Wasco, California

Wasco (formerly Dewey and Deweyville) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley, in Kern County, California, United States. Wasco is located 24 miles (39 km) northwest of Bakersfield, at an elevation of 328 feet (100 m). The population was 27,047 at the 2020 census, up from 25,545 at the 2010 census.

Wasco is the headquarters of the Tejon Indian Tribe of California, a federally recognized tribe of Kitanemuk, Yokuts, and Chumash Indigenous people of California.

The name Dewey was in honor of Admiral George Dewey, a hero of the Spanish–American War. The Deweyville post office opened in 1899, and changed its name to Wasco in 1907.

The origin of the name Wasco is subject of two different theories: (1) That it was coined from Western American Sugar Company; and (2) that it was named by a resident from Wasco County, Oregon.

Wasco is the site of the Fourth Home Extension Colony, founded in 1907 by the American Home Extension Association.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 9.4 square miles (24 km²), all of it land. At the 2000 census, according to the United States Census Bureau, the city had a total area of 7.6 square miles (20 km²), all of it land. Wasco is located on the floor of the San Joaquin Valley, at the intersection of California State Routes 43, which runs north–south, and 46, which runs east–west.

According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Wasco has a semi-arid climate (BSh, bordering on BSk) with extremely hot, dry summers and mild to cool winters. The average annual mean temperature is 64.1 °F (17.8 °C).

The 2020 United States census reported that Wasco had a population of 27,047. The population density was 2,881.3 inhabitants per square mile (1,112.5/km²). The racial makeup of Wasco was 20.2% White, 5.6% African American, 2.1% Native American, 0.6% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 54.9% from other races, and 16.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 84.7% of the population.