Rocklin, California

City of Rocklin
City
Amtrak station and Chamber of Commerce, Rocklin
Motto:  "A Family Community"
Location in Placer County and the state of California
Country	United States
State	California
County	Placer
Government
• State Senate	Doug LaMalfa (R)
• State Assembly	Beth Gaines (R)
• U. S. Congress	Mike Thompson (D)
Area
• Total	19.594 sq mi (50.749 km2)
• Land	19.541 sq mi (50.610 km2)
• Water	0.053 sq mi (0.139 km2)  0.27%
Elevation	249 ft (79 m)
Population  (2010)
• Total	56,974
• Density	2,900/sq mi (1,100/km2)
Time zone	UTC-8 (PST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-7 (PDT)
ZIP codes	95677, 95765
Area code	916
FIPS code	06-62364
GNIS feature ID	0277586
Website	City of Rocklin California Website

Rocklin is a city in Placer County, California located approximately 22 miles (35 km) from Sacramento, California, and about 6.1 miles (9.8 km) northeast of Roseville in the Sacramento metropolitan area. Besides Roseville, it shares borders with Loomis, and Lincoln. As of the 2010 census, Rocklin's population was 56,974.

History

Prior to the California Gold Rush the Nisenan Maidu occupied both permanent villages and temporary summer shelters along the rivers and streams which miners sifted, sluiced, dredged and dammed to remove the gold. Explorer Jedediah Smith and a large party of American fur trappers crossed the Sacramento Valley in late April, 1827. The group saw many Maidu villages along the river banks. Deprived of traditional foodstuffs, homesites and hunting grounds by the emigrants, the Nisenan were among the earliest California Indian tribes to disappear.

During the 1850s, miners sluiced streams and rivers including Secret Ravine which runs through Rocklin. The piles of dredger tailings is still obvious today, between Roseville and Loomis southeast of Interstate 80. Secret Ravine at the area now at the intersection of Ruhkala Road and Pacific Street was later mined for granite, some of which was used as the base course of the California Capitol Building in Sacramento, although the earliest recorded use of the rock was for Fort Mason at San Francisco in 1855. The granite was hauled out by ox carts before the arrival of the railroad many years later.

In 1860, the U.S. Census counted 440 residents in the area of Secret Ravine, of which approximately 16% had been born in Ireland and the majority of whom worked as miners. In 1863-4, the Central Pacific Railroad built a line to Newcastle and named the town Rocklin after the quarries in the area. Prior to the arrival of the railroad, the area had been referred to as Secret Ravine or the "granite quarries at the end of the tracks" as late as 1864.

The Rocklin post office opened in 1868. In 1869 some laid-off Chinese railroad workers moved to Secret Ravine to mine and raise vegetables which they sold locally. They were driven out during the anti-Chinese pogrom of September 1876 but the area is still known as China Gardens. The 1870 census shows that the majority of Irish immigrants by this time had foregone mining and were working for the railroad. Finnish immigrants settled in Rocklin starting in the 1870s, and Spanish settlers arriving by way of Hawaii settled in Rocklin during the early 20th Century. The town incorporated in 1893.

Geography

Rocklin is located at 38°48′00″N 121°14′48″W.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 19.6 square miles (51 km²), of which 0.05 square miles (0.13 km²), or 0.27%, is water.

Climate

According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Rocklin has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate, abbreviated "Csa" on climate maps.

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1900	1,050		—
1910	1,026		−2.3%
1920	643		−37.3%
1930	724		12.6%
1940	795		9.8%
1950	1,155		45.3%
1960	1,495		29.4%
1970	3,039		103.3%
1980	7,344		141.7%
1990	19,033		159.2%
2000	36,330		90.9%
2010	56,974		56.8%
2011 (est.)	58,324		2.4%
[1] 2011 estimate

2010

The 2010 United States Census reported that Rocklin had a population of 56,974. The population density was 2,907.7 people per square mile (1,122.7/km²). The racial makeup of Rocklin was 47,047 (82.6%) White, 858 (1.5%) African American, 410 (0.7%) Native American, 4,105 (7.2%) Asian, 150 (0.3%) Pacific Islander, 1,538 (2.7%) from other races, and 2,866 (5.0%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6,555 persons (11.5%).

