Background
A. AREA PROFILE
Mono County is located on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada mountain range and is bordered to the east by the state of Nevada. Approximately 94% of the county's 3,103 square miles is publicly owned; as a result, tourism and recreation-oriented enterprises are the primary economic activity in the county. The major population center, and the county's only incorporated area, is the town of Mammoth Lakes. The remainder of the county's residents are scattered in small communities throughout the county.
Communities in the county include: Topaz, Coleville and Walker in the Antelope Valley; Bridgeport, the county seat, in the Bridgeport Valley; Mono City and Lee Vining in the Mono Basin; June Lake in the June Lake Loop; Long Valley, McGee Creek, Crowley Lake, Aspen Springs and Sunny Slopes in Long Valley; Swall Meadows and Paradise in the Wheeler Crest area; and Chalfant, Hammil and Benton in the Tri-Valley.
B. SOURCES FOR DEMOGRAPHIC & HOUSING DATA
The majority of the demographic and housing data in the following sections are from the U.S. Census 2010. The census data presented here are a synopsis of the data available from Census 2010. Complete census files can be found at http://factfinder.census.gov. Additional demographic and economic information was obtained from the California Department of Finance (www.dof.ca.gov), HCD, and the Mono County IT department.
C. CENSUS 2010
The 2010 census went to great efforts to reach every individual housing unit, however the census did not include the “long form” that in past census’ has provided much of the detailed demographic information. Starting in 2005, an annual survey, the American Community Survey (ACS), has been sent to a small sample population and replaced the traditional long form format. While promising to deliver much more accurate and timely demographic information in the future, due to the small population size of our communities, there is currently a large amount of error in the ACS data. This error will decrease over time, but portions of the 2010 ACS data are too unreliable and in this document, the 2000 census figures are retained when error in the 2010 ACS is assumed to be high.
Census Designated Place (CDP) A CDP is a concentration of population identified by the Census Bureau for statistical purposes. 89.3% of the population in the unincorporated county lives within one of the 15 CDPs identified in Mono County and therefore the CDP has replaced the use of census tracts/blocks for general demographic analysis.
