Cloverdale

The population was 8,996 at the 2020 census.

• Official Name — Cloverdale, California • Settlement Type — City • Subdivision Type — Country • Subdivision Type1 — State • Subdivision Name1 — California • Subdivision Type2 — County • Subdivision Name2 — Sonoma • Government Type — Council–manager • Established Title2 — Incorporated • Established Date2 — February 28, 1872 • Unit Pref — Imperial • Area Total Sq Mi — 3.13 • Area Land Sq Mi — 3.13 • Area Water Sq Mi — 0.00 • Area Total Km2 — 8.12 • Area Land Km2 — 8.12 • Area Water Km2 — 0.00 • Area Water Percent — 0 • Population As Of — 2020 • Population Total — 8996 • Population Density Sq Mi — 2869.54 • Population Density Km2 — 1107.82 • Population Demonym — Cloverdalian • Timezone — PST • Utc Offset — -8 • Timezone Dst — PDT • Utc Offset Dst — -7 • Elevation Ft — 335 • Postal Code Type — ZIP code • Postal Code — 95425 • Area Code Type — Area code • Area Code — 707 • Blank Name — FIPS code • Blank1 Name — GNIS feature IDs • Blank1 Info —, • Website — cloverdale.net

Cloverdale began as an early stagecoach stop, known as Markleville, on the Rancho Rincon de Musalacon Mexican grant. In 1856, R.B. Markle and W.J. Miller bought 759 acre, which included the present site of the town, from Johnson Horrell. In 1859, James Abram Kleiser bought Markle's interest, and the town was laid out. The town was incorporated when the San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad arrived in 1872. By 1878, the railroad service provided three trains a day between Cloverdale and Ferries of San Francisco Bay. • Illustration — Cloverdale's first post office (c. 1871–1880) In 1881, Jules Leroux and Armand Dehay established a colony south of Cloverdale named "Icaria Speranza", based on the French Utopian movement, the Icarians. The settlement ended in 1886 and today, there is a marker south of town where the schoolhouse was located. Cloverdale Citrus Fair began in 1892. The San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition is run by the Cloverdale Citrus Fair. Since 2000, the San Francisco Chronicle has been its title sponsor. Cloverdale suffered severe economic hardship, losing 500 to 600 manufacturing jobs between 1988 and 1994, with the closing of a fire equipment factory and the shrinking of the logging industry. On July 6, 2005, Cloverdale began its economic reform with the "RTB" (Real-Estate Transfer Bureau) plan granting money for businesses and commerce to return to the city. This plan fell through as the grant was moved to Los Altos, California and changed to the "1750" plan. In 1993, 300 jobs were eliminated alone when Louisiana-Pacific closed its lumber mill. In 1994, Highway 101, which formerly bisected the town, was rerouted around town with a bypass. Some businesses closed, and many natives believed the bypass radically changed the town's character. Since the bypass, signs of civic revival have occurred with the development of pedestrian-friendly sidewalks, a performing arts center, a brewpub, and a downtown plaza hosting live concerts and a farmers' market. In 1997, Clover Springs, a development with 362 houses, was opened on the south end of town. In 2011, the Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District transferred 250 acre of former ranchland to the City of Cloverdale for use as a park and open-space preserve.

The Cloverdale Rancheria of Pomo Indians is a landless federally recognized tribe with a membership of almost 500. In 2008, the Tribe acquired 80 acre at the southern end of town. The Rancheria is a community of Pomo Indians who are indigenous to Sonoma County and speak the Southern Pomo language. Pomo people are renowned for their basket weaving, done by both men and women. Elsie Allen, considered to be one of the best California basketweavers of her generation, was a member of the Rancheria and spent part of her childhood there. According to tribal history, the Pomo people lived peacefully in the area since ancient times. The Rancheria was created by the federal government in 1921, when the tribe became federally recognized, and deeded the tribe 27.5 acre on the southern edge of town. In 1958, the Rancheria was terminated, along with 43 other rancherias in California. This process transferred tribal community land to private ownership. In 1979, Tillie Hardwick, a Pomo woman, filed a class action suit on behalf of 16 of the illegally terminated rancherias. In 1983, the Courts reinstated the federal recognition of the illegally terminated tribes, including the Cloverdale Rancheria. In 1994, the Highway 101 bypass cut through the Rancheria land, forcing tribal landowners to sell their property for the freeway. In 2006, the tribe began efforts to revive and restore their traditional culture. The tribe is also interested in opening up a casino.

Cloverdale is located in the northern portion of Sonoma County, approximately 85 miles (135 km) north of San Francisco; it is both the northernmost and westernmost city of the San Francisco Bay Area. The city has a total area of 2.6 sqmi, all land. Cloverdale is located in Wine Country, being part of the Alexander Valley AVA.

