Los Gatos is a town located in Santa Clara County, California. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 28,592. It is located on the edge of Silicon Valley on the southwest corner of San Jose on the hilly edge of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Homes are mostly upscale, varying from million-dollar cottages in the village itself to large custom homes in the surrounding hills. The town is noted for its many antique stores and upscale but small-town downtown.

Los Gatos is Spanish, meaning the cats. The name derives from the Spanish land-grant that encompassed the area, which was called La Rinconada de Los Gatos, ("the corner of the cats"), where "the cats" refers to the mountain lions that are indigenous to the coastal mountain range in whose foothills the town nestles. The name is normally pronounced in anglicized form, sounding like las gaddis, although one also hears pronunciations truer to the original Spanish, lohs GAH tos.

Geography

Los Gatos is located at 37°14'10" North, 121°57'42" West (37.236044, -121.961768)¹.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 28.0 km² (10.8 mi²). 27.7 km² (10.7 mi²) of it is land and 0.3 km² (0.1 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 0.93% water.

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there are 28,592 people, 11,988 households, and 7,300 families residing in the town. The population density is 1,030.8/km² (2,669.1/mi²). There are 12,367 housing units at an average density of 445.8/km² (1,154.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the town is 86.68% White, 0.79% African American, 0.30% Native American, 7.60% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 1.28% from other races, and 3.27% from two or more races. 5.21% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 11,988 households out of which 27.3% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.9% are married couples living together, 7.2% have a female householder with no husband present, and 39.1% are non-families. 29.7% of all households are made up of individuals and 10.0% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.33 and the average family size is 2.93.

In the town the population is spread out with 21.2% under the age of 18, 4.3% from 18 to 24, 31.5% from 25 to 44, 27.7% from 45 to 64, and 15.3% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 41 years. For every 100 females there are 90.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 87.2 males.

The median income for a household in the town is $94,319, and the median income for a family is $119,194. Males have a median income of $89,420 versus $57,596 for females. The per capita income for the town is $56,094. 4.3% of the population and 3.1% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 4.4% of those under the age of 18 and 5.6% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

External links

• Town of Los Gatos Official Web Site (http://www.town.los-gatos.ca.us/)
• Los Gatos Observed: Non-commercial News and Info (http://losgatosobserved.com/)
• MapQuest's map of Los Gatos (http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?address=&city=Los%20Gatos&state=CA&zip=&country=US)
• Maps and aerial photos
  • Street map from Mapquest (http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?latlongtype=decimal&latitude=37.236044&longitude=-121.961768&zoom=6)
  • Topographic map from Topozone (http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?lat=37.236044&lon=-121.961768&s=200&size=m&layer=DRG100)
  • Aerial photograph from Microsoft Terraserver (http://terraserver.microsoft.com/map.aspx?t=1&s=14&lon=-121.961768&lat=37.236044&w=750&h=500)