Meiners Oaks, California

Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox settlement Meiners Oaks is an unincorporated community lying west of the city of Ojai in Ventura County, California, United States. The population was 3,911 at the 2020 census. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined Meiners Oaks as a census-designated place (CDP).

History

German native John Meiners had immigrated to America in 1848 and established a successful brewing operation in Milwaukee. In the 1870s, he acquired the land that would become Meiners Oaks as payment for a debt. When a friend and business associate, Edward D. Holton, travelled through California and investigated the land, Meiners learned that he had acquired one of the largest oak groves on flat ground in southern California. Upon arriving in person, Meiners also found the climate agreeable, and established a ranch. Several hundred acres, north of the oak grove, were used quite successfully to grow lemons, oranges, plums, apricots and apples, as well as oats, wheat, barley and more. Meiners lived on his ranch intermittently until his death in 1898.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Geography

Meiners Oaks is in the mid-northern section of the Ojai Valley, and is bordered by the community of Mira Monte to the south, and the City of Ojai to the east.<ref name="GR1">Template:Cite web</ref> Meiners Oaks is in the heart of the Ojai Valley, very close to the Ventura River, where there are several hiking trails.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

The community is Template:Convert north of Los Angeles.<ref>Rist, Curtis. "Hitting Bottom." People. May 13, 1996. Volume 45, No. 19. Retrieved on May 26, 2013.</ref> The census bureau definition of the area as a CDP may not precisely correspond to local understanding of the area with the same name.<ref>"Boundary Map and Geodata for the CDP of Meiners Oaks in California, U.S.A.". MapTechnica.com. Retrieved August 7, 2015</ref>

Climate

The climate of Meiners Oaks is Mediterranean, characterized by hot, dry summers, at times exceeding Template:Convert, and mild, rainy winters, with lows at night falling below freezing at times. During dry spells with continental air, morning temperatures, due to Ojai's valley location, can drop well below most of Southern California, with the record being Template:Convert on January 6 and 7 of 1913. On the other hand, Meiners Oaks is far enough from the sea to minimize marine cooling, and very hot days can occur during summer, with the record being Template:Convert on June 16, 1917 – when it fell as low as Template:Convert in the morning due to clear skies and dry air.

Typically for much of coastal southern California, most precipitation falls in the form of rain between the months of October and April, with intervening dry summers. As with all of Southern California, rain falls on few days, but when it does rain it is often extremely heavy: the record being Template:Convert on February 24, 1913, followed by Template:Convert on January 26, 1914. During the wettest month on record of January 1969, Template:Convert fell, with a whopping Template:Convert in eight days from January 19 to January 26. In contrast, the median annual rainfall for all years in Meiners Oaks is only around Template:Convert and in the driest "rain year" from July 2006 to June 2007, just Template:Convert fell in twelve months. The wettest "rain year" was from July 1997 to June 1998 with Template:Convert.

Demographics

Meiners Oaks first appeared as an unincoporated place in the 1950 U.S. census;<ref name=1950CensusCA/> renamed Meiners Oaks-Mira Monte in the 1970 U.S. census;<ref name=1970CensusCA/> and redesignated as a census designated place in the 1980 U.S. census.<ref name=1980CensusCA/> The name was changed back to Meiners Oaks for the 1980 U.S. census.<ref name=1980CensusCA/> Prior to the 1990 U.S. census, the Mira Monte CDP was split out of the Meiners Oaks CDP.<ref name=1990CensusCA/>

2020

The 2020 United States census reported that Meiners Oaks had a population of 3,911. The population density was Template:Convert. The racial makeup of Meiners Oaks was 67.7% White, 0.5% African American, 1.5% Native American, 1.6% Asian, 0.3% Pacific Islander, 12.6% from other races, and 15.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 29.7% of the population.<ref name=DP1>Template:Cite web</ref>

The census reported that 100.0% of the population lived in households, 1 person (0.0%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and no one was institutionalized.<ref name=DP1/>

There were 1,461 households, out of which 30.6% included children under the age of 18, 47.0% were married-couple households, 9.0% were cohabiting couple households, 26.1% had a female householder with no partner present, and 17.9% had a male householder with no partner present. 25.1% of households were one person, and 15.7% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.68.<ref name=DP1/> There were 966 families (66.1% of all households).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The age distribution was 20.5% under the age of 18, 6.6% aged 18 to 24, 23.7% aged 25 to 44, 26.9% aged 45 to 64, and 22.3% who were 65Template:Nbspyears of age or older. The median age was 44.3Template:Nbspyears. For every 100 females, there were 98.4 males.<ref name=DP1/>

There were 1,556 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert, of which 1,461 (93.9%) were occupied. Of these, 66.9% were owner-occupied, and 33.1% were occupied by renters.<ref name=DP1/>

In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that the median household income was $90,096, and the per capita income was $54,551. About 10.8% of families and 9.7% of the population were below the poverty line.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

2010

At the 2010 census Meiners Oaks had a population of 3,571. This reflects a decrease in population of 4.8%, as compared with the 2000 census. The population density was Template:Convert. The racial makeup of Meiners Oaks was 2,789 (78.1%) White, 14 (0.4%) African American, 58 (1.6%) Native American, 51 (1.4%) Asian, 1 (0.0%) Pacific Islander, 549 (15.4%) from other races, and 109 (3.1%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1,068 persons (29.9%).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The census reported that 3,565 people (99.8% of the population) lived in households, 6 (0.2%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and no one was institutionalized.

There were 1,283 households, 460 (35.9%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 607 (47.3%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 178 (13.9%) had a female householder with no husband present, 81 (6.3%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 101 (7.9%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 11 (0.9%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 311 households (24.2%) were one person and 130 (10.1%) had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.78. There were 866 families (67.5% of households); the average family size was 3.24.

The age distribution was 851 people (23.8%) under the age of 18, 300 people (8.4%) aged 18 to 24, 845 people (23.7%) aged 25 to 44, 1,116 people (31.3%) aged 45 to 64, and 459 people (12.9%) who were 65 or older. The median age was 40.2 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.4 males.

There were 1,396 housing units at an average density of 991.3 per square mile, of the occupied units 798 (62.2%) were owner-occupied and 485 (37.8%) were rented. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.1%; the rental vacancy rate was 6.7%. 2,200 people (61.6% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 1,365 people (38.2%) lived in rental housing units.

Education

Schools in Meiners Oaks are served by the Ojai Unified School District, including Meiners Oaks Elementary School. There are also several private schools located in Meiners Oaks.

Libraries

Public Libraries: Ventura County Library - 14 locations with three branches in the Ojai Valley: Meiners Oaks Library,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Ojai Library,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Oak View Library.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

See also

• Oak Grove School (Ojai, California)
• Nordhoff High School