Mettler, California

Mettler, California
Unincorporated community Census-designated place
A watermelon stand in Mettler
Location in Kern County and the state of California
Mettler, California Location in the United States
Coordinates: 35°03′50″N118°58′12″W / 35.06389°N 118.97000°W / 35.06389; -118.97000
Country	United States
State	California
County	Kern
Government
•  Senate	Shannon Grove (R) [1]
•  Assembly	Stan Ellis (R) [1]
•  U. S. Congress	Vince Fong (R) [2]
Area [3]
• Total	0.232 sq mi (0.602 km2)
• Land	0.232 sq mi (0.602 km2)
• Water	0 sq mi (0 km2)  0%
Elevation [4]	541 ft (165 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	90
• Density	390/sq mi (150/km2)
Time zone	UTC-8 (PST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-7 (PDT)
ZIP code	93381
Area code	661
FIPS code	06-47164
GNIS feature ID	0245837

Mettler, or Mettler Station, is an unincorporated area in Kern County, California. Actor James Dean received a speeding ticket here the same day as his fatal car accident. The population was 90 at the 2020 census, down from 136 at the 2010 census. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined that community as a census-designated place (CDP).

History

Founding

According to the publication California's Geographic Names, Mettler was founded in 1941, ^[5] but an obituary of Clifford Alvin Mettler in The Bakersfield Californian reported that the settlement was founded by him, his father, William H. Mettler, and his brother (unnamed) in the "late 1940s" in the Wheeler Ridge area, which settlement "later became known as Mettler Station." ^[6]

James Dean

On September 30, 1955, motion picture actor James Dean was driving north on Highway U.S. 99 when he was stopped by California Highway Patrol officer O.V. Hunter and given a ticket for speeding. The officer wrote Mettler Station as the location of the infraction. Later that day, Dean would be killed in a fatal car crash as he continued his journey north. ^[7]

Geography

Mettler is 25 miles (40 km) south of Bakersfield. The locality has an area of 0.2 square miles (0.52 km²) and an elevation of 541 feet (165 m). [4]

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
2000	157		—
2010	136		−13.4%
2020	90		−33.8%
U.S. Decennial Census [8] 1860–1870 [9] [10] 1880-1890 [11] 1900 [12] 1910 [13] 1920 [14] 1930 [15] 1940 [16] 1950 [17] 1960 [18] [19] 1970 [20] 1980 [21] 1990 [22] 2000 [23] 2010 [24] 2020 [25]

Mettler first appeared as a census designated place in the 2000 U.S. census. ^[23]

2020

Mettler CDP, California – Racial and ethnic composition
Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.

Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)	Pop 2000 [26]	Pop 2010 [27]	Pop 2020 [25]	% 2000	% 2010	% 2020
White alone (NH)	24	23	21	15.29%	16.91%	23.33%
Black or African American alone (NH)	0	0	0	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	0	0	1	0.00%	0.00%	1.11%
Asian alone (NH)	0	0	0	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)	0	0	0	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%
Other race alone (NH)	0	1	0	0.00%	0.74%	0.00%
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)	0	3	4	0.00%	2.21%	4.44%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	133	109	64	84.71%	80.15%	71.11%
Total	157	136	90	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%

At the 2020 census Mettler is reported as having a population of 90. However, due to the margins of error introduced by the application of differential privacy algorithms as a "top down" disclosure avoidance measure to the 2020 census data, along with the various other operational issues ^[28] related to the simultaneous COVID-19 pandemic this population number is questionable.

2010

At the 2010 census Mettler had a population of 136. The population density was 584.8 inhabitants per square mile (225.8/km²). The racial makeup of Mettler was 74 (54.4%) White, 0 (0.0%) African American, 0 (0.0%) Native American, 0 (0.0%) Asian, 0 (0.0%) Pacific Islander, 43 (31.6%) from other races, and 19 (14.0%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 109 people (80.1%). ^[29]

The whole population lived in households, no one lived in non-institutionalized group quarters and no one was institutionalized.

There were 31 households, 17 (54.8%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 17 (54.8%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 8 (25.8%) had a female householder with no husband present, 2 (6.5%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 2 (6.5%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 0 (0%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 4 households (12.9%) were one person and 1 (3.2%) had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 4.39. There were 27 families (87.1% of households); the average family size was 4.74.

The age distribution was 37 people (27.2%) under the age of 18, 24 people (17.6%) aged 18 to 24, 30 people (22.1%) aged 25 to 44, 34 people (25.0%) aged 45 to 64, and 11 people (8.1%) who were 65 or older. The median age was 28.5 years. For every 100 females, there were 109.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 130.2 males.

