Westlake Village is a city in Los Angeles County, California, on its western border with Ventura County. Upon its incorporation in 1981, Westlake Village became the 82nd municipality of Los Angeles County.Baker, Pam (2002). Thousand Oaks Westlake Village: A Contemporary Portrait. Community Communications, Inc. Page 19. . The population of the city was 8,029 at the 2020 census.
The city is named after the master-planned community surrounding Westlake Lake. With the lake at the center, the community straddles the line between Los Angeles and Ventura counties. Roughly two-thirds of the community is in the Ventura County city of Thousand Oaks.
History About 3,000 years ago, the Chumash moved into the region and lived by hunting rabbits and other game, and gathering grains and acorns. Excavations, archaeological sites, and polychrome rock paintings in the area provide a glimpse into the social and economic complexity of the ancient Chumash world.O'Brien (2017). Thousand Oaks and Westlake Village. Arcadia Publishing. Pages 7 and 88.
A Chumash village was settled here in 500 BCE, known as Hipuc.Casey, Lynda (1984). The Story of the Conejo Valley: The Westlake Chumash Indians. Westlake Research Committee. Page 27. The Chumash Indians gathered and prepared acorns and other seeds. These were collected in the fall. The Chumash also hunted wild animals, fish and gathered plants. Their diet consisted of acorns, gophers, cottontail rabbits, skunks, jack rabbits, rats, mice, and seeds. They made their clothing from the skins of animals such as rabbits, deer, and sea otters. Women wore long skirts woven from grass or soft bark, while men wore pieces of deerskin tied around their waists. Both men and women painted designs on their bodies and wore shell beads.Casey, Lynda (1984). The Story of the Conejo Valley: The Westlake Chumash Indians. Westlake Research Committee. Pages 7–9.
On a return trip from Northern California in January 1770, a group of men led by Gaspar de Portolá are believed to be the first Europeans to encounter the Chumash Indians in the Conejo Valley. Father Juan Crespí, chaplain and diarist of the expedition, wrote about El Triumfo, a Chumash village. He wrote that there was plenty of water and firewood in the village, and that the land was covered with pastures. He wrote: "We are on a plain of considerable extent and much beauty, forested on all parts by live oaks and oak trees, with much pasturage and water." Crespí named the place El triunfo del Dulcísimo Nombre de Jesús (in English: The Triumph of the Sweetest Name of Jesus) to a camping place by a creek.
Other villages were found throughout the valley, including Satwiwa and two villages near Ventu Park Road in Newbury Park. These Chumash villages are believed by archeologists to have first been settled over 2,000 years ago. Another village was located by Lake Sherwood.Casey, Lynda (1984). The Story of the Conejo Valley: The Westlake Chumash Indians. Westlake Research Committee. Pages 2–5.
In 1795, the area became part of one of the first Spanish land grants, Rancho Simi, given to the Pico family of California. When Mexico won independence from Spain in 1821, Alta California became Mexican territory, and the Rancho Simi grant was confirmed in 1842.
In 1881, the Russell brothers purchased a large portion of the land for cattle ranching. According to Patricia Allen, historian and family descendant, Andrew Russell beat the competition in buying the land by racing across 6,000 acres (24 km) on a fifteen-minute trip in a buckboard and sealed the deal with a $20 gold piece. The price per acre was $2.50. The area continued to be known as the Russell Ranch although it was sold in 1925 to William Randolph Hearst and again in 1943 to Fred Albertson. The Russell family leased back part of the land to continue its successful cattle ranch operation while the Albertson Company used the vast area as a movie ranch. Many movies and television shows were filmed in the Conejo Valley, including Robin Hood, King Rat, Laredo, and various episodes of Tarzan, Buck Rogers, Gunsmoke and Bonanza. The 1940 film Danger Ahead was filmed on Westlake Boulevard.Schneider, Jerry L. (2016). Western Filming Locations Book 5. CP Entertainment Books. Page 6. .
In 1963, Daniel K. Ludwig's American-Hawaiian Steamship Company bought the 12,000 acre (49 km) ranch for $32 million and, in partnership with Prudential Insurance Company, commissioned the preparation of a master plan by architectural and planning firm A. C. Martin and Associates. This new "city in the country" planned to have a firm economic base including commercial areas, residential neighborhoods, and ample green space with the lake as a focal point. Prominent architects, engineers, and land planners participated in designing the new community, a distinctive example of planned 1960s-style suburbanism."Westlake Village" The Los Angeles Conservancy Website. Retrieved March 19, 2014
The original tract was divided by the Los Angeles/Ventura county line. In 1968 and 1972, two portions of the Westlake development consisting of on the Ventura County side were annexed into the city of Thousand Oaks. In 1981, the Los Angeles County portion ( or roughly 1/3) of the Westlake master-planned community was incorporated as the City of Westlake Village. California state law prevents a city from existing in two separate counties.
In November of 2018 the community was affected by the Woolsey Fire.
