El Dorado Hills (''El Dorado'',

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

for "The Golden") is an unincorporated town and

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 counte ...

El Dorado County, California El Dorado County (; ''El Dorado'', Spanish for "The Golden ne), officially the County of El Dorado, is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 191,185. The county seat is Placerville. Th ...

. Located in the

Greater Sacramento The Greater Sacramento area is a metropolitan area, metropolitan region in Northern California comprising either the U.S. Census Bureau defined Sacramento–Roseville–Arden-Arcade metropolitan statistical area or the larger Sacramento–Rosevil ...

region of

Northern California Northern California (commonly shortened to NorCal) is a geocultural region that comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California, spanning the northernmost 48 of the state's List of counties in California, 58 counties. Northern Ca ...

, it had a population of 50,547 at the 2020 census, up from 42,108 at the 2010 census.

History

During the

California Gold Rush The California gold rush (1848–1855) began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California from the rest of the U ...

, gold was washed down the South Fork of the American River, into areas now in El Dorado Hills and Folsom, but farming and ranching supplanted mining or panning for gold. Portions of two Pony Express routes in this area from 1860 to 1861 remain as modern El Dorado Hills roads. The modern history of El Dorado Hills dates back to the early 1960s when original developer Allan Lindsey began its development as a master-planned community. The original master plan, prepared by architect

Victor Gruen Victor David Gruen, born Viktor David Grünbaum
retrieved 25 February 2012 (July 18, 1903 – February 1 ...

, covered the area generally north of

U.S. Highway 50 U.S. Route 50 or U.S. Highway 50 (US 50) is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching from Interstate 80 (I-80) in West Sacramento, California, to Maryland Route 528 (MD 528) in Ocean City, Maryland, on the Atlantic ...

, and part of the area south of US 50 now considered to be part of the community. El Dorado Hills was envisioned as a large-scale master-planned community that would be completely planned from its inception as a group of residential "villages". Other land uses in the master plan included a business park, 18-hole golf course, community parks, schools, a community shopping center, and small commercial centers in each village. The master plan emphasized open space between villages and the opportunity for outdoor recreation. Between the late 1960s and mid-1990s, growth occurred at a moderate pace as new families relocated from Sacramento,

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

and the

Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose. The Association of Bay Area Governments ...

. This growth consisted primarily of residential housing, as retail developments were limited to two shopping centers on the corners Green Valley & Francisco and El Dorado Hills Boulevard & US 50. Each neighborhood created during this time period was given a name and referred to as a "village" by local inhabitants. The original villages of El Dorado Hills include Ridgeview, Park, Saint Andrews, Crown, and Governors. In the 1980s and 1990s, the major part of Lake Hills Estates north of Green Valley Road was reorganized into Lake Forest Village, containing the neighborhoods of Waterford, The Summit, Green Valley Hills, Winterhaven, Marina Woods and Windsor Point. Additional villages that have developed subsequently include Fairchild, Sterlingshire, Highland Hills, Highland View, Bridlewood, Hills of El Dorado, Woodridge, Laurel Oaks and the master-planned community of Serrano. The El Dorado Hills Town Center, just south of US 50, is a mixed-use project developed by The Mansour Company. Occupying of land and, at completion, of buildings, it is the center of town and of the region.

Geography

El Dorado Hills (EDH), as defined by the 2010

(CDP), is at the western border of El Dorado County, between the City of Folsom and the unincorporated community of Cameron Park. The northern limits of the CDP are Folsom Lake and the South Fork of the American River, where river rafters use Skunk Hollow and Salmon Falls as takeout landings. West of Latrobe Road, the south edge of the CDP follows railroad tracks formerly used by the Southern Pacific between the cities of Folsom and Placerville. East of Latrobe Road the south edge follows topography running roughly east–west. The 2010 CDP has a land area of , more than double the size of its boundaries in 2000 CDP, which was . The subsurface environment of El Dorado Hills is relatively free of

groundwater Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and Pore space in soil, soil pore spaces and in the fractures of stratum, rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available fresh water in the world is groundwater. A unit ...

and

soil contamination Soil contamination, soil pollution, or land pollution as a part of land degradation is caused by the presence of xenobiotic (human-made) chemicals or other alteration in the natural soil environment. It is typically caused by industrial activit ...

, based upon an areawide analysis of the potential for

pesticide Pesticides are substances that are used to control pests. They include herbicides, insecticides, nematicides, fungicides, and many others (see table). The most common of these are herbicides, which account for approximately 50% of all p ...

contamination and evaluation of underground storage tanks.(Earth Metrics, 1989)

Climate

According to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

, El Dorado Hills has a

hot-summer Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

(abbreviated ''Csa'').

