Agua Dulce, California

Agua Dulce (pronunciation^ⓘ) (Spanish for "Sweet Water")^[3] is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP)^[4] in Los Angeles County, California, United States.^[2] It lies at an elevation of 2,526 feet (770 m),^[2] northeast of Santa Clarita. The community had a population of 3,451 at the 2020 census^[5] and covers a geographic area of about 23 square miles (59 km²). Agua Dulce is on the Pacific Crest Trail.^[6] The ZIP code is 91390 (shared with Green Valley and far northern Santa Clarita), and the area code is 661.

Agua Dulce, California
Unincorporated community Census designated place
Agua Dulce as seen from Vasquez Rocks
Location within Los Angeles County
Agua Dulce Location in California Show map of California Agua Dulce Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 34.50°N 118.32°W / 34.50; -118.32
Country	United States
State	California
County	Los Angeles
Named after	Spanish for "sweet water"
Area [1]
• Total	22.86 sq mi (59.20 km2)
• Land	22.85 sq mi (59.18 km2)
• Water	0.01 sq mi (0.01 km2)  0.02%
Elevation [2]	2,526 ft (770 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	3,451
• Density	151.03/sq mi (58.31/km2)
Time zone	UTC-8 (Pacific (PST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-7 (PDT)
ZIP codes	91390
Area code	661
GNIS feature IDs	1660235; 2582928
FIPS code	06-00450
U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Agua Dulce, California; U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Agua Dulce, California

Geography

Agua Dulce is located along California State Route 14, halfway between Santa Clarita and Palmdale, and 45 miles (72 km) north of Los Angeles, in the Sierra Pelona Valley region of Southern California. Vasquez Rocks is located in Agua Dulce. The Pacific Crest Trail, which runs from Mexico to Canada, goes through Agua Dulce.

History

On June 1, 2021, a shooting occurred at Los Angeles County Fire Department Station 81 in Agua Dulce. Firefighter Jonathan Tatone shot and killed a fellow firefighter and wounded a fire captain.^[7][8]

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
2010	3,342		—
2020	3,451		3.3%
U.S. Decennial Census[9] 1860–1870[10][11] 1880-1890[12] 1900[13] 1910[14] 1920[15] 1930[16] 1940[17] 1950[18] 1960[19] 1970[20] 1980[21] 1990[22] 2000[23] 2010[24] 2020[5]

Agua Dulce first appeared as a census designated place in the 2010 U.S. Census.^[24]

Agua Dulce CDP, California – Racial and ethnic composition
Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.

Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)	Pop 2010[25]	Pop 2020[5]	% 2010	% 2020
White alone (NH)	2,524	2,291	75.52%	66.39%
Black or African American alone (NH)	50	46	1.50%	1.33%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	19	13	0.57%	0.38%
Asian alone (NH)	69	59	2.06%	1.71%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)	2	2	0.06%	0.06%
Other race alone (NH)	4	21	0.12%	0.61%
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)	63	151	1.89%	4.38%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	611	868	18.28%	25.15%
Total	3,342	3,451	100.00%	100.00%

2020 census

The 2020 United States census reported that Agua Dulce had a population of 3,451. The population density was 151.0 inhabitants per square mile (58.3/km²). The racial makeup of Agua Dulce was 70.5% White, 1.4% African American, 0.9% Native American, 1.8% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 9.4% from other races, and 15.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 25.2% of the population.^[26]

The whole population lived in households. There were 1,238 households, out of which 26.3% included children under the age of 18, 59.5% were married-couple households, 6.4% were cohabiting couple households, 16.2% had a female householder with no partner present, and 17.9% had a male householder with no partner present. 19.0% of households were one person, and 8.9% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.79.^[26] There were 933 families (75.4% of all households).^[27]

The age distribution was 17.9% under the age of 18, 7.6% aged 18 to 24, 19.5% aged 25 to 44, 33.2% aged 45 to 64, and 21.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 49.3 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.2 males.^[26]

There were 1,303 housing units at an average density of 57.0 units per square mile (22.0 units/km²), of which 1,238 (95.0%) were occupied. Of these, 86.4% were owner-occupied, and 13.6% were occupied by renters.^[26]

In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that the median household income was $124,268, and the per capita income was $60,482. About 4.3% of families and 10.2% of the population were below the poverty line.^[28]

Education

Acton-Agua Dulce Unified School District:^[29]

• Vasquez High School, Acton^[30]
• High Desert Middle School, Acton^[31]
• Meadowlark School, Acton^[32]
• Agua Dulce Elementary School, Agua Dulce^[33]

Government

In the California State Legislature, Agua Dulce is in the 23rd senatorial district, represented by Republican Suzette Martinez Valladares,^[34] and in the 34th Assembly district, represented by Republican Tom Lackey.^[35]

In the United States House of Representatives, Agua Dulce is in California's 27th congressional district, represented by Democrat George T. Whitesides.^[36]

Filming location

Vasquez Rocks

Vasquez Rocks has long been used as a popular filming location by the Hollywood movie industry, most notably The Flintstones movie, Mel Brooks' Blazing Saddles, The Invaders episode "The Saucer", and the Star Trek episode "Arena." The 1971 movie Duel filmed extensively in the area, as was the western film More Dead Than Alive. Other films shot in the area are Rat Race, Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey and The Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle. The History channel shoots the popular reality TV show "Top Shot" in the hills and canyons on the north side of the valley. Reno 911 has filmed in locations off of Soledad Canyon Road.

The Agua Dulce area has played host to music video shoots, including those for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers "You Got Lucky", Bloodhound Gang's "Your Only Friends Are Make-Believe", Weird Al Yankovic's "I Love Rocky Road", and various Nike commercials. L.A. based rockers and "Rat Pack" recording artist "Roxanne" filmed "Super Bad" at the Diamond View Ranch in Agua Dulce.

Vasquez Rocks got its name from the famous bandit Tiburcio Vásquez who used them as a hideout.

Most recently, Agua Dulce was used as the primary setting for Jordan Peele’s 2022 horror sci-fi film Nope. The main characters in the film are horse wranglers that often work on movie shoots that happen around Agua Dulce.

Transportation

Agua Dulce has a general aviation airport known as Agua Dulce Airpark. The Airpark and surrounding area was the location for the ABC game show 101 Ways to Leave a Gameshow which premiered on June 21, 2011.

Notable people

• Doug Turner, sound engineer
• George Whitesides, U.S. representative; former NASA Chief of Staff^[37]