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Cayucos
—  census-designated place  —
Cayucos viewed from the town pier
Location in San Luis Obispo County and the state of California
Coordinates: 35°26′18″N 120°53′37″W / 35.43833°N 120.89361°W / 35.43833; -120.89361Coordinates: 35°26′18″N 120°53′37″W / 35.43833°N 120.89361°W / 35.43833; -120.89361
Country	United States
State	California
County	San Luis Obispo
Area[1]
• Total	3.477 sq mi (9.006 km2)
• Land	3.100 sq mi (8.029 km2)
• Water	0.377 sq mi (0.977 km2)  10.85%
Elevation	75 ft (23 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	2,592
• Density	750/sq mi (290/km2)
Time zone	Pacific (PST) (UTC-8)
• Summer (DST)	PDT (UTC-7)
ZIP code	93430
Area code(s)	805
FIPS code	06-12132
GNIS feature ID	1656455

Cayucos is a census-designated place located on the coast in San Luis Obispo County, California along California State Route 1 between Cambria to the north and Morro Bay to the south. The population was 2,592 at the 2010 census, down from 2,943 at the 2000 census.

History[link]

Prehistorically the local area was inhabited by the Chumash people, who settled the coastal San Luis Obispo area approximately 11,000 to 10,000 BC, including a large village to the south of Cayucos at Morro Creek.^[2]

Cayucos is the Chumash word for "kayak," or "canoe," which was used by the Chumash people to fish in the bay, particularly in the rich kelp beds just north of the current Cayucos pier.

In 1842, Martin Olivera and Vincente Feliz received the Rancho Moro y Cayucos Mexican land grant. In 1867, Captain James Cass settled on 320 acres (1.29 km²) of this land, and founded the town of Cayucos. Cass began developing the area with his business partner, Captain Ingals.

On December 7, 1987, Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 1771, bound from Los Angeles International Airport to San Francisco, was cruising above the central California coast when a disgruntled USAir employee aboard the plane shot his ex-supervisor, both pilots and then himself, causing the airplane to crash near Cayucos. All 43 aboard perished.  

In October 2009, Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel Magazine listed Cayucos as one of the "Coolest Small Towns in America".^[3]

Geography[link]

Cayucos is located at 35°26′18″N 120°53′26″W / 35.43833°N 120.89056°W / 35.43833; -120.89056 (35.438390, -120.890647).^[4]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 3.5 square miles (9.1 km²), of which, 3.1 square miles (8.0 km²) of it is land and 0.4 square miles (1.0 km²) of it (10.85%) is water.

Demographics[link]

Downtown Cayucos

2010[link]

The 2010 United States Census^[5] reported that Cayucos had a population of 2,592. The population density was 745.4 people per square mile (287.8/km²). The racial makeup of Cayucos was 2,366 (91.3%) White, 6 (0.2%) African American, 12 (0.5%) Native American, 54 (2.1%) Asian, 8 (0.3%) Pacific Islander, 57 (2.2%) from other races, and 89 (3.4%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 207 persons (8.0%).

The Census reported that 2,592 people (100% of the population) lived in households, 0 (0%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized.

There were 1,314 households, out of which 214 (16.3%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 578 (44.0%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 105 (8.0%) had a female householder with no husband present, 45 (3.4%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 76 (5.8%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 10 (0.8%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 471 households (35.8%) were made up of individuals and 195 (14.8%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.97. There were 728 families (55.4% of all households); the average family size was 2.53.

The population was spread out with 337 people (13.0%) under the age of 18, 169 people (6.5%) aged 18 to 24, 488 people (18.8%) aged 25 to 44, 946 people (36.5%) aged 45 to 64, and 652 people (25.2%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 53.0 years. For every 100 females there were 91.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.2 males.

There were 2,354 housing units at an average density of 677.0 per square mile (261.4/km²), of which 781 (59.4%) were owner-occupied, and 533 (40.6%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 4.6%; the rental vacancy rate was 12.8%. 1,555 people (60.0% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 1,037 people (40.0%) lived in rental housing units.

2000[link]

As of the census^[6] of 2000, there were 2,943 people, 1,405 households, and 809 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 954.4 people per square mile (368.9/km²). There were 2,284 housing units at an average density of 740.7 per square mile (286.3/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 93.82% White, 6.80% Hispanic or Latino (of any race) , 2.17% from two or more races, 2.11% from other races, 1.26% Asian, 0.37% Native American, 0.24% African American, and 0.03% Pacific Islander.

There were 1,405 households out of which 19.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.4% were married couples living together, 7.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.4% were non-families. 33.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.08 and the average family size was 2.62.

In the CDP the population was spread out with 16.8% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 24.4% from 25 to 44, 28.7% from 45 to 64, and 23.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46 years. For every 100 females there were 91.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.1 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $42,841, and the median income for a family was $53,594. Males had a median income of $35,333 versus $31,359 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $26,525. About 2.4% of families and 8.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.1% of those under age 18 and 4.0% of those age 65 or over.

Politics[link]

In the state legislature Cayucos is located in the 15th Senate District, represented by Republican Abel Maldonado, and in the 33rd Assembly District, represented by Republican Sam Blakeslee. Federally, Cayucos is located in California's 23rd congressional district, which has a Cook PVI of D +9^[7] and is represented by Democrat Lois Capps.

Book[link]

Reinman, F. M. (1961). Archeological investigations at Whale Rock Reservoir, Cayucos, California. Archeological report, 2. Sacramento, Calif.: State of California. Dept. of Natural Resources, Division of Beaches and Parks, Interpretive Services.

References[link]

External links[link]

California portal

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Cayucos, California

• Cayucos Chamber of Commerce
• Concerned Citizens of Cayucos
• Cayucos Community Groups

v t e Municipalities and communities of San Luis Obispo County, California, United States County seat: San Luis Obispo Cities Arroyo Grande Atascadero Grover Beach Morro Bay Paso Robles Pismo Beach San Luis Obispo CDPs Avila Beach Blacklake Callender Cambria Cayucos Creston Edna Garden Farms Lake Nacimiento Los Berros Los Osos Los Ranchos Nipomo Oak Shores Oceano San Miguel San Simeon Santa Margarita Shandon Templeton Whitley Gardens Woodlands Unincorporated communities Adelaida Asuncion Baywood-Los Osos Bee Rock Bern Bromela California Valley Cambria Pines Cholame Chorro Halcyon Harmony Huasna Pozo