Bellflower

City of Bellflower
—  City  —
Flag
Motto: "The Friendly City" "Growing Together"
Location of Bellflower in Los Angeles County, California
Coordinates: 33°53′17″N 118°7′39″W / 33.88806°N 118.1275°W / 33.88806; -118.1275Coordinates: 33°53′17″N 118°7′39″W / 33.88806°N 118.1275°W / 33.88806; -118.1275
Country	United States
State	California
County	Los Angeles
Government
• Mayor	Scott A. Larsen
• Mayor Pro Tem	Dan Koops
• City Council	Randy Bomgaars Raymond Dunton Sonny Santa-Ines
• Finance Director	Tae G. Rhee, CPA
Area[1]
• Total	6.170 sq mi (15.981 km2)
• Land	6.117 sq mi (15.843 km2)
• Water	0.053 sq mi (0.138 km2)  0.86%
Elevation	71 ft (22 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	76,616
• Density	12,417.5/sq mi (4,794.2/km2)
Time zone	PST (UTC-8)
• Summer (DST)	PDT (UTC-7)
ZIP codes	90706-90707
Area code(s)	562
FIPS code	06-04982
GNIS feature ID	1652671
Website	http://www.bellflower.org/

Bellflower is a city in Los Angeles County, California, and is a suburb of Los Angeles. It was incorporated on September 3, 1957. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 76,616, up from 72,878 at the 2000 census.

The city derives its name from the bellefleur apple, which was grown in local orchards during the early 1900s.

Originally settled by small communities of dairy farmers of Dutch, Japanese, and Portuguese descent, Bellflower and neighboring Paramount served first as the apple and later the milk production centers for Southern California until soaring post-World War II property values and threatened annexations by Los Angeles led by real-estate syndicates, forced most of the farmers to move several miles east to the Dairy Valley/Dairyland/Dairy City area (now the cities of Cerritos, La Palma, and Cypress). These farms were in turn divided up into large housing divisions for Los Angeles growing population of middle class White American population which worked in the regions high-tech and skilled industrial and service positions. During this period from the 1950s through the late 1960s, Bellflower Boulevard, the city's main thoroughfare, was a thriving commercial strip for shopping. Numerous retail and franchise restaurant firms began on this street which also featured middle and high end boutiques, arts and crafts shops, and other small shopkeeps as well as larger department stores and banks.

Geography

Bellflower is located at 33°53′17″N 118°07′39″W / 33.888165°N 118.127604°W / 33.888165; -118.127604.^[2]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.2 square miles (16 km²). 6.1 square miles (16 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km²) of it (0.86%) is water.

Bellflower is bordered by Downey on the north and northwest, Norwalk and Cerritos on the east, Lakewood on the south, Long Beach on the southwest, and Paramount on the west.

Demographics

2010

The 2010 United States Census^[4] reported that Bellflower had a population of 76,616. The population density was 12,416.7 people per square mile (4,794.1/km²). The racial makeup of Bellflower was 32,337 (42.2%) White, 10,760 (14.0%) African American, 731 (1.0%) Native American, 8,865 (11.6%) Asian, 615 (0.8%) Pacific Islander, 19,732 (25.8%) from other races, and 3,576 (4.7%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 40,085 persons (52.3%).

The Census reported that 75,877 people (99.0% of the population) lived in households, 399 (0.5%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 340 (0.4%) were institutionalized.

There were 23,651 households, out of which 11,029 (46.6%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 10,992 (46.5%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 4,812 (20.3%) had a female householder with no husband present, 1,965 (8.3%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 1,666 (7.0%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 170 (0.7%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 4,618 households (19.5%) were made up of individuals and 1,540 (6.5%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.21. There were 17,769 families (75.1% of all households); the average family size was 3.67.

The population was spread out with 21,749 people (28.4%) under the age of 18, 8,493 people (11.1%) aged 18 to 24, 22,418 people (29.3%) aged 25 to 44, 17,339 people (22.6%) aged 45 to 64, and 6,617 people (8.6%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31.9 years. For every 100 females there were 94.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.6 males.