The Census reported that 56,337 people (98.9% of the population) lived in households, 456 (0.8%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 181 (0.3%) were institutionalized.

There were 20,800 households, out of which 8,424 (40.5%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 11,974 (57.6%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 2,191 (10.5%) had a female householder with no husband present, 895 (4.3%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 1,035 (5.0%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 124 (0.6%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 4,403 households (21.2%) were made up of individuals and 1,652 (7.9%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.71. There were 15,060 families (72.4% of all households); the average family size was 3.18.

The population was spread out with 15,613 people (27.4%) under the age of 18, 5,306 people (9.3%) aged 18 to 24, 15,159 people (26.6%) aged 25 to 44, 14,668 people (25.7%) aged 45 to 64, and 6,228 people (10.9%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36.7 years. For every 100 females there were 94.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.4 males.

There were 22,010 housing units at an average density of 1,123.3 per square mile (433.7/km²), of which 13,797 (66.3%) were owner-occupied, and 7,003 (33.7%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.5%; the rental vacancy rate was 7.3%. 39,295 people (69.0% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 17,042 people (29.9%) lived in rental housing units.

2000

As of the census of 2000, there were 36,330 people, 13,258 households, and 10,009 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,246.2 people per square mile (867.5/km²). There were 14,421 housing units at an average density of 891.6 per square mile (344.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 88.32% White, 0.91% African American, 0.80% Native American, 4.16% Asian, 0.19% Pacific Islander, 1.93% from other races, and 3.69% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.91% of the population. 16.8% were of German, 11.8% English, 10.6% Irish, 8.1% Italian and 6.5% American ancestry according to Census 2000.

There were 13,258 households out of which 42.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.3% were married couples living together, 9.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.5% were non-families. 18.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.74 and the average family size was 3.15.

In the city the population was spread out with 30.0% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 33.7% from 25 to 44, 20.8% from 45 to 64, and 8.6% 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 92.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $84,508, according to the City of Rocklin website. Males had a median income of $54,426 versus $35,920 for females. The per capita income for the city was $26,910. About 3.1% of families and 4.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.3% of those under age 18 and 3.5% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Granite mining ended in 2004 in Rocklin. The economy diversified; the Formica Company formerly operated a manufacturing plant in Rocklin. The Educational Media Foundation is based in Rocklin. Two colleges opened as did other businesses including the Educational Media Foundation and the U.S.-based subsidiary of SMA Solar Technology AG, a manufacturer of solar inverters.

Shopping, entertainment and dining are provided by smaller businesses and the area is served by the Blue Oaks Town Center, a regional shopping center anchored by national tenants, located on the Highway 65 corridor. A section of Granite Drive along Interstate 80 is known as Toy Row, and there is also a local antique mall.

Education

Main article: Rocklin Unified School District

The Rocklin area is home to eleven elementary schools, two middle schools, two high schools, two alternative education institutions as well as campuses of Sierra College and William Jessup University.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Interstate 80 and State Route 65 intersect in Rocklin. The Rocklin (Amtrak station) is served by the Capitol Corridor and the California Zephyr routes.

Notable people

• Johnny Davis, kickboxer
• Brotha Lynch Hung, rapper
• Jeffrey Leonard, retired MLB All-Star and professional baseball player, most notably for the San Francisco Giants
• Kevin Martin, shooting guard of the Houston Rockets
• Geoff Petrie, General Manager of the Sacramento Kings
• Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Home Improvement
• Karyn White, pop singer

External links

• City of Rocklin official website Portal style website, Government, Business, Library, Recreation and more
• City-Data.com Comprehensive Statistical Data and more about Rocklin
• Secret Ravine Adaptive Management Plan. Dry Creek Conservancy. December 2001.