Canoga Park
Canoga Park is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles, California. Before the Mexican–American War, the district was part of a rancho, and after the American victory it was converted into wheat farms and then subdivided, with part of it named Owensmouth as a town founded in 1912. It joined Los Angeles in 1917 and was renamed Canoga Park on March 1, 1931, after Canoga, New York. Canoga Park is bordered by Woodland Hills on the south, West Hills on the west, Chatsworth, on the north, and Winnetka on the east.
Bell and Dayton Creeks flowing from the Simi Hills, and Arroyo Calabasas (Calabasas Creek) from the Santa Monica Mountains are several of the headwaters of the Los Angeles River that originate in the western San Fernando Valley that flow through Canoga Park. The Los Angeles River itself begins at the confluence of Calabasas Creek and Bell Creek behind Canoga Park High School. These and other small creeks supply stormwater and suburban runoff water to the Los Angeles River, and several are considered year-round creeks. Although the creeks are now channeled and run within concrete walls, they do form a significant urban wildlife landscape and contribute to the population of indigenous wildlife left within the San Fernando Valley.
This area experiences hot and very dry summers. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Canoga Park has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate, abbreviated "Csa" on climate maps. The 2000 U.S. census counted 53,227 residents in the 4.35-square-mile Canoga Park neighborhood, or 12,240 people per square mile, about an average population density for the city.
In 2008, the city estimated that the population had increased to 60,578. In 2000, the median age for residents was 30, also about average for city and county neighborhoods. The neighborhood is considered "highly diverse" ethnically within Los Angeles. The breakdown was 50.9% Latino; 30.7% White; 11.1% Asian; 4.3% Black; and 3.1% other. Mexico (45.8%) and El Salvador (11.6%) were the most common places of birth for the 42.8% of the residents who were born abroad, which was about an average percentage for Los Angeles as a whole.
The median yearly household income in 2008 dollars was $51,601, considered average for the city. Renters occupied 63.6% of the housing stock, and house- or apartment-owners held 36.4%. The average household size of three people was average for Los Angeles. The 18.1% of families headed by single parents was also average for city neighborhoods. The percentage of residents aged 19 to 34 was among the county's highest, as was the percentage of never-married men (40.4%).