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Garden Grove, California

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Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox settlement

Garden Grove is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States. The population was 171,949 at the 2020 census. State Route 22, also known as the Garden Grove Freeway, passes through the city in an east–west direction. The western portion of the city is known as West Garden Grove. Photograph of downtown Garden Grove in 1950 and 1912.

History

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File:Garden Grove Methodist Church (43289714010).jpg
Garden Grove, c. 1950s

19th century

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Rancho Las Bolsas was a land grant under Mexican governance that primarily dealt in cattle ranching in the central Orange County floodplains. The land had originally belonged to the indigenous Tongva and Acjachemem people<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>, but featured displacement under the Spanish colonization and Mexican land grants<ref name=":1">Template:Cite book</ref>.

Garden Grove was founded by Alonzo Cook in 1874. A school district and Methodist church were organized that year. It remained a small rural crossroads and farming community until the arrival of the Pacific Electric Railroad in 1905. The rail connection helped the town prosper with the influx of tourists, visitors and eventually settlers,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and it was noted for its crops of oranges, walnuts, chili peppers and later strawberries.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

20th century

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In 1933, much of the town's central business district was destroyed by the Long Beach earthquake, and one person was killed at the high school. The post-World War II boom led to rapid development, and Garden Grove was incorporated as a city in 1956 with about 44,000 residents.<ref>History</ref>

In 1956, Orange County Plaza (now The Promenade) was opened at Chapman and Brookhurst, and upon its expansion in 1959, it had 60 stores, including a J. C. Penney, 2 variety stores and 2 supermarkets, and billed itself as both the largest and the first regional shopping center in Orange County.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Independent Press-Telegram 1959-02-23">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

21st century

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During the 1970s, Korean Americans began to move into Garden Grove in several waves of migration<ref name=":1" />. It eventually turned the area into "Little Seoul" (also referred to as Korea Town) and grew to be the second largest Korean business district on the west coast. Since its initial establishment, the Korean American population has expanded to other nearby cities like Fullerton and Irvine, but it claims to have the oldest "Little Seoul" in Orange County.

Geography

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Garden Grove has a rugged set of boundaries with many panhandles. The West Garden Grove neighborhood is west of Beach Boulevard and is largely separated from the rest of Garden Grove by the city of Stanton, with a small bridge of jurisdiction linking the two along Garden Grove Boulevard. A panhandle in the southern part of the town's borders situated between Westminster's Ward Street to the west and Santa Ana's Euclid Street to the east creates a small border with the city of Fountain Valley. Other neighboring cities include Cypress and Anaheim to the north, Orange to the east, and the cities of Seal Beach and Los Alamitos to the west.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of Template:Convert, 0.10% of which is water.

Demographics

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Template:US Census population

Garden Grove first appeared as an unincorporated place in the 1950 U.S. Census;<ref name=1950CensusCA/> and after incorporation, as a city in the 1960 U.S. Census.<ref name=1960CensusCA/> Prior to 1950, it was part of unincorporated Anaheim Township (pop 26,097 in 1940).<ref name=1940CensusCA/>

2020

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Garden Grove, California – Racial and ethnic composition
Template:Nobold
Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic) Pop 2000<ref name=2000CensusP004>Template:Cite web</ref> Pop 2010<ref name=2010CensusP2>Template:Cite web</ref> Template:Partial<ref name=2020CensusP2>Template:Cite web</ref> % 2000 % 2010 Template:Partial
White alone (NH) 53,735 38,558 28,172 32.53% 22.56% 16.38%
Black or African American alone (NH) 1,873 1,752 1,595 1.13% 1.03% 0.93%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) 523 286 220 0.32% 0.17% 0.13%
Asian alone (NH) 50,803 63,118 72,524 30.75% 36.94% 42.18%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH) 995 1,030 759 0.60% 0.60% 0.44%
Other race alone (NH) 210 219 688 0.13% 0.13% 0.40%
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH) 3,449 2,841 3,889 2.09% 1.66% 2.26%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 53,608 63,079 64,102 32.45% 36.91% 37.28%
Total 165,196 170,883 171,949 100.00% 100.00% 100.00%

2010

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The 2010 United States census<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> reported that Garden Grove had a population of 170,883. The population density was Template:Convert. The racial makeup of Garden Grove was 68,149 (39.9%) White, 2,155 (1.3%) Black, 983 (0.6%) Native American, 63,451 (37.1%) Asian, 1,110 (0.6%) Pacific Islander, 28,916 (16.9%) from other races, and 6,119 (3.6%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 63,079 persons (36.9%). Non-Hispanic whites were 22.6% of the population,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> down from 90.6% in 1970.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Vietnamese Americans numbered 47,331 of the population. At 27.7% this was the highest concentration of any city in the United States except for adjacent Westminster.

The census reported that 168,942 people (98.9% of the population) lived in households, 1,234 (0.7%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 707 (0.4%) were institutionalized.

