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Boulder Creek, California facts for kids

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Boulder Creek, California
Boulder Creek at Highway 9. The mural on the hardware store, painted by John Ton in 2001, depicts the San Lorenzo Valley logging flume and train station in the 1880s.
Boulder Creek at Highway 9. The mural on the hardware store, painted by John Ton in 2001, depicts the San Lorenzo Valley logging flume and train station in the 1880s.
Location in Santa Cruz County and the state of California
Location in Santa Cruz County and the state of California
Boulder Creek, California is located in the United States
Boulder Creek, California
Boulder Creek, California
Location in the United States
Country United States
State California
County Santa Cruz
Area
 • Total 7.51 sq mi (19.46 km2)
 • Land 7.51 sq mi (19.46 km2)
 • Water 0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)  0%
Elevation
479 ft (146 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total 5,429
 • Density 722.71/sq mi (279.04/km2)
Time zone UTC-8 (Pacific Time Zone)
 • Summer (DST) UTC-7 (PDT)
ZIP code
95006
Area code 831
FIPS code 06-07652
GNIS feature ID 277478

Boulder Creek is a census-designated place (CDP) in Santa Cruz County, California, with a population of 5,429 as of the 2020 census. It is named for Boulder Creek. Boulder Creek served as the upper terminus of the San Lorenzo Valley Logging Flume terminating in Felton, which began construction in 1874 and when formally opened in October 1875 was augmented by a new rail line to transport logs to the wharf in Santa Cruz. In the 1880s, this lumber town which was called Lorenzo took the name of the Boulder Creek post office that had been established in the 1870s.

Boulder Creek, CA 1930s
What will be Highway 9 through the center of town during the 1930s

Boulder Creek was affected by the 2020 CZU Lightning Complex fires, destroying a number of houses but sparing the historic main street.

Geography

Boulder Creek is located at 37°7′30″N 122°7′30″W / 37.12500°N 122.12500°W / 37.12500; -122.12500 (37.125, -122.125).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 7.5 square miles (19 km2).

Boulder Creek is the gateway town to Big Basin Redwoods State Park, which is California's oldest State Park, founded in 1902.

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop.
1890 489
1910 544
1950 1,497
1960 1,306 −12.8%
1970 1,806 38.3%
1980 5,662 213.5%
1990 6,725 18.8%
2000 4,081 −39.3%
2010 4,923 20.6%
2020 5,429 10.3%
U.S. Decennial Census

2010 Census data

The 2010 United States Census reported that Boulder Creek had a population of 4,923. The population density was 655.4 people per square mile (253.0/km2). The racial makeup of Boulder Creek was 4,429 (90.0%) White, 54 (1.1%) African American, 31 (0.6%) Native American, 81 (1.6%) Asian, 5 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 119 (2.4%) from other races, and 204 (4.1%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 366 persons (7.4%).

The Census reported that 100% of the population lived in households.

There were 2,124 households, out of which 548 (25.8%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 997 (46.9%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 176 (8.3%) had a female householder with no husband present, 97 (4.6%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 189 (8.9%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 29 (1.4%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 598 households (28.2%) were made up of individuals, and 129 (6.1%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32. There were 1,270 families (59.8% of all households); the average family size was 2.80.

The population was spread out, with 884 people (18.0%) under the age of 18, 319 people (6.5%) aged 18 to 24, 1,222 people (24.8%) aged 25 to 44, 2,066 people (42.0%) aged 45 to 64, and 432 people (8.8%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45.4 years. For every 100 females, there were 105.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.3 males.

There were 2,455 housing units at an average density of 326.8 per square mile (126.2/km2), of which 71.6% were owner-occupied and 28.4% were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.1%; the rental vacancy rate was 6.5%. 74.0% of the population lived in owner-occupied housing units and 26.0% lived in rental housing units.

Notable people

  • Aric Cushing, actor/author
  • Cora Evans, Catholic mystic
  • Nick Herbert, physicist, poet, author
  • Jordan Hubbard, technologist and co-founder of FreeBSD
  • Tom Pepper, technologist and co-author of Winamp

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Boulder Creek (California) para niños

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