Chino

Etymology

The land grant on which the town was founded was called Rancho Santa Ana del Chino. Santa Ana is Spanish for Saint Anne, but the exact meaning of "Chino" has been explained in different ways. One explanation is that the "Chino" (curly-haired person or mixed-race person) was the chief of the local Native American village. The president of the Chino Valley Historical Society, drawing on Civil War-era letters, designates the "curl" referenced in the toponym as that at the top of the grama grass that abounded in the valley.

History

The Tongva had a settlement called Wapijangna in the Santa Ana River watershed. Some residents of Wapijanga were baptized at Mission San Gabriel, which was established in 1771. The Spanish crown claimed the land until Mexican independence was finalized and possession fell to the Mexican government.

Some twenty years later, Mexican governor of Alta California Juan Bautista Alvarado granted Rancho Santa Ana del Chino to Antonio Maria Lugo of the Lugo family. Two years later, his successor, Governor Micheltorena, granted an additional three leagues to Lugo's son-in-law Isaac Williams, who took charge of the rancho. Williams kept large quantities of horses and cattle, which attracted the envy of raiding Native Americans as well as unscrupulous whites. One of the latter was James Beckwourth, who, in 1840, posed as an otter hunter and stayed at Rancho Chino to determine the location of the area's animals, which he then reported to Walkara, the Ute mastermind of the raids.

Early in the Mexican–American War, the Battle of Chino took place at Williams' rancho. The battle ended prior to the arrival of the Mormon Battalion, dispatched on behalf of the United States, who instead labored in the rancho's agricultural harvest and constructed a grist mill.

During the California Gold Rush, the rancho was a popular stopover for travelers, and in the mining fury, coal was discovered there. In 1850, California was admitted to the union, and the process of separating privately held lands from the public domain began. The Williams claim to the Chino Rancho was patented in 1869.

Richard Gird was the next owner of the Rancho. Beginning in 1887, his land was subdivided and laid out. It became the "Town of Chino", and incorporated into a city in 1910. Sugar beets, corn, and alfalfa were raised there.

The Chino Valley, located at the foot of an alluvial plain with fertile topsoil reaching depths of 4 feet (1.2 m), was an agricultural mecca from the 1890s up through the mid-20th century. Sugar beets were a significant part of the economy in the early 1900s, followed by sweet corn (marketed as "Chino corn" throughout the Pacific coast area), peaches, walnuts, tomatoes, and strawberries. The city's official logo/crest features an overflowing cornucopia.

Economy

Top employers

According to the city's 2011 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:

Two California state prisons for adults (California Institution for Men and California Institution for Women), as well as the Heman G. Stark Youth Correctional Facility, lie within the city limits.

Education

Chino is a part of the Chino Valley Unified School District.

Elementary schools

Chino has had 11 elementary schools:

El Rancho Elementary (closed in 2008–2009 school year)

Alicia Cortez Elementary

Newman Elementary

E.J. Marshall Elementary

Dickson Elementary

Anna Borba Fundamental

Howard Cattle Elementary

Richard Gird Elementary (closed in 2008–2009 school year)

Edwin Rhodes Elementary

Walnut Avenue Elementary

Liberty Elementary

Junior high schools

Chino has four junior high schools:

Briggs Junior High School

Ramona Junior High School

Magnolia Junior High School

Woodcrest Junior High School

High schools

Chino has three high schools:

Don Lugo High School

Buena Vista High School

Chino High School

Charter schools

Chino has one charter school:

Oxford Preparatory Academy (Closed)

Allegiance STEAM Academy

K-8 schools

Chino has three K-8 schools:

Lyle S. Briggs Fundamental School

Cal Aero Preserve Academy

Legacy Academy

Chino is serviced by a satellite center of Chaffey College, a community college.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 29.7 square miles (77 km2). 29.6 square miles (77 km2) of it is land and 0.04% is water.

Chino is a suburb in San Bernardino County, located 33 miles (53 km) from the county seat, San Bernardino.

Los Angeles, 35 miles (56 km)

Riverside, 26 miles (42 km)

Santa Ana, 29 miles (47 km)

Anaheim, 24 miles (39 km)

Climate

According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Chino has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate, abbreviated "Csa" on climate maps. Chino has long, hot summers with cool to mild mornings and short, mild, and wet winters with chilly mornings usually in the 40s. Precipitation peaks during the month of February.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Chino had a population of 91,403. The population density was 3,087.4 inhabitants per square mile (1,192.1/km2). The median age was 37.2 years. The age distribution was 22.4% under the age of 18, 9.2% aged 18 to 24, 29.7% aged 25 to 44, 25.9% aged 45 to 64, and 12.8% aged 65 or older. For every 100 females, there were 99.9 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.3 males age 18 and over.

