Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Yreka had a population of 7,807 and a population density of . The median age was 41.1 years. The age distribution was 22.9% under age 18, 7.2% aged 18 to 24, 23.3% aged 25 to 44, 23.9% aged 45 to 64, and 22.7% aged 65 or older. For every 100 females, there were 89.9 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.1 males age 18 and over.

The census reported that 97.9% of the population lived in households, 0.9% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 1.2% were institutionalized. There were 3,368 households, of which 27.3% had children under age 18. Of all households, 35.3% were married-couple households, 8.5% were cohabiting-couple households, 19.9% had a male householder with no spouse or partner present, and 36.3% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 36.8% of households were made up of individuals, and 19.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27, and 1,881 families represented 55.8% of all households.

! Race !! Number !! Percent

|-

| White || 5,643 || 72.3%

|-

| Black or African American || 73 || 0.9%

|-

| American Indian and Alaska Native || 700 || 9.0%

|-

| Asian || 149 || 1.9%

|-

| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander || 10 || 0.1%

|-

| Some other race || 257 || 3.3%

|-

| Two or more races || 975 || 12.5%

|-

| Hispanic or Latino (of any race) || 958 || 12.3%

|}

2023 estimates

In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that 1.7% of the population were foreign-born. Of all people aged 5 or older, 92.4% spoke only English at home, 6.5% spoke Spanish, 0.7% spoke other Indo-European languages, 0.2% spoke Asian or Pacific Islander languages, and 0.3% spoke other languages. Of those aged 25 or older, 89.0% were high school graduates and 19.4% had a bachelor's degree.

The median household income was $42,664, and the per capita income was $29,389. About 17.4% of families and 22.0% of the population were below the poverty line.

Economy

thumb|left|Yreka's [[Carnegie Library, designed by W. H. Weeks, is currently used as the city's police department.]]

Tourists visit Yreka because it is at the northern edge of the Shasta Cascade area of northern California. The core of the historic downtown, along West Miner Street, is listed as a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places, as well as a California Historical Landmark. Yreka is home to the Siskiyou County Museum and a number of Gold Rush-era monuments and parks. Visitors also come to enjoy trout fishing in the nearby Klamath, Sacramento and McCloud

Government

In the state legislature Yreka is in , and .

Federally, Yreka is in .

Education

Yreka is home to a branch campus of the College of the Siskiyous which hosts the Rural Health Science Institute and Administration of Justice programs. The college is one of 10 California community colleges to offer on-campus housing. High-school buses carry students from towns that would not otherwise be able to fund a secondary education.

In Yreka, the gold-mining era is commemorated with a gold museum, as well as with a remnant of a silver mining operation in Greenhorn Park. The Yreka Union High School District sports mascot is a gold miner. School colors are red and gold. Yreka High School was the first high school in the county, founded in 1894. It has 11 feeder districts that serve the approximately county area.

The Yreka elementary school district is composed of Evergreen Elementary as well as the Jackson Street Middle School.

Local media

  • KSYC-AM 1490 Jefferson Public Radio, Yreka (silent as of 2022)
  • KSYC-FM 103.9 Jefferson Public Radio, Yreka
  • KZRO-FM 100.1 Mount Shasta
  • KKLC 107.9 K-LOVE, Fall River Mills
  • KSQU Mount Shasta/KEDY Fort Jones/KYRE Yreka, Internet Radio (Siskiyou Broadcast Group)
  • Siskiyou Country Radio (Internet Radio), Yreka
  • Siskiyou Daily News
  • Vyve Broadband
  • YCTV 4 Yreka Community Television/Siskiyou Media Council
  • KSQU-TV Channel 8Y (Internet Television) Yreka/Mount Shasta (Siskiyou Broadcast Group)

Infrastructure

Transportation

Interstate 5 is the primary north–south route through Yreka, connecting Redding and Sacramento to the south and the Oregon border to the north. Interstate 5 through the city follows the former path of the Siskiyou Trail, which stretched from California's Central Valley to Oregon's Willamette Valley.

California State Route 3 runs east to Montague, and west to Fort Jones and Weaverville. California State Route 263 serves as a business loop of Interstate 5 through the northern part of the city.

General aviation uses the Montague Airport in Montague, to the east.

Public Transportation

Siskiyou transit (STAGE), Route 1 – Cascade Flyer (Express), services Yreka 3 times daily going thru Mt Shasta and Dunsmuir.

Notable people

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  • Jodi Arias dropped out of high school in Yreka and was living there in June 2008, when she drove to Mesa, Arizona to see her ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander, whom she was later convicted of murdering in his home. She was found guilty of first degree murder on May 8, 2013.
  • Erik Bennett, Major League Baseball player, was born in Yreka.
  • Charles Earl Bowles, a.k.a. Black Bart, robbed a number of stagecoaches on the trails leading to or from Yreka in the 1880s.
  • Leander Clark, an Iowa state legislator and Union Army officer, prospected for gold in the Yreka area, returning home to the east coast via the isthmus of Panama in 1852, $3,000 to $4,000 richer.
  • Edward Silsby Farrington, United States federal judge, was born in Yreka.
  • Marco Grifantini, baseball player, was born in Yreka.
  • William Irwin, Siskiyou representative and later governor of California.
  • Patrick F. McManus was a sutler killed in the Yreka area while hauling mail.
  • Tim Meamber, American football player, was born in Yreka.
  • Richie Myers, baseball player, was a resident of Yreka when he died there.
  • John Otto was the first park custodian at Colorado National Monument, and was a key advocate for its creation and its later inclusion in the National Park System. He spent his final 20 years on his mining claim near Yreka and was buried in a pauper's grave.
  • Eric Pianka, biologist, grew up in Yreka and experienced injuries related to a unfired bazooka round.
  • Elijah Steele, an early Northern California pioneer, state legislator, and Indian agent who tried to prevent the Modoc War, lived in Yreka when he was Superior Court Judge for Siskiyou County from 1879 to 1883.

Palindromes

"Yreka Bakery" is a palindrome. The loss of the "B" in a bakery sign read from the reverse is mentioned as a possible source of the name Yreka in Mark Twain's autobiography. The original Yreka Bakery was founded in 1856 by baker Frederick Deng. The palindrome was recognized early on: "spell Yreka Bakery backwards and you will know where to get a good loaf of bread" is quoted as an ad in the May 23, 1863, Yreka Semi-Weekly Journal and states that 12 loaves cost $1 (~$ in ). Author Martin Gardner mentioned that Yreka Bakery was in business on West Miner Street in Yreka, but it was pointed out by readers "the Yreka Bakery no longer existed. In 1970 the original premises were occupied by the art store Yrella Gallery, also a palindrome".

See also

  • Yreka Western Railroad

References

  • Yreka Chamber of Commerce
  • Images of Yreka from the Eastman’s Originals Collection, Special Collections Dept., University of California, Davis.