Snapshot: the San Fernando Valley
Kevin Roderick
With Glendale and Burbank included the Valley's population is now 1.74 million, larger than every U.S. city except New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Houston. The U.S. Census Bureau's first-ever breakout of the Valley's population finds that it's within a percentage point or two of Los Angeles, plus or minus, in most major categories. But the Valley is whiter, has less poverty, is slightly more foreign born and a little more likely to drive. Data is from 2005 and derived from an Excel spreadsheet at the website of Rep. Brad Sherman.
Snapshot of selected numbers I found interesting (i.e., categories don't necessarily add to 100%):
Population total: 1,742,760
Female: 50.25%
Male: 49.75%
Median age: 35.3
White: 60.9% (Los Angeles 51%)
White not Hispanic: 42.7% (Los Angeles 28.4%)
Hispanic: 41.6% (Los Angeles 48.9%)
Asian: 10.6% (Los Angeles 11.4%)
African American: 3.9% (Los Angeles 9.9%)
Foreign-born: 711,185 (40.81% of total)
→ Latin America 21.4%
→ Asia 15.1%
Naturalized U.S. citizens: 330,520 (18.9%)
Non-citizens: 380,665 (21.8%)
Foreign-born who entered since 2000: 117,410 (6.7%)
Language spoken at home (of age 5 and over):
→ English only 41.2%
→ Spanish 62.5%
Married:
→ Women: 300,040 (47.6% of women over 15)
→ Men: 352,415 (52.2% of men over 15)
Divorced:
→ Women: 65,370 (9.4% of women over 15)
→ Men: 44,845 (6.6% of men over 15)
Bachelor's degrees or higher: 335,425 (29.8%)
25 years or over, less then 9th grade education: 139,500
Lived in same house year ago: 1,849,295 (86.7%)
Born in another state: 291,170 (16.7%)
Drive alone to work: 74% of workers
Public transportation to work: 5.1% of workers
Work at home: 4.6% of workers
Households with no vehicle: 7.9%
Household income and benefits:
→ Under $10,000 7.3% of households
→ Over $200,000 5.1% of households
Median household income:
→ Valley $73,411
→ Los Angeles $66,364
Families below poverty level:
→ Valley 10.2%
→ Los Angeles 16.7%
Homes built 1939 or earlier: 6.7%
