Cayucos, California

thumb|Cayucos Landing, 1883. Captain Cass's warehouse still stands, though his pier has been rebuilt.

thumb|Cayucos as seen from Highway 1

thumb|Cayucos Pier and [[Cayucos State Beach at sunrise with Morro Rock visible in the background]]

thumb|July 4th Parade in Cayucos, 2010. Parking is at a premium for this very popular annual event.

Cayucos (Spanish for "Canoes") is an unincorporated coastal town in San Luis Obispo County, California, along California State Route 1 between Cambria to the north and Morro Bay to the south. The population was 2,505 at the 2020 census, down from 2,592 at the 2010 census.

Etymology

Cayucos is named for the cayuco, a Spanish name for a small canoe. It was named after the canoes used by the Chumash people to fish in the bay, particularly in the rich kelp beds just north of the current Cayucos pier. The town took its name from the old Rancho Moro y Cayucos, a Mexican land grant awarded in 1842 that includes the present area of the town. The Chumash in this area spoke the Obispeño language.

The first European land exploration of Alta California, the Spanish Portolà expedition, camped in the vicinity of today's Cayucos on September 9, 1769. Coming from the previous campsite near Morro Bay, Franciscan missionary and expedition member Juan Crespi noted in his diary that "In the four hours that we traveled, making at the most three leagues, we encountered eight arroyos by which the water from the mountains runs to the sea, along whose edge we traveled. We halted at the eighth watering place in a moderately broad valley, into which enters an estuary fed by an arroyo of good water coming from the mountains."

After sustained contact with European settlers, many indigenous peoples in the area died from diseases. Others left the area to avoid being taken to Spanish missions, such as Mission San Luis Obispo.

On December 7, 1987, Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 1771, bound from Los Angeles International Airport to San Francisco, was cruising above the central California coast when a recently terminated disgruntled USAir employee aboard the plane shot his ex-supervisor, both pilots, a flight attendant and presumably PSA's chief pilot, before deliberately inducing a steep nosedive with the aircraft. The aircraft slammed into a hillside just east of Cayucos at . All 43 passengers and crew aboard perished.

In October 2009, Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel Magazine listed Cayucos as one of the "Coolest Small Towns in America".

In 2025, emergency repairs were made to the Cayucos Pier after damage from winter storms of the previous year damaged the end of it.

Geography

Cayucos is located at (35.438390, -120.890647).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , of which, of it is land and of it (23.15%) is water. 1850–1870 1880–1890 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990

2000 2010

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2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Cayucos had a population of 2,505, and the population density was . The Census reported that 2,505 people (100% of the population) lived in households. 96.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 4.0% lived in rural areas.

There were 1,244 households, out of which 15.1% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 44.9% were married-couple households, 5.4% were cohabiting couple households, 31.3% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present, and 18.5% had a male householder with no spouse or partner present. About 36.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 19.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.01. There were 695 families (55.9% of all households).

2010 census

The 2010 United States census reported that Cayucos had a population of 2,592. The population density was . The racial makeup of Cayucos was 2,366 (91.3%) White, 6 (0.2%) African American, 12 (0.5%) Native American, 54 (2.1%) Asian, 8 (0.3%) Pacific Islander, 57 (2.2%) from other races, and 89 (3.4%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 207 persons (8.0%).

The Census reported that 2,592 people (100% of the population) lived in households, 0 (0%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized.

There were 1,314 households, out of which 214 (16.3%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 578 (44.0%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 105 (8.0%) had a female householder with no husband present, 45 (3.4%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 76 (5.8%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 10 (0.8%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 471 households (35.8%) were made up of individuals, and 195 (14.8%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.97. There were 728 families (55.4% of all households); the average family size was 2.53.

The age of the population was spread out, with 337 people (13.0%) under the age of 18, 169 people (6.5%) aged 18 to 24, 488 people (18.8%) aged 25 to 44, 946 people (36.5%) aged 45 to 64, and 652 people (25.2%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 53.0 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.2 males.

There were 2,354 housing units at an average density of , of which 781 (59.4%) were owner-occupied, and 533 (40.6%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 4.6%; the rental vacancy rate was 12.8%. 1,555 people (60.0% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 1,037 people (40.0%) lived in rental housing units.

Government

In the California State Legislature, Cayucos is in the 17th State Senate District and the 30th Assembly District.

In the United States House of Representatives, Cayucos is in .

Economy and Culture

Tourism plays a big role in the downtown Cayucos economy. Composer Stefan Podell has even celebrated the beauty of Cayucos with an orchestral piece called "Cayucos by the Sea" [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtiNFow-UKA].

The Cayucos Pier is a popular surf spot and one of the best in the county, attracting many beachgoers.

Cayucos has its own Chamber of Commerce and website.

Education

Almost all of it is within the Cayucos Elementary School District, and the Coast Unified School District for grades 9-12 only. A small piece is in the San Luis Coastal Unified School District.

References

External links

Cayucos Chamber of Commerce
Concerned Citizens of Cayucos
Cayucos Community Groups
Visit Cayucos