Homes, condos and land for sale and rent in Temecula, CA

In 1904 Walter L. Vail, who had come to the United States with his parents from Nova Scotia, migrated to California. Along with various partners, he began buying land in Southern California. Vail bought ranchland in the Temecula Valley, buying 38,000 acres (154 km2) of Rancho Temecula and Rancho Pauba, along with the northern half of Rancho Little Temecula. Vail was killed by a street car in Los Angeles in 1906; his son, Mahlon Vail, took over the family ranch. In 1914, financed by Mahlon Vail and local ranchers, the First National Bank of Temecula opened on Front Street. In 1915, the first paved, two-lane county road was built through Temecula.
By 1947, the Vail Ranch contained over 87,500 acres (354 km2). In 1948, the Vail family built a dam to catch the Temecula Creek water and created Vail Lake. Through the mid-1960s the economy of the Temecula Valley centered around the Vail Ranch; the cattle business and agriculture were the stimuli for most business ventures. In 1964, the Vail Ranch was sold to the Kaiser Aetna partnership. A later purchase by the group brought the total area to 97,500 acres (395 km2), and the area became known as Rancho California. The I-15 corridor between Los Angeles County and San Diego was completed in the early 1980s and the subdivision land boom began. When Rancho California incorporated in December, 1989, the citizens voted to officially name their city “Temecula”.

The 1990s brought rapid growth to the Temecula Valley. Many families began to move to the area from San Diego and Orange County drawn by the affordable housing prices and the popular wine country. In fall 1999, The Promenade Mall opened in Temecula. In 2005, Temecula expanded greatly by annexing the neighboring planned community known as Redhawk, bringing the population to 90,000. After a period of rapid population growth and home construction, the 2007 subprime mortgage financial crisis and the resultant United States housing market correction caused a sharp rise in home foreclosures in the Temecula-Murrieta region.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 30.2 square miles (78.2 km2), of which, 30.2 square miles (78.1 km²) of it is land and 0.02 square miles (0.1 km2) of it (0.05%) is water. South of the city, Murrieta Creek and Temecula Creek join to form the Santa Margarita River.

The 2010 United States Census reported that Temecula had a population of 100,097. The population density was 3,318.0 people per square mile (1,281.1/km²). The racial makeup of Temecula was 70,880 (70.8%) White (57.2% Non-Hispanic White), 4,132 (4.1%) African American, 1,079 (1.1%) Native American, 9,765 (9.8%) Asian, 368 (0.4%) Pacific Islander, 7,928 (7.9%) from other races, and 5,945 (5.9%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 24,727 persons (24.7%).

The Census reported that 99,968 people (99.9% of the population) lived in households, 121 (0.1%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 8 (0%) were institutionalized.
There were 31,781 households, out of which 15,958 (50.2%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 20,483 (64.5%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 3,763 (11.8%) had a female householder with no husband present, 1,580 (5.0%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 1,463 (4.6%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 186 (0.6%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 4,400 households (13.8%) were made up of individuals and 1,387 (4.4%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.15. There were 25,826 families (81.3% of all households); the average family size was 3.46.

The population was spread out with 30,690 people (30.7%) under the age of 18, 9,317 people (9.3%) aged 18 to 24, 27,869 people (27.8%) aged 25 to 44, 24,416 people (24.4%) aged 45 to 64, and 7,805 people (7.8%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33.4 years. For every 100 females there were 95.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.9 males.
There were 34,004 housing units at an average density of 1,127.2 per square mile (435.2/km²), of which 21,984 (69.2%) were owner-occupied, and 9,797 (30.8%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.7%; the rental vacancy rate was 7.1%. 69,929 people (69.9% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 30,039 people (30.0%) lived in rental housing units.
The U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey reported an estimated 1.5% of the population of Temecula’s working force, or 1,085 individuals, were involved with the U.S. Armed Forces as of 2011. This figure is slightly higher than the 2011 estimated national average of 0.5%.
During 2009–2013, Temecula had a median household income of $78,356, with 8.5% of the population living below the federal poverty line.

The Temecula Valley Unified School District (TVUSD) and its schools are consistently ranked as having the highest Academic Performance Indices within Riverside County. Great Oak High School, Chaparral High, and Temecula Valley High have all received silver medals in the U.S. News Best High Schools rankings awarded by U.S. News & World Report.
The district’s general boundaries extend north to Baxter Road in French Valley, south to the Riverside/San Diego county line, east to Vail Lake, and west to the Temecula city limit. The district covers approximately 148 square miles (383 km2), with an enrollment of approximately 25,000 students (Grades K-12).