Charter Oak, California

Charter Oak is a census-designated place (CDP) in Los Angeles County, California, approximately 26 mi east of downtown Los Angeles. The population was 9,310 at the 2010 census, up from 9,027 at the 2000 census.

Charter Oak is located in the eastern San Gabriel Valley, situated along Arrow Highway in between Covina to the south, Glendora to the north and San Dimas to the east. Some residents refer to the CDP portion as the "unincorporated part of Covina".

Originally a small agricultural town (primarily citrus orchards) centered on the intersection of Arrow Highway and Bonnie Cove Avenue, population growth greatly expanded the area recognized as "Charter Oak". Since the 1960s, it has been known as a "bedroom community" suburb of Los Angeles and commercial agriculture is nearly gone.

Today, the generally accepted boundaries of Charter Oak are I-210 to the north, Valley Center Avenue to the east, Covina Hills Road to the south and Grand Avenue to the west. In the mid-1960s, Glendora annexed the area north of Arrow Highway and Covina annexed much of the area south of Arrow Highway. Several small "county islands" of unincorporated area remained within the annexed portions of Covina and Glendora until the 1980s. The remainder forms the CDP.

Geography
Charter Oak is located at 34.10139°N, -117.85778°W (34.101308, -117.857656).

Charter Oak is primarily flat ground, though the South Hills of Glendora form much of the northern border, and there is a small valley in the southeast quadrant, with Walnut Creek flowing in the bottom. The other major water feature in Charter Oak is the San Dimas Wash, a concrete-lined flood control channel which was formerly the San Dimas River, a tributary of the San Gabriel River. Both Walnut Creek and San Dimas wash flow from east-northeast toward west-southwest, the wash in Glendora and the creek in Covina.

The ground is described as "dry riverbed," with sandy soil which was suitable not only for the citrus orchards which once were the primary industry in the area, but also for several nurseries growing cactus and other small plants.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 2.4 km2, all of it land.

Education and culture
The area is served by the Charter Oak Unified School District, as well as numerous private schools. The boundaries of the Charter Oak Unified School District, formed in areas which were at the time unincorporated area, eventually became the accepted boundaries of Charter Oak, attesting to the importance of the district in the community.

Community college students from Charter Oak generally attend Citrus College in Glendora or Mount San Antonio College ("Mount SAC") in Walnut.

Charter Oak Gymnastics has been a U.S. National Team training center since 1989, and has produced many elite athletes, including national champion Vanessa Atler and Olympian Jamie Dantzscher.

2010
The 2010 United States Census reported that Charter Oak had a population of 9,310. The population density was 10,034.6 people per square mile (3,874.4/km²). The racial makeup of Charter Oak was 5,602 (60.2%) White (34.0% Non-Hispanic White), 405 (4.4%) African American, 85 (0.9%) Native American, 1,035 (11.1%) Asian, 18 (0.2%) Pacific Islander, 1,693 (18.2%) from other races, and 472 (5.1%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4,546 persons (48.8%).

The Census reported that 9,178 people (98.6% of the population) lived in households, 132 (1.4%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized.

There were 3,044 households, out of which 1,264 (41.5%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 1,486 (48.8%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 553 (18.2%) had a female householder with no husband present, 226 (7.4%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 188 (6.2%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 19 (0.6%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 601 households (19.7%) were made up of individuals and 203 (6.7%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.02. There were 2,265 families (74.4% of all households); the average family size was 3.47.

The population was spread out with 2,352 people (25.3%) under the age of 18, 990 people (10.6%) aged 18 to 24, 2,601 people (27.9%) aged 25 to 44, 2,446 people (26.3%) aged 45 to 64, and 921 people (9.9%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35.4 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.7 males.

There were 3,144 housing units at an average density of 3,388.7 per square mile (1,308.4/km²), of which 1,998 (65.6%) were owner-occupied, and 1,046 (34.4%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.5%; the rental vacancy rate was 4.0%. 6,168 people (66.3% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 3,010 people (32.3%) lived in rental housing units.

According to the 2010 United States Census, Charter Oak had a median household income of $68,597, with 8.3% of the population living below the federal poverty line.

2000
As of the census of 2000, there were 9,027 people, 3,048 households, and 2,255 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 9,711.3 inhabitants per square mile (3,747.7/km²). There were 3,115 housing units at an average density of 3,351.1 per square mile (1,293.2/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 65.30% White, 4.77% Black or African American, 1.27% Native American, 9.19% Asian, 0.14% Pacific Islander, 14.02% from other races, and 5.28% from two or more races. 36.58% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 3,048 households out of which 40.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.2% were married couples living together, 18.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.0% were non-families. 19.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.95 and the average family size was 3.41.

In the CDP, the population was spread out with 29.6% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 32.1% from 25 to 44, 20.6% from 45 to 64, and 8.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.1 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $50,744, and the median income for a family was $55,294. Males had a median income of $37,153 versus $30,703 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $18,766. About 5.9% of families and 7.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.4% of those under age 18 and 7.5% of those age 65 or over.

Government
In the California State Legislature, Charter Oak is in, and in.

In the United States House of Representatives, Charter Oak is in.