Ord 2007-028 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Chapter 2 Sector Three Today The People The People SWT has a major influence on San Marcos. It is the city's largest employer, with about 2,500 employees, and its students, both on and off campus, make up a quarter of San Marcos' residents in 1996. Sector Three's demographic profile is impacted by the university's presence because it is situated fairly close to SWT. Sector Three is affected by being part of a "college town ", where the majority of adults are young, single, renters. According to the 1990 Census, of the adults in this sector, 46% are between the ages 18 -24, 64% have never been married, and 72% rent their homes. These figures are very close to the averages for the city as a whole. In Sector Three, the percentages of people over 24 (40 %) and married (30 %) are equal to city as a whole. However, of the 30% of married couples in Sector Three, only one -third of those couples have children, compared to one -half for the city as a whole. The percentage of widowed persons (2 %) is half the city's rate (4 %) and the percentage of divorced people is slightly lower (4% vs. 5 %) in Sector Three. Overall household size (HHS) in Sector Three (2.22 persons) is lower than that for the city as a whole (2.92). Family HHS in the sector is 2.86, while non - family HHS is 1.74. Ethnically, according to the 1990 Census, there is a larger percentage of White non - Hispanics in Sector Three than the city as a whole (84% vs. 57 %), a lower percentage of Hispanics (12% vs. 37 %) and Blacks (2% vs. 5 %), and a equal percentage of American Indians, Asians, and Others (1%). Demographic tables for Sector Three are presented on the following page. Current Population Estimating current population requires an accurate knowledge of the existing housing stock, and reliable estimates of household size and housing occupancy rate. It also assumes there is an accurate base population count. The base count for Sector Three is the block -level 1990 Census Bureau count for the City of San Marcos. Household size was also derived from these block level figures. The December 1996 housing survey of Sector Three by the City of San Marcos Planning and Development Services Department provided an current count of the housing stock. An assumption of 98% occupancy was used. The population estimate was derived by multiplying the current housing stock (owner occupied and renter occupied units) by the occupancy rate (98 %), producing as estimate of occupied housing units for each housing type. These were then multiplied by the average household size (2.17 persons for renter occupied units and 2.91 for owner pimp)