The story
History
During California's Spanish period, the San Joaquin Valley was considered a remote region of little value. Emigrants skirted the eastern foothills in the vicinity of Porterville as early as 1826. Swamps stretched out into the Valley floor lush with tall rushes or "tulare" as the Indigenous people called them.
Gold discovered in 1848 brought a tremendous migration to California, and prairie schooners rolled through Porterville between 1849 and 1852. Starting in 1854, Peter Goodhue operated a stopping place on the Stockton - Los Angeles Road on the bank of the Tule River. Wagon trains of gold seekers passed through the village, but other travelers found the land rich and remained to establish farms. A store was set up in 1856 to sell goods to miners and the Native Americans, who lived in tribal lands along the rivers. From 1858 to 1861 it was the location of the Tule River Station of Butterfield Overland Mail.
Royal Porter Putnam came to the village in 1860 to raise cattle, horses and hogs. He bought out Goodhue the same year and turned the station into a popular stopping place and hotel called Porter Station. He bought 40 acres of land and built a two-story store and a hotel on the highest point of the swampy property, which is now the corner of Oak and Main. The town of Porterville was founded there in 1864. It took its name from the founder's given name because another Putnam family lived south of town.
In 1862 20.8 inches (530 mm) of rain fell in the area, causing a change of course of the Tule River. Putnam's acres drained and he had his property surveyed, staking out lot lines and establishing streets. Settlers were offered a free lot for every one purchased. The need of a burgeoning California population for food provided the impetus that led to the permanent development of the east side of the southern San Joaquin Valley. The long, dry, hot summer prompted irrigation of the lands.
In 1888 the Southern Pacific Railway brought in the branch line from Fresno. The Pioneer Hotel and Bank were built by businessmen from San Francisco. Porterville incorporated in 1902, as miners moved into the area to extract magnesite ore, and the Chamber of Commerce was formed in 1907. A City Manager-Council form of government was adopted in 1926 and a Charter was adopted. The city has grown from a community of 5,000 in 1920. Agriculture supplemented by the Central Valley Water Project has been the major source of economic growth in the area. The city is the center of a large farming area especially noted for citrus and livestock.
Industry has become a significant factor in the development of the community. The Walmart Distribution Center, National Vitamin, Beckman Instruments, Standard Register, Sierra Pacific Apparel, Royalty Carpeting and other small companies have facilities in Porterville. Several large public facilities are also located here. These include the Porterville Developmental Center, Sequoia National Forest Headquarters, the Army Corps of Engineers Lake Success Facility and the Porterville College campus of the Kern Community College District.
On March 10, 2023, the city was heavily impacted by catastrophic flash floods, which caused the National Weather Service to issue five separate flash flood emergencies for the city.
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Porterville had a population of 62,623. The population density was 3,358.3 inhabitants per square mile (1,296.6/km2). 99.4% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.6% lived in rural areas.
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The census reported that 98.6% of the population lived in households, 0.6% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0.9% were institutionalized.
There were 18,170 households, out of which 49.4% included children under the age of 18, 47.2% were married-couple households, 9.7% were cohabiting couple households, 26.7% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present, and 16.5% had a male householder with no spouse or partner present. About 16.7% of households were one person, and 7.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.4. There were 14,229 families (78.3% of all households).
The age distribution was 32.0% under the age of 18, 10.6% aged 18 to 24, 26.0% aged 25 to 44, 20.1% aged 45 to 64, and 11.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30.5 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.2 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 94.3 males.
There were 18,931 housing units at an average density of 1,015.2 units per square mile (392.0 units/km2), of which 4.0% were vacant. Of occupied units, 55.3% were owner-occupied and 44.7% were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.9% and the rental vacancy rate was 3.4%.
2023 ACS 5-year estimates
In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that 26.1% of the population were foreign-born. Of all people aged 5 or older, 45.5% spoke only English at home, 51.5% spoke Spanish, 0.3% spoke other Indo-European languages, 1.5% spoke Asian or Pacific Islander languages, and 1.1% spoke other languages. Of those aged 25 or older, 69.1% were high school graduates and 14.9% had a bachelor's degree.
The median household income in 2023 was $59,012, and the per capita income was $23,919. About 14.1% of families and 17.9% of the population were below the poverty line.
2010 census
The 2010 United States census reported that Porterville had a population of 54,165. The population density was 3,076.3 inhabitants per square mile (1,187.8/km2). The racial makeup of Porterville was 31,847 (58.8%) White, 673 (1.2%) African American, 1,007 (1.9%) Native American, 2,521 (4.7%) Asian, 64 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 15,482 (28.6%) from other races, and 2,571 (4.7%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 33,549 persons (61.9%).
The Census reported that 53,018 people (97.9% of the population) lived in households, 207 (0.4%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 940 (1.7%) were institutionalized.
There were 15,644 households, out of which 8,177 (52.3%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 8,032 (51.3%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 2,962 (18.9%) had a female householder with no husband present, 1,315 (8.4%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 1,424 (9.1%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 115 (0.7%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 2,679 households (17.1%) were made up of individuals, and 1,193 (7.6%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.39. There were 12,309 families (78.7% of all households); the average family size was 3.78.
The population was spread out, with 18,154 people (33.5%) under the age of 18, 5,879 people (10.9%) aged 18 to 24, 14,266 people (26.3%) aged 25 to 44, 10,773 people (19.9%) aged 45 to 64, and 5,093 people (9.4%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28.8 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.2 males.
There were 16,734 housing units at an average density of 946.5 units per square mile (365.4 units/km2), of which 8,966 (57.3%) were owner-occupied, and 6,678 (42.7%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.9%; the rental vacancy rate was 6.3%. 30,016 people (55.4% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 23,002 people (42.5%) lived in rental housing units.
From Wikipedia’s article on Porterville, California, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5