Pismo Beach (Chumash: Pismuʔ) is a city in the southern portion of San Luis Obispo County, in the Central Coast area of California, United States. Its estimated population was 8,072 at the 2020 census, up from 7,655 at the 2010 census. The Pismo clam was named for the long, wide beach where they were once found in abundance.
History
thumb|left|Pismo Pier at sunset
thumb|left|The old Oilport Refinery, demolished after WWII, is now the Sunset Palisades neighborhood.
The Chumash people are the historic inhabitants of the region, with indigenous peoples having lived along the California coast for at least 11,000 years.
The name Pismo comes from the Chumash language word for tar, pismuʔ,
Pismo Beach is on the Rancho Pismo Mexican land grant made to José Ortega, grandson of José Francisco Ortega, in 1840. In 1846, José Ortega sold Rancho Pismo to Isaac Sparks. John Michael Price bought most of the rancho from Sparks. Price established the town of Pismo Beach in 1891. His homestead is now Price Historical Park, a registered historical landmark.
The first wharf at Pismo was built in 1882, followed by a full-length pier built in 1924 and financed and constructed by William Woodrow Ward, who allowed full use of it by the public. After it suffered considerable storm damage, the pier was renovated again in 1985. Pismo State Beach is named for the city of Pismo Beach.
The Shell Beach and Sunset Palisades neighborhoods were the site of a Chumash village, and there are significant archeological sites in both. Shell Beach became agricultural land, mostly pea fields. Developer Floyd Calvert bought and developed the area in 1926. At first, it was a local resort area; after World War II, it became primarily residential. Sunset Palisades, originally called Oilport, was the site of an oil refinery from 1907 until after World War II; it is now residential.
Clams
The Pismo clam was named for the long, wide beach where many were found, once in such abundance that they were harvested with plows. Clamming once drew thousands of clammers to Pismo during low tides, and is still legal, but due to overharvesting by humans and the protected sea otter (which feasts on clams), few clams are now to be found.
Pismo Beach adopted the name "Clam Capital of the World" in the 1950s. This motto is no longer used, but the city still holds the Clam Festival every October, complete with clam chowder competitions and a clam-themed parade.
At the southern end of Price Street is a concrete clam statue. The shell of a Pismo clam (Tivela stultorum) is on display at the Pismo Beach Chamber of Commerce.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of , of which (73.29%) is covered by water. It is part of the Five Cities area, a cluster of cities in that area. The Five Cities area historically comprised Arroyo Grande, Grover City (now Grover Beach), Halcyon, Fair Oaks, and Nipomo. Now the Five Cities are generally considered to be Grover Beach, Pismo Beach, Shell Beach (which is actually part of Pismo Beach), Arroyo Grande, and Oceano (which is unincorporated county land serviced by the Oceano Community Services District).
Pismo Creek enters the Pacific Ocean at Pismo Beach. The southern end of Pismo Beach runs alongside sand dunes, which are followed by eucalyptus trees that attract thousands of migrating monarch butterflies every November through February.
Climate
Pismo Beach has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate (Csb). Despite the subtropical latitude (the same as Cape Hatteras, North Carolina,) summers are quite cool and the change in seasonal temperatures is quite small. The hardiness zone is 10a, which is a full zone higher than Cape Hatteras. [https://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/]
Demographics
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Pismo Beach had a population of 8,072. The population density was .
The census reported that 99.7% of the population lived in households, 0.3% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and no one was institutionalized. Of residents, 99.0% lived in urban areas and 1.0% lived in rural areas.
There were 4,057 households, of which 15.9% had children under age 18. Of all households, 45.5% were married-couple households, 6.5% were cohabiting-couple households, 19.8% had a male householder with no spouse or partner present, and 28.2% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 35.2% of households were one-person households, and 18.1% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 1.98, and there were 2,278 families (56.1% of all households).
! Race !! Number !! Percent
|-
| White || 6,542 || 81.0%
|-
| Black or African American || 68 || 0.8%
|-
| American Indian and Alaska Native || 79 || 1.0%
|-
| Asian || 324 || 4.0%
|-
| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander || 10 || 0.1%
|-
| Some other race || 293 || 3.6%
|-
| Two or more races || 756 || 9.4%
|-
| Hispanic or Latino (of any race) || 978 || 12.1%
|}
Demographic estimates
In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that 7.1% of the population were foreign-born. Of all people aged 5 or older, 90.1% spoke only English at home, 3.2% spoke Spanish, 2.7% spoke other Indo-European languages, 3.8% spoke Asian or Pacific Islander languages, and 0.2% spoke other languages. Of those aged 25 or older, 97.6% were high school graduates and 50.1% had a bachelor's degree.
Income and poverty
The median household income in 2023 was $112,913, and the per capita income was $74,035. About 6.2% of families and 8.1% of the population were below the poverty line.
