Wrightwood, California
census-designated place
Coordinates34°21′39″N 117°38′00″W
StateCalifornia
CountySan Bernardino
Unit prefUS
Area total5.95 sq mi
Area land5.95 sq mi
Area water0.00 sq mi
Area total15.42 km²
Area land15.41 km²
Area water0.01 km²
Area water percent0.05
Elevation6208 ft
Population as of2020
Population total4720
Population density306.2 km²
Population density793.1 sq mi
Time zonePST (UTC-8)
Time zone (DST)PDT (UTC-7)
ZIP code92397
Area codes442/760
GNIS feature ID2409630[1]

Wrightwood is a census-designated place in San Bernardino County, California. It sits at an elevation of 6,208 feet (1,892 m). The population was 4,720 at the 2020 census,[2] up from 4,525 at the 2010 census.[3] Wrightwood is located 77 miles (124 km) northeast of Los Angeles.[4] It is on the Pacific Crest Trail.[5]

History

Located in a pine-covered valley in the San Gabriel Mountains, the Wrightwood area was first developed as cattle ranches in the 19th century by Nathan and Truman Swarthout. Later, the main ranch, owned by Sumner Wright, was broken up into residential and commercial lots, and by the 1920s a community had taken root. Early ski enthusiasts discovered the north-facing slopes of the San Gabriels above the Swarthout Valley. Until 1937, the ski area, originally known as Big Pines, was part of a Los Angeles County park. After World War II, Big Pines opened their 1946–47 ski season with a new chairlift and the Sepp Benedikter Ski School (according to their ad in the February 1947 issue of Western Skiing magazine). Highways were built connecting to the major routes in the Cajon Pass, making Wrightwood accessible without serious mountain driving.

In 1934, on two separate occasions a black bear was shot and killed by a Wrightwood resident. J. Dale Gentry, chairman of the California Fish and Game Commission, applied pressure to file charges against the two men. One of the men, Clyde Steele, was found not guilty at trial; the charges were dropped against the other man.[6]

The former vacation community is now home to over 4,000 full-time residents. Serrano High School in the neighboring community of Phelan opened in 1977; it also serves Wrightwood and the neighboring community of Piñon Hills.

In August 2016, part of Wrightwood's population was evacuated as part of mandatory evacuations of over 82,000 people in San Bernardino County due to the Blue Cut Fire.[7] In September 2020, the Bobcat Fire caused evacuation warnings for the Wrightwood area as it raged across the San Gabriel Mountains. In September 2024, the Bridge Fire caused the entire town to be evacuated.[8]

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 5.9 square miles (15 km2), 99.94% of it land and 0.06% of it water. The climate is Mediterranean (Köppen: Csb) influenced by its highland position. Summers are vastly moderated by the cooling down of the air at the higher elevation compared to the hot plains to its north and the San Bernardino Valley to the south, although share the similar dry features and a lack of summer thunderstorms. In winter, the Mediterranean tendencies of the more semi-arid lowland areas are exaggerated by orographic lift, causing precipitation comparable to areas much further north in California. However, due to the elevation, a lot of winter precipitation falls as snow. Even so, daytime highs year-round average above freezing, rendering snowpacks unstable and unreliable.

Demographics

Wrightwood Lake was first listed as a census designated place in the 1980 U.S. census.[9]

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Wrightwood had a population of 4,720 and a population density of 793.1 inhabitants per square mile (306.2 /km2).[2][10] The whole population lived in households, and 81.2% of residents lived in urban areas while 18.8% lived in rural areas.[11][12]

There were 1,984 households, out of which 25.8% included children under the age of 18, 51.9% were married-couple households, 6.6% were cohabiting couple households, 21.5% had a female householder with no partner present, and 20.1% had a male householder with no partner present. 27.8% of households were one person, and 13.8% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.38. There were 1,322 families (66.6% of all households).[2][11][13]

The age distribution was 21.6% under the age of 18, 6.5% aged 18 to 24, 22.7% aged 25 to 44, 28.8% aged 45 to 64, and 20.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44.5 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.3 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 100.2 males age 18 and over.[2][11]

There were 2,664 housing units at an average density of 447.7 /mi2, of which 1,984 (74.5%) were occupied. Of occupied units, 78.9% were owner-occupied and 21.1% were occupied by renters. Of all housing units, 25.5% were vacant; the homeowner vacancy rate was 1.9% and the rental vacancy rate was 6.7%.[2][11]

