# Winters, California

Winters is a city in rural Yolo County, and the western Sacramento Valley, in northern California, United States.
Winters has a 2024 population of 7,860. Winters is currently growing at a rate of 2.16% annually and its population has increased by 9.24% since the most recent census, which recorded a population of 7,195 in 2020.
The average household income in Winters is $148,333 with a poverty rate of 6.55%. The median age in Winters is 37.9 years: 38.1 years for males, and 37.9 years for females.

## Geography

Winters is a small city located on Putah Creek in the western Sacramento Valley, near the California Coastal Range.
It is situated along Interstate 505, 11 miles (18 km) from Vacaville. Winters is nearly 30 miles (50 km) from Sacramento and about 60 miles (100 km) from San Francisco, California. It is located at 38°31′30″N 121°58′15″W﻿ / ﻿38.52500°N 121.97083°W﻿ / 38.52500; -121.97083.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.9 square miles (7.5 km$^2$), of which 2.9 square miles (7.5 km$^2$) is land and 0.03 square miles (0.078 km$^2$) of it (0.85%) is water.

## History

William Wolfskill, a Kentucky immigrant to Mexican Alta California, received a Mexican land grant for Rancho Rio de los Putos in 1842 from Governor Juan Bautista Alvarado. His brother, John Reid Wolfskill, started the agricultural development of the Sacramento Valley by planting orchards and vineyards on his lands. In 1849, William Wolfskill transferred half of Rancho Rio de los Putos to John Wolfskill, and transferred the rest to his brother in 1854.
The Winters post office was established in 1875. Winters incorporated in 1898. The name honors Theodore Winters, whose ranch provided half of the town's land.
In 1935, Wolfskill's heirs deeded 100 acres of the Wolfskill Ranch in Winters to the University of California, Davis, which had been founded in 1908. The land was to be used for an experimental orchard.

## Climate

Winters has hot, mostly dry summers and cool, wet winters. According to the Köppen climate classification system, Winters has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Csa). Average January temperatures are a maximum of 55.2 °F (12.9 °C) and a minimum of 37.0 °F (2.8 °C). Average July temperatures are a maximum of 96.7 °F (35.9 °C) and a minimum of 59.8 °F (15.4 °C). There are an average of 102.0 days with highs of 90 °F (32 °C) or higher and an average of 20.3 days with lows of 32 °F (0 °C). The record high temperature was 115 °F (46 °C) on June 16, 1961, and July 14, 1972. The record low temperature was 15 °F (−9 °C) on December 23, 1990.
Average annual precipitation is 21.94 inches (557 mm). There are an average of 64 days with measurable precipitation. The wettest year was 1983 with 47.12 inches (1,197 mm) and the driest year was 1976 with 6.60 inches (168 mm). The most rainfall in one month was 17.21 inches (437 mm) in January 1995. The most rainfall in 24 hours was 7.25 inches (184 mm) on March 29, 1907. Snowfall is a rarity in Winters, but 3.3 inches (8.4 cm) fell in January 1973 and 1.0 inch (2.5 cm) fell in December 1988.
Climate data for Winters, California (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1942–present) :
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 82 (28) | 84 (29) | 92 (33) | 99 (37) | 108 (42) | 115 (46) | 115 (46) | 113 (45) | 112 (44) | 106 (41) | 90 (32) | 79 (26) | 115 (46) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 56.5 (13.6) | 62.0 (16.7) | 67.9 (19.9) | 74.2 (23.4) | 82.5 (28.1) | 90.1 (32.3) | 95.3 (35.2) | 94.5 (34.7) | 90.9 (32.7) | 80.5 (26.9) | 66.4 (19.1) | 56.8 (13.8) | 76.5 (24.7) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 47.0 (8.3) | 51.3 (10.7) | 56.0 (13.3) | 60.8 (16.0) | 67.7 (19.8) | 74.0 (23.3) | 77.4 (25.2) | 76.7 (24.8) | 73.7 (23.2) | 65.4 (18.6) | 54.3 (12.4) | 47.0 (8.3) | 62.6 (17.0) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 37.5 (3.1) | 40.5 (4.7) | 44.1 (6.7) | 47.5 (8.6) | 52.9 (11.6) | 57.9 (14.4) | 59.5 (15.3) | 58.8 (14.9) | 56.6 (13.7) | 50.2 (10.1) | 42.2 (5.7) | 37.3 (2.9) | 48.8 (9.3) |
| Record low °F (°C) | 18 (−8) | 20 (−7) | 24 (−4) | 29 (−2) | 32 (0) | 41 (5) | 46 (8) | 40 (4) | 38 (3) | 32 (0) | 25 (−4) | 12 (−11) | 12 (−11) |
| Average precipitation inches (mm) | 5.15 (131) | 5.04 (128) | 3.21 (82) | 1.38 (35) | 0.80 (20) | 0.15 (3.8) | 0.01 (0.25) | 0.02 (0.51) | 0.09 (2.3) | 0.87 (22) | 2.19 (56) | 4.86 (123) | 23.77 (604) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) | 14.5 | 11.5 | 10.2 | 6.2 | 4.1 | 1.1 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 3.4 | 8.4 | 12.9 | 73.5 |
| Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Source: NOAA ||||||||||||||

