Thornton, California facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Thornton
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|
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Country | United States |
State | California |
County | San Joaquin |
Area | |
• Total | 2.155 sq mi (5.580 km2) |
• Land | 2.127 sq mi (5.508 km2) |
• Water | 0.028 sq mi (0.072 km2) 1.30% |
Elevation | 13 ft (4 m) |
Population
(2020)
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• Total | 1,004 |
• Density | 465.9/sq mi (179.93/km2) |
Time zone | UTC-8 (Pacific (PST)) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC-7 (PDT) |
ZIP code |
95686
|
Area code(s) | 209 |
GNIS feature IDs | 236291; 2628795 |
Thornton is a small community in San Joaquin County, California, United States. It is called a census-designated place (CDP). This means it is an area defined by the government for counting people. However, it is not an officially organized city or town.
Thornton is located along Interstate 5. It is about 7 miles (11 km) west-southwest of Galt. The community has its own post office with ZIP code 95686.
Contents
History of Thornton
The railroad tracks were extended to Thornton in 1907. This helped the community to grow. A post office opened in Thornton in 1910. The community was named after Arthur Thornton. He was the first person to own the land where the town was built.

Geography of Thornton
Thornton covers an area of about 2.2 square miles (5.6 square kilometers). Most of this area is land. About 98.70% of Thornton is land. A small part, about 1.30%, is water. These numbers come from the United States Census Bureau.
People of Thornton (Demographics)
In 2010, the population of Thornton was 1,131 people. This means there were about 525 people living in each square mile.
Population by Race
The people living in Thornton came from many different backgrounds:
- 554 people (49.0%) were White.
- 43 people (3.8%) were African American.
- 3 people (0.3%) were Native American.
- 45 people (4.0%) were Asian.
- 1 person (0.1%) was a Pacific Islander.
- 443 people (39.2%) were from other races.
- 42 people (3.7%) were from two or more races.
- 770 people (68.1%) were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
Households and Families
There were 310 households in Thornton. A household is a group of people living together in one home.
- 166 households (53.5%) had children under 18 living there.
- 175 households (56.5%) were married couples living together.
- 58 households (18.7%) had a female head of the house with no husband.
- 15 households (4.8%) had a male head of the house with no wife.
The average size of a household was 3.65 people. There were 248 families, and the average family size was 4.10 people.
Age Distribution
The ages of the people in Thornton were spread out:
- 404 people (35.7%) were under 18 years old.
- 112 people (9.9%) were between 18 and 24 years old.
- 259 people (22.9%) were between 25 and 44 years old.
- 259 people (22.9%) were between 45 and 64 years old.
- 97 people (8.6%) were 65 years or older.
The median age in Thornton was 28.6 years. This means half the people were younger than 28.6 and half were older.
Housing in Thornton
There were 326 housing units in Thornton. A housing unit is a house, apartment, or other place where people live.
- 134 units (43.2%) were owned by the people living in them.
- 176 units (56.8%) were rented.
Most people in Thornton lived in rented homes. About 426 people (37.7%) lived in homes they owned. About 705 people (62.3%) lived in rented homes.
See also
In Spanish: Thornton (California) para niños