According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Cloverdale has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate, abbreviated "Csa" on climate maps. Temperatures in Cloverdale can exceed 100 F and it is known for having hot, dry summers relative to the rest of Sonoma County.

As of the 2020 census, Cloverdale had a population of 8,996 and a population density of 2,869.5 PD/sqmi. Racial composition as of the 2020 census • Race — Number — Percent • White — 5,230 — 58.1% • Black or African American — 69 — 0.8% • American Indian and Alaska Native — 287 — 3.2% • Asian — 100 — 1.1% • Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander — 17 — 0.2% • Some other race — 1,839 — 20.4% • Two or more races — 1,454 — 16.2% • Hispanic or Latino (of any race) — 3,470 — 38.6% There were 3,365 households, of which 32.5% included children under the age of 18. Of all households, 52.9% were married-couple households, 7.0% were cohabiting couple households, 24.8% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present, and 15.3% had a male householder with no spouse or partner present. About 24.1% of households were one person, and 13.5% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.65, and there were 2,325 families (69.1% of all households). The census reported that 99.3% of the population lived in households, 0.1% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0.7% were institutionalized. Additionally, 99.8% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.2% lived in rural areas. The age distribution was 21.3% under the age of 18, 7.5% aged 18 to 24, 25.5% aged 25 to 44, 24.8% aged 45 to 64, and 20.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41.8 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.9 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 95.6 males age 18 and over. There were 3,524 housing units at an average density of 1,047.9 /mi2, of which 95.5% were occupied and 4.5% were vacant. Of the occupied units, 64.7% were owner-occupied and 35.3% were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.9% and the rental vacancy rate was 3.2%.

In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that the median household income was $104,238, and the per capita income was $49,562. About 2.6% of families and 4.5% of the population were below the poverty line.

At the 2010 census Cloverdale had a population of 8,618. The population density was 3,255.1 PD/sqmi. The racial makeup of Cloverdale was 6,458 (74.9%) White, 48 (0.6%) African American, 156 (1.8%) Native American, 98 (1.1%) Asian, 7 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 1,530 (17.8%) from other races, and 321 (3.7%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2,824 persons (32.8%). The census reported that 8,530 people (99.0% of the population) lived in households, 22 (0.3%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 66 (0.8%) were institutionalized. There were 3,182 households, 1,087 (34.2%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 1,769 (55.6%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 294 (9.2%) had a female householder with no husband present, 159 (5.0%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 232 (7.3%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 32 (1.0%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 747 households (23.5%) were one person and 373 (11.7%) had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.68. There were 2,222 families (69.8% of households); the average family size was 3.16. The age distribution was 2,054 people (23.8%) under the age of 18, 699 people (8.1%) aged 18 to 24, 2,154 people (25.0%) aged 25 to 44, 2,329 people (27.0%) aged 45 to 64, and 1,382 people (16.0%) who were 65 or older. The median age was 39.7 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.1 males. There were 3,427 housing units at an average density of 1,294.4 per square mile, of the occupied units 2,102 (66.1%) were owner-occupied and 1,080 (33.9%) were rented. The homeowner vacancy rate was 4.1%; the rental vacancy rate was 4.9%. 5,522 people (64.1% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 3,008 people (34.9%) lived in rental housing units.

• Illustration — Welcome to Cloverdale. In the California State Legislature, Cloverdale is in, and in. In the United States House of Representatives, Cloverdale is in. According to the California Secretary of State, as of February 10, 2019, Cloverdale has 4,745 registered voters. Of those, 2,293 (48.3%) are registered Democrats, 994 (20.9%) are registered Republicans, and 1,194 (25.2%) have declined to state a political party.

Cloverdale is at the junction of U.S. 101 and State Route 128. The city operates Cloverdale Transit and Cloverdale Municipal Airport. Inter-city transit is provided by Sonoma County Transit. Plans to extend Sonoma–Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART), a commuter rail service in Sonoma and Marin counties, from its current northern terminus in Windsor, California to Cloverdale will link the town to a bay ferry terminal in Larkspur. A train station for this purpose already exists on the town's south side. Long range County plans include eventually extending the SMART train to Cloverdale.

The school district is Cloverdale Unified School District.

• Elsie Allen (1899–1990), Pomo basket maker and teacher regarded as one of the three best California basket makers of her generation • Fairuza Balk (born 1974), actress, musician, and visual artist; she lived in Cloverdale as an infant • Lana Clarkson (1962–2003), actress murdered by music producer Phil Spector; she grew up in Cloverdale • David Del Tredici (born 1937), Pulitzer Prize-winning 20th and 21st century classical music composer; he was born and spent the first four years of his life in Cloverdale • Rich Rowland (born 1964), former catcher for the Detroit Tigers