2010 census
thumb|Pismo Creek estuary
The 2010 United States census reported that Pismo Beach had a population of 7,655. The population density was . The racial makeup of Pismo Beach was 91.1% White, 0.7% African American, 0.5% Native American, 2.7% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 2.2% from other races, and 2.7% from two or more races. About 9.3% were Hispanics or Latinos of any race.
The census reported that 7,642 people (99.8% of the population) lived in households, 13 (0.2%) lived in noninstitutionalized group quarters, and none were institutionalized.
Of the 3,834 households, 16.1% had children under 18 living in them, 44.6% were opposite-sex married couples living together, 7.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 2.7% had a male householder with no wife present, 6.1% were unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 1.0% were same-sex married couples or partnerships. In all, 35.8% of the households were made up of individuals, and 15.1% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 1.99. Of the 2,079 families (54.2% of all households), the average family size was 2.55.
The age distribution was 13.3% under 18, 5.9% from 18 to 24, 20.3% from 25 to 44, 34.5% from 45 to 64, and 26.0% were 65 or older. The median age was 51.8 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.5 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 91.4 males.
The 5,585 housing units had an average density of , of which 60.9% were owner-occupied, and 39.1% were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.5%; the rental vacancy rate was 9.6%; 60.8% of the population lived in owner-occupied housing units and 39.0% lived in rental housing units.
Economy
Top employers
According to the city's 2020 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, its top employers are:
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! #
! Employer
! # of employees
|-
| 1
|The Cliffs Hotel + Spa
|230
|-
|2
|Keller Williams Realty
|179
|-
|3
|Dolphin Bay Resort
|124
|-
|4
|City of Pismo Beach
|120
|-
|5
|Martin Resorts (Pismo Lighthouse Suites and
Shore Cliff Hotel)
|100
|-
|6
|United States Postal Service
|85
|-
|7
|SeaVenture Beach Hotel
|74
|-
|8
|Pismo Coast Village RV Resort
|65
|-
|9
|SeaCrest Oceanfront Hotel
|65
|-
|10
|Brad's Restaurant
|60
|}
Government
Incorporated on April 25, 1946,
In the United States House of Representatives, Pismo Beach is in .
Education
right|thumb|Shell Beach Elementary School
Most of it is in the Lucia Mar Unified School District, and a portion is in the San Luis Coastal Unified School District.
Lucia Mar schools include:
- Shell Beach Elementary School
- Judkins Middle School
Infrastructure
Water is provided by wells in the Santa Maria Groundwater Basin, Lopez Lake, and the State Water Project. The city is planning a recycled water project called Central Coast Blue.
In popular culture
In the W. C. Fields comedy The Bank Dick (1940), set in Lompoc, Jack Norton plays a character credited as "A. Pismo Clam".
In the I Love Lucy TV series episode "Lucy Gets in Pictures" (aired February 21, 1955), Lucy (Lucille Ball) mentions Pismo Beach as one of the places she and her best friend, Ethel Mertz (Vivian Vance), want to visit.
In the 1957 Merrie Melodies short Ali Baba Bunny, Bugs Bunny and his traveling companion Daffy Duck emerge from the tunnel they've been traveling in with Bugs believing they have arrived at Pismo Beach "and all the clams we can eat", when they are actually somewhere in the Middle East. By the end of the short, Bugs is seen sitting on the beach in Pismo Beach with a pile of empty clamshells beside him.
In The Monkees TV series episode "The Wild Monkees" (aired November 13, 1967), Pismo Beach is mentioned a few times. Mike Nesmith says, "You remember the Massacre at Pismo Beach?" when told that the Black Angels motorcycle gang will be staying at the hotel where they are working. The rest of the group replies "Pismo Beach?"
In the TV movie Dragnet 1966 (1969), Bill Gannon (Harry Morgan) takes disability retirement and moves to Pismo Beach. After eight months and three weeks of eating Pismo Beach clam chowder, his health returns, his teeth stop falling out, and he is able to rejoin the LAPD. Telling Joe Friday (Jack Webb) the cause of his restored health, he says, "The clams, Joe. The clams."
In "Guess Who's Knott Coming to Dinner", the fifth episode of the first season of The New Scooby-Doo Movies (aired October 7, 1972), the mystery gang makes an unsuccessful escape from Captain Moody's mansion and Shaggy says they must have made a wrong turn at Pismo Beach.
Pismo Beach is mentioned in the Coen Brothers' film The Big Lebowski (1998). This inspired the title of the Labradford song "Up to Pizmo", on the band's 2001 album Fixed::Context.
The city is mentioned in the films Clueless (1995), in which a reference is made to a fictitious "Pismo Beach disaster" and A Night at the Roxbury (1998), the TV show United States of Tara (2009–2011), and the animated series The Critic ("Lady Hawke", season 2, episode 5, March 19, 1995), Futurama ("Raging Bender", season 2, episode 8, February 27, 2000), and Robot Chicken ("Rodiggiti", season 2, episode 28, May 21, 2006).