The story
History
The area that became Apple Valley was first established in 1859 as Lebanon Township, and remained a farming community for nearly a century. In the mid-1950s, residential developments started replacing farmland. Orrin Thompson, a real estate developer, was responsible for the city's early development. He contracted a company to determine where the next growth in the Twin Cities would be. It was 0.5 miles (1 km) from County Road 42 and Cedar Avenue. Thompson bought the first houses and streets from the Brobacks, who built the city's first four houses. The firm that selected this area was in Apple Valley, California, so Thompson took that name for the development. An alternate explanation for the name change exists, however. According to local developer Henry Broback, Lebanon Township was renamed Apple Valley because "...when you drive east on (County Road) 42 and turn to enter Lebanon, it reminded them of Apple Valley, California, which was a nice community."
Voters in the township voted to incorporate in the 1968 general election. They also selected the name Apple Valley over the name Lebanon Valley by a vote of 1376 to 757.
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Apple Valley had a population of 56,374. The median age was 39.4 years. 24.0% of residents were under the age of 18 and 16.6% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 92.0 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 88.9 males age 18 and over.
100.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.0% lived in rural areas.
There were 21,464 households in Apple Valley, of which 32.7% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 53.6% were married-couple households, 14.3% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 26.0% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 25.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 22,253 housing units, of which 3.5% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.5% and the rental vacancy rate was 7.0%.
2010 census
As of the census of 2010, there were 49,084 people, 18,875 households, and 13,382 families living in the city. The population density was 2,911.3 inhabitants per square mile (1,124.1/km2). There were 19,600 housing units at an average density of 1,162.5 per square mile (448.8/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 83.8% White, 5.5% African American, 0.4% Native American, 5.3% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 2.0% from other races, and 3.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.9% of the population.
There were 18,875 households, of which 35.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.7% were married couples living together, 10.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.0% had a male householder with no wife present, and 29.1% were non-families. Of all households, 23.6% were made up of individuals, and 6.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.07.
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The median age in the city was 37.9 years. 25.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.3% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 27.5% were from 25 to 44; 30.2% were from 45 to 64; and 9.6% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.5% male and 51.5% female.
2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 45,527 people, 16,344 households, and 12,405 families living in the city. The population density was 2,625.5 inhabitants per square mile (1,013.7/km2). There were 16,536 housing units at an average density of 953.6 per square mile (368.2/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 91.81% White, 1.91% African American, 0.29% Native American, 3.39% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.88% from other races, and 1.69% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.00% of the population.
There were 16,344 households, out of which 42.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.7% were married couples living together, 9.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.1% were non-families. Of all households, 19.3% were made up of individuals, and 4.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.77 and the average family size was 3.21.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 29.7% under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 33.1% from 25 to 44, 24.4% from 45 to 64, and 5.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.4 males. For several years, the city's population was among the fastest growing in Minnesota, but it has virtually exhausted the amount of additional buildable land within city limits, and so its growth has slowed considerably since 1990.
The median income for a household in the city was $69,752, and the median income for a family was $79,335 (these figures had risen to $76,789 and $86,874 respectively as of a 2007 estimate). Males had a median income of $50,636 versus $33,315 for females. The per capita income for the city was $29,477. About 1.1% of families and 2.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.0% of those under age 18 and 3.8% of those age 65 or over.
From Wikipedia’s article on Apple Valley, Minnesota, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4