Rancho Santa Fe (Spanish: santaâ€"holy, feâ€"faith) is a census-designated place (CDP) in San Diego County, California, United States, within the San Diego metropolitan area. The population was 3,117 at the 2010 census. The CDP is primarily residential with a few shopping blocks, a middle and elementary school, and several restaurants.
History
The Bridges, Rancho Santa Fe, CA 92091 -
In 1841, Rancho San Dieguito, as it was originally named, was a Mexican land grant of 8,824 acres (35.71Â km2) from Governor PÃo Pico of Alta California to Juan Maria Osuna, the first alcalde (mayor) of the Pueblo of San Diego.
In 1906, the Santa Fe Railway, a subsidiary of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway, purchased the entire land grant to plant a Blue gum eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globulus) tree plantation for use as railroad ties, but the wood proved too soft to hold railroad spikes. The railroad then formed the Santa Fe Land Improvement Company to develop a planned community of country estates, and 6,200 acres developed from the original Rancho San Dieguito land grant were renamed "Rancho Santa Fe" in 1922.
In 1921, architect Lilian Rice, working under Requa and Jackson, was chosen to develop the community's master plan. Rice worked through to 1927, designing, supervising, and constructing the village center, as well as several homes.
In 1923, the Santa Fe Land Company constructed a guest house called "La Morada" to house potential land purchasers. It was renamed in 1941, as "The Inn", when it was purchased by a private owner.
From 1937 to 1947, Bing Crosby hosted a golf tournament known as the "Bing Crosby Clambake" at the Rancho Santa Fe Country Club. Crosby's golf tournaments, which included Hollywood celebrities matched against professionals, drew great crowds to the area. After 1947, the tournament was moved to Monterey Peninsula, just outside San Francisco.
In 1989, "The Covenant" of Rancho Santa Fe was registered as California Historical Landmark #982 for its status as a historic planned community.
In 1997, the religious cult Heaven's Gate committed mass suicide in a rented mansion here.
In 2007, the Witch Fire caused significant damage to Rancho Santa Fe, damaging or destroying over 80 homes.
Geography
Rancho Santa Fe is located at 33°1′26″N 117°12′0″W (33.023943, -117.200110).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 6.8 square miles (18Â km2). 6.7 square miles (17Â km2) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26Â km2) of it (1.07%) is water.
Climate
According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Rancho Santa Fe has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate, abbreviated "Csa" on climate maps.
The climate of Rancho Santa Fe is, for the most part, typical of the San Diego metropolitan area though its higher elevation and inland location lends itself to larger temperature variations.
Demographics
2010
The 2010 United States Census reported that Rancho Santa Fe had a population of 3,117. The population density was 459.2 people per square mile (177.3/km²). The racial makeup of Rancho Santa Fe was 2,910 (93.4%) White, 10 (0.3%) African American, 1 (0.0%) Native American, 87 (2.8%) Asian, 4 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 45 (1.4%) from other races, and 60 (1.9%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 176 persons (5.6%).
The Census reported that 3,117 people (100% of the population) lived in households, 0 (0%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized.
There were 1,195 households, out of which 364 (30.5%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 848 (71.0%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 62 (5.2%) had a female householder with no husband present, 33 (2.8%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 23 (1.9%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 9 (0.8%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 213 households (17.8%) were made up of individuals and 124 (10.4%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61. There were 943 families (78.9% of all households); the average family size was 2.93.
The population was spread out with 724 people (23.2%) under the age of 18, 142 people (4.6%) aged 18 to 24, 332 people (10.7%) aged 25 to 44, 1,178 people (37.8%) aged 45 to 64, and 741 people (23.8%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 51.3 years. For every 100 females there were 96.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.5 males.
There were 1,391 housing units at an average density of 204.9 per square mile (79.1/km²), of which 1,010 (84.5%) were owner-occupied, and 185 (15.5%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.4%; the rental vacancy rate was 12.3%. 2,674 people (85.8% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 443 people (14.2%) lived in rental housing units.
The median income for a household in the CDP was $188,859. Males had a median income of over $153,512 versus $71,667 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $125,367. 3.2% of the population and 2.1% of families were below the poverty line. 2.3% under the age of 18 and 9.6% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.
