Santa Ana is the largest city and the county seat of Orange County, California. It lies approximately 10 miles inland from the Pacific Ocean, on the largely seasonal Santa Ana River. The Santa Ana Freeway runs through the city, and the Costa Mesa Freeway and Garden Grove Freeway travel along its edges. It is today best-known for its enormous Mexican-American population, now comprising over 75% of what was once a virtually all-white city. The Current OMB metropolitan designation for Santa Ana and the Orange County Area is “Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, CA.”
Founded in 1869 by Kentuckian William H. Spurgeon on land purchased from the Yorba family, Santa Ana was incorporated as a city in 1886 with a population of 2000 and in 1889 became the seat of the newly formed Orange County.
One of Santa Ana's most notable businesses is the Rickenbacker musical instrument company, whose electric guitars and bass guitars earned fame in the hands of rock and roll legends such as: John Lennon, George Harrison and Paul McCartney of The Beatles; Roger McGuinn of The Byrds; Pete Townshend of The Who; Tom Petty; Geddy Lee of Rush; Chris Squire of Yes; and Peter Buck of R.E.M..
Geography
Santa Ana is located at 33°44'27" North, 117°52'53" West (33.740717, -117.881408).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 71.0 km² (27.4 mi²). 70.3 km² (27.1 mi²) of it is land and 0.7 km² (0.3 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 0.95% water.
Education
Santa Ana is home to Santa Ana College, a community college that is part of the Rancho Santiago Community College District . Mater Dei High School is another major school in the area, along with the Orange County High School of the Arts in the downtown district.
Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there are 337,977 people, 73,002 households, and 59,788 families residing in the city. (Owing to the large percentage of illegal immigrants in the Latino population in Southern California, this figure is widely believed to suffer from significant downward bias, and some estimates place the city's population at over 500,000.) The population density is 4,808.2/km² (12,451.9/mi²). There are 74,588 housing units at an average density of 1,061.1/km² (2,748.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 42.73% White, 1.70% African American, 1.19% Native American, 8.81% Asian, 0.34% Pacific Islander, 40.64% from other races, and 4.58% from two or more races. 76.07% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 73,002 households out of which 53.2% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.6% are married couples living together, 13.5% have a female householder with no husband present, and 18.1% are non-families. 12.7% of all households are made up of individuals and 4.6% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 4.55 and the average family size is 4.72.
In the city the population is spread out with 34.2% under the age of 18, 12.8% from 18 to 24, 34.1% from 25 to 44, 13.5% from 45 to 64, and 5.5% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 26 years. For every 100 females there are 107.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 108.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $43,412, and the median income for a family is $41,050. Males have a median income of $23,342 versus $21,637 for females. The per capita income for the city is $12,152. 19.8% of the population and 16.1% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 24.1% of those under the age of 18 and 10.4% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
Current Events
There is currently debate over a proposed 37-story office tower for the downtown district. If built, the skyscraper would be the tallest building in Orange County. Those in favor of the project, which is named One Broadway Plaza, feel that the tower will add prestige to the city, while those who oppose it feel that while it is a good project, serious issues such as traffic, polution, and student safety in the three schools directly across the street from the proposed project site, have not been addressed. A special election regarding this issue was held on April 5th, 2005, and citizens decided that the building would be built.
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