Westminster, California

City of Westminster
—  City  —
Seal
Motto: "The City of Progress Built on Pride."
Location of Westminster within Orange County, California.
Coordinates: 33°45′5″N 117°59′38″W
Country	United States
State	California
County	Orange
Incorporated (city)	March 27, 1957
Government
• City Council	Mayor Tri Ta Margie Rice Andy Quach Sergio Contreras Diana Carey
•  City Manager	Mitch Waller
Area
• Total	10.049 sq mi (26.027 km2)
• Land	10.049 sq mi (26.027 km2)
• Water	0 sq mi (0 km2)  0%
Elevation	39 ft (12 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	89,701
• Density	Bad rounding here8,900/sq mi (Bad rounding here3,400/km2)
Time zone	PST (UTC-8)
• Summer (DST)	PDT (UTC-7)
ZIP codes	92683-92685
Area code(s)	714
FIPS code	06-84550
GNIS feature ID	1652811
Website	http://www.westminster-ca.gov/

Westminster is a city in Orange County, California. It was founded in 1870 by Rev. Lemuel Webber as a Presbyterian temperance colony. Its name is taken from the Westminster Assembly of 1643, which laid out the basic tenets of the Presbyterian faith. For several years of its early history, its farmers refused to grow grapes because they associated grapes with alcohol.

History

Westminster was incorporated in 1957, at which time it had 10,755 residents. Originally, the city was named Tri-City because it was the amalgamation of three cities: Westminster, Barber City, and Midway City. Midway City ultimately turned down incorporation, leaving Barber City to be absorbed into the newly incorporated Westminster. The former Barber City was located in the western portion of the current city of Westminster.

Westminster is landlocked and bordered by Seal Beach on the west, by Garden Grove on the north and east, and by Huntington Beach and Fountain Valley on the south.

Westminster surrounds the unincorporated area of Midway City, except for a small portion where Midway City meets Huntington Beach to the south.

A large number of Vietnamese refugees came to the city in the 1970s, settling largely in an area now officially named Little Saigon, and the city is unofficially known as the "capital" of overseas Vietnamese with 36,058 Vietnamese Americans and at 40.2% (2010), the highest municipal concentration of Vietnamese Americans.

Westminster won the All-America City Award in 1996.

Demographics

2010

The 2010 United States Census reported that Westminster had a population of 89,701. The population density was 8,926.5 people per square mile (3,446.5/km²). The racial makeup of Westminster was 32,037 (35.7%) White, 849 (0.9%) African American, 397 (0.4%) Native American, 42,597 (47.5%) Asian, 361 (0.4%) Pacific Islander, 10,229 (11.4%) from other races, and 3,231 (3.6%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 21,176 persons (23.6%). With 36,058 Vietnamese Americans and at 40.2%, the city has the highest concentration of Vietnamese Americans.

The Census reported that 89,031 people (99.3% of the population) lived in households, 381 (0.4%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 289 (0.3%) were institutionalized.

There were 26,164 households, out of which 10,759 (41.1%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 14,986 (57.3%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 3,681 (14.1%) had a female householder with no husband present, 1,810 (6.9%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 1,114 (4.3%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 151 (0.6%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 4,247 households (16.2%) were made up of individuals and 2,170 (8.3%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.40. There were 20,477 families (78.3% of all households); the average family size was 3.74.

The population was spread out with 20,920 people (23.3%) under the age of 18, 8,568 people (9.6%) aged 18 to 24, 24,065 people (26.8%) aged 25 to 44, 23,356 people (26.0%) aged 45 to 64, and 12,792 people (14.3%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38.7 years. For every 100 females there were 97.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.4 males.

There were 27,650 housing units at an average density of 2,751.5 per square mile (1,062.4/km²), of which 15,135 (57.8%) were owner-occupied, and 11,029 (42.2%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.5%; the rental vacancy rate was 7.3%. 51,408 people (57.3% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 37,623 people (41.9%) lived in rental housing units.

