Commerce, California
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Commerce is a city located in southeast Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 12,378 at the 2020 census, down from 12,823 at the 2010 census. It is usually referred to as the City of Commerce to distinguish it from the common noun. It is bordered by Vernon on the west, Los Angeles on the northwest, East Los Angeles on the north, Montebello on the east, Downey and Bell Gardens on the south, and Maywood on the southwest. The Los Angeles River forms part of its southwestern boundary, and the Rio Hondo separates it from Downey. Commerce is served by the Long Beach and Santa Ana freeways, as well as the Metrolink commuter rail service at the Commerce station.
History
In the 19th century, the area was part of Antonio Maria Lugo's Rancho San Antonio. Its conversion to an industrial area began in 1887, when the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway built its main line through the area. The ranch remained intact until Arcadia Bandini de Stearns Baker, reputedly once the wealthiest woman in Los Angeles, sold some of it around the turn of the 20th century. The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway and Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad (later the Union Pacific) both were built through what would become the community, as was the Pacific Electric Railway's Whittier Line. By the 1920s, factories had arrived. In the late 1940s, industrial leaders banded together with residents in the communities of Bandini, Rosewood, and Laguna to encourage commerce. They changed the name to match that goal.
The city was incorporated in 1960 to prevent neighboring cities such as Vernon and Los Angeles from annexing industrial land for tax revenue and elected its first city mayor, Maurice Quigley. In the 1970s and 1980s, Commerce successfully negotiated the turbulent period of deindustrialization that hammered nearby cities such as South Gate and Norwalk, maintaining much of its manufacturing and goods-distribution base and successfully converting former industrial land to lucrative commercial uses. The most notable example of this phenomenon is the Citadel Outlets mall, which occupies the site of a former tire factory. The owner of the Citadel, Steve Craig, hosts an annual Clean Up Commerce Day and enlists other businesses to work with the city and volunteers in beautifying a specific area of the city.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> With a major rail yard within its borders, Commerce has also benefited greatly from the huge expansion in international trade traffic through the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, albeit at the expense of severe air pollution caused by truck congestion on the Long Beach Freeway.
Chrysler had an assembly plant in Commerce from 1930 through July 1971 located at 5800 S. Eastern Avenue and Slauson Avenue, called Los Angeles (Maywood) Assembly. It was closed at the end of the 1971 model year, as Chrysler decided to triple-stack its transport trains for the 1972 model year; its Los Angeles facility couldn't accommodate this change.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Commerce is also the site of Williams Ranch, on which is the swimming hole that the Sleepy Lagoon Murder of José Díaz took place in 1942. The Sleepy Lagoon swimming hole was located near Slauson and Eastern Ave.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of Template:Convert, over 99% of it land.
Demographics
Commerce first appeared as a city in the 1960 U.S. census<ref name=1960CensusCA1/> as part of the Southeast census county division.<ref name=1960CensusCA2/>
| Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic) | Pop 2000<ref name=2000CensusP004>Template:Cite web</ref> | Pop 2010<ref name=2010CensusP2>Template:Cite web</ref> | Template:Partial<ref name=2020CensusP2>Template:Cite web</ref> | % 2000 | % 2010 | Template:Partial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White alone (NH) | 519 | 402 | 293 | 4.13% | 3.13% | 2.37% |
| Black or African American alone (NH) | 63 | 66 | 88 | 0.50% | 0.51% | 0.71% |
| Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) | 52 | 48 | 38 | 0.41% | 0.37% | 0.31% |
| Asian alone (NH) | 122 | 134 | 163 | 0.97% | 1.04% | 1.32% |
| Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH) | 1 | 7 | 3 | 0.01% | 0.05% | 0.02% |
| Other race alone (NH) | 7 | 24 | 44 | 0.06% | 0.19% | 0.36% |
| Mixed race or Multiracial (NH) | 39 | 28 | 59 | 0.31% | 0.22% | 0.48% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 11,765 | 12,114 | 11,690 | 93.61% | 94.47% | 94.44% |
| Total | 12,568 | 12,823 | 12,378 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% |
2020
The 2020 United States census reported that Commerce had a population of 12,378. The population density was Template:Convert. The racial makeup of Commerce was 16.8% White, 0.9% African American, 3.3% Native American, 1.5% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, 53.4% from other races, and 24.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 94.4% of the population.<ref name=DP1>Template:Cite web</ref>
The census reported that 99.4% of the population lived in households, 0.1% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0.4% were institutionalized.<ref name=DP1/>
There were 3,449 households, out of which 45.2% included children under the age of 18, 46.9% were married-couple households, 7.6% were cohabiting couple households, 29.1% had a female householder with no partner present, and 16.4% had a male householder with no partner present. 16.6% of households were one person, and 8.9% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 3.57.<ref name=DP1/> There were 2,706 families (78.5% of all households).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The age distribution was 23.3% under the age of 18, 10.4% aged 18 to 24, 27.9% aged 25 to 44, 24.0% aged 45 to 64, and 14.5% who were 65Template:Nbspyears of age or older. The median age was 36.5Template:Nbspyears. For every 100 females, there were 95.9 males.<ref name=DP1/>
There were 3,524 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert, of which 3,449 (97.9%) were occupied. Of these, 47.3% were owner-occupied, and 52.7% were occupied by renters.<ref name=DP1/>
In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that the median household income was $71,768, and the per capita income was $26,570. About 11.3% of families and 13.6% of the population were below the poverty line.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2010
At the 2010 census Commerce had a population of 12,823. The population density was Template:Convert. The racial makeup of Commerce was 6,930 (54.0%) White (3.1% Non-Hispanic White),<ref name=quickfacts>Template:Cite web</ref> 96 (0.7%) African American, 161 (1.3%) Native American, 140 (1.1%) Asian, 9 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 4,886 (38.1%) from other races, and 601 (4.7%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 12,114 persons (94.5%).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The census reported that 12,753 people (99.5% of the population) lived in households, 2 (0%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 68 (0.5%) were institutionalized.
There were 3,382 households, 1,751 (51.8%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 1,693 (50.1%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 708 (20.9%) had a female householder with no husband present, 308 (9.1%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 248 (7.3%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 23 (0.7%) same-sex married couples or partnerships; 559 households (16.5%) were one person and 326 (9.6%) had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 3.77. There were 2,709 families (80.1% of households); the average family size was 4.17.
The age distribution was 3,824 people (29.8%) under the age of 18, 1,458 people (11.4%) aged 18 to 24, 3,581 people (27.9%) aged 25 to 44, 2,590 people (20.2%) aged 45 to 64, and 1,370 people (10.7%) who were 65 or older. The median age was 31.2 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.7 males.
There were 3,470 housing units at an average density of 530.8 per square mile, of the occupied units 1,619 (47.9%) were owner-occupied and 1,763 (52.1%) were rented. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.0%; the rental vacancy rate was 1.8%. 6,631 people (51.7% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 6,122 people (47.7%) lived in rental housing units.
