ATWATER, CALIFORNIA

'Atwater' is a city in Merced County, California, United States. The population as of August 19, 2006 is 27,972[1].

Contents

Geography

Demographics

Education

Newspapers

Religion

Notable residents

References

External links

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 14.0 km² (5.4 mi²). 14.0 km² (5.4 mi²) of it is land and 0.18% water.
The city includes Castle Air Museum and Bloss Hospital, but does not include Castle Air Force Base proper.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 23,113 people, 7,247 households, and 5,667 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,652.6/km² (4,277.4/mi²). There were 8,114 housing units at an average density of 580.2/km² (1,501.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 57.34% White, 4.99% Black or African American, 1.27% Native American, 5.43% Asian, 0.36% Pacific Islander, 24.48% from other races, and 6.14% from two or more races. 41.51% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 7,247 households out of which 45.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.9% were married couples living together, 16.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.8% were non-families. 17.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.15 and the average family size was 3.55.
In the city the population was spread out with 34.9% under the age of 18, 10.0% from 18 to 24, 28.6% from 25 to 44, 17.4% from 45 to 64, and 9.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females there were 94.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.4 males.
The median income for a household in Atwater is $37,344, and the median income for a family was $39,789. Males had a median income of $32,983 versus $22,450 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,162. About 15.3% of families and 18.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.1% of those under age 18 and 5.3% of those age 65 or over.

Education

School	Grades	Enrollment	Type
Aileen Colburn Elementary School	K-6	434	Public
Ariel Dear Academy	2-12	3	Private
Atwater Community Day	6-8	8	Public
Atwater High School	9-12	1833	Public
Bellevue Elementary School	K-6	709	Public
Buhach Colony High School	9-12	1768	Public
Elmer Wood Elementary School	K-6	556	Public
Fruitland Christian Preschool	PK-K	73	Private
Landmark Christian School	1-12	36	Private
Merced Scholars Charter School	9-12	62	Charter
Mitchell Elementary School	K-6	562	Public
Mitchell Intermediate School	7-8	852	Public
Peggy Heller Elementary School	K-8	545	Public
Shaffer Elementary School	K-6	556	Public
St. Anthony School	PK-8	132	Private
Thomas Olaeta Elementary School	K-6	470	Public

★ Statistics accessed on August 19, 2006 at greatschools.net [2]

Newspapers

Atwater currently does not have a daily newspaper, although most of its residents use the daily paper, the ''Merced Sun-Star'', which is published in nearby Merced. Atwater has two weekly newspapers called ''The Atwater Signal'' and ''The Atwater Times''. ''The Atwater Signal '' was first published in 1911.

Religion

Church Name	Denomination
Atwater Baptist Church	Baptist
Bethany Church	Church of God
Church of Christ at Sierra Vista & Drakely	Church of Christ
Church of the Nazarene	Church of the Nazarene
Evergreen Christian Center	Christian
First Baptist Church of Atwater	Baptist
First Church of God of Anderson Indiana	Church of God
Holy Cross Lutheran Church	Lutheran (LCMS)
Landmark Tabernacle	Pentecostal
Liberty Fellowship	Assembly of God
Mount Olive Baptist Church	Baptist
New Life Community Church	Community Church
Shiloh Baptist Church	Baptist
St. Anthony's Church	Catholic
St. Nicholas Episcopal Church	Episcopal
United Methodist Church-Atwater	Methodist
Victory Baptist Church	Baptist

Notable residents

★ Carrie Henn played Rebecca "Newt" Jorden in the 1986 film ''Aliens''

★ Bernard Berrian NFL receiver for Chicago Bears

References

★ Compass Maps: Merced, Atwater, Merced County

★ City of Atwater -- Approved Annexations

External links

★ City website

★ An independent internet site about Atwater, California by Hans Marsen

★ Castle Air Museum

★ Buhach Colony High School website

★ Atwater High School website