Racial composition as of the 2020 census[10]
RaceNumberPercent
White3,80080.5%
Black or African American270.6%
American Indian and Alaska Native461.0%
Asian952.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander40.1%
Some other race2144.5%
Two or more races53411.3%
Hispanic or Latino (of any race)83917.8%

2023 estimates

In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that the median household income was $78,496, and the per capita income was $52,949. About 8.2% of families and 8.9% of the population were below the poverty line.[14]

Politics

In the California State Legislature, Wrightwood is in , and in .[15]

In the United States House of Representatives, Wrightwood is in .[16]

Parks and wastewater in Wrightwood are maintained by the Wrightwood community service district since 2017.[17]

Education

Public education in Wrightwood is managed by Snowline Joint Unified School District.[18] Students in Wrightwood attend the following schools:

TK-5 Wrightwood Elementary School

6-8 Pinon Mesa Middle School

9-12 Serrano High School

TK-12 Snowline Academy Homeschool

TK-8 The Heritage School (Parent School of Choice)

Snowline Adult School

Mountain High Resort

Just west from Wrightwood sits Big Pines, which hosts the Mountain High Resort, a popular ski/snowboard resort consisting of Three Mountains.[19]

Notable people

  • Earl W. Bascom (1906–1995), rodeo champion, actor, inventor, artist; was a school teacher in Wrightwood
  • Frank Bogert (1910–2009), rodeo professional, actor, mayor of Palm Springs; raised in Wrightwood
  • Caleb Calvert (born 1996), soccer player[20]
  • Aldous Huxley (1894–1963), author; lived in Wrightwood for several years
  • Geoffrey Lewis (1935–2015), actor; spent much of his youth in Wrightwood
  • Maddie Mastro (born 2000), snowboarder and Olympian

References

  1. ^
  2. ^ "Wrightwood CDP, California; DP1: Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics - 2020 Census of Population and Housing". US Census Bureau. Retrieved May 15, 2025.
  3. ^ "Wrightwood CDP, California; P2: HISPANIC OR LATINO, AND NOT HISPANIC OR LATINO BY RACE - 2010 Census of Population and Housing". US Census Bureau. Retrieved May 15, 2025.
  4. ^ "Los Angeles to Wrightwood". Los Angeles to Wrightwood
  5. ^ "Pacific Crest Trail Towns - HikerFeed". Archived from the original on June 28, 2022. Retrieved May 25, 2022.
  6. ^ "Those black bears you see in Southern California, this is how they arrived". San Bernardino Sun. 2019-01-07. Retrieved 2024-03-30.
  7. ^ Esquivel, Paloma; Jennings, Angel; Newell, Shane (August 16, 2016). "Homes burn, thousands flee as out-of-control brush fire chars 30,000 acres in Cajon Pass". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 17, 2016.
  8. ^ "Bridge Fire | CAL FIRE". www.fire.ca.gov. Retrieved 2024-09-11.
  9. ^ "1980 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - California". United States Census Bureau
  10. ^ "2020 Decennial Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171)". United States Census Bureau. 2021. Retrieved April 28, 2026.
  11. ^ "2020 Decennial Census Demographic Profile (DP1)". United States Census Bureau. 2021. Retrieved April 28, 2026.
  12. ^ "2020 Decennial Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics (DHC)". United States Census Bureau. 2023. Retrieved April 28, 2026.
  13. ^ "Wrightwood CDP, California; P16: Household Type - 2020 Census of Population and Housing". US Census Bureau. Retrieved May 15, 2025.
  14. ^ "Wrightwood CDP, California; DP03: Selected Economic Characteristics - 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates Comparison Profiles". US Census Bureau. Retrieved May 15, 2025.
  15. ^ "Find Your California Representatives". Retrieved May 15, 2025.
  16. ^
  17. ^ "Wrightwood Community Services District"
  18. ^ Geography Division (December 18, 2020). 2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: San Bernardino County, CA. U.S. Census Bureau. p. 8 (PDF p. 9/12). Retrieved 2024-10-04. - Text list
  19. ^ Krig, Pat & Van Houten, Barbara (2004). Images of America: Wrightwood & Big Pines. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7385-2899-1. Retrieved August 29, 2011.
  20. ^ "Chivas USA sign 16-year-old forward Caleb Calvert as Homegrown player". Major League Soccer. July 5, 2013. Retrieved February 24, 2025.