Demographics

2020

As of the 2020 United States census, El Dorado Hills had a population of 50,547, with 16,212 households. Its total population's racial makeup was 39,636 (84.1%) White, 1,209 (2.6%) Black or African-American, 815 (1.7%) American Indian and

Alaska Native Alaska Natives (also known as Native Alaskans, Alaskan Indians, or Indigenous Alaskans) are the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples of Alaska that encompass a diverse arena of cultural and linguistic groups, including the I ...

, 6,964 (14.8%) Asian, 404 (0.9%)

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 1,419 (3.2%) from some other race, with 3,158 (6.7%) of

two or more races Multiracial Americans, also known as mixed-race Americans, are Americans who have mixed ancestry of two or more races. The term may also include Americans of mixed-race ancestry who self-identify with just one group culturally and socially (cf. t ...

. 3,820 (8.1%) people of any race were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino. While there were other small changes in racial makeup, this census saw the greatest increase in the proportion of Asian-identified people (+ 6.3%) in comparison to the 2010 census.

2010

The 2010 United States Census reported that El Dorado Hills had a population of 42,108. The population density was . The racial makeup of El Dorado Hills was 35,089 (83.3%)

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 615 (1.5%)

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 196 (0.5%) Native American, 3,563 (8.5%) Asian, 71 (0.2%)

, 681 (1.6%) from other races, and 1,893 (4.5%) from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 3,802 persons (9.0%). The Census reported that 42,092 people (100% of the population) lived in households, 16 (0%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized. There were 14,368 households, out of which 6,516 (45.4%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 10,503 (73.1%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 1,070 (7.4%) had a female householder with no husband present, 490 (3.4%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 464 (3.2%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 85 (0.6%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 1,798 households (12.5%) were made up of individuals, and 670 (4.7%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.93. There were 12,063

families Family (from ) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictability, structure, and safety as ...

(84.0% of all households); the average family size was 3.20. The population was spread out, with 12,430 people (29.5%) under the age of 18, 2,511 people (6.0%) aged 18 to 24, 9,455 people (22.5%) aged 25 to 44, 13,232 people (31.4%) aged 45 to 64, and 4,480 people (10.6%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40.6 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.7 males. There were 14,994 housing units at an average density of , of which 14,368 were occupied, of which 12,169 (84.7%) were owner-occupied, and 2,199 (15.3%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.7%; the rental vacancy rate was 4.1%. 35,755 people (84.9% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 6,337 people (15.0%) lived in rental housing units.

2000

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 18,016 people, 5,896 households, and 5,206 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were 6,071 housing units at an average density of . SACOG's estimate for December, 2003 was 9,713 dwelling units. The Census Bureaus's assessment of racial makeup of the CDP was 90.11%

, 0.77%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

, 0.46% Native American, 4.11% Asian, 0.17%

, 1.37% from other races, and 3.01% from two or more races. 4.97% of the population were

or Latino of any race. There were 5,896 households, out of which 50.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 79.5% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 6.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 11.7% were non-families. 9.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 2.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.06 and the average family size was 3.26. In the CDP, the population distribution was 33.2% under the age of 18, 4.5% from 18 to 24, 29.4% from 25 to 44, 25.6% from 45 to 64, and 7.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.0 males. According to a 2007 estimate, the median income for a household in the CDP was $113,927, and the median income for a family was $125,230. Males had a median income of $75,369 versus $45,978 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the CDP was $40,239. 1.7% of the population and 1.5% of families 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 ...

. Out of the total population, 1.5% of those under the age of 18 and 2.2% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line. El Dorado Hills is among the highest income communities of its size range in the nation, though this is seldom noted because of its unincorporated status. El Dorado Hills would rank 3rd highest by median household income in a list of places with population greater than 40,000, following only Potomac, Maryland and

Danville, California The Town of DanvillePronounced is located in the San Ramon Valley in Contra Costa County, California, United States. It is one of the List of municipalities in California, incorporated municipalities in California that use "town" in their nam ...

. Total population within the El Dorado Hills Community Services District (CSD) was certified as 35,276 in January, 2006 by the California State Department of Finance. The El Dorado Hills Fire Department reported a population of 42,078 in its service area at the end of 2007. The Fire Department's district covers a larger geographic area than the CSD and is more nearly equivalent to the El Dorado County definition of the El Dorado Hills Community Region.

Government

In the

California State Legislature The California State Legislature is the bicameral state legislature of the U.S. state of California, consisting of the California State Assembly (lower house with 80 members) and the California State Senate (upper house with 40 members). ...

, El Dorado Hills is in , and . In the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

, El Dorado Hills is in

California's 5th Congressional District California's 5th congressional district is a List of United States congressional districts, U.S. congressional district in California. The district is located in the northern San Joaquin Valley and central Sierra Nevada. The district includes ...

represented by Republican

Tom McClintock Thomas Miller McClintock II (born July 10, 1956) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2009 (known as the 4th congressional district until 2023). His district stretches from the Sacramento suburbs to the out ...

