Winters Ranch

Winters is a city in Yolo County, California, located 11 miles from Vacaville, approximately 30 miles from Sacramento and about 60 miles from San Francisco. The population was 6,624 as of the 2010 census. It is part of the Sacramento–Arden-Arcade–Roseville Metropolitan Statistical Area with a total area of 2.9 square miles. The city is near Lake Berryessa. It is noted as the one-time residence of cartoonist R. Crumb and former baseball player Frank Demaree.

Its weather consists of warm, mostly dry summers and cool, wet winters. Average January temperatures are a maximum of 55.2 °F and a minimum of 37.0 °F. Average July temperatures are a maximum of 96.7 °F and a minimum of 59.8 °F. There are an average of 102.0 days with highs of 90 °F or higher and an average of 20.3 days with lows of 32 °F. The record high temperature was 115 °F on June 16, 1961, and July 14, 1972. The record low temperature was 15 °F on December 23, 1990.

Average annual precipitation is 21.94 inches. There is an average of 64 days with measurable precipitation. The wettest year was 1983 with 47.12 inches and the driest year was 1976 with 6.60 inches. The most rainfall in one month was 17.21 inches in January 1995. The most rainfall in 24 hours was 7.25 inches on March 29, 1907. Snowfall is a rarity in Winters, but 3.3 inches fell in January 1973 and 1.0 inch fell in December 1988.

The Winters post office was established in 1875. It was incorporated in1898. The city’s name is in honor of Theodore Winters, who provided half of the town’s land. Another important early pioneer, John Reid Wolfskill, started the agricultural development of the Sacramento Valley here, planting orchards and vineyards in 1842. In 1935, Wolfskill’s heirs deeded 100 acres of the Wolfskill Ranch in Winters to the University of California, Davis, which had been founded in 1908. The land was to be used for an experimental orchard.

According to Winters’ 2011 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:

# – Employer – # of Employees
1 – Winters Joint Unified School District – 220
2 – Mariani Nut Company – 200
3 – Buckhorn Restaurant Group – 100
4 – Double M Trucking – 70
5 – Pavestone – 50

The 2010 United States Census reported that Winters had a population of 6,624. The population density was 2,255.2 people per square mile. The racial makeup of Winters was 4,635 (70.0%) White, 43 (0.6%) African American, 56 (0.8%) Native American, 63 (1.0%) Asian, 7 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 1,488 (22.5%) from other races, and 332 (5.0%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3,469 persons (52.4%).

The Census reported that 6,618 people (99.9% of the population) lived in households, 6 (0.1%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized.

There were 2,186 households, out of which 949 (43.4%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 1,322 (60.5%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 255 (11.7%) had a female householder with no husband present, 134 (6.1%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 123 (5.6%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 16 (0.7%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 365 households (16.7%) were made up of individuals and 134 (6.1%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.03. There were 1,711 families (78.3% of all households); the average family size was 3.40.

The population was spread out with 1,707 people (25.8%) under the age of 18, 741 people (11.2%) aged 18 to 24, 1,707 people (25.8%) aged 25 to 44, 1,868 people (28.2%) aged 45 to 64, and 601 people (9.1%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35.9 years. For every 100 females there were 102.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.9 males.

There were 2,299 housing units at an average density of 782.7 per square mile, of which 1,425 (65.2%) were owner-occupied, and 761 (34.8%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.7%; the rental vacancy rate was 5.0%. 4,401 people (66.4% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 2,217 people (33.5%) lived in rental housing units.