Lebec, California

Lebec
—  Unincorporated community and Census-designated place  —
A distinctive residential house in Lebec
Location in Kern County and the state of California
Coordinates: 34°50′30″N 118°51′53″W
Country	United States
State	California
County	Kern
Government
• N/A
• Senate	Roy Ashburn (R)
• Assembly	Jean Fuller (R)
• U. S. Congress	Kevin McCarthy (R)
Area
• Total	15.329 sq mi (39.702 km2)
• Land	15.329 sq mi (39.701 km2)
• Water	0 sq mi (0.001 km2)  0.002%
Elevation	3,481 ft (1,061 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	1,468
• Density	Bad rounding here96/sq mi (Bad rounding here37/km2)
Time zone	PST (UTC-8)
• Summer (DST)	PDT (UTC-7)
ZIP code	93243
Area code(s)	661
FIPS code	06-40956
GNIS feature ID	0272011

Lebec is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Kern County, California. It is one of the Mountain Communities of the Tejon Pass, and the home of the Tejon Ranch Company. Lebec is 40 miles (64 km) south of Bakersfield[1]. The population was 1,468 in the 2010 census, up from 1,224 in 2000. .

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, Lebec has an area of 15.3 square miles (40 km²). The community, which is in the Tejon Pass, lies at an elevation of 3,481 feet (1,061 m). Interstate 5 is the only highway. Local traffic drives on Lebec Road, Peace Valley Road, Frazier Mountain Park Road and adjoining streets.

History

The first post office opened in 1895, having been transferred from Tejon. Lebec is named in honor of Peter Lebeck or Lebecque, who was killed by a bear nearby in 1837, and is memorialized in an epitaph at Old Fort Tejon, found carved on an old oak tree. The carving has since been covered by bark.^{citation needed}

Population

2010

The 2010 United States Census reported that 1,468 people, 533 households, and 372 families resided in the CDP. The population density was 95.8 people per square mile (37.0/km²). There were 594 housing units at an average density of 38.8 per square mile (15.0/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 78.5% White, 1.0% African American, 3.1% Native American, 1.2% Asian, 10.1% from other races, and 6.2% from two or more races. 26.9% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Lebec Post Office

The Census reported that 100% of the population lived in households.

There were 533 households out of which 33.6% had children under the age of 18 living in them, 54.0% were opposite-sex married couples living together, 9.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 5.8% had a male householder with no wife present. 5.3% of households were unmarried opposite-sex partnerships and 0.6% were same-sex married couples or partnerships. 25.1% of households were made up of individuals and 8.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.75.

The population was spread out with 26.1% under the age of 18, 8.0% aged 18 to 24, 20.6% aged 25 to 44, 31.8% aged 45 to 64, and 13.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40.6 years. For every 100 females there were 108.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 109.1 males.

There were 594 housing units of which 71.1% were owner-occupied and 28.9% were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.8%; the rental vacancy rate was 7.1%. 70.4% of the population lived in owner-occupied housing units and 29.6% lived in rental housing units.

2000

In the 2000 census, 79 percent of the 1,224 residents were Caucasian (1,019 people). There were only three African Americans. There were 256 Hispanics or Latinos of any race (20 percent of all residents). Other residents included 16 American Indians or Alaska natives and four Asians.

The median age for Lebec residents was 36 years — almost the same as the 35 years for the nation as a whole.

Lebec also had slightly more veterans than its share — 169, or 19 percent, compared to 13 percent around the country.

Fifty-nine percent of Lebec adults were employed. On average, they traveled 27 minutes to get to their jobs, about the same as most Americans.

Lebec households had a lower median income than the nation as a whole — $46,857, compared to $50,046. Family income was $40,972.

There were just 100 people (or 8 percent) below the poverty level in Lebec in 2000 — significantly less than the nation as a whole, which was 12 percent in 2000. When calculated by families, though, the poverty rate in Lebec was only 1.4 percent.

Of the 516 housing units, 319 were occupied by owners and 127 by renters — about the same 7-3 ratio as the rest of the country. Sixty housing units (12 percent) were vacant.

2000 figures	Lebec	California	United States
Median age	36.1	33.3	35.3
White	79.3%	59.5%	75.1%
African-American	0.2%	6.7%	12.3%
Hispanic/Latino	19.9%	32.4%	12.5%
Family income	$40,972	$53,025	$50,046
Poverty families	1.4%	10.6%	9.2%
Med. home value	$163,600	$211,500	$119,600
High school diploma	72.1%	76.8%	80.4%
College degree	11.8%	28.6%	24.4%

Transportation

Kern Regional Transit provides bus service Thursdays and Saturdays during the summer months to Frazier Park, Gorman, Lake of the Woods, Pinon Pines, and Pine Mountain Club. It offers a dial-a-ride service all year. There is also a scheduled service to Bakersfield and connection there to Greyhound and Amtrak.

See also

• Mountain Enterprise newspaper, which circulates in Lebec and the surrounding area.
• 1857 Fort Tejon earthquake

Newspapers

• Mountain Enterprise website
• Bakersfield Californian The Californian discontinued circulation in the Mountain Communities effective May 1, 2009. Source: Mountain Enterprise, April 3, 2009