There were 36 housing units at an average density of 154.8 per square mile, of the occupied units 18 (58.1%) were owner-occupied and 13 (41.9%) were rented. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0%; the rental vacancy rate was 0%. 62 people (45.6% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 74 people (54.4%) lived in rental housing units.

2000

At the 2000 census 157 people lived in 31 households (37 housing units). The average household size was about five people. Mettler's population was about six years younger than California at large. ^[30]

2000 figures	Mettler	California	United States
Median age	27	33.3	35.3
White	47.1%	59.5%	75.1%
African-American	None	6.7%	12.3%
Hispanic/Latino	84.7%	32.4%	12.5%
Family income	$28,750	$53,025	$50,046
Poverty families	5.9%	10.6%	9.2%
Med. home value	$71,500	$211,500	$119,600
High school diploma	42.1%	76.8%	80.4%
College degree	7.0%	28.6%	24.4%

References

1. "Final Maps | California Citizens Redistricting Commission" . Retrieved October 9, 2025.
2. "California's 20th Congressional District - Representatives & District Map". Civic Impulse, LLC. Retrieved October 9, 2025.
3. "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved June 27, 2025.
4. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Mettler, California
5. Durham, David L. (1998). California's Geographic Names: A Gazetteer of Historic and Modern Names of the State. Clovis, California: Word Dancer Press. ISBN   1-884995-14-4.
6. Bakersfield Californian, April 30, 2006
7. Warren Newton Beath, The Death of James Dean, Grove Press, 1994, pages 35 and 80.
8. "Decennial Census by Decade". United States Census Bureau .
9. "1870 Census of Population - Population of Civil Divisions less than Counties - California - Almeda County to Sutter County" (PDF). United States Census Bureau . Archived from the original (PDF) on January 26, 2025 – via Wayback Machine.
10. "1870 Census of Population - Population of Civil Divisions less than Counties - California - Tehama County to Yuba County" (PDF). United States Census Bureau . Archived from the original (PDF) on February 2, 2025 – via Wayback Machine.
11. "1890 Census of Population - Population of California by Minor Civil Divisions" (PDF). United States Census Bureau . Archived from the original (PDF) on March 11, 2025 – via Wayback Machine.
12. "1900 Census of Population - Population of California by Counties and Minor Civil Divisions" (PDF). United States Census Bureau . Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2025 – via Wayback Machine.
13. "1910 Census of Population - Supplement for California" (PDF). United States Census Bureau . Archived from the original (PDF) on April 4, 2025. Retrieved February 4, 2025– via Wayback Machine.
14. "1920 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - California" (PDF). United States Census Bureau . Archived from the original (PDF) on April 28, 2025 – via Wayback Machine.
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16. "1940 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - California" (PDF). United States Census Bureau . Archived from the original (PDF) on January 26, 2025 – via Wayback Machine.
17. "1950 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - California" (PDF). United States Census Bureau . Archived from the original (PDF) on February 19, 2025 – via Wayback Machine.
18. "1960 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - California" (PDF). United States Census Bureau . Archived from the original (PDF) on March 22, 2025 – via Wayback Machine.
19. "1960 Census of Population - General population Characteristics - California" (PDF). United States Census Bureau . Archived from the original (PDF) on March 22, 2025 – via Wayback Machine.
20. "1970 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - California" (PDF). United States Census Bureau . Archived from the original (PDF) on February 26, 2025 – via Wayback Machine.
21. "1980 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - California" (PDF). United States Census Bureau . Archived from the original (PDF) on January 26, 2025 – via Wayback Machine.
22. "1990 Census of Population - Population and Housing Unit Counts - California" (PDF). United States Census Bureau . Archived from the original (PDF) on January 26, 2025 – via Wayback Machine.
23. "2000 Census of Population - Population and Housing Unit Counts - California" (PDF). United States Census Bureau . Archived from the original (PDF) on March 22, 2025 – via Wayback Machine.
24. "2010 Census of Population - Population and Housing Unit Counts - California" (PDF). United States Census Bureau . Archived from the original (PDF) on March 28, 2025 – via Wayback Machine.
25. "P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Mettler CDP, California". United States Census Bureau .
26. "P004: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2000: DEC Summary File 1 – Mettler CDP, California". United States Census Bureau .
27. "P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Mettler CDP, California". United States Census Bureau .
28. Passel, D’Vera Cohn and Jeffrey S. (June 8, 2022). "Key facts about the quality of the 2020 census". Pew Research Center. Retrieved November 6, 2025.
29. "2010 Census Interactive Population Search: CA - Mettler CDP". U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on July 15, 2014. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
30. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved January 31, 2008.

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