Apple Valley, Minnesota
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Apple Valley, Minnesota | |||
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| Coordinates: | |||
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| Country | United States | ||
| State | Minnesota | ||
| Counties | Dakota | ||
| Mayor | Mary Hamann-Roland | ||
| Area | |||
| - City | 17.7 mi² - 45.9 km² | ||
| - Land | 17.3 mi² - 44.9 km² | ||
| - Water | 0.4 mi² - 1.0 km² | ||
| Elevation | 289 m | ||
| Population | |||
| - City (2000) | 45,527 | ||
| - Density | 1013.7/km² | ||
| - Metro | 2,968,805 | ||
| Time zone | CST (UTC-6) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) | ||
| Website: http://www.ci.apple-valley.mn.us/ | |||
Apple Valley is a city located in northwestern Dakota County in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and a suburb of the Twin Cities. It was incorporated in 1969, and was known before then as Lebanon Township. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 45,527, making it the 15th most populous city in Minnesota. Apple Valley is home to the Minnesota Zoo, a nationally-famous zoological garden which houses hundreds of animals from several distinct climatological zones.
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[edit] Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 45.9 km² (17.7 mi²). 44.9 km² (17.3 mi²) of its land and 1.0 km² (0.4 mi²) of it (2.14%) is water. The city's geography is rolling, elevation from the lowest to the highest points in the city vary by a hundred feet or more. The downtown area and its adjacent residential district (which formed the original core of the city when it was incorporated) are located in a shallow valley, lending the city (in part) its name.[edit] Demographics
As of the census² of 2000, there were 45,527 people, 16,344 households, and 12,405 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,013.7/km² (2,625.5/mi²). There were 16,536 housing units at an average density of 368.2/km² (953.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 91.81% White, 1.91% African American, 0.29% Native American, 3.39% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.88% from other races, and 1.69% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.00% of the population.
There were 16,344 households out of which 42.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.7% were married couples living together, 9.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.1% were non-families. 19.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.77 and the average family size was 3.21.
In the city the population was spread out with 29.7% under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 33.1% from 25 to 44, 24.4% from 45 to 64, and 5.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 95.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.4 males. For several years, the city's population was among the fastest growing in Minnesota, but it has virtually exhausted the amount of additional buildable land within city limits, and so its growth has slowed considerably since 1990.
The median income for a household in the city was $69,752, and the median income for a family was $79,335. Males had a median income of $50,636 versus $33,315 for females. The per capita income for the city was $29,477. About 1.1% of families and 2.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.0% of those under age 18 and 3.8% of those age 65 or over.
Apple Valley is located in Minnesota's 2nd congressional district, represented by John Kline, a right-wing Republican, scoring only 2.8% progressive on a range of issues. <ref>Grossman, Joshua. ProgressivePunch Leading with the Left. All Issues. ProgressivePunch. Retrieved on 2006-10-27.</ref>
[edit] Education
There are six elementary, three middle and three high schools in the city, all operated by Independent School District 196. Apple Valley High School has a strong traditional rivalry with neighboring Rosemount. But since Eastview, the younger school, opened its doors during the 1997–1998 school year, they have become the strongest inner-city rivalry. Eastview drew its initial students from the then-overcrowded Rosemount High School. In addition to the two comprehensive high schools, Apple Valley is also home to a magnet school, the School of Environmental Studies, which focuses on (as the name suggests) sciences, especially environmental sciences.
[edit] Trivia
- Sgt. Gregg Spandl of the Apple Valley Police Department designed the police force's patch, which depicts a Bengal tiger, symbol of the Minnesota Zoo located in Apple Valley.
- According to local developer Henry Broback, Lebanon Township was renamed Apple Valley because "...when you drive east on (County Road) 42 and turn to enter Lebanon, it reminded them of Apple Valley, California, which was a nice community."[citation needed]
- Developer Orrin Thompson helped to give the town its name, by promising everyone in his developments an apple tree in their backyard. Because the developments in the southwest corner of the city were a majority of the development when the town was incorporated, and because they all had apple trees, the town was named Apple Valley. Many of the homes in the southwestern Thompson developments still have their apple trees. So the city's name comes from Thompson's development rather than its prior history as farmland.[citation needed]
[edit] References
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