2000

As of the census of 2000, there were 88,207 people, 26,406 households, and 20,411 families residing in the city. The population density was 8,724.2 inhabitants per square mile (3,368.6/km²). There were 26,940 housing units at an average density of 2,664.5 per square mile (1,028.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 45.79% White, 0.99% African American, 0.61% Native American, 38.13% Asian, 0.46% Pacific Islander, 10.19% from other races, and 3.84% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 21.70% of the population.

There were 26,406 households out of which 37.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.4% were married couples living together, 12.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.7% were non-families. 16.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.32 and the average family size was 3.71.

In the city the population was spread out with 25.9% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 32.6% from 25 to 44, 21.5% from 45 to 64, and 11.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 99.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.9 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $49,450, and the median income for a family was $54,399. Males had a median income of $37,157 versus $28,392 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,218. About 10.7% of families and 13.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.0% of those under age 18 and 7.9% of those age 65 or over.

Geography

Westminster is located at 33°45′5″N 117°59′38″W (33.752418, -117.993938). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 10.0 square miles (26 km²), all land. The San Diego Freeway and a short segment of the Garden Grove Freeway pass through Westminster.

Government

In the state legislature Westminster is located in the 34th, Senate District, represented by Democrat Lou Correa and Republican Tom Harman respectively, and in the 67th and 68th Assembly District, represented by Republicans Jim Silva and Van Tran respectively. Federally, Westminster is located in California's 40th and 46th congressional districts, which have Cook PVIs of R +8 and R +6 respectively and are represented by Republicans Ed Royce and Dana Rohrabacher respectively.

Economy

Top employers

According to the City's 2009 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:

#	Employer	# of employees
1	Westminster School District	1,150
2	Southern California Edison	603
3	Ito Farms	600
4	Kindred Hospital Westminster	450
5	City of Westminster	397
6	BE Aerospace	350
7	Wal-Mart	350
8	Sears	300
9	Westminster High School	250
10	LBS Financial Credit Union	225

Education

Four different school districts have boundaries that overlap parts or more of the City of Westminster:

• Westminster School District
• Garden Grove Unified School District
• Huntington Beach Union High School District
• Ocean View School District

Notable people

• Harrod Blank, documentary filmmaker
• Jeromy Burnitz, MLB player for the New York Mets, Cleveland Indians, Milwaukee Brewers, Los Angeles Dodgers, Colorado Rockies, Chicago Cubs, and Pittsburgh Pirates
• Mike Burns, MLB player for the Milwaukee Brewers
• Mark Eaton, former Utah Jazz player
• Danny Flores (1929–2006), head of the rock group The Champs
• Ken Hoang, professional video gamer and contestant on Survivor Gabon
• Ryan Klesko, former MLB first baseman
• Iris Kyle, professional female bodybuilder
• Carlos Palomino, Boxer Former Welterweight Champion
• Vang Pao, Hmong Former Major General of the Royal Lao Army^{[citation needed]}
• Nam Phan, professional mixed martial artist and a contestant in The Ultimate Fighter: Team GSP vs. Team Koscheck
• Westminster Chorus, won multiple international awards, most notably the Pavarotti Trophy of Choir of the World 2009.^{[citation needed]}

Landmarks

• A memorial and final resting place for the victims of the Pan Am plane involved in the Tenerife Disaster March 27, 1977, is located in Westminster.
• The Vietnam War Memorial is located Sid Goldstein Freedom Park, next to the Westminster Civic Center. The project was initiated by Westminster City Councilman Frank G. Fry in 1997 and completed in 2003.

Shopping

The city's major shopping mall is Westminster Mall, which contains more than 180 stores. It is located south of the 405 freeway between Goldenwest Street and Edwards Street. And in Westminster's Little Saigon community, a large Asian mall is located there, the Asian Garden Mall (Phước Lộc Thọ).

External links

• City of Westminster official website