Geography
In addition to being a bedroom community for Los Angeles via the Ventura (101) Freeway, Westlake Village is also home to many large commercial offices. The western regional office (Region 5) of Anheuser-Busch Inc. is also located in the community. Pacific Coast Highway and the Ronald Reagan (CA 118) Freeway also run nearby. It is a short drive to the mall in Thousand Oaks.
Much of Westlake Village is surrounded by open space, including hiking and horse trails, as well as the vast Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. The town is in the northwestern Santa Monica Mountains area, and is inland from the Pacific Ocean. The area is within a wildlife corridor linking the Santa Monica Mountains with other undeveloped habitat. Mountain lions have been seen roaming the neighborhoods. The lake lies within the watershed of Malibu Creek. Water from the lake must be released into the creek in compliance with an agreement between the California State Water Resources Control Board and the Westlake Lake Management Association, a private entity that oversees the operation of the lake.
The area has several golf courses: the Westlake Golf Course, Sherwood Country Club, and North Ranch Country Club.
Over one half of the original "Westlake" development lies west across the county line, wholly within the city limits of Thousand Oaks. This boundary, which divides the incorporated City of Westlake Village and the Thousand Oaks portion of Westlake Village, crosses over the Westlake Golf Course, halfway between Lakeview Canyon and Lindero Canyon roads, and half of the lake itself. Lake Sherwood is nearby.
The City of Westlake Village is located approximately west of downtown Los Angeles in the Conejo Valley. Other communities in the surrounding area include Thousand Oaks, Oak Park, Agoura Hills, Calabasas, Newbury Park, and Malibu.
Climate Coastal breezes sweep through canyons to allow Westlake to sometimes be up to 10 degrees cooler and considerably less hazy than the nearby San Fernando Valley during the summer months. However, it generally remains 10 degrees hotter than the coastal plains below the Conejo Grade, in the communities of Santa Rosa Valley, Camarillo, and Ventura among others.
Demographics
Westlake Village first appeared as a city in the 1990 U.S. census, part of the Calabasas census community division (CCD).
Racial and ethnic composition
+Westlake Village, California – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 1990Pop 2000Pop 2010% 1990% 2000% 2010White alone (NH)6,6597,2486,9406,24889.32%86.62%83.92%77.82%Black or African American alone (NH)566897670.75%0.81%1.17%0.83%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)96960.12%0.07%0.11%0.07%Asian alone (NH)4184984856195.61%5.95%5.86%7.71%Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)21140.02%0.13%0.05%Other race alone (NH)917212490.20%0.25%0.30%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)x143174410x1.71%2.10%5.11%Hispanic or Latino (any race)3133865336514.20%4.61%6.44%8.11%Total7,4558,3688,2708,029100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%
2020 census As of the 2020 census, Westlake Village had a population of 8,029 and a population density of . The age distribution was 18.0% under the age of 18, 7.3% aged 18 to 24, 15.2% aged 25 to 44, 31.5% aged 45 to 64, and 28.0% aged 65 or older. The median age was 51.9 years. For every 100 females there were 92.1 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 89.9 males age 18 and over.
The racial makeup was 79.9% White, 0.9% African American, 0.2% Native American, 7.7% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 1.6% from other races, and 9.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.1% of the population.
The census reported that 99.7% of the population lived in households and 0.3% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, while no one was institutionalized. 95.6% of residents lived in urban areas, while 4.4% lived in rural areas.
There were 3,264 households, of which 27.0% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 59.2% were married-couple households, 3.6% were cohabiting couple households, 24.7% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present, and 12.5% had a male householder with no spouse or partner present. About 21.4% of all households were one-person households, and 13.2% had one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.45. There were 2,394 families (73.3% of all households).
There were 3,438 housing units at an average density of , of which 3,264 (94.9%) were occupied. Of occupied units, 80.9% were owner-occupied and 19.1% were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.0%, and the rental vacancy rate was 4.8%.
Income and poverty In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that the median household income was $174,069, and the per capita income was $95,373. About 5.7% of families and 6.4% of the population were below the poverty line.
2010 census The 2010 United States census reported that the self-incorporated portion of Westlake Village, on the Los Angeles County side, had a population of 8,270. The population density was . The racial makeup of Westlake Village was 7,326 (88.6%) white (83.9% non-Hispanic white), 98 (1.2%) African American, 12 (0.1%) Native American, 490 (5.9%) Asian, 13 (0.2%) Pacific Islander, 114 (1.4%) from other races, and 217 (2.6%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 533 persons (6.4%).
The Census reported that 8,142 people (98.5% of the population) lived in households, 121 (1.5%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 7 (0.1%) were institutionalized.
There were 3,262 households, out of which 971 (29.8%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 1,985 (60.9%) were married couples living together, 292 (9.0%) had a female householder with no husband present, 119 (3.6%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 103 (3.2%) unmarried partnerships. 712 households (21.8%) were made up of individuals, and 376 (11.5%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50. There were 2,396 families (73.5% of all households); the average family size was 2.92.