There were 46,037 households, out of which 21,361 (46.4%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 26,659 (57.9%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 6,866 (14.9%) had a female householder with no husband present, 3,588 (7.8%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 2,025 (4.4%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 269 (0.6%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 6,491 households (14.1%) were made up of individuals, and 2,842 (6.2%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.67. There were 37,113 families (80.6% of all households); the average family size was 3.94.

The population was spread out, with 43,763 people (25.6%) under the age of 18, 17,383 people (10.2%) aged 18 to 24, 49,105 people (28.7%) aged 25 to 44, 42,106 people (24.6%) aged 45 to 64, and 18,526 people (10.8%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35.6 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 7.7 males.

There were 47,755 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert, of which 26,240 (57.0%) were owner-occupied, and 19,797 (43.0%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.2%; the rental vacancy rate was 4.6%. 96,308 people (56.4% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 72,634 people (42.5%) lived in rental housing units.

According to the 2010 United States census, Garden Grove had a median household income of $59,988, with 15.5% of the population living below the federal poverty line.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

2000

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As of the census of 2000, there were 165,196 people, 45,791 households, and 36,907 families residing in the city. The population density was 9,165.2 inhabitants per square mile. There were 45,914 housing units at an average density of 2,547.5 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 46.9% White (77,443 people), 1.3% African American (2,168 people), 0.8% Native American (1,260 people), 30.9% Asian (51,078 people), 0.7% Pacific Islander (1,081 people), 15.4% from other races (25,362 people), and 4.1% from two or more races (6,804 people). Hispanic or Latino residents of any race were 32.4% of the population (53,608 people).

There were 45,791 households, out of which 53.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.6% were married couples with children under 18, 5,936 households (47.2% of female householders) had a female householder with no husband present, and 9,331 were non-families. Of all households, 6,977 were made up of individuals, and 2,726 had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.56 and the average family size was 3.90.

In the city, 7.9% of the population was under the age of 5, 20.4% from 5 to 17, 4.0% from 18 to 20, 5.2% from 21 to 24, 16.8% from 25 to 34, 16.5% from 35 to 44, 11.6% from 45 to 54, 4.3% from 55 to 59, 3.4% from 60 to 64, 5.5% from 65 to 74, 3.1% from 75 to 84, and 0.9% were 85 years of age or older. The median age was 32.3 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $47,754, and the median income for a family was $49,697. Males had a median income of $33,295 versus $26,709 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,209. About 10.5% of families and 13.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.1% of those under age 18 and 10.0% of those age 65 or over.<ref name=2000CensusCA>Template:Cite web</ref>

Economy

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According to the city's 2023 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> the top employers in the city are:

# Employer # of employees
1 Great Wolf Lodge Southern California 700
2 Air Industries Corp. 625
3 Garden Grove Hospital Medical Center 516
4 Hyatt Regency Orange County 424
5 GKN Aerospace Transparency Systems, Inc. 409
6 Safran Cabin 350
7 Costco 323
8 Full Clip 310
9 Walmart 272
10 Saint Gobain Performance Plastics Corp. 226

Arts and culture

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Garden Grove is home to two stage theaters, the Gem Theater and the Festival Amphitheater. The Festival Amphitheater hosts Shakespeare Orange County, which presents an annual Shakespeare Festival each summer. Both venues are owned by the City of Garden Grove, but operated by outside entities.

The Garden Grove Playhouse used to be an active theatre, now closed down. It was operated by a non-profit group of the same name.

An annual event held over Memorial Day weekend, the Garden Grove Strawberry Festival is one of the largest community festivals in the western United States, attracting an estimated 250,000 visitors.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It began in 1958 and celebrates the city's agricultural past, which includes cultivating crops such as chili peppers, oranges, walnuts and strawberries. Part of the festivities include the cutting of the world's largest strawberry shortcake, carnival rides, food vendors, live music, and a celebrity-filled parade.<ref>Garden Grove Strawberry Festival- EVENTS Template:Webarchive Retrieved April 20, 2011</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Numerous Garden Grove organizations, including the Miss Garden Grove Scholarship Program, are part of the Memorial Day weekend festivities every year. In commemoration of Garden Grove's 50th anniversary, the city painted some of its fire hydrants with a design that featured a strawberry, recognizing the festival as a big part of Garden Grove's history.<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Dead link</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

File:Historic Main Street.jpg
Historic Main Street Archway in Garden Grove, CA.

