Winters by the numbers

from Explore Winters and the Capay Valley 2021

Winters Friends of the Library

Publisher

It’s a running gag in Winters, when meeting a neighbor, to ask them how long they’ve been living in town. No matter what the reply, from five years to five decades, the same punchline applies: “Oh I see, you’re also new to town!”

The truth is, in a small town with deep roots into its California history branching among so few people, it’s easy to feel like a Winters greenhorn. But according to data prepared by business analytics and mapping firm Esri, there are more newcomers to town than one might think when seeing such a strong spirit of hometown cultural heritage and historical preservation.

Drawing a five-mile circle around my northeastern Winters home, the biggest cohort of people in the area, 22 percent, moved to town between 2000 to 2009. And only 4 percent of households moved to town before 1980, an amount roughly the same as the number of people who moved here since 2015.

The town, itself, is older. 18 percent of houses were built before 1940. Between 2000 and 2010, there was roughly only a 2 percent increase in housing units.

A look at Winters by the numbers can be interesting.

There are roughly 9,323 people in a five-mile radius, with 3,193 households and 3,299 housing units. 21 percent of people live in a rural setting. During the day 7,312 people are around, with 2,743 of them workers and 4,569 of them residents.

75 percent of people are adults. 10 percent of people are aged 65 or older. 2,493 individuals are aged three and older and enrolled in some sort of school.

The area saw 1 percent population growth between 2000 and 2010. The annual growth rate is expected to be 0.78 percent over the next five years.

There are 2,379 families as of 2019, with the average family size expected to shrink by 32 percent over the next 5 years. 41 percent of households have children. 6 percent are multigenerational households. 6 percent of households are unmarried partners. 5 percent are veterans, with 50 percent of those serving in Vietnam and 16 percent serving in the Gulf War or later. About 39 percent of households have a Hispanic family member. About 5 percent report mixed-race households.

The median age is 37.5. In five years it’s expected to be 39.1. 24 percent of households have someone 65 or older in it. 4,417 working individuals aged 16 or older, working mostly in private enterprise. About 11 percent work for the government and 7 percent work for themselves. Only 3 percent of people walk to work and 4 percent use public transportation to get to work. 8 percent carpool and 73 percent drive themselves to work. 23 percent of people can get to work in under 10 minutes. Most people get there under 25 minutes. 7 percent of people commute 90 minutes or more, sometimes to the Bay Area.

Most households, 55 percent, have two or more vehicles. The largest group, 22 percent, are two-person households, but most are three or more family members. 43 percent have kids. 90 percent of those households are married couples.

The average income is $77,194 and expected to increase to $92,216 by 2024. 38 percent of households earn more than $100,000 a year. 30 percent make less than $50,000. 8 percent of people live below the poverty level. 78 percent of people live at twice that rate or more. 2 percent of people receive public assistance income. 6 percent are on SNAP or food stamps. 23 percent of households have a person with some sort of disability. 24 percent of people receive Social Security Income. 10 percent of adults aged 25 and older do not have a high school degree. 18 percent are, max, high school graduates, 26 percent have a college degree and 10 percent have completed graduate studies. 95 percent of people aged 16 or older are employed in some fashion. 53 percent of households have white-collar workers, with 26 blue-collar workers. 21 percent work in services. 16 percent of local employees work in agriculture and 36 percent work in retail, with 15 percent of them working in restaurants.

The largest group of local businesses, 31 percent, are in services industries. 7 percent of those are restaurants. 21 percent of businesses are in retail trade and 18 percent of businesses are construction or agriculture.

In the five-mile area, people spent $18 million on food at home ($5,800 per person per year) and $13 million on food away from home ($4,200 per person per year). $20 million went to health care ($6,400 per person), $69 million went to shelter ($22,500 per person) and $11 million to entertainment ($3,700 per person). $8.4 million went to travel ($2,700), $10.7 million went to apparel, personal care and services ($3,400 per person) and $3.8 million was spent on vehicles and maintenance ($1,200 per person per year). 16 percent of people have an auto loan. 29 percent of people have a single mortgage. 56 percent have savings accounts and 62 percent have at least one debit card. 14 percent have a 401(k) plan and 29 percent invest in securities. 22 percent have 2 or fewer credit cards. 8 percent have six or more. 30 percent never or rarely carry a credit card balance, 20 percent always do. 71 percent of homes are occupied by families. 78 percent of homeowners have a mortgage. 65 percent of those have no second mortgage or home equity loan. 24 percent of homeowners owning their house free and clear. 36 percent of households are renters. Renters tend to be new to town, with 20 percent moving to town between 2010 and 2014. Rental units tend to contract from $1,000 to $2,000, with a median rent of $1,069. Most renters spend between 15 and 35 percent of their income on rent, with a gross percentage of 13 percent of household income spent on rent.

There is an overall vacancy rate of about 5 percent.

The median home value is now $430,399 and expected to grow to $476,642

Winter Express graphic