Victorville

Victorville is a city in Victor Valley in San Bernardino County, California. Its population as of the 2020 census was 134,810. The city was founded in 1858 by Aaron G. Lane, a veteran of the MexicanAmerican War who had had malaria during that war. Herman J. Mankiewicz and John Houseman wrote the first two drafts of the screenplay for the film Citizen Kane in Victorville. The Victor Airfield was constructed beginning in 1941. It was renamed George Air Force Base when the U.S. Air Force was established in October 1947. Victorville has been built on another part of the Federal Penitentiary's Fort Irwin Reservation. The former Air Force base is now the Part of Southern California Logistics Airport. It is now a ghost town and forms a ghost city with only a handful of residents left living in the area. The town is located on the banks of the Mojave River, two miles north of where Interstate 15 crosses the river. In Victorville, US 66 is marked on D and Seventh streets, with a section of Interstate 15 going towards the Cajon Pass. The river crossing was called Mormon Crossing and the surrounding area became known by that name. In 1901, at the suggestion of local postmistress Abbey Turner, the US Post Office Department changed that name to Victorville to stop the postal confusion with the town of Victor, Colorado. In 1885, the newly established telegraph station at the railroad siding of "Victor", named for the California Southern Railroad's General Manager Jacob Nash Victor, was the beginning of what developed as today's Old Town Victorville in California.

History

Victorville is the primary city name, but also George AFB are acceptable city names or spellings. The official name is City of Victorville. Aaron G. Lane founded a waystation called "Lane's Crossing" on the Mojave River in 1858. The Levick, Nicholson and Highmoor families were Mormon pioneers. U.S. Army Air Force George Air Force Base was established in October 1947. Victorville was officially incorporated by the State of California on September 21, 1962. The Victorville Federal Penitentiary has been built on another part of the former air base. The former Air Force base is now vacant and forms a ghost town used for military training by the military. The city was named Victor in 1901 to stop postal confusion with the town of Victor, Colorado. It was named for the California Southern Railroad's General Manager Jacob Nash Victor, named for Victorville's first postmaster, who died in 1885. It is located on the National Trails Highway (known as U.S. Route 66) and is the primary street through Old Town Victorville. In Victorville, US 66 is marked on D and Seventh streets, with a section of Interstate 15 going towards the Cajon Pass.

Geography

Victorville is located at the southwestern edge of the Mojave Desert, 81 miles (130 km) northeast of Los Angeles, 148 miles (238 km) north of San Diego, 188 miles (303 km) southwest of Las Vegas. The elevation at City Hall is approximately 2,950 feet (900 m) above sea level. The city has a cool arid climate (Köppen BWk) with four distinct seasons. Winter is the region's wet season, when Victorville receives the most storms. Summer-like weather usually begins to appear in May while rainfall tapers off. The most precipitation in one month was 545.45 inches (138 mm) in February 1944. The average annual rainfall in Victorville is 6.27 inches (159 mm) There is an average of 28 days with measurable rain annually, with 1.4 metres (4.4 ft) of snowfall in February 1998. The record lowest temperature was 1 °F (18.3 °C) on February 24, 1998. Victorville has a total area of 73.7 square miles (191 km²) of land and 0.6 sq miles (1.6 km²), which is 0.76% water. The Mojave River flows sporadically through Victorville and is bordered by Apple Valley on the east, Hesperia on the south, and Adelanto on the west. The all-time record high was 116 °F or 46.7 °C, with the average high of 90 °C (32 °F) or higher.

Demographics

The 2010 United States Census reported that Victorville had a population of 115,903. The racial makeup of Victorville was 56,258 (48.5%) White (28.3% Non-Hispanic White), 19,483 (16.8%) African American, 1,665 (1.4%) Native American, 4,641 (4.0%) Asian, 489 (0.4) Pacific Islander, 26,036 (22.5) from other races, and 7,331 (6.3%) from two or more races. There were 55,359 Hispanic or Latino residents of any race (47.8%). 110,800 people (95.6% of the population) lived in households, 341 (0,3%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 4,762 (4.1%) were institutionalized. The average household size was 3.40. The median income for a household in the city was $66,763, and the family income was $50,034. Victorville has a population density of 1,571.8 inhabitants per square mile (606.9/km²) The city's population was estimated to contain 64,029 people, 20,893 households, and 15,883 families in 2000. In 2009, the city had a median household income of $50.034, with 25.3 per cent of the residents living below the federal poverty line. The city has a median age of 29.5 years.

Government

The city of Victorville operates with a council-manager form of government. The mayor is appointed in December. Victorville is in California's 21st Senate District, represented by Republican Scott Wilk, and in the 33rd Assembly District. In the U.S. House of Representatives, Victorville's 8th congressional district is represented by GOP Jay Obernolte. The current city council members and city manager are: Debra Jones, Leslie Irving, Elizabeth Becerra, Blanca Gomez, and Keith Metzler. Gloria Garcia is the first Hispanic woman mayor of the city. The city is located in the Central Coast region of California, near the San Francisco Bay Area and the San Joaquin Valley. It is in the San Diego metropolitan area, in the northern part of the Bay Area, and the southern parts of the San Fernando Valley. The Victorville Police Department is based in the city of San Diego. It was founded in 1883 and is one of the oldest police departments in California. It has been in the same district since 1883. The police department was established in 1884. The San Diego County Sheriff's Office is based at the Victorville Courthouse. The department was once known as the "Sheriff's Department" until it was absorbed into the Sheriff's Department in the 1970s. The sheriff's office is now called the "Department of Public Safety" and has been renamed the "Victorian Police Department" in the 1990s. In 2000, the department changed its name to "Victorville Police and Fire Department".