According to the 2010 United States Census, Commerce had a median household income of $48,729, with 16.5% of the population living below the federal poverty line.<ref name=quickfacts/>
Template:10 Latino neighborhoods in Los Angeles County
As of 2000, Mexican (78.4%) and Irish (0.9%) were the most common ancestries. Mexico (83.4%) and El Salvador (4.7%) were the most common foreign places of birth.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Economy
Principal employers
According to the city's 2010 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,<ref name="cafr">City of Commerce, California Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, for the Year ended June 30, 2010 Template:Webarchive Retrieved September 24, 2010</ref> the top employers in the city are:
| # | Employer | # of Employees |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Commerce Casino | 2,191 |
| 2 | County of Los Angeles | 910 |
| 3 | Parsec | 890 |
| 4 | Smart & Final | 769 |
| 5 | Unified Grocers | 748 |
| 6 | American International Industries | 592 |
| 7 | Mission Foods | 590 |
| 7 | 99 Cents Only Stores | 549 |
| 9 | Megatoys | 480 |
| 10 | Wine Warehouse | 376 |
| 11 | Valassis Direct Mail | 350 |
| 12 | Gibson Overseas | 346 |
| 13 | City of Commerce | 315 |
| 14 | AT&T California | 302 |
Kimlan Foods USA has its headquarters in Commerce.<ref>Home page Template:Webarchive. Kimlan Foods USA. Retrieved on November 9, 2012. "3330 S. Garfield Ave • Building 102 • Unit A Commerce • CA 90040"</ref>
Government
In the California State Legislature, Commerce is in Template:Representative, and in Template:Representative.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In the United States House of Representatives, Commerce is in California's 42nd Congressional District, Represented by Democrat Robert Garcia.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Commerce residents have many civic services funded from taxes on the local card club, the Commerce Casino, which accounts for 46% ($19.5 Million for budget year 2005/06) of Commerce's tax revenues, and the Citadel. This includes four libraries, a senior center, a teen center, an aquatics center, and a city-owned camp in the San Bernardino National Forest.<ref name="LAT 20160907">Template:Cite news</ref> Commerce is also one of the few cities in California that provides its residents with free bus service.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Commerce operates five bus lines within the city, two routes running Sundays only, and one express bus between The Citadel shopping center and Downtown Los Angeles.<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Dead link</ref>
Education
Most of Commerce is served by Montebello Unified School District,<ref>"District Map Template:Webarchive." Montebello Unified School District. Retrieved on January 3, 2017.</ref> while small portions are served by the Los Angeles Unified School District.
Montebello Unified School District
Elementary schools that serve Commerce include:
- Bandini Elementary School (Commerce)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Suva Elementary School (Bell Gardens)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Intermediate schools that serve Commerce include:
- Bell Gardens Intermediate School (Bell Gardens)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Suva Intermediate School (Bell Gardens)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- La Merced Intermediate School (Montebello)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
K–8 schools:
- Rosewood Park School (Commerce)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
High schools that serve Commerce include:
- Bell Gardens High School (Bell Gardens)
- Montebello High School (Montebello)
- Schurr High School (Montebello)
Los Angeles Unified School District
- Ford Boulevard Elementary School (Unincorporated Los Angeles County)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Griffith Middle School (Unincorporated Los Angeles County)
- Garfield High School (Unincorporated Los Angeles County)
Infrastructure
Los Cerritos Community News serves the city.
Health care
The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services operates the Whittier Health Center in Whittier, serving Commerce.<ref>"Whittier Health Center Template:Webarchive." Los Angeles County Department of Health Services. Retrieved on March 18, 2010.</ref>
Emergency services
Fire services
Fire protection in Commerce is provided by the Los Angeles County Fire Department, which has its headquarters in Commerce.<ref>"Fire Reports Template:Webarchive." Los Angeles County Fire Department. Retrieved on March 12, 2010.</ref> The LACFD operates Station #22 at 928 South Gerhart Avenue, Station #27, the battalion headquarters, at 6031 Rickenbacker Road, and Station #50 at 2327 South Saybrook Avenue, all in Commerce, as a part of Battalion 3.<ref>"Hometown Fire Stations Template:Webarchive." Los Angeles County Fire Department. Retrieved on December 6, 2008.</ref><ref>"Planning Areas Template:Webarchive." City of Commerce. Retrieved on December 6, 2008.</ref> Ambulance transport is provided by Care Ambulance Service.
Police services
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD) operates the East Los Angeles Station in East Los Angeles, serving Commerce.<ref>"East Los Angeles Station Template:Webarchive." Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Retrieved on January 21, 2010.</ref>
Friendship City
Commerce is a friendship city with Nanning, Guangxi, China.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
See also
References
External links
Template:Cities of Los Angeles County, California Template:Greater Los Angeles Area Template:Authority control