Pacifica (, meaning "Peaceful") is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States, on the coast of the Pacific Ocean between San Francisco and Half Moon Bay. As of the 2020 census, Pacifica had a population of 38,640.

History

Before European settlers arrived, Pacifica was home to two significant Ohlone Indian villages: Pruristac located at San Pedro Creek near present-day Adobe Drive, and Timigtac on Calera Creek in the Rockaway Beach neighborhood.

Pacifica is the location of the oldest European encounter with the San Francisco Bay. An expedition led by Gaspar de Portolà sighted the bay by climbing the hills of Sweeney Ridge in Pacifica on November 4, 1769. Before then, earlier Spanish maritime explorers of the California coast Juan Cabrillo and Sebastian Vizcaino had missed the San Francisco Bay because heavy fog so frequently shrouded its entrance from the Pacific Ocean (the Golden Gate). Sighting the San Francisco Bay accelerated the Spanish colonization of Alta California because it was the only large, safe, centrally located harbor on the Alta California coast. The Spanish had known about Monterey Bay since the sixteenth century, but, unlike San Francisco Bay, it was too exposed to rough currents and winds to be used as major harbor for their trade between Asia and Mexico. In the Spanish era, Pacifica was the site of the San Pedro Valley Mission Outpost (1786–1793) of Mission Dolores. That was dissolved when a newly independent Mexico secularized the mission system. Pacifica is also the site of the still-extant Mexican-era Sánchez Adobe, built in 1846. The city is located on a part of the Mexican land grant Rancho San Pedro given to Francisco Sanchez in 1839.

During World War II, the area around the present-day Sharp Park recreational area held the Sharp Park Detention Station, an INS processing facility for Japanese Americans, Japanese nationals, and other "foreign enemies" during Japanese internment. The Stanford professor Yamato Ichihashi spent six weeks in Sharp Park. He described the facility, writing, "The ground is limited by tall iron net-fences and small in area; barracks 20' x 120' are well-built and painted outside and inside and are regularly arranged; there are 10 of these for inmates, each accommodating about 40, divided into 5 rooms for 8 persons each; if double-decked (beds), 80 can be put in."

On February 20, 1956, the Hazel's Inn raid occurred in Sharp Park. Sheriff Earl Whitmore told the San Mateo County Times at the time, "The purpose of the raid was to let it be known that we are not going to tolerate gatherings of homosexuals in this county." Ninety people were arrested that night, and the majority were San Francisco residents.

Pacifica was incorporated in 1957, relatively recently in the history of San Mateo County. Its first elected mayor was Jean Fassler, one of the first women mayors in California. It was the union of nine previously separate, unincorporated communities–Fairmont, Westview, Pacific Manor (or just Manor), Sharp Park, Fairway Park, Vallemar, Rockaway Beach, Linda Mar and Pedro Point–some of which were stops on the short-lived Ocean Shore Railroad. The name "Pacifica" was chosen from Thomas Barca, by vote; "Coastside" was a close runner-up. In 1960, the city seal was designed by resident Ralph Barkey, who was inspired by Ralph Stackpole's towering "Pacifica" statue produced for the 1939–1940 Golden Gate International Exposition on Treasure Island in the San Francisco Bay.

Geography

Topography Pacifica straddles San Pedro Creek which flows from the western slope of Sweeney Ridge. The far eastern portion of Pacifica includes San Andreas Creek which flows down the eastern slope of Sweeney Ridge. The Portola expedition followed these two creeks in the discovery of San Francisco Bay. Calera Creek runs through Pacifica Quarry and is protected as ESHA Environmentally Sensitive Habitat.

Climate

Pacifica has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification Csb) typical of coastal areas of California. The National Weather Service has maintained a cooperative weather station in Pacifica since November 1, 1983. Based on those records, average January temperatures range from and average September temperatures range from . There are an average of 3.0 days with highs of or higher and an average of 0.2 day with lows of or lower. The highest temperature on record was on October 5, 1987, and the lowest temperature was on December 22, 1990. Annual precipitation averages and has ranged from in 1990 to in 1996. The most rainfall in one month was in February 1998 and the most rainfall in 24 hours was on December 27, 2004. There are an average of 66 days annually with measurable precipitation, most of which falls from October through May. Summer fogs often produce light drizzle in the night and morning hours. Condensation from the fogs also produces fog drip from trees overnight. No measurable snowfall has been recorded since records began. The southeastern portions of the municipality, such as Park Pacifica, are known to be much sunnier than the rest of the city.

