Bonsall is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the count ...

(CDP) in

San Diego County San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634, making it California's second-most populous county and the f ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. The population was 3,982 at the 2010 census, up from 3,401 at the 2000 census. The Bonsall area was heavily affected by the Lilac Fire in December 2017, which burned 4,100 acres.

Name

The area known as Bonsall was originally called Mount Fairview and had a post office by that name from December 28, 1871 to December 28, 1880. It received a post office in 1881 under the name Osgood, after

California Southern Railroad The California Southern Railroad was a subsidiary railroad of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (Santa Fe) in Southern California. It was organized July 10, 1880, and chartered on October 23, 1880, to build a rail connection between wh ...

chief engineer Joseph O. Osgood; the renaming was supposedly an unsuccessful attempt to convince Osgood to build the railroad through the

San Luis Rey River The San Luis Rey River is a river in northern San Diego County, California. The river's headwaters are in the Palomar Mountain Range and Cleveland National Forest, near Palomar Mountain and the Santa Rosa Mountains. The river mouth, on the Pacif ...

Valley (the rail line eventually followed the

Santa Margarita River The Santa Margarita River which with the addition of what is now Temecula Creek, was formerly known as the Temecula River, is a short intermittent river on the Pacific coast of southern California in the United States, approximately U.S. Geologi ...

instead). Following a contest, the town was renamed Bonsall in 1890, after local minister James A. Bonsall.

Geography

Bonsall is just east of Oceanside and

Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton is the major West Coast base of the United States Marine Corps and is one of the largest Marine Corps bases in the United States. It is on the Southern California coast in San Diego County and is bordered by O ...

, north of

Vista Vista usually refers to a distant view. Vista may also refer to: Software *Windows Vista, the line of Microsoft Windows client operating systems released in 2006 and 2007 * VistA, (Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture) ...

and northwest of Hidden Meadows. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...

, the CDP has a total area of . The is land whereas or (1.28%) is water.

Demographics

2010

At the 2010 census Bonsall had a population of 3,982. The population density was . The racial makeup of Bonsall was 3,194 (80.2%) White, 67 (1.7%) African American, 28 (0.7%) Native American, 138 (3.5%) Asian, 10 (0.3%) Pacific Islander, 376 (9.4%) from other races, and 169 (4.2%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 893 people (22.4%). The census reported that 3,967 people (99.6% of the population) lived in households, 15 (0.4%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and no one was institutionalized. There were 1,542 households, 451 (29.2%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 873 (56.6%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 150 (9.7%) had a female householder with no husband present, 62 (4.0%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 93 (6.0%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 12 (0.8%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 337 households (21.9%) were one person and 109 (7.1%) had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.57. There were 1,085 families (70.4% of households); the average family size was 2.99. The age distribution was 844 people (21.2%) under the age of 18, 278 people (7.0%) aged 18 to 24, 913 people (22.9%) aged 25 to 44, 1,262 people (31.7%) aged 45 to 64, and 685 people (17.2%) who were 65 or older. The median age was 44.1 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.6 males. There were 1,683 housing units at an average density of 124.0 per square mile, of the occupied units 1,112 (72.1%) were owner-occupied and 430 (27.9%) were rented. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.6%; the rental vacancy rate was 4.2%. 2,815 people (70.7% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 1,152 people (28.9%) lived in rental housing units.

2000

At the 2000 census there were 3,401 people, 1,285 households, and 947 families in the CDP. The population density was 252.4 inhabitants per square mile (97.5/km²). There were 1,357 housing units at an average density of . The

racial makeup A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...

of the CDP was 84.00% White, 0.85% African American, 0.38% Native American, 2.76% Asian, 0.12% Pacific Islander, 9.73% from other races, and 2.15% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 21.43%. Of the 1,285 households 28.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.6% were married couples living together, 8.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.3% were non-families. 19.8% of households were one person and 7.5% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.02. The age distribution was 23.2% under the age of 18, 7.1% from 18 to 24, 26.1% from 25 to 44, 27.1% from 45 to 64, and 16.5% 65 or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.7 males. The median household income was $60,625 and the median family income was $61,761. Males had a median income of $43,250 versus $29,688 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $35,942. About 6.5% of families and 6.5% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 7.4% of those under age 18 and 6.0% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Bonsall is served by the Bonsall Unified School District consisting of three elementary schools, a middle school, and a high school.

Politics

In the California State Legislature, Bonsall is in , and in . In the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

, Bonsall is in . In June 1988, Bonsall-area voters defeated a ballot initiative to create a Community Services District ("CSD") after opponents argued that the boundaries included too many county taxpayers who more closely associated with neighboring cities

and Fallbrook rather than the unincorporated Bonsall community.June 1988 editions of ''Vista Press'' and ''Oceanside Blade-Tribune''

References

{{authority control Census-designated places in San Diego County, California North County (San Diego County) Census-designated places in California