Cudahy, California facts for kids

Cudahy (pronounced KUD-ə-hay) is a city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It's known for being one of the most densely populated cities in California, meaning a lot of people live in a small area! Cudahy is part of a group of cities called the Gateway Cities region. In 2010, about 23,805 people lived there.

Quick facts for kids Cudahy, California
City
Current logo Coat of arms Former logo
Location of Cudahy in Los Angeles County, California.
Cudahy, California Location in the Los Angeles metropolitan area Show map of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Cudahy, California Location in California Show map of California Cudahy, California Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Country	United States
State	California
County	Los Angeles
Incorporated	November 10, 1960
Government
• Type	Council Manager
Area
• Total	1.23 sq mi (3.18 km2)
• Land	1.18 sq mi (3.05 km2)
• Water	0.05 sq mi (0.13 km2)  4.15%
Elevation	121 ft (37 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	22,811
• Density	19,397.11/sq mi (7,487.73/km2)
Time zone	UTC-8 (PST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-7 (PDT)
ZIP Code	90201
Area code(s)	213/323
FIPS code	06-17498
GNIS feature ID	1652694

History of Cudahy

Cudahy got its name from Michael Cudahy, a very successful businessman in the meat-packing industry. In 1908, he bought a large piece of land, about 2,777 acres, from a place called Rancho San Antonio. He then divided this land into smaller, 1-acre lots to sell them.

After World War II, Cudahy was a town where many people worked in factories, especially in steel and car manufacturing. These workers were often called "blue collar" workers.

However, by the late 1970s, many of these factories closed down. This led to many of the original residents moving away to find new jobs and homes. New apartment buildings were then built on the land where houses used to be. This caused the population to grow even more in a smaller space. By 2007, Cudahy became the second-densest city in California, right after Maywood.

Geography of Cudahy

Cudahy is located in a specific spot in California, at coordinates 33.964214 degrees North and 118.182575 degrees West.

The city covers a total area of about 3.175 square kilometers (or 1.23 square miles). Most of this area, over 95%, is land.

Cudahy shares its borders with several other cities:

• To the north, it borders Bell.
• To the east, it borders Bell Gardens.
• To the south and southwest, it borders South Gate.
• To the west, it borders Huntington Park.

In 2007, out of about 5,800 homes in Cudahy, around 5,000 were rented.

People of Cudahy (Demographics)

Cudahy in 2010

According to the 2010 census, Cudahy had a population of 23,805 people. This means there were about 19,417 people living in every square mile!

Most of the people in Cudahy, about 96%, identified as Hispanic or Latino. The census also showed that about 35% of the population was under 18 years old. The average age in Cudahy was 27 years.

There were 5,607 households in the city. A "household" is a group of people living together in one home. The average household size was about 4.24 people. Many households, about 66%, had children under 18 living in them.

The census also found that about 18% of the homes were owned by the people living in them, while 82% were rented.

Cudahy in 2000

In the 2000 census, Cudahy had 24,208 people. The population density was even higher back then, with about 21,627 people per square mile.

Similar to 2010, a large part of the population, about 94%, was Hispanic or Latino. About 40% of the people were under 18 years old, and the average age was 24 years.

The average household size in 2000 was 4.47 people. The median income for a household was around $29,040 per year. About 28% of the population lived below the poverty line.

These were the ten cities or neighborhoods in Los Angeles County with the largest percentage of Latino residents, according to the 2000 census:

Elections in Cudahy

2015 Elections

In March 2015, the people of Cudahy voted on something called "Measure A." This measure was about setting a term limit for City Council members. A term limit means that a person can only serve for a certain number of years or terms. For Cudahy, Measure A proposed that City Council members could only serve two four-year terms. The measure was approved by the voters.

In the same election, five people ran for three spots on the City Council. The people who won were Christian Hernandez, Cristian Markovich, and Baru Sanchez.

City Services (Infrastructure)

Cudahy gets its police services from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Before, these services were provided by the City of Bell.

For health care, the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services runs the Whittier Health Center in Whittier, which serves the people of Cudahy.

The United States Postal Service also has a post office in Cudahy, located at 4619 Elizabeth Street.

Economy of Cudahy

After World War II, many people in Cudahy worked in large factories. These included plants for companies like General Motors, Chrysler, Firestone, and Bethlehem Steel.

In 2007, the biggest employers in Cudahy were the Kmart/Big Lots Center and the Superior Super Warehouse. These are large stores that provide many jobs.

Education in Cudahy

Cudahy is part of the Los Angeles Unified School District. This means that the schools in Cudahy are managed by this district.

Here are some of the schools that serve Cudahy:

• Teresa Hughes Elementary School
• Park Avenue Elementary School
• Elizabeth Learning Center (which is a school for students from kindergarten all the way through 12th grade)
• Ochoa Learning Center (for grades K-8)
• Bell High School in Bell (all high school students in Cudahy are assigned to Bell High School).

There's also Maywood Academy High School, which opened in 2005. Students who live in the Bell or Huntington Park High School areas can apply to go there.

A newer school, Jaime Escalante Elementary School, opened in Cudahy on August 16, 2010. It is named after Jaime Escalante, a famous high school teacher from East Los Angeles.

Based on information from the census, Cudahy was identified as having a significant portion of its population (about 37.9%) who had not completed the ninth grade.

Public Libraries

The County of Los Angeles Public Library system runs the Cudahy Library. You can find it at 5218 Santa Ana Street.

See also

In Spanish: Cudahy (California) para niños