China Lake Acres, California

For other uses, see China Lake (disambiguation).

China Lake Acres is a census-designated place (CDP) in Kern County, California, United States. The population was 1,757 at the 2020 census, down from 1,876 at the 2010 census.

China Lake Acres
Unincorporated Community Census Designated Place
Location in Kern County and the state of California
China Lake Acres Location in the United States
Coordinates: 35°38′26″N 117°45′50″W
Country	United States
State	California
County	Kern
Government
• State senator	Shannon Grove (R)[1]
• Assemblymember	Stan Ellis (R)[1]
• U. S. rep.	Vince Fong (R)[2]
Area [3]
• Total	5.21 sq mi (13.49 km2)
• Land	5.21 sq mi (13.49 km2)
• Water	0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)  0.019%
Elevation [4]	2,431 ft (741 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	1,757
• Density	337.30/sq mi (130.23/km2)
Time zone	UTC-8 (PST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-7 (PDT)
ZIP code	93555
Area codes	442/760
FIPS code	06-13157
GNIS feature ID	1853382

Geography

Indian Wells Valley, showing Ridgecrest, California and the China Lake area.

China Lake Acres is located at 35°38′26″N 117°45′50″W.^[4]

According to the United States Census Bureau, this CDP (census-designated place), commonly referred to by local residents as The Acres, has a total area of 5.211 square miles (13.496 km²), over 99% land.

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
2000	1,761		—
2010	1,876		6.5%
2020	1,757		−6.3%
U.S. Decennial Census[5] 1850–1870[6][7] 1880-1890[8] 1900[9] 1910[10] 1920[11] 1930[12] 1940[13] 1950[14] 1960[15] 1970[16] 1980[17] 1990[18] 2000[19] 2010[20]

China Lake Acres first appeared as a census designated place in the 2000 U.S. Census.^[19]

2020

The 2020 United States census reported that China Lake Acres had a population of 1,757. The population density was 337.3 inhabitants per square mile (130.2/km²). The racial makeup of China Lake Acres was 1,299 (73.9%) White, 41 (2.3%) African American, 37 (2.1%) Native American, 14 (0.8%) Asian, 2 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 152 (8.7%) from other races, and 212 (12.1%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 327 persons (18.6%).^[21]

The whole population lived in households. There were 716 households, out of which 184 (25.7%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 315 (44.0%) were married-couple households, 50 (7.0%) were cohabiting couple households, 163 (22.8%) had a female householder with no partner present, and 188 (26.3%) had a male householder with no partner present. 228 households (31.8%) were one person, and 106 (14.8%) were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.45.^[21] There were 430 families (60.1% of all households).^[22]

The age distribution was 374 people (21.3%) under the age of 18, 131 people (7.5%) aged 18 to 24, 410 people (23.3%) aged 25 to 44, 502 people (28.6%) aged 45 to 64, and 340 people (19.4%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42.9 years. For every 100 females, there were 104.3 males.^[21]

There were 850 housing units at an average density of 163.2 units per square mile (63.0 units/km²), of which 716 (84.2%) were occupied. Of these, 543 (75.8%) were owner-occupied, and 173 (24.2%) were occupied by renters.^[21]

In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that the median household income was $67,438, and the per capita income was $45,774. About 16.9% of families and 24.0% of the population were below the poverty line.^[23]

2010

At the 2010 census China Lake Acres had a population of 1,876. The population density was 360.0 inhabitants per square mile (139.0/km²). The racial makeup of China Lake Acres was 1,601 (85.3%) White, 35 (1.9%) African American, 29 (1.5%) Native American, 16 (0.9%) Asian, 7 (0.4%) Pacific Islander, 84 (4.5%) from other races, and 104 (5.5%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 265 people (14.1%).^[24]

The whole population lived in households, no one lived in non-institutionalized group quarters and no one was institutionalized.

There were 755 households, 219 (29.0%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 376 (49.8%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 87 (11.5%) had a female householder with no husband present, 48 (6.4%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 49 (6.5%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 1 (0.1%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 204 households (27.0%) were one person and 78 (10.3%) had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.48. There were 511 families (67.7% of households); the average family size was 2.95.

The age distribution was 433 people (23.1%) under the age of 18, 127 people (6.8%) aged 18 to 24, 410 people (21.9%) aged 25 to 44, 593 people (31.6%) aged 45 to 64, and 313 people (16.7%) who were 65 or older. The median age was 44.0 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.2 males.

There were 855 housing units at an average density of 164.1 per square mile, of the occupied units 561 (74.3%) were owner-occupied and 194 (25.7%) were rented. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.6%; the rental vacancy rate was 6.2%. 1,337 people (71.3% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 539 people (28.7%) lived in rental housing units.