Local city information for Lancaster, CA

Lancaster is the eighth-largest city in Los Angeles County and the 9th fastest growing city in the United States. Lancaster is located approximately 70 miles (112.5 km) north (by road travel) of the city of Los Angeles in Southern California's Antelope Valley. It is separated from the Los Angeles Basin by the San Gabriel Mountain Range to the south and from Bakersfield and the San Joaquin Valley by the Tehachapi Mountain Range to the north. The City of Lancaster has grown from 37,000 residents at the time of incorporation in 1977, to an estimated 145,074 residents in 2009, and is the second-largest city on the California side of the Mojave Desert. the 2009 population estimate, the Palmdale / Lancaster, CA Urbanized Area (a US Census Bureau defined term) has a population of 476,845.

The community of Lancaster California was settled in the late 19th century by M.L. Wicks, a real estate developer who purchased six sections of land from the Southern Pacific Railroad (now merged into the Union Pacific Railroad). The origin of the city's name is debated among historians, but it is presumed to be named after Lancaster, Pennsylvania or (most likely) Lancaster, England.

Early in its history, Lancaster was little more than a whistle-stop on the Southern Pacific Railroad between San Francisco and Los Angeles, with one hotel, the Gilwyn (known today as the Western Hotel), and a handful of homes. The settlement grew quickly, however, and by 1890, Lancaster was quite prosperous. The town experienced another small boom at the turn of the 20th century when gold and borax were discovered simultaneously in the mountains around the Antelope Valley.

The real establishment of the City of Lancaster, however, came with the advent of the Aerospace Industry. As early in flight history as 1930, the Air Force began conducting flight tests at Muroc Air Field (now Edwards Air Force Base) and Lancaster has grown steadily since that time. It is home to many employees of Edwards Air Force Base, as well as to employees of Boeing, Lockheed, and Northrop, all of which have plants in Palmdale at U.S. Air Force Plant 42.

Until it was incorporated, the area was under the political influence of Los Angeles County. Citizens in the area felt a need for better interaction with their policy making body and local control, but feared annexation by nearby Palmdale, (which had already incorporated itself into a city in 1962) and with the work of the local body called Citizens for Incorporation, independent cityhood became a reality for Lancaster in 1977.

The first wave of home buyers to Lancaster from the L.A. area came in the 1970s, known as "escapees" and employees in the booming aviation industry. The city grew astoundingly, with the population doubled throughout the 1980s, from 45,000 people to 97,000 by 1990 to make Lancaster a large suburban city.

Since incorporation in 1977, the City of Lancaster has grown in size and diversity. Today, Lancaster, California is the largest city named Lancaster in the world. For a list of others, see Lancaster (disambiguation). With inexpensive land and business-friendly policies, the City today attracts national and local companies in many businesses and industries as well as families pursuing the American Dream of homeownership in a close community. Throughout its recent growth, Lancaster has retained a family-focused hometown spirit. The median age for residents is 31. The city morphed into one of a bedroom community for urban professionals who drive to work in Los Angeles. The city has also been recently named one of the top 100 most dangerous cities in the United States, ranking 80th. Until recently, the home values continued to soar to new highs, but have remained fairly affordable compared to most of Southern California. The so called "housing bubble", fueled mostly by subprime mortgage failures, has recently caused a dramatic spike in foreclosures within the city, and thus some property values have begun to fall.

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