, growing cherries and wine grapes. An annual Cherry Festival is held here.
Demographics (2010): 54.1% Hispanic, 35.5% White, 5.4% Black, 1.7% Asian
Population (2010): 1,377
President: .% D / % R (2004), .% D / .% R (2008), .% D / .% R (2012), .% D / .% R (2016)
MHI (2010): $42,617
% Bachelor's: Unknown
Not related to the capital of Arkansas, this Littlerock was named after the Little Rock Wash. It is known as "The Fruit Basket of the Antelope Valley".
Demographics (2010): 72.6% White, 21.5% Hispanic, 2.3% Asian, 1.3% Black
Population (2010): 1,137
President: .% D / % R (2004), .% D / .% R (2008), .% D / .% R (2012), .% D / .% R (2016)
MHI (2010): $93,675
% Bachelor's: Unknown
Demographics (2010): Unknown % White, 12.0% Hispanic, 1.2% Asian, 0.8% Black
Population (2010): 1,027
President: .% D / % R (2004), .% D / .% R (2008), .% D / .% R (2012), .% D / .% R (2016)
MHI (2000): $83,359
% Bachelor's: Unknown