## Government
### Federal

* California's 4th congressional district

### State

* California's 3rd State Senate district
* California's 4th State Assembly district

### City

The current elected members of the Winters City Council are:
* Mayor — Bill Biasi
* Mayor Pro-Tempore — Albert Vallecillo
* Council Member — Jesse Loren
* Council Member — Richard Casavecchia
* Council Member — Carol Scianna
Other elected or appointed city officials include:
* City Manager — Jeremy Craig
* Police Chief John P. Miller
* Fire Chief Jack Snyder

## Economy
### Top employers

According to Winters' 2017 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:
| # | Employer | # of Employees |
| 1 | Mariani Nut Company | 350 |
| 2 | Winters Joint Unified School District | 235 |
| 3 | Buckhorn Restaurant Group | 120 |
| 4 | Double M Trucking | 75 |
| 5 | City of Winters | 55 |

## Demographics
### 2010

At the 2010 census Winters had a population of 6,624. The population density was 2,255.2 inhabitants per square mile (870.7/km$^2$). The racial makeup of Winters was 4,635 (70.0%) White, 43 (0.6%) African American, 56 (0.8%) Native American, 63 (1.0%) Asian, 7 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 1,488 (22.5%) from other races, and 332 (5.0%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3,469 persons (52.4%).
The census reported that 6,618 people (99.9% of the population) lived in households, 6 (0.1%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and no one was institutionalized.
There were 2,186 households, 949 (43.4%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 1,322 (60.5%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 255 (11.7%) had a female householder with no husband present, 134 (6.1%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 123 (5.6%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 16 (0.7%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 365 households (16.7%) were one person and 134 (6.1%) had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 3.03. There were 1,711 families (78.3% of households); the average family size was 3.40.
The age distribution was 1,707 people (25.8%) under the age of 18, 741 people (11.2%) aged 18 to 24, 1,707 people (25.8%) aged 25 to 44, 1,868 people (28.2%) aged 45 to 64, and 601 people (9.1%) who were 65 or older. The median age was 35.9 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.9 males.
There were 2,299 housing units at an average density of 782.7 per square mile, of the occupied units 1,425 (65.2%) were owner-occupied and 761 (34.8%) were rented. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.7%; the rental vacancy rate was 5.0%. 4,401 people (66.4% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 2,217 people (33.5%) lived in rental housing units.

### 2000

At the 2000 census there were 6,125 people in 1,907 households, including 1,546 families, in the city. The population density was 860.0/km$^2$ (2,226.6/mi$^2$). There were 1,954 housing units at an average density of 274.3/km$^2$ (710.3/mi$^2$). The racial makeup of the city was 69.81% White, 0.67% African American, 0.88% Native American, 1.00% Asian, 0.28% Pacific Islander, 22.56% from other races, and 4.80% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 44.41%.
Of the 1,907 households 48.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.1% were married couples living together, 12.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.9% were non-families. 14.5% of households were one person and 6.3% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 3.21 and the average family size was 3.56.
The age distribution was 33.3% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 30.9% from 25 to 44, 19.1% from 45 to 64, and 7.8% 65 or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.5 males.
The median household income was $48,678 and the median family income was $55,183. Males had a median income of $40,257 versus $27,662 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,133. About 4.2% of families and 5.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.4% of those under age 18 and 5.9% of those age 65 or over.

## Notable people

* Robert Crumb, cartoonist, lived in Winters until 1991
* Frank Demaree, Major League Baseball player
* Robert Craig McNamara, owner of Sierra Orchards and son of Robert S. McNamara, Secretary of the Department of Defense
* Catherine Squires Microbiologist, Moved to Winters 2009
* John Reid Wolfskill, Winters pioneer