2000
As of the census of 2000, there were 3,252 people, 1,204 households, and 947 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 476.2 inhabitants per square mile (183.8/km²). There were 1,339 housing units at an average density of 196.1 per square mile (75.7/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 93.33% White, 0.46% African American, 0.15% Native American, 2.77% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 2.15% from other races, and 1.08% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.32% of the population.
There were 1,204 households out of which 33.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 72.4% were married couples living together, 4.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.3% were non-families. 17.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.70 and the average family size was 3.01.
In the CDP, the population was spread out with 25.9% under the age of 18, 2.9% from 18 to 24, 17.7% from 25 to 44, 33.0% from 45 to 64, and 20.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 47 years. For every 100 females there were 95.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.7 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP was in excess of $200,000, as was the median income for a family. Males had a median income of over $150,000 versus $86,933 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $113,132; and was the second wealthiest community in the United States. 3.5% of the population and 2.0% of families were below the poverty line. 4.4% under the age of 18 and 5.5% of those 65 and older was living below the poverty line.
Politics
Rancho Santa Fe is a stronghold of the Republican Party in San Diego County; however in terms of political donations it gives overwhelmingly to the Democratic Party. In the 2008 Presidential Election, its voters chose John McCain over Barack Obama with 66.61%, significantly higher than the county-wide average of 43.79%. The community approved of California Proposition 8 with 57.57%, while Proposition 4 passed with 53.06% of the vote.
In the California State Legislature, Rancho Santa Fe is in the 38th Senate District, represented by Republican Joel Anderson, and in the 77th Assembly District, represented by Republican Brian Maienschein.
In the United States House of Representatives, Rancho Santa Fe is located in California's 49th congressional district, which has a Cook PVI of R +4 and is represented by Republican Darrell Issa.
Education
Rancho Santa Fe is serviced by the following school districts:
- Rancho Santa Fe Elementary School District
- Solana Beach School District (Pre-K through Grade 6)
- San Dieguito Union High School District (Grade 7 through Grade 12)
The public library in Rancho Santa Fe is a branch of the San Diego County Library system, and is open to all California residents. The Rancho Santa Fe Library Guild owns the building and land that house the Rancho Santa Fe Library, as well as providing the staff for the children's room.
Notable residents
- Warren Barton, former English football player
- Bud Black, manager of Colorado Rockies, major league pitcher from 1981â€"1995, manager of San Diego Padres 2007â€"2015
- Drew Brees, NFL quarterback, lived in Rancho Santa Fe between 2003 and 2012.
- Jenny Craig, weight loss guru and founder of Jenny Craig Inc.
- Steve Finley, former major league baseball player
- Taylor Fritz, professional tennis player, 2015 US Open junior boys' singles champion
- Bill Gates, entrepreneur, software executive, philanthropist and former chairman of Microsoft.
- Gordon Hayward, professional basketball player for the Boston Celtics
- Charley Hoffman, professional golfer, San Diego native
- Jelena Janković, Serbian professional tennis player, former number 1
- Mike Love, Beach Boys singer and songwriter
- Jamie Lovemark, professional Golfer
- Phil Mickelson, Hall of Fame professional golfer
- John Moores, philanthropist, former owner of San Diego Padres, former regent of University of California
- Philip Rivers, quarterback, Los Angeles Chargers
- Ace Frehley, former Kiss guitarist
- John Scripp, Fund manager, EAM Investors, Entrepreneur, pioneer of non-us Small and Micro cap investing.
- Andrew Viterbi, Communication engineer, Qualcomm founder, Entrepreneur, Academic. The Viterbi Algorithm is named after him.
- CoCo Vandeweghe, Women's tennis player.
Notable former residents
- Jackson D. Arnold, retired Admiral, USN
- Glen Bell, founder of Taco Bell
- Clair Burgener, former congressman
- Bing Crosby, actor, singer
- Sidney Frank, liquor promotions billionaire
- Howard Hughes, business magnate, investor, aviator, aerospace engineer, film maker and philanthropist
- Joan Kroc, philanthropist and widow of McDonald's founder Ray Kroc
- George J. Lewis, actor, best known for playing Don Alejandro de la Vega in the 1950s television series Zorro
- Victor Mature, stage, film and television actor
- Lilian Jennette Rice, early 20th-century architect, designed The Inn and civic center of Rancho Santa Fe, plus homes that hold a historic designation
- Pete Rozelle, former commissioner of the NFL
- Milburn Stone, actor, "Doc Adams" on the TV series Gunsmoke