Williams, California
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Williams (formerly Central) is a city in Colusa County, California. The population was 5,538 at the 2020 census, up from 5,123 at the 2010 census.<ref name="QF"/>
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of Template:Convert, all of it land.<ref name="CenPopGazetteer2020"/>
History
The postal service established a post office at Central in 1874. The town and post office were renamed in 1876, in honor of W. H. Williams, who platted the townsite. The city of Williams was incorporated in 1920.<ref>Template:California's Geographic Names</ref>
Demographics
2020
The 2020 United States census reported that Williams had a population of 5,538. The population density was Template:Convert. The racial makeup was 27.2% White, 0.9% African American, 1.7% Native American, 1.8% Asian, 0.3% Pacific Islander, 45.0% from other races, and 23.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 80.7% of the population.<ref name=DP1>Template:Cite web</ref>
The census reported that 98.7% of the population lived in households and 1.3% were institutionalized.<ref name=DP1/>
There were 1,572 households, out of which 56.6% included children under the age of 18, 57.7% were married-couple households, 6.2% were cohabiting couple households, 22.8% had a female householder with no partner present, and 13.3% had a male householder with no partner present. 14.6% of households were one person, and 8.1% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 3.48.<ref name=DP1/> There were 1,277 families (81.2% of all households).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The age distribution was 31.7% under the age of 18, 10.4% aged 18 to 24, 26.6% aged 25 to 44, 20.3% aged 45 to 64, and 11.0% who were 65Template:Nbspyears of age or older. The median age was 30.6Template:Nbspyears. For every 100 females, there were 97.1 males.<ref name=DP1/>
There were 1,751 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert, of which 1,572 (89.8%) were occupied. Of these, 59.4% were owner-occupied, and 40.6% were occupied by renters.<ref name=DP1/>
In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that the median household income was $93,138, and the per capita income was $29,466. About 5.5% of families and 5.9% of the population were below the poverty line.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2010
At the 2010 census Williams had a population of 5,123. The population density was Template:Convert. The racial makeup of Williams was 2,785 (54.4%) White, 59 (1.2%) African American, 55 (1.1%) Native American, 94 (1.8%) Asian, 4 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 1,946 (38.0%) from other races, and 180 (3.5%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3,891 persons (76.0%).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The census reported that 5,014 people (97.9% of the population) lived in households, 23 (0.4%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 86 (1.7%) were institutionalized.
There were 1,369 households, 782 (57.1%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 892 (65.2%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 140 (10.2%) had a female householder with no husband present, 98 (7.2%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 73 (5.3%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 7 (0.5%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 185 households (13.5%) were one person and 73 (5.3%) had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 3.66. There were 1,130 families (82.5% of households); the average family size was 4.04.
The age distribution was 1,701 people (33.2%) under the age of 18, 588 people (11.5%) aged 18 to 24, 1,442 people (28.1%) aged 25 to 44, 965 people (18.8%) aged 45 to 64, and 427 people (8.3%) who were 65 or older. The median age was 28.3 years. For every 100 females, there were 108.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 106.9 males.
There were 1,487 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert, of which 1,369 were occupied, 832 (60.8%) by the owners and 537 (39.2%) by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 3.8%; the rental vacancy rate was 4.4%. 3,011 people (58.8% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 2,003 people (39.1%) lived in rental housing units.
Government and politics
In the state legislature, Williams is in Template:Representative,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Template:Representative.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Federally, Williams is in Template:Representative.<ref>Template:Cite GovTrack</ref>
The current mayor of Williams, as of 2025, is Maria Belmontes-Leyva and the current city administrator is Frank Kennedy.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
California's longest-serving governor, Jerry Brown, retired to a home that he built on his family's ancestral Schuckman Ranch, in the foothills west of Williams.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Climate
Williams has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Csa) according to the Köppen climate classification system.