The census reported that 94.0% of the population lived in households, 0.2% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 5.7% were institutionalized. In addition, 99.9% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.1% lived in rural areas.

There were 26,351 households, of which 41.9% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 55.8% were married-couple households, 6.1% were cohabiting-couple households, 14.1% had a male householder with no spouse or partner present, and 24.0% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 14.3% of households were one person, and 6.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.26. There were 21,194 families (80.4% of all households).

There were 27,224 housing units at an average density of 920.5 units per square mile (355.4 units/km2). Of these, 26,351 (96.8%) were occupied and 3.2% were vacant. Of occupied units, 62.5% were owner-occupied and 37.5% were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.7% and the rental vacancy rate was 4.5%.

2023 estimate

In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that the median household income was $103,845, and the per capita income was $36,118. About 6.4% of families and 7.4% of the population were below the poverty line.

2010 census

At the 2010 census Chino had a population of 77,983. The population density was 2,629.9 inhabitants per square mile (1,015.4/km2). The racial makeup of Chino was 43,981 (56.4%) White (27.8% Non-Hispanic White), 4,829 (6.2%) African American, 786 (1.0%) Native American, 8,159 (10.5%) Asian, 168 (0.2%) Pacific Islander, 16,503 (21.2%) from other races, and 3,557 (4.6%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 41,993 persons (53.8%).

The census reported that 70,919 people (90.9% of the population) lived in households, 164 (0.2%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 6,900 (8.8%) were institutionalized.

There were 20,772 households, 9,979 (48.0%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 12,426 (59.8%) were married couples living together, 3,041 (14.6%) had a female householder with no husband present, 1,469 (7.1%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 1,185 (5.7%) households of unmarried couples; of which 147 (0.7%) were same-sex. 2,840 households (13.7%) were one person and 1,020 (4.9%) had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 3.41. There were 16,936 families (81.5% of households); the average family size was 3.72.

The age distribution was 19,737 people (25.3%) under the age of 18, 8,530 people (10.9%) aged 18 to 24, 25,091 people (32.2%) aged 25 to 44, 18,954 people (24.3%) aged 45 to 64, and 5,671 people (7.3%) who were 65 or older. The median age was 33.2 years. For every 100 females, there were 105.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 105.2 males.

There were 21,797 housing units at an average density of 735.1 per square mile, of the occupied units 14,315 (68.9%) were owner-occupied and 6,457 (31.1%) were rented. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.1%; the rental vacancy rate was 6.4%. 49,280 people (63.2% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 21,639 people (27.7%) lived in rental housing units.

According to the 2010 United States Census, Chino had a median household income of $71,671, with 9.6% of the population living below the federal poverty line.

Government

The city is governed by a five-member council consisting of a mayor plus four councilmembers. The mayor is elected at-large and council members are elected by district; all serve four-year terms. The city manager and city attorney are appointed by the council. The city's elections, which are plurality, are held on a Tuesday after the first Monday in November of even-numbered years.

Federal and state representation

Chino is included in the 35th congressional district, which is represented by Norma Torres (D–Pomona).

In the California State Legislature, Burbank is in the 22nd senatorial district, represented by Democrat Susan Rubio, and is divided between the 53rd Assembly district, represented by Democrat Michelle Rodriguez, and the 59th Assembly district, represented by Republican Phillip Chen.

Transportation

The Chino Transit Center is located at 6th and Chino Avenue. From there, the #85 and #88 Omnitrans buses connect northbound to the Montclair Transit Center, where many daily Metrolink, Foothill Transit, and Omnitrans connections are available to downtown Los Angeles and points in between.

Notable people

Echosmith, American indie pop band

Brent Billingsley, MLB player

Chris McFoy, NFL player

Diana Taurasi, WNBA player

Esera Tuaolo, NFL player

Geoff Blum, MLB player

George Uko, NFL player

Greg Salas, NFL player

Jarron Gilbert, NFL player

Joaquin Zendejas, NFL player

Luis Zendejas, NFL player

Mark Vander Poel, NFL player

Max Zendejas, NFL player

Paul Crowe, NFL player

R.J. Stanford, NFL player

Sedrick Ellis, NFL player

Shelly Martinez, WWE wrestler

Tony Zendejas, NFL player

Local attractions

The Planes of Fame and Yanks Air Museum are air museums located at Chino Airport.

Sports

Chino supports a variety of youth sports programs that play an important role in the community . Local organizations offer opportunities in soccer, baseball, softball, football, cheer, and track and field, with many teams holding practices and games at Ruben S. Ayala Park. Youth football and cheer programs in the city are part of the long-established Pop Warner organization, including teams such as Chino’s Tiny Mites, which was recognized during a City Council meeting in 2023.

These programs reflect the city’s emphasis on youth athletics and community participation.