There were 24,897 housing units at an average density of 4,034.9 per square mile (1,557.9/km²), of which 9,459 (40.0%) were owner-occupied, and 14,192 (60.0%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.7%; the rental vacancy rate was 5.1%. 31,897 people (41.6% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 43,980 people (57.4%) lived in rental housing units.

2000

As of the census^[5] of 2000, there were 72,878 people, 23,367 households, and 17,128 families residing in the city. The population density was 11,999.5 inhabitants per square mile (4,635.6/km²). There were 24,247 housing units at an average density of 3,992.3 per square mile (1,542.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 22.37% White American, 33.09% Black or African American, 0.92% Native American, 9.69% Asian, 0.70% Pacific Islander, 24.38% from other races, and 5.13% from two or more races. 43.23% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 23,367 households out of which 43.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.0% were married couples living together, 19.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.7% were non-families. 21.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.09 and the average family size was 3.59.

In the city the population was spread out with 31.9% under the age of 18, 10.3% from 18 to 24, 32.0% from 25 to 44, 17.4% from 45 to 64, and 8.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 95.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $39,362, and the median income for a family was $42,822. Males had a median income of $32,658 versus $28,012 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,982 and was below the poverty rate". About 12.8% of per capita family households and 15.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.7% of those under age 18 and 10.0% of those age 65 or over.

Notable natives and residents

• Cezar Guerrero, plays Guard for Oklahoma State Cowboys men's basketball
• Chris Carter, screenwriter, film director and producer, best known as the creator of The X-Files and Millennium
• Trevor Hoffman, Major League Baseball relief pitcher.
• Malcolm David Kelley, television actor; notable as Walt Lloyd on ABC's "Lost"
• Jeff Kent, former Major League second baseman
• Keith McCready, professional billiards player
• Kimberly McCullough, soap opera actress, two-time Emmy-winner for General Hospital.
• Milton J. Nieuwsma, author, Emmy-winning filmwriter-producer
• Art Olivier, former mayor of Bellflower and subsequent Libertarian Party nominee for Vice President of the United States in 2000
• Carlos Quentin, Major League outfielder, currently with the San Diego Padres
• Sergio Santos, Major League reliever, currently with the Toronto Blue Jays
• Valentino Pascucci, Major League Infielder/Outfielder, currently with the New York Mets.
• Anneliese van der Pol, television actress, now on Broadway; attended Ramona Elementary School and Bellflower High School
• Vanessa Lam, American figure skater, 2012 Junior Grand Prix Finalist

Economy

Top employers

According to the City's 2009 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,^[6] the top employers in the city are:

Politics

Fire protection in Bellflower is provided by the Los Angeles County Fire Department from stations 23 and 98. Ambulance transport is provided by Care Ambulance Service.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department operates the Lakewood Station in Lakewood, serving Bellflower.^[7] In addition the sheriff's department operates the Bellflower Substation in Bellflower.^[8]

In the state legislature Bellflower is located in the 27th Senate District, represented by Democrat Alan Lowenthal, and in the 50th Assembly District, represented by Democrat Ricardo Lara. Federally, Bellflower is located in California's 34th congressional district, which has a Cook PVI of D +23^[9] and is represented by Democrat Lucille Roybal-Allard.

The United States Postal Service Bellflower Post Office is located at 9835 Flower Street.^[10]

Transportation

The Artesia Freeway (State Route 91) passes east-west through the southern portion of Bellflower, the San Gabriel River Freeway (Interstate 605) runs north-south just east of the city, and the Century Freeway (Interstate 105) runs east-west just north of the city.

Bellflower is served by bus service from Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and Long Beach Transit. The city also operates Bellflower Bus, a fixed-route local bus.

Education

Most of Bellflower is within the Bellflower Unified School District. St. John Bosco High School, privately run, is also in Bellflower. The Clifton M. Brakensiek Library is a branch of the County of Los Angeles Public Library.^[11]

References

External links

	Los Angeles portal
	Greater Los Angeles portal
	Southern California portal

• Bellflower official website
• LA County Disaster Communications Service ( DCS ) Lakewood Sheriff Station

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	Downey Paramount	Downey	Norwalk
	Paramount Long Beach		Norwalk Cerritos
		Bellflower
	Long Beach	Lakewood	Lakewood