State
County
Land Area
22.4 sq mi
Density
6,123.30/sq mi
2020 Growth Rate
-0.46%
Growth Since 2010
1.62%
Rank in State
Rank in Country
Fullerton is a city located in California. With a 2020 population of 137,350, it is the 42nd largest city in California and the 200th largest city in the United States. Fullerton is currently declining at a rate of -0.46% annually but its population has increased by 1.62% since the most recent census, which recorded a population of 135,161 in 2010. Fullerton reached it's highest population of 140,454 in 2016. Spanning over 22 miles, Fullerton has a population density of 6,123 people per square mile.
The average household income in Fullerton is $106,314 with a poverty rate of 12.32%. The median rental costs in recent years comes to $1,669 per month, and the median house value is $650,000. The median age in Fullerton is 35.4 years, 34.1 years for males, and 37.1 years for females. For every 100 females there are 99.3 males.
Fullerton is located in northern Orange County, California about 26 miles southeast of Los Angeles and 3 miles north of Anaheim. Fullerton is the 6th or 7th largest city in Orange County, nearly tied with Orange and behind Anaheim, Santa Ana, Irvine, Huntington Beach, and Garden Grove.
Like the rest of Orange County, Fullerton has a large Asian American population. Asian Americans now account for one-fifth of the population of the entire county with a great deal of diversity. Of the estimated 600,000 Asian Americans in Orange County, Vietnamese and Koreans are the two largest ethnic subgroups with 200,000 Vietnamese and 94,000 Korean Americans in the county. While Westminster and Garden Grove have large Vietnamese populations, Fullerton is home to a large community of Korean Americans. There are also about 89,000 Filipino Americans in the county. Asian Americans in the area include recent immigrants as well as families who first immigrated to the U.S. five generations ago.
A recent survey also found that there are more than 310,000 unauthorized immigrants in Orange County accounting for 10% of the county's total population. While most unauthorized immigrants in the area are from Latin America, especially Mexico (75%), about 15% are from Asia. This includes 4% from Korea, 3% from Vietnam, and 3% from the Philippines.
About 30% of people in Fullerton are foreign-born.
Fullerton's population isn't growing like it once was. This trend can be seen throughout Orange County where annual growth of residents dropped by half in 2018 compared to the last five years. This trend is attributed to slowing foreign immigration and a surge of people moving elsewhere in the state or out of California.
The area of Fullerton was first explored by Europeans in the late 1760s during a Spanish expedition to Montery. By 1771, Mission San Gabriel Arcangel was established and the Spaniards dubbed the native Tongva people "Gabrieliños." Modern-day Fullerton then became part of the Rancho San Juan Cajón de Santa Ana in the 1830s after it was granted to a Spanish soldier named Juan Pacifico Ontiveros.
Ontiveros sold parcels of the land to Americans who were developing California after the California Gold Rush. In 1886, the Amerige brothers heard that the California Central Railroad was searching for land and they bought 430 acres of land just north of Anaheim. The two negotiated with the president of the Pacific Land and Improvement Company, offering free right-of-way plus half interest in the land for the railroad if the survey of Fullerton was revised for a town site. Within ten years, Fullerton was on its way toward being a thriving agricultural community when a new Valencia orange orchard caught on. Fullerton was incorporated in 1904 and recognized in 1907.
After World War II, the population of Fullerton grew rapidly as veterans moved to California and created large housing developments. Orange County State College was founded in 1959 to serve the booming population and many instutitions followed to earn Fullerton its nickname as the "Education City."
According to the most recent ACS, the racial composition of Fullerton was:
Race | Population | Percentage |
---|---|---|
White | 81,379 | 58.29% |
Asian | 33,897 | 24.28% |
Some Other Race | 12,834 | 9.19% |
Two or More Races | 7,111 | 5.09% |
Black or African American | 3,474 | 2.49% |
American Indian and Alaska Native | 526 | 0.38% |
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander | 390 | 0.28% |
Type | Count | Average Size | Owned |
---|---|---|---|
All | 45,814 | 2.97 | 52.2 |
Married | 23,855 | 3.57 | 65.3 |
Non Family | 13,818 | 1.51 | 37.9 |
Female | 5,588 | 3.63 | 38.8 |
Male | 2,553 | 3.86 | 36.2 |
3.49
Average Family Size
2.97
Average Household Size
Education Attained | Count | Percentage |
---|---|---|
Less Than 9th Grade | 5,814 | 6.28% |
9th to 12th Grade | 5,419 | 5.85% |
High School Graduate | 16,302 | 17.61% |
Some College | 18,734 | 20.23% |
Associates Degree | 7,045 | 7.61% |
Bachelors Degree | 24,758 | 26.74% |
Graduate Degree | 14,521 | 15.68% |
Name | Total | High School | Bachelors |
---|---|---|---|
White | 35,231 | 33,976 | 16,652 |
Hispanic | 28,265 | 19,844 | 4,605 |
Asian | 24,353 | 23,013 | 16,133 |
Other Race | 7,411 | 5,073 | 1,126 |
Multiple Races | 2,846 | 2,592 | 1,084 |
Black | 2,361 | 2,252 | 840 |
Native American | 472 | 398 | 146 |
Islander | 307 | 307 | 112 |
The highest rate of high school graduation is among islander people with a rate of 100.00%.
