Big River, California

For the community in Mendocino County formerly with this name, see Mendocino, California.

Big River, California
census-designated place
Location in San Bernardino County and the state of California
Big River, California Location in the United States
Coordinates: 34°8′2″N114°22′11″W / 34.13389°N 114.36972°W / 34.13389; -114.36972
Country	United States
State	California
County	San Bernardino
Area [1]
• Total	11.35 sq mi (29.40 km2)
• Land	10.83 sq mi (28.05 km2)
• Water	0.52 sq mi (1.34 km2)  4.60%
Elevation	436 ft (133 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	1,084
• Density	100.08/sq mi (38.64/km2)
Time zone	UTC-8 (PST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-7 (PDT)
ZIP code	92242
Area codes	442/760
FIPS code	06-06635
GNIS feature ID	1866999

Big River is a census-designated place (CDP) in San Bernardino County, California, United States. The population was 1,084 at the 2020 census, down from 1,327 at the 2010 census.

Geography

Big River is located on the west bank of the Colorado River at 34°8′2″N114°22′11″W / 34.13389°N 114.36972°W / 34.13389; -114.36972 (34.134021, -114.369782). ^[2] Since the river is mostly flowing west at this point, Big River is mostly north of the Arizona side. Immediately across the current flow of the river is Deer Island, shared between California and Arizona based on a previous course of the river as is much of the California/Arizona border.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 11.4 square miles (30 km²). 10.8 square miles (28 km²) of it is land and 0.5 square miles (1.3 km²) of it (4.60%) is water.

Parks and Recreation

Parks in Big River are administered by the Big River Community Service District ^[3]

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1990	705		—
2000	1,266		79.6%
2010	1,327		4.8%
2020	1,084		−18.3%
U.S. Decennial Census [4] 1850–1870 [5] [6] 1880-1890 [7] 1900 [8] 1910 [9] 1920 [10] 1930 [11] 1940 [12] 1950 [13] 1960 [14] 1970 [15] 1980 [16] 1990 [17] 2000 [18] 2010 [19]

2020

The 2020 United States census reported that Big River had a population of 1,084. The population density was 100.1 inhabitants per square mile (38.6/km²). The racial makeup of Big River was 76.6% White, 0.9% African American, 7.1% Native American, 0.9% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 3.6% from other races, and 10.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 15.4% of the population.

The whole population lived in households. There were 550 households, out of which 14.4% included children under the age of 18, 34.7% were married-couple households, 8.7% were cohabiting couple households, 30.9% had a female householder with no partner present, and 25.6% had a male householder with no partner present. 40.4% of households were one person, and 23.6% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 1.97. There were 272 families (49.5% of all households).

The age distribution was 11.5% under the age of 18, 4.4% aged 18 to 24, 14.5% aged 25 to 44, 31.1% aged 45 to 64, and 38.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 59.8 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.5 males.

There were 1,014 housing units at an average density of 93.6 units per square mile (36.1 units/km²), of which 550 (54.2%) were occupied. Of these, 80.0% were owner-occupied, and 20.0% were occupied by renters. ^{[20] [21]}

Government

In the California State Legislature, Big River is in the 18th senatorial district , represented by Democrat Steve Padilla, and in the 36th Assembly district , represented by Republican Jeff Gonzalez. ^[22]

In the United States House of Representatives, Big River is in California's 25th congressional district , represented by Democrat Raul Ruiz. ^[23]

References

1. "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
2. "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
3. "Big River CSD Big River, CA 92242". www.bigrivercsd.org. Retrieved September 18, 2022.
4. "Decennial Census by Decade". United States Census Bureau .
5. "1870 Census of Population - Population of Civil Divisions less than Counties - California - Almeda County to Sutter County" (PDF). United States Census Bureau .
6. "1870 Census of Population - Population of Civil Divisions less than Counties - California - Tehama County to Yuba County" (PDF). United States Census Bureau .
7. "1890 Census of Population - Population of California by Minor Civil Divisions" (PDF). United States Census Bureau .
8. "1900 Census of Population - Population of California by Counties and Minor Civil Divisions" (PDF). United States Census Bureau .
9. "1910 Census of Population - Supplement for California" (PDF). United States Census Bureau .
10. "1920 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - California" (PDF). United States Census Bureau .
11. "1930 Census of Population - Number and Distribution of Inhabitants - California" (PDF). United States Census Bureau .
12. "1940 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - California" (PDF). United States Census Bureau .
13. "1950 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - California" (PDF). United States Census Bureau .
14. "1960 Census of Population - General population Characteristics - California" (PDF). United States Census Bureau .
15. "1970 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - California" (PDF). United States Census Bureau .
16. "1980 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - California" (PDF). United States Census Bureau .
17. "1990 Census of Population - Population and Housing Unit Counts - California" (PDF). United States Census Bureau .
18. "2000 Census of Population - Population and Housing Unit Counts - California" (PDF). United States Census Bureau .
19. "2010 Census of Population - Population and Housing Unit Counts - California" (PDF). United States Census Bureau .
20. "Big River CDP, California; DP1: Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics - 2020 Census of Population and Housing". US Census Bureau. Retrieved April 4, 2025.
21. "Big River CDP, California; P16: Household Type - 2020 Census of Population and Housing". US Census Bureau. Retrieved April 4, 2025.
22. "Statewide Database". Regents of the University of California. Archived from the original on February 1, 2015. Retrieved April 6, 2015.
23. "California's 25th Congressional District - Representatives & District Map". Civic Impulse, LLC.