. As an

unincorporated area An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

, the local government of El Dorado Hills is that of

El Dorado County El Dorado County (; ''El Dorado'', Spanish language, Spanish for "The Golden ne), officially the County of El Dorado, is a List of counties in California, county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, ...

. Two supervisorial districts include parts of El Dorado Hills. District 1 is represented by John Hidahl and District 2 by George Turnboo. A number of services are provided by other local agencies. These include the El Dorado Hills Community Services District (CSD), the Rolling Hills Community Services District (CSD), the Marble Mountain Community Services District, the El Dorado Hills County Water District (fire department), and the El Dorado Irrigation District.

Notable people

Cimorelli Cimorelli is an American singing group from El Dorado Hills, California consisting of five sisters: Christina, Katherine, Lisa, Amy, and Lauren. They first gained popularity on YouTube singing cover music and were subsequently signed to Univ ...

–

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

singing group consisting of five sisters; born in El Dorado Hills, but now live in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

. *

Austin Collie Austin Kirk Collie (born November 11, 1985) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the BYU Cougars and was selected by the Indianapolis Col ...

– NFL wide receiver,

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

* Ryan Anderson – NBA power forward,

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA) ...

UC Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after the Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkele ...

* Seyi Ajirotutu – NFL wide receiver –

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...

Derrek Lee Derrek Leon Lee (born September 6, 1975), nicknamed "D-Lee", is an American former professional baseball first baseman. Lee played with the San Diego Padres, Florida Marlins, Chicago Cubs, Atlanta Braves, Baltimore Orioles and Pittsburgh Pirates ...

– first baseman,

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

Stephen Sanchez Stephen Christopher Sanchez (born November 3, 2002) is an American singer-songwriter. Based in Nashville, Sanchez released his debut extended play ''What Was, Not Now'' in October 2021. On September 1, 2021, Sanchez released the single " Until I ...

– singer and songwriter * F. P. Santangelo – a former American professional baseball player (1995–2001) who played for the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos () were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in the National League (baseball), National League ...

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

, and

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

. * Rick Schu – a former American professional baseball player and current Assistant Hitting Coach for the

. *

Joe Angel Joseph Angel (born May 5, 1948) is a retired American sportscaster best known for calling play-by-play for several Major League Baseball teams, including 19 seasons with the Baltimore Orioles Radio Network. A native of Bogotá, Colombia, Angel ...

– retired sportscaster *

Jacoby Shaddix Jacoby Dakota Shaddix (born July 28, 1976) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, and TV presenter. He is best known as a founding member and the continuous lead singer of the California-based rock band Papa Roach since the band's formation ...

– lead singer,

Papa Roach Papa Roach is an American Rock music, rock band from Vacaville, California, formed in 1993. The original lineup consisted of lead vocalist Jacoby Shaddix, drummer Dave Buckner, guitarist Jerry Horton, bassist Will James, and trombonist Ben Luth ...

Cheri Elliott Cheri Elliott (born April 17, 1970) is an American former champion female bicycle motocross (BMX) racer in the 1980s, and a champion Downhill and Slalom mountain bike racer in the 1990s and early 2000s. During her BMX career, she spent most of h ...

– champion cyclist, including two

X-Games The X Games are a series of action sports events founded by ESPN Inc. and aired on ESPN networks and ABC. In late 2022, ESPN sold the long-running property to MSP Sports Capital, a private equity firm co-founded by Jahm Najafi and Jeff Moor ...

Gold Medals, United States Bicycling Hall of Fame and the National BMX Hall of Fame. *

Ian Book Ian M. Book (born March 30, 1998) is an American professional football quarterback. He played college football for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish where his .903 winning percentage (30–3) is second in school history to three-time national cham ...

– quarterback of the

Notre Dame Fighting Irish The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are the athletic teams that represent the University of Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish participate in 26 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I intercollegiate sports and in the NCAA's Division ...

football team. Graduate of Oak Ridge High School. Led NCAA in Quarterback completion percentage (74.8%) for the 2018–2019 season. Drafted by the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

in the 4th round, 133rd overall, of the 2021 NFL draft. * Joanne Witt – murder victim, stabbed to death on June 11, 2009, by her teenage daughter and her daughter's boyfriend

References

Bibliography

* C. Michael Hogan and Marc Papineau, " Phase I Environmental Site Assessment", Four Mile Search Area, El Dorado Hills, California, March 7, 1989 * El Dorado Local Agency Formation Committee, "Final Environmental Impact Report for the Incorporation of El Dorado Hills", May 12, 2005

External links

El Dorado Hills Community Services District

El Dorado Hills Chamber of Commerce
{{authority control Census-designated places in El Dorado County, California Census-designated places in California