The highest rate of bachelors degrees is among asian people with a rate of 66.25%.
$45,422
Average Earnings
$52,249
Average Male
$36,967
Average Female
53.84% of Fullerton residents speak only English, while 46.16% speak other languages. The non-English language spoken by the largest group is Spanish, which is spoken by 24.96% of the population.
Name | Total | In Poverty | Poverty Rate |
---|---|---|---|
Hispanic | 50,942 | 9,024 | 17.71% |
White | 44,570 | 3,719 | 8.34% |
Other | 12,652 | 3,071 | 24.27% |
Asian | 33,284 | 2,953 | 8.87% |
Black | 3,314 | 951 | 28.70% |
Multiple | 7,025 | 664 | 9.45% |
Islander | 390 | 49 | 12.56% |
Native | 526 | 37 | 7.03% |
12.32%
Overall Poverty Rate
11.58%
Male Poverty Rate
13.07%
Female Poverty Rate
The race most likely to be in poverty in Fullerton is Black, with 28.70% below the poverty level.
The race least likely to be in poverty in Fullerton is Native, with 7.03% below the poverty level.
The poverty rate among those that worked full-time for the past 12 months was 1.65%. Among those working part-time, it was 15.90%, and for those that did not work, the poverty rate was 19.77%.
47.4%
Overall Marriage Rate
48.4%
Male Marriage Rate
46.5%
Female Marriage Rate
The age group where males are most likely to be married is Over 65, while the female age group most likely to be married is 45-54.
Name | Veterans | % of Total |
---|---|---|
White | 3,735 | 5.77% |
Hispanic | 1,015 | 2.88% |
Asian | 457 | 1.67% |
Black | 338 | 10.91% |
2 or More | 180 | 4.54% |
Other | 151 | 1.66% |
Indian | 27 | 5.51% |
6.41%
Veteran Poverty Rate
29.48%
Veteran Disability Rate
65.9%
Labor Force Participation
61.6%
Employment Rate
6.5%
Unemployment Rate
Non citizens include legal permanent residents (green card holders), international students, temporary workers, humanitarian migrants, and illegal immigrants.
70.01%
Native Born
29.99%
Foreign Born
13.93%
Non Citizen
16.05%
Naturalized
70.01% of Fullerton residents were born in the United States, with 55.28% having been born in California. 13.93% of residents are not US citizens. Of those not born in the United States, the largest percentage are from Asia.
Year | Population | Growth | Annual Growth Rate |
---|---|---|---|
2021 | 137,350 | -641 | -0.46% |
2020 | 137,991 | -641 | -0.46% |
2019 | 138,632 | -641 | -0.46% |
2018 | 139,273 | -471 | -0.34% |
2017 | 139,744 | -710 | -0.51% |
2016 | 140,454 | 472 | 0.34% |
2015 | 139,982 | 1,142 | 0.82% |
2014 | 138,840 | 203 | 0.15% |
2013 | 138,637 | 534 | 0.39% |
2012 | 138,103 | 1,717 | 1.26% |
2011 | 136,386 | 1,095 | 0.81% |
2010 | 135,291 | 9,288 | 0.71% |
2000 | 126,003 | 11,859 | 0.99% |
1990 | 114,144 | 11,898 | 1.11% |
1980 | 102,246 | 16,259 | 1.75% |
1970 | 85,987 | 29,807 | 4.35% |
1960 | 56,180 | 42,222 | 14.94% |
1950 | 13,958 | 3,516 | 2.94% |
1940 | 10,442 | -418 | -0.39% |
1930 | 10,860 | 6,445 | 9.42% |
1920 | 4,415 | 2,690 | 9.85% |
1910 | 1,725 | 1,525 | 24.04% |
1900 | 200 | 0.00% |