Rancho Cucamonga is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 127,743. By July 1, 2002 Census the fast-growing city's population had reached 143,711. By early 2006, the city's estimated population had reached over 170,000 people^[6].

The city was incorporated in 1977, as a result of a merger among the unincorporated communities of Alta Loma, Cucamonga, and Etiwanda.

City of Rancho Cucamonga
Location of Rancho Cucamonga in California
Coordinates: 34°7′24″N 117°34′46″W / 34.12333, -117.57944
Country	United States of America
State	California
County	San Bernardino
Incorporated (city)	1977-11-30 [2]
Government
- Mayor	Donald Kurth [1]
Area
- City	37.46 sq mi (97.01 km²)
- Land	37.45 sq mi (96.98 km²)
- Water	0.01 sq mi (0.03 km²)
Population (2005)[3]
- City	144,958
Time zone	PST (UTC-8)
- Summer (DST)	PDT (UTC-7)
Zip Code	91701, 91729, 91730, 91737, 91739 [4]
Area code(s)	909 [5]
Website: http://www.ci.rancho-cucamonga.ca.us/

Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 127,743 people, 40,863 households, and 31,832 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,317.0/km² (3,411.4/mi²). There were 42,134 housing units at an average density of 434.4/km² (1,125.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 66.53% White, 7.87% African American, 0.67% Native American, 5.99% Asian, 0.27% Pacific Islander, 13.25% from other races, and 5.41% from a biracial or multiracial background. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 27.78% of the population.

Rancho Cucamonga is fast becoming a racially diverse community and is a major real estate destination for upper-middle-class African Americans, Hispanics and Asian Americans. Some housing tracts and gated communities tend to be more homogenous in terms of race and ethnicity. Residents are more similar in terms of income, education and occupation, since Rancho Cucamonga is considered one of the most affluent cities in the Inland Empire.

There are 40,863 households, of which 44.7% have children under the age of 18. 60.2% of households consist of a married couple living together. 12.8% have a female householder with no husband present. 22.1% were non-families. 16.8% of all households are single-person and 4.1% have a person of 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.04 and the average family size was 3.44.

In the city, the population spread is as follows: 29.9% are under the age of 18, 9.9% are from 18 to 24, 33.2% are from 25 to 44, 21.0% are from 45 to 64, and 6.1% are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 32 years. For every 100 females there were 100.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $62,931, rivaling that of nearby Orange County, and the median income for a family was $70,640 (May, 2005). Males had a median income of $47,363 versus $32,113 for females. The per capita income for the city was $23,702. About 4.9% of families and 7.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.6% of those under age 18 and 7.3% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Rancho Cucamonga has multiple K-12 schools districts within its borders. Alta Loma School District, Central School District, Cucamonga School District, Etiwanda School District, and Chaffey Joint Union High School District. In addition to these schools, Rancho Cucamonga is the home to Chaffey College and satellite campus of the University of La Verne, [University of Redlands]], Everest College, and The University of Phoenix, as well as the automotive trade school, Universal Technical Institute.

The name "Cucamonga"

"Cucamonga" comes from a Tongva place name (perhaps pronounced [kukɑ'mʌŋnɑ]) that probably means "sandy place", although Vera Rocha, Chief of the Shoshone Gabrielino branch, has stated that the meaning is "Place of the villages where the waters come out". Cuc or Kuc = come, come from or come to. Amo = water, wet, spring and Nanga = place of a village.^{[citation needed]} An alternate theory, that it means "light over the mountain", is almost certainly a fanciful invention, since the "-nga" (or "-ngna") place name ending is found in many other Tongva-derived place names in the region.

"Cucamonga" has always been recognized as a funny-sounding place name, among such exotic places as Timbuktu and Bora Bora. One of the catch-phrases of the radio show "The Jack Benny Program" involved a train announcer (Mel Blanc) who said over the loudspeaker, "Train now leaving on track five for Anaheim, Azusa, and Cuc... amonga," taking progressively longer pauses between "Cuc" and "amonga." Part of the joke, for the Los Angeles audience, was that no such train route existed. As a tribute to this 'publicity', the city of Rancho Cucamonga built its minor-league baseball stadium on Jack Benny Way, and erected a bronze statue of the TV host outside of the building's entrance (Coincidentally, Jack Benny Way intersects with Rochester Avenue, which is not named for the character portrayed by Eddie Anderson on "The Jack Benny Program", but was named in 1889 after the hometown of three investors^{[citation needed]}, all of whom were brothers from Rochester, New York). In one of his many popular media crossovers, Blanc used that same catch phrase in Daffy Duck's voice in the 1948 Merrie Melodies cartoon "Daffy Duck Slept Here" and later in Bugs Bunny's voice in a 1960s Looney Tunes cartoon.

External links

• History of Rancho Cucamonga on official city web site
• Rancho Cucamonga Library web site
• The History of Casa de Rancho Cucamonga
• Cucamonga School District
• Rancho Cucamonga Chamber of Commerce
• Omnitrans Bus Service
• Metrolink Train Service