Durham is a census-designated place (CDP) in Butte County, California, United States. The population was 5,834 at the 2020 census.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , of which is land and (0.19%) is water.
History
Durham was built on the site of a former Maidu settlement known as Eskini (also, Erskins and Es-kin).
thumb|left|Railroad crossing in Durham
Durham was founded by the Durham Family. It is named for W. W. Durham, member of the California State Assembly. The Durham station on the California and Oregon Railroad was established in 1870. In the mid-1900s the Northern Electric Railway (later the Sacramento Northern Railway) built an electrified rail line through Durham. Both railroads served Durham for many years with both passenger and freight service; the Sacramento Northern line was removed by the 1980s, and the California and Oregon (now Union Pacific) railroad no longer stops in Durham. The Durham House is a reminder of what Durham was back in its early years. Durham grew considerably as the site of the first California State Land Settlement Colony, established by an act of the state legislature in 1917. The Durham Flour Mill, which burned down several times, was an integral part of this community.
Originally focused on cattle and sheep ranching, the Durham economy is strongly focused on almond production. The first almond trees in the area were planted experimentally in 1875, and on a commercial scale in 1895. Today, almonds, walnuts, and rice are the most important crops grown in the area.
On June 1, 2011, a tornado rated EF1, struck south of Durham, uprooting thousands of almond trees, destroying an out building and damaging a barn.
Demographics
Durham first appeared as a census-designated place in the 1990 United States census.
!Pop 2010
!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |Pop 2020
!% 2000
!% 2010
!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |% 2020
|-
|White alone (NH)
|4,578
|4,664
|style='background: #ffffe6; |4,567
|87.70%
|84.52%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |78.28%
|-
|Black or African American alone (NH)
|7
|17
|style='background: #ffffe6; |35
|0.13%
|0.31%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.60%
|-
|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)
|31
|48
|style='background: #ffffe6; |50
|0.59%
|0.87%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.86%
|-
|Asian alone (NH)
|32
|34
|style='background: #ffffe6; |61
|0.61%
|0.62%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1.05%
|-
|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)
|6
|8
|style='background: #ffffe6; |6
|0.11%
|0.14%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.10%
|-
|Other race alone (NH)
|9
|16
|style='background: #ffffe6; |43
|0.17%
|0.29%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.74%
|-
|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)
|88
|117
|style='background: #ffffe6; |261
|1.69%
|2.12%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |4.47%
|-
|Hispanic or Latino (any race)
|469
|614
|style='background: #ffffe6; |811
|8.98%
|11.13%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |13.90%
|-
|Total
|5,220
|5,518
|style='background: #ffffe6; |5,834
|100.00%
|100.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%
|}
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Durham had a population of 5,834. The population density was . The median age was 45.3 years. The age distribution was 21.8% under the age of 18, 6.2% aged 18 to 24, 21.8% aged 25 to 44, 27.3% aged 45 to 64, and 23.0% who were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females, there were 102.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 101.8 males age 18 and over.
The Census reported that 99.1% of the population lived in households, 0.6% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0.3% were institutionalized. 14.1% of residents lived in urban areas, while 85.9% lived in rural areas.
There were 2,172 households, out of which 30.3% included children under the age of 18, 61.6% were married-couple households, 6.0% were cohabiting couple households, 17.7% had a female householder with no partner present, and 14.6% had a male householder with no partner present. About 18.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66. There were 1,643 families (75.6% of all households).