Lake Wildwood, California facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Lake Wildwood
census-designated place
Lake Wildwood
Location in Nevada County and the state of California
Lake Wildwood, California Location in the United States
Country	United States
State	California
County	Nevada
Area
• Total	3.512 sq mi (9.095 km2)
• Land	3.059 sq mi (7.923 km2)
• Water	0.453 sq mi (1.172 km2)  12.89%
Elevation	1,529 ft (466 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	5,158
• Density	1,468.7/sq mi (567.12/km2)
Time zone	UTC-8 (Pacific (PST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-7 (PDT)
ZIP code	95946
Area code(s)	530
FIPS code	06-39885
GNIS feature ID	1682906

Lake Wildwood is a special community in Nevada County, California, United States. It's known as a "census-designated place" (CDP), which means it's a specific area counted by the government, but it's not officially a city. In 2020, about 5,158 people lived here.

Lake Wildwood is mostly a private, gated community. News about the area is shared in a newspaper called The Wildwood Independent, which comes out twice a month. You can also find local businesses and homes listed in the yearly "Penn Valley Area Directory."

History of Lake Wildwood

Lake Wildwood was first planned and built by property developers back in the 1960s.

The 49er Fire Event

In September 1988, a large wildfire known as the 49er Fire started near Highway 49. This fire spread quickly and burned a huge area, covering more than 33,000 acres in Nevada County. Many homes in the Lake Wildwood area were also affected by this fire.

Geography of Lake Wildwood

Lake Wildwood is located at specific coordinates: 39°14′6″N 121°12′11″W / 39.23500°N 121.20306°W / 39.23500; -121.20306.

Land and Water Area

According to the United States Census Bureau, the total area of Lake Wildwood is about 3.5 square miles (9.1 square kilometers). Most of this area, about 3.1 square miles (7.9 square kilometers), is land. The rest, about 0.5 square miles (1.2 square kilometers), is water, making up about 12.89% of the total area.

Population and People

Population in 2010

The 2010 United States Census showed that Lake Wildwood had a population of 4,991 people. The population density was about 1,421 people per square mile (549 people per square kilometer).

Most of the people living in Lake Wildwood were White (94.7%). There were also smaller groups of African American (0.3%), Native American (0.9%), Asian (1.1%), and Pacific Islander (0.2%) residents. About 2.1% of the population identified as two or more races. People of Hispanic or Latino background made up 5.4% of the population.

Households and Families

In 2010, almost everyone (99.9%) lived in homes. There were 2,225 households in Lake Wildwood. About 20.8% of these households had children under 18 living with them. Most households (65.8%) were married couples.

The average household size was 2.24 people. There were 1,645 families, with an average family size of 2.58 people.

Age Distribution

The population in 2010 was spread out by age. About 16.9% of the people were under 18 years old. A large portion, 36.9%, were 65 years of age or older. The average age in Lake Wildwood was 58.4 years.

Housing in 2010

There were 2,641 housing units in Lake Wildwood. Most of these homes (83.4%) were owned by the people living in them, while 16.6% were rented.

Population in 2000

In the census of 2000, Lake Wildwood had 4,868 people. The population density was about 1,590 people per square mile (614 people per square kilometer).

The racial makeup was similar to 2010, with 96.53% White residents. Hispanic or Latino people made up 2.28% of the population.

Income and Poverty in 2000

In 2000, the median income for a household in Lake Wildwood was $58,290. For families, the median income was $61,972. The average income per person was $32,167.

About 3.0% of the total population lived below the poverty line. This included 1.7% of those under 18 and 1.5% of those aged 65 or older.