Economy

According to the city's 2009 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are: Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, McDonald's, and Starbucks. The city's unemployment rate is 3.7 percent. The unemployment rate for the city as a whole is 4.1 percent. In the city, the unemployment rate has been at 3.8 percent for the past three years. In 2008, the city had the highest rate of unemployment in the country. In 2007, the rate was the lowest in the U.S. for the first time since records began. The top employers are: Starbucks, Coca- coffee, McDonalds, and PepsiCo. The economy is the second-largest employer in the City of Brotherly Love, after the city’s other two top employers. The number of jobs created in 2008 was the highest since the city recorded its first employment statistics in the mid-1970s. In 2009, there were more than 1,000 jobs created by people who live and work in Brotherly Lake. The highest-paid jobs were in the health care industry, followed by the construction industry, and then the finance industry. The largest employers in 2008 were the medical and health care industries. The biggest employers in 2009 were the hospital system and the state government. The most recent figures show that the city has the highest percentage of jobs in the private sector in the last five years, with more than 2,000 people working in the healthcare industry in 2008 and 2009.

Education

The following school districts serve Victorville.Victor Valley Community College is also located in the city. Victorville is home to the California State University, Victorville, and California State College, San Bernardino. The Victorville area has a population of 1.2 million. The city's population was 1.3 million in the year of 2010-11, up from 1.4 million in 2009-10. The majority of Victorville's residents live in the Victorville Unified School District. The district also includes the Adelanto Elementary School District and the Hesperia Unified School district. The school district is part of the Victor Valley Union High School District, which also serves the city's high school students. It is the largest school district in the state, with 1.6 million students in the high school and 1.7 million in elementary school. It also includes a unified school district and a unified unified high school district, which serve the city as well as the town of Hesperia. The town has a total population of 2.1 million, down from 2.2 million in 2010-2011, when it had 2.4 million. The population was 2.6 million in the year 2000-01. The highest school in the district is Victorville High School, which has 1.8 million students. The lowest school is Victor Valley Elementary School, with about 1,000 students in grades 1-5. The high school has 1,200 students in its high school, with the rest of the school district having around 1,100 students.

Transportation

Victorville is located along BNSF Railway's Southern Transcon. Amtrak Southwest Chief stops in each direction daily. Brightline West is a long planned high-speed rail line at the Victor Valley station in the adjacent town of Apple Valley. FlixBus stops at 14618 7th Street, with buses to several destinations, including Las Vegas, Santa Clarita, and Los Angeles. The city is home to the Southern California Logistics Airport. The Victor Valley Transit Authority provides local bus service. It also hosts Greyhound Lines intercity bus services.

Landmarks

Old Town Victorville is a revitalization project started in 1995 in the ten square blocks along Historic Route 66. In 2008, demolition of hazardous and dilapidated buildings began. In 2010, as the economy declined, the state eliminated Redevelopment Agencies which had funded the project and further work was put on indefinite hold. As of 2012, the area still had problems with crime and homelessness, and many buildings remain boarded up. Projects include the Veteran's Memorial on the corner of Seventh Street and Forrest Avenue, the Route 66 Museum, the Transportation Center, and the Old Victor School. Several large murals have been painted on the sides of buildings in Old Town. The Old Sheriff's Office, U.S. Route 66, the Victorville Film Archive, and Spring Valley Lake are all listed as landmarks in the Old Town area. The City of Victorville created an Old Town Strategic Action Plan in 2007, with input from residents and local business owners. The city's goal is to develop the area into a tourist destination by the end of the 20th century, with a focus on historic architecture and architecture. The Victorville Historic District is one of the oldest parts of the city, dating back to the 18th century. It is located on the banks of the San Francisco Bay and was once known as the "City of the Redwoods" The city is home to several historic buildings, including the Old Sheriff’s Office, the Old School, and a number of historic buildings.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Victorville, San Bernardino County, California = 1. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 48. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 10. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Victorville = 5.7 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 134,810 individuals with a median age of 30 age the population grows by 85.27% in Victorville, San Bernardino County, California population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 1,800 residents per square mile of area (700/km²). There are average 3.18 people per household in the 37,030 households with an average household income of $46,884 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 16.80% of the available work force and has dropped -6.49% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 10.22%. The number of physicians in Victorville per 100,000 population = 133.8.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Victorville = 5.5 inches and the annual snowfall = 1.5 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 25. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 289. 98 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 30.4 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 26, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Victorville, San Bernardino County, California which are owned by the occupant = 61.69%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 13 years with median home cost = $110,880 and home appreciation of -16.41%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $9.16 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $3,883 per student. There are 24.7 students for each teacher in the school. 11967.96% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 6.91% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 3.81% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).