Murrieta, California, United States

🇺🇸 Murrieta is a city in south-western Riverside County, California, United States. Murrieta is one of the fastest-growing cities in the state. Largely residential in character, Murrieta is typically characterised as a bedroom community. Murrieta is located in the centre of the Los Angeles-San Diego mega-region.

History For most of its history, Murrieta was not heavily populated. On June 9, 1873, Domingo Pujol, Francisco Sanjurjo, and Juan and Ezequiel Murrieta purchased the Rancho Pauba and Rancho Temecula Mexican land grants, comprising 52,000 acres (210 km²) in the area. Ezequiel returned to Spain and turned the land over to his younger brother, Juan Murrieta (1844–1936), who brought 7,000 sheep to the valley in 1873, using the meadows to feed his sheep. The partnership dissolved in 1876 and Ezequiel and Juan Murrieta retained 15,000 acres of the northern half of the Temecula Rancho. Ezequiel and Juan Murrieta granted a right-of-way, one hundred feet wide to the California Southern Railroad through the Temecula Rancho on April 28, 1882 so that the railroad could be constructed through the valley.

In 1884, the Temecula Land and Water Company purchased about 14,500 acres from Juan Murrieta and mapped a townsite along the California Southern Railroad. Others discovered the valley after the construction of a depot in 1887 that connected Murrieta to the Southern California Railroad's transcontinental route. By 1890, some 800 people lived in Murrieta. Today much of the site (about 50 acres) is home to a Bible college and conference centre, owned by Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa, which has invested millions of dollars into restoring and rebuilding the old resort rooms. When the trains stopped in 1935, tourists—the lifeblood of the town—were much harder to come by. The boom that Murrieta had experienced due to the train and the hot springs gradually died, leaving Murrieta as a small country town.

Although US Route 395 passed through Murrieta, it was not until Interstate 15 was built in the early 1980s that another boom began to take hold. By the late 1980s, suburban neighborhoods were being constructed, and people began moving to the Murrieta area from cities and towns in San Diego and Orange Counties, as well as other parts of Riverside County.

In 1990, residents began a campaign for city status which resulted in the incorporation of the City of Murrieta on July 1, 1991. By then the population was 24,000, a major increase from 2,200 in 1980. Between 1991 and 2007, the city's population further increased making it the largest city in south-western Riverside County.

Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 33.6 sq mi (87.1 km²), of which 99.89% of it is land and 0.11% is covered by water. Murrieta Creek runs southeasterly through the Murrieta Valley. Warm Springs Creek is a tributary of Murrieta Creek that also passes through the city.

Demographics The 2010 United States census reported that Murrieta had a population of 103,466. The population density was 3,078.1 inhabitants per square mile (1,188.5/km²). The racial makeup of Murrieta was 72,137 (69.7%) White (55.7% non-Hispanic White), 5,601 (5.4%) African American, 741 (0.7%) Native American, 9,556 (9.2%) Asian, 391 (0.4%) Pacific Islander, 8,695 (8.4%) from other races, and 6,345 (6.1%) from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 26,792 persons (25.9%). The census reported 103,037 people (99.6% of the population) lived in households, 291 people (0.3%) lived in noninstitutionalized group quarters, and 138 people (0.1%) were institutionalized.

Of the 32,749 households, 48.4% had children under the age of 18 living in them, 62.8% were opposite-sex married couples living together, 3,814 (11.6%) had a female householder with no husband present, and 1,642 (5.0%) had a male householder with no wife present, with 1,626 (5.0%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships and 192 (0.6%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. About 5,208 households (15.9%) were made up of individuals, and 2,248 (6.9%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.15. There were 26,033 families (79.5% of all households); the average family size was 3.51.

The population was distributed as 31,471 people (30.4%) under the age of 18, 9,891 people (9.6%) aged 18 to 24, 28,144 people (27.2%) aged 25 to 44, 23,555 people (22.8%) aged 45 to 64, and 10,405 people (10.1%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33.4 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.2 males.

The 35,294 housing units averaged 1,050.0 per square mile (405.4/km²), of which 23,110 (70.6%) were owner-occupied and 9,639 (29.4%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 3.1%; the rental vacancy rate was 7.8%; 73,518 people (71.1% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 29,519 people (28.5%) lived in rental housing units.

Economy: Top employers According to a recent Financial Report, the top non-military employers in the city are: 1 Murrieta Valley Unified School District; 2 Southwest Healthcare System; 3 Loma Linda University Medical Center; 4 County of Riverside; 5 Target; 6 City of Murrieta; 7 Walmart; 8 Oak Grove Center; 9 Sam's Club; 10 Murrieta Health & Rehab Center.

Arts and culture The Town Square is the location of the Murrieta Police Department, Murrieta Public Library, City Hall, a senior centre, and $2 million veterans memorial.

Parks and recreation There are 52 parks in the city of Murrieta, including one community pool, one skate park, three sports parks, two dog parks, two disc golf courses, an equestrian park, and various natural areas.

Bear Creek Golf and Country Club was designed by Jack Nicklaus, and Presidents Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan have played there. The Golf Club at Rancho California was designed by Robert Trent Jones, Sr. Murrieta is also the site of the last operating Mulligan Family Fun Center location, an amusement park specialising in miniature golf.

Education The majority of the city of Murrieta is served by the Murrieta Valley Unified School District (MVUSD). A portion is in the Menifee Union School District and the Perris Union High School District for grades 9–12.

The Murrieta district contains eleven elementary (K–5) schools, four middle (6–8) schools, three comprehensive high (9–12) schools (Murrieta Valley High School, Vista Murrieta High School, Murrieta Mesa High School), one continuation school (Creekside High School), and one independent study school.

Calvary Chapel Bible College operated at the Murrieta Hot Springs Resort site from 1994 until 2022. Its affiliated private comprehensive (K-9) school at Calvary Chapel Murrieta also serves the Murrieta community. There had been a senior high school in the Calvary Chapel Murrieta system, but it closed in 2019. Mt. San Jacinto College is the nearest community college (with locations in Temecula and Menifee) and the University of California, Riverside (UCR) is the nearest public university. The city is also home to a University of Phoenix learning centre and an Azusa Pacific University satellite campus.

Media The area of south-west Riverside County is served by television station Channel 27, broadcast from a hilltop in Murrieta.

Transport Murrieta is served by two major Interstate highways: I-15 runs through the western portion of the city while I-215 runs through the eastern portion. Historic U.S. Route 395 (Jefferson Avenue/Ivy Street/Washington Avenue) passes through the city's downtown, and State Route 79 (Winchester Road) defines much of the city's eastern border.

The Riverside Transit Agency (RTA)'s Routes 23, 61, 205, and 206 provide bus transit to Murrieta.

The French Valley Airport, used for general aviation, is located just east of the city limits.

The city may become host to the high-speed rail (HSR) that voters approved in 2008 with Prop 1A. The proposed HSR station is projected to handle 8,000 daily riders. The program-level HSR route alignment has placed this station near the I-15 and I-215 freeway interchange.

Public safety The Murrieta Fire Department was an all-volunteer fire department for 38 years. In 1987, it became a municipal fire protection district. It has been the city's secondary paramedic service provider since 2000, AMR is the primary paramedic service provider. As of 2022, the department has five stations throughout the city, and operates a primary fleet of four type-1 engines, one quint-style truck, and two type-6 engines.

The Murrieta Police Department was founded in 1992. As of 2022, the department had about 100 sworn officers and approximately 50 support staff.

Hospitals Murrieta is served by two hospitals: Loma Linda University Medical Center and Rancho Springs Medical Center.