Mountain Center, California

Mountain Center
Unincorporated community census-designated place
Location in Riverside County, California
Mountain Center Location within the state of California Show map of California Mountain Center Mountain Center (the United States) Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 33°42′15″N116°43′33″W / 33.70417°N 116.72583°W / 33.70417; -116.72583
Country	United States
State	California
County	Riverside
Area [1]
• Total	1.886 sq mi (4.885 km2)
• Land	1.884 sq mi (4.881 km2)
• Water	0.002 sq mi (0.004 km2)  0.09%
Elevation [2]	4,518 ft (1,377 m)
Population  (2020) [3]
• Total	66
• Density	35/sq mi (14/km2)
Time zone	UTC-8 (Pacific (PST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-7 (PDT)
ZIP codes	92561
GNIS feature IDs	1661073; 2629133

Mountain Center is an unincorporated community and census-designated place ^[4] in the San Jacinto Mountains, within western central Riverside County, California.

Geography

It lies centered on the junction of State Route 74 and State Route 243 in the southern division of San Bernardino National Forest. Mountain Center lies just north of Lake Hemet, midway between Hemet and Palm Desert, just south of the town of Idyllwild, and it is southeast of the city of Riverside, the county seat of Riverside County. ^[5] Its elevation is 4,518 feet (1,377 m). ^[2] Although Mountain Center is unincorporated, it has a post office, with the ZIP code of 92561. ^[6]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP covers an area of 1.9 square miles (4.9 km²), 99.91% of it land, and 0.09% of it water.

Lake Hemet is the only major body of water in Mountain Center. ^[7]

The Mountain Fire and the Cranston Fire burn scars remain visible in the community.

Demographics

The 2020 United States census reported that Mountain Center had a population of 66. The population density was 35.0 inhabitants per square mile (13.5/km²). The racial makeup of Mountain Center was 51 (77%) White, 0 (0%) African American, 1 (2%) Native American, 1 (2%) Asian, 0 (0%) Pacific Islander, 0 (0%) from other races, and 13 (20%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 9 persons (14%). ^[8]

The whole population lived in households. There were 39 households, out of which 2 (5%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 23 (59%) were married-couple households, 0 (0%) were cohabiting couple households, 3 (8%) had a female householder with no partner present, and 13 (33%) had a male householder with no partner present. 9 households (23%) were one person, and 2 (5%) were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 1.69. ^[8] There were 27 families (69% of all households). ^[9]

The age distribution was 9 people (14%) under the age of 18, 1 people (2%) aged 18 to 24, 13 people (20%) aged 25 to 44, 29 people (44%) aged 45 to 64, and 14 people (21%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 54.3 years. There were 35 males and 31 females. ^[8]

There were 43 housing units at an average density of 22.8 units per square mile (8.8 units/km²), of which 39 (91%) were occupied. Of these, 27 (69%) were owner-occupied, and 12 (31%) were occupied by renters. ^[8]

Government

Federal:

• In the United States House of Representatives, Mountain Center is in California's 41st congressional district , represented by Republican Ken Calvert. ^[10]
• In the United States Senate, California is represented by Democrats Alex Padilla and Laphonza Butler.

State:

• In the California State Legislature, Mountain Center is in the 32nd Senate District, represented by Republican Kelly Seyarto, and in the 71st Assembly district , represented by Republican Kate Sanchez. ^[11]

Local:

• In the Riverside County Board of Supervisors, Mountain Center is in the Third District, represented by Chuck Washington. ^[12]
• In the jurisdiction of the Riverside County Sheriff's Department, with Sheriff Chad Bianco. ^[13]
• Fire service is provided by Riverside County Fire through a cooperative agreement with CAL FIRE
• Emergency medical service is provided by American Medical Response (AMR); however, the Idyllwild Fire Protection District is often the de facto emergency medical service under mutual aid due to its being in closer proximity than AMR.

Transportation

Forest Folk, using a grant from the Riverside County Transportation Commission, operates the Idyllwild Shuttle, which provides door-to-door service. ^[14]

Education

It is in the Hemet Unified School District. ^[15]

See also

• Idyllwild-Pine Cove, California
• Pinyon Pines, California
• San Jacinto Mountains topics

References

1. "U.S. Census". Archived from the original on January 25, 2012.
2. "Mountain Center". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. January 19, 1981. Retrieved April 29, 2008.
3. "US Census Bureau". www.census.gov. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
4. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Mountain Center, California
5. Rand McNally. The Road Atlas '08. Chicago: Rand McNally, 2008, p. 15.
6. "Free ZIP Code Lookup with area code, county, geocode, MSA/PMSA, population". www.zipinfo.com.
7. "Lake Hemet". Lake Hemet.
8. "Mountain Center CDP, California; DP1: Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics - 2020 Census of Population and Housing". US Census Bureau. Retrieved May 29, 2025.
9. "Mountain Center CDP, California; P16: Household Type - 2020 Census of Population and Housing". US Census Bureau. Retrieved May 29, 2025.
10. "California's 41st Congressional District - Representatives & District Map". Civic Impulse, LLC.
11. "Statewide Database". Regents of the University of California. Archived from the original on February 1, 2015. Retrieved May 1, 2015.
12. "Our District". Riverside County District 3.
13. "Riverside County Sheriff, CA | Official Website". www.riversidesheriff.org.
14. "Forest Folk". forestfolk.org.
15. "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Riverside County, CA" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. p. 3 (PDF p. 4/6). Retrieved October 4, 2024. - Text list