El Monte is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 115,965. As of 2002, El Monte is the 191st largest city in the United States. It is also the 44th largest city in California.
The meaning of the city's name is "meadow", "marsh" or "wooded place" and not "mountain". Settlement began in 1849, though missionaries and Spanish soldiers passed through the area as early as the 1770's. It is also known to be the end of the Santa Fe Trail. During the 1930s, the city became an important site for the New Deal's federal Subsistence Homestead project, a Resettlement Administration program that helped supply single-family ranch houses to qualifying applicants. Celebrated photographer Dorothea Lange snapped several pictures of the housing units as part of her work for the Farm Security Administration.
Longo Toyota, located in El Monte, claims to be the largest single auto dealership in the world.
The community of El Monte was the first in California founded by American Anglos. Once home to many settlers from the 1930s era Dust Bowl Migration, the city became increasingly Latino in the last quarter of the twentieth century. As the twenty-first century progresses, a third wave of migration is bringing about a growing East-Asian presence in the community.
According to United States Census data, the city has one of the poorest, working-class Census tracts in the San Gabriel Valley. See below for Demographics information.
El Monte's population has grown very rapidly during the last half century:
While El Monte is often viewed as a stronghold of working-class Latinos, the city has experienced a rapid growth in the Asian population - particularly ethnic Chinese and Vietnamese - in recent years. Several Vietnamese immigrant small businesses (mostly noodle restaurants) have since cropped up along the stretch of Garvey Avenue.
El Monte was the birthplace of John Larkin a.k.a (Scatman John) and home to author James Ellroy and musician Joe McDonald, who performed in the 1960s with Country Joe & the Fish. It is also credited with being the birth place of TV Variety Shows.
El Monte is located at 34°4'24" North, 118°1'39" West (34.073276, -118.027491).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 25.1 km2 (9.7 mi2). 24.7 km2 (9.6 mi2) of it is land and 0.4 km2 (0.1 mi2) of it is water. The total area is 1.44% water.
As of the census of 2000, there are 115,965 people, 27,034 households, and 23,005 families residing in the city. The population density is 4,688.4/km2 (12,139.5/mi2). There are 27,758 housing units at an average density of 1,122.2/km2 (2,905.8/mi2). The racial makeup of the city is 35.67% White, 0.77% Black or African American, 1.38% Native American, 18.51% Asian, 0.12% Pacific Islander, 39.27% from other races, and 4.29% from two or more races. 72.39% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 27,034 households out of which 53.3% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.0% are married couples living together, 18.5% have a female householder with no husband present, and 14.9% are non-families. 10.9% of all households are made up of individuals and 4.9% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 4.24 and the average family size is 4.43.
In the city the population is spread out with 34.1% under the age of 18, 12.1% from 18 to 24, 31.5% from 25 to 44, 15.4% from 45 to 64, and 6.9% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 27 years. For every 100 females there are 102.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 101.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $32,439, and the median income for a family is $32,402. Males have a median income of $21,789 versus $19,818 for females. The per capita income for the city is $10,316. 26.1% of the population and 22.5% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 33.9% of those under the age of 18 and 13.3% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
In recent years, El Monte has been experiencing a slow but growing tide of residential gentrification. For better or worse, an increasing number of single-family homes are being demolished and replaced with multi-family detached housing, typically 6 to 7 on a lot. Derided by some as "McMansion condos," for others these are much needed housing for the area's growing population.
Source:
ElMonteCalifornia.com
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