Isla Vista, California
Isla Vista is an unincorporated town located in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 18,344.
The community is a beachside town west of the University of California, Santa Barbara, on a flat plateau about 30 feet in elevation, separated from the beach by a bluff. Many paths connect the town to the beach. In 1970, during the Vietnam War, Isla Vista gained notoriety with the burning of the Bank of America by student protestors. Today, Isla Vista continues to be plagued by the stigma of a rowdy young student population whose infamous weekend parties on Del Playa have gained something of an international reputation, especially the annual Halloween party. Isla Vista is one of the lower-priced housing markets on the south coast of Santa Barbara county, which has some of the highest housing prices in the United States (the mean home price in Santa Barbara, ten miles east, passed $1,000,000 in June 2004); this situation has resulted in the student population sharing densely packed housing with a very poor working Hispanic population. Since Isla Vista has not been annexed by either Goleta and Santa Barbara, remaining unincorporated, only County funds are available for civic projects.
In the recent incorporation of Goleta, inland to the north and up the coast to the west, Isla Vista was deliberately excluded. While no official reason for the drawing of the Goleta boundaries was given, a plausible explanation was that the transient student residents would be unlikely to vote for incorporation of a town in which they were unlikely to have a vested interest.
Isla Vista has more bars per capita than permitted by local law, but new applications to serve alcohol continue to be honored by the county government. Isla Vista is also home to one of the most successful housing cooperatives in the State of California. Outside the co-op housing, Isla Vista is notorious for its "slumlords" and exorbitant per-month rents.
Isla Vista enjoys a Mediterranean climate and often has slightly less precipitation than either Santa Barbara or the adjacent community of Goleta. Isla Vista is located on a south-facing portion of the Santa Barbara County coast, between two small peninsulas, Coal Oil Point and Campus Point, in view of the Channel Islands. During El Niño years, precipitation in Isla Vista can be excessive and potentially dangerous. The houses and apartments built on the southern side of Del Playa are in danger of collapse should the region experience another severe El Niño season, since they are built on quickly-eroding bluffs some thirty to forty feet above the beach.
Geography
Isla Vista is located at 34°24'53" North, 119°51'38" West (34.414595, -119.860418)1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 5.7 km² (2.2 mi²). 5.5 km² (2.1 mi²) of it is land and 0.2 km² (0.1 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 3.64% water.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there are 18,344 people, 5,164 households, and 1,208 families residing in the town. The population density is 3,340.9/km² (8,635.2/mi²). There are 5,264 housing units at an average density of 958.7/km² (2,478.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the town is 69.49% White, 2.10% African American, 0.64% Native American, 11.56% Asian, 0.23% Pacific Islander, 10.16% from other races, and 5.81% from two or more races. 20.01% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 5,164 households out of which 13.3% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 16.4% are married couples living together, 4.8% have a female householder with no husband present, and 76.6% are non-families. 20.0% of all households are made up of individuals and 2.7% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.96 and the average family size is 3.21.
In the town the population is spread out with 8.6% under the age of 18, 73.4% from 18 to 24, 13.7% from 25 to 44, 3.1% from 45 to 64, and 1.2% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 21 years. For every 100 females there are 100.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 99.8 males.
The median income for a household in the town is $16,151, and the median income for a family is $26,250. Males have a median income of $23,381 versus $20,281 for females. The per capita income for the town is $7,644. 62.8% of the population and 28.6% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 29.7% are under the age of 18 and 3.1% are 65 or older.