Government

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Local government

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2024-25 City Council Mayor: Stephanie Klopfenstein
District Incumbent
District 1 George S. Brietigam III
District 2 Phillip Nguyen
District 3 Cindy Ngoc Tran
District 4 Joe DoVinh
District 5 Yesenia Muneton
District 6 Ariana Arestegui

Template:See also Garden Grove uses a council-manager form of government. In July 2015, the city was sued by a resident who claimed that the longstanding at-large elections had affected the Latino vote and was in violation of the California Voting Rights Act. On January 26, 2016, the city council voted to settle the lawsuit, and therefore adopted that council members would be voted by district (six districts total) and no longer at-large; the mayor, however, will continue to be elected at-large.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The city council consists of mayor Stephanie Klopfenstein, George S. Brietigam III, Phillip Nguyen, Cindy Ngoc Tran, Joe DoVinh, Yesenia Muneton, and Ariana Arestegui.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> According to the city's most recent Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the city's various funds had $206.0 million in revenues, $193.0 million in expenditures, $1,098.9 million in total assets, $251.5 million in total liabilities, and $196.3 million in cash and investments.<ref name="City of Garden Grove CAFR">Template:Cite web</ref>

Federal, state, and county representation

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In the California State Senate, Garden Grove is split between two districts<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref>:

In the California State Assembly, Garden Grove is in Template:Representative.

In the United States House of Representatives, Garden Grove is in Template:Representative.

Additionally, in the Orange County Board of Supervisors, Garden Grove is split between two districts<ref name=":0" />:

Politics

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According to the Orange County Registrar of Voters, as of May 15, 2025, Garden Grove has 94,969 registered voters.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Of those, 26,604 (36.56%) are registered Democrats, 21,449 (29.48%) are registered Republicans, and 21,941 (30.15%) have declined to state a political party/are independents.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Donald Trump won Garden Grove by 2.5 percent in 2024 after voting for Biden by 1 percent in 2020. Although Democrat Kamala Harris easily won California and also won Orange County in the 2016 United States Senate election, Democrat Loretta Sanchez easily won Garden Grove by a 67%–33% margin, her widest margin of victory for any city in Orange County.<ref name="Loretta Sanchez Garden Grove">Template:Cite web</ref>

Crime

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The Uniform Crime Report (UCR), collected annually by the FBI, compiles police statistics from local and state law enforcement agencies across the nation. The UCR records Part I and Part II crimes. Part I crimes become known to law enforcement and are considered the most serious crimes including homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny, motor vehicle theft, and arson. Part II crimes only include arrest data<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>. The 2023 UCR Data for Garden Grove is listed below:

2023 UCR Data<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Fv
Aggravated Assault Homicide Rape Robbery Burglary Larceny Theft Motor Vehicle Theft Arson
Garden Grove 189 2 25 88 474 1,544 384 14

Education

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The Garden Grove Unified School District (GGUSD) serves most of the city. Other school districts with portions in Garden Grove include: Westminster School District (elementary only) Huntington Beach Union High School District (includes the Westminster SD area), Anaheim Elementary School District, Anaheim Union High School District, and the Orange Unified School District<ref>Template:Cite web - Text list</ref>

GGUSD operates the following high schools in Garden Grove:

King of Kings Christian Academy is an accredited private school (preK–8th grade) associated with the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) in Garden Grove.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Asahi Gakuen, a part-time Japanese school, leases La Quinta High School in Westminster (another high school operated by GGUSD) on Saturdays for its Orange County campus.<ref name=AsahiGakuenAddressesfor2024>Template:Cite web</ref> Previously Bolsa Grande High,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and later Santiago High, housed the Asahi Gakuen Orange County campus.<ref>"オレンジ校." Asahi Gakuen. Retrieved on March 30, 2014. "SANTIAGO HIGH SCHOOL 12342 Trask　Ave., Garden Grove, CA.92843 "</ref>

Infrastructure

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Transportation

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The Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) operates 15 bus routes servicing 269 stops in Garden Grove.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The OC Streetcar is planned to terminate at Harbor Transit Center at the intersection of Harbor Boulevard and Westminster Avenue. A future stop at the Willowick golf course has also been proposed. <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Emergency services

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The Garden Grove Police Department provides law enforcement, with mutual aid assistance offered at times by the Anaheim Police Department's helicopter and the Orange County Sheriff's Department Air Unit.

In August 2019, the city of Garden Grove entered into a 10-year contract with the Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) for fire and rescue services, and merged all existing Garden Grove Fire Department personnel and equipment into the OCFA.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Health Care

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Garden Grove is serviced by two health care facilities:

Notable people

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Entertainment

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Sports

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Politics

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  • Jim Silva, former California Assemblyman, former Member of the Orange County Board of Supervisors, former mayor of Seal Beach
  • Bill Thomas, retired U.S. Congressman and former Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee (and alumnus of Garden Grove High School)
  • Robert K. Dornan, former U.S. Congressman.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
  • Janet Nguyen, Orange County supervisor
  • Curt Pringle, former State Assemblyman, Speaker of the California State Assembly and former mayor of Anaheim
  • Paul Jeffrey Watford, Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Assumed office May 22, 2012, born in Garden Grove August 25, 1967

Others

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Sister cities

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See also

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References

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