Cityscape Pacifica is divided into roughly eleven districts from north to south:

Fairmont Westview (Pacific Highlands) Pacific Manor (Manor) Edgemar Sharp Park Fairway Park Vallemar Rockaway Beach Pedro Point and Shelter Cove in the south west Linda Mar, Linda Mar Valley, (formerly Pedro Valley or San Pedro Valley) in the south. Park Pacifica in south east portions of the city (called the Back of the Valley). Terra Nova

Demographics

Racial and ethnic composition +Pacifica city, California – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 2000Pop 2010Pop 2020% 2000% 2010% 2020White alone (NH)23,54920,70318,74261.34%55.60%48.50%Black or African American alone (NH)1,2199026843.18%2.42%1.77%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)1231231000.32%0.33%0.26%Asian alone (NH)5,7657,0458,18615.02%18.92%21.19%Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)2472852580.64%0.77%0.67%Other race alone (NH)1191553630.31%0.42%0.94%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)1,7591,7782,9444.58%4.78%7.62%Hispanic or Latino (any race)5,6096,2437,36314.61%16.77%19.06%Total38,39037,23438,640 100.00%100.00%100.00%

2020 census As of the 2020 census, Pacifica had a population of 38,640. The population density was . The median age was 42.7 years. The age distribution was 19.0% under the age of 18, 6.7% aged 18 to 24, 27.5% aged 25 to 44, 28.5% aged 45 to 64, and 18.3% who were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females, there were 97.0 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.8 males age 18 and over.

The census reported that 99.6% of the population lived in households, 0.2% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0.2% were institutionalized. Additionally, 99.9% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.1% lived in rural areas.

There were 14,180 households, out of which 30.7% included children under the age of 18, 54.6% were married-couple households, 7.0% were cohabiting couple households, 23.3% had a female householder with no partner present, and 15.1% had a male householder with no partner present. 20.9% of households were one person, and 10.0% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.72. There were 10,050 families (70.9% of all households).

There were 14,652 housing units at an average density of , of which 14,180 (96.8%) were occupied. Of these, 67.8% were owner-occupied, and 32.2% were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.4% and the rental vacancy rate was 3.2%.

+ Racial composition as of the 2020 census Race Number Percent White 20,488 53.0% Black or African American 738 1.9% American Indian and Alaska Native 307 0.8% Asian 8,385 21.7% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 286 0.7% Some other race 2,425 6.3% Two or more races 6,011 15.6%

2023 ACS 5-year estimates In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that 21.9% of the population were foreign-born. Of all people aged 5 or older, 73.4% spoke only English at home, 9.0% spoke Spanish, 4.3% spoke other Indo-European languages, 12.2% spoke Asian or Pacific Islander languages, and 1.1% spoke other languages. Of those aged 25 or older, 95.5% were high school graduates and 48.5% had a bachelor's degree.

The median household income in 2023 was $156,819, and the per capita income was $69,917. About 4.2% of families and 6.2% of the population were below the poverty line.

2010 census At the 2010 census Pacifica had a population of 37,234. The population density was . The racial makeup of Pacifica was 55.6% white, 16.8% (6,243) Hispanic or Latino of any race, 976 (2.6%) African American, 206 (0.6%) Native American, 7,230 (19.4%) Asian, 315 (0.8%) Pacific Islander, 1,703 (4.6%) from other races, and 2,638 (7.1%) from two or more races.

The census reported that 37,052 people (99.5% of the population) lived in households, 64 (0.2%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 118 (0.3%) were institutionalized.

There were 13,967 households, 4,511 (32.3%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 7,385 (52.9%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 1,592 (11.4%) had a female householder with no husband present, 709 (5.1%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 869 (6.2%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 237 (1.7%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 3,126 households (22.4%) were one person and 1,098 (7.9%) had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.65. There were 9,686 families (69.3% of households); the average family size was 3.12.

The age distribution was 7,707 people (20.7%) under the age of 18, 2,842 people (7.6%) aged 18 to 24, 10,011 people (26.9%) aged 25 to 44, 12,155 people (32.6%) aged 45 to 64, and 4,519 people (12.1%) who were 65 or older. The median age was 41.5 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.4 males.

There were 14,523 housing units at an average density of 1,147.2 per square mile, of the occupied units 9,545 (68.3%) were owner-occupied and 4,422 (31.7%) were rented. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.9%; the rental vacancy rate was 4.8%. 26,567 people (71.4% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 10,485 people (28.2%) lived in rental housing units.

2000 census At the 2000 census, the median income for a household in the city was $31,737, and the median family income was $48,361 (these figures had risen to $52,000 and $62,463 respectively as of a 2007 estimateAmerican FactFinder . Factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved on July 21, 2013.). Males had a median income of $50,761 versus $40,261 for females. The per capita income for the city was $30,183. About 1.2% of families and 2.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.2% of those under age 18 and 4.9% of those age 65 or over.

The oldest person to ever live in Pacifica is Rose G. Rosenthal who was born on April 8, 1901, and died December 27, 2008.

The Reverend Herschell Harkins Memorial pier was constructed in 1973 and was designed to carry sewage piping out to sea. It was closed in 1992 due to corrosion of some of the structure. Since then the pier has been repaired and is a well known fishing spot; on July 8–9, 1995, over 1,000 salmon were caught from the pier.

Economy

Top employers

According to the city's 2019 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:

Rank Employer of Employees1Pacifica School District4992City of Pacifica2823Safeway2624Jefferson Union High School District1375Oceana Market556Ace Hardware367Recology of the Coast358Rite Aid349Ross3110North Coast County Water District22

Government