Valley Center, California
42 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1893 and the latest in 1996. It stands in the Valley Center census division. It lies in ZIP code area 92082. It lies near Bear Valley. The Survey maps it on the Valley Center quadrangle. 10,087 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,312 feet above sea level.
Then and now
1893 to 1996The same ground, surveyed 103 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.


Compare 1893 against another survey:
Population over time
2 figuresValley Center grew from 9,277 to 10,087 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 9,277 | |
| 2020 | 10,087 | +810 (+9%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
16 surveys from 42 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1893 USGS Escondido quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1901 USGS Escondido quadrangle1:62500, 6 printings
- 1901 USGS San Luis Rey quadrangle1:125000, 8 printings
- 1904 USGS Southern California Sheet No. 2 quadrangle1:250000, 5 printings
- 1942 USGS Escondido quadrangle1:62500
- 1947 USGS Santa Ana quadrangle1:250000
- 1948 USGS Valley Center quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1949 USGS Santa Ana quadrangle1:250000
- 1949 USGS Valley Center quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1956 USGS Santa Ana quadrangle1:250000
- 1959 USGS Santa Ana quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1960 USGS Santa Ana quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1965 USGS Santa Ana quadrangle1:250000
- 1968 USGS Valley Center quadrangle1:24000, 4 printings
- 1982 USGS Oceanside quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
- 1996 USGS Valley Center quadrangle1:24000
Fires near this place
471 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 471 fires within 5 miles of Valley Center between 1992 and 2020, burning about 2,248 acres in total. 6 started naturally. 51 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 163 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 151 |
| Debris and open burning | 56 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 51 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 20 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 9 |
| Smoking | 9 |
| Natural | 6 |
| Other causes | 3 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 3 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 September 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | BROADWAY |
| 9 September 2012 | Natural | under an acre | San Diego Unit | VALLEY 4 |
| 9 September 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Southern California Agency | EAST CANAL |
| 8 September 1995 | Equipment and vehicle use | 5.0 acres | San Diego Unit | VINYARD |
| 7 September 1994 | Debris and open burning | 3.0 acres | San Diego Unit | COOLWATER |
| 6 September 2004 | Arson/incendiarism | 5.0 acres | San Diego Unit | LILAC |
| 6 September 1997 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | San Diego Unit | VISTA. |
| 6 September 1993 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | San Diego Unit | STATE 784 |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
8 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 8 workings within 5 miles of Valley Center: 5 prospects, 2 past producers, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Gold, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Lead, Silver. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bradburry Prospect | Lead, Silver | Prospect | ||
| Valley Center Borrow Pit | Granite | Producer | ||
| A.M.E. Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Lake Wohlford Road Pit | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| La Condado Mine | Gold | Prospect | ||
| Moe Mines | Gold | Prospect | ||
| Monarch Mine | Gold | Prospect | ||
| White Oak Mine | Gold | Prospect |
Storms near this place
15 since 1997Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Valley Center in 15 storm reports between 1997 and 2023: 9 flash flood, 3 wildfire, 3 flood. The reports record 2 deaths and 18 injuries. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 2003 | Wildfire | Valley Center | 2 killed, 18 hurt, $55,220,000 | no account filed |
| August 1997 | Wildfire | Valley Center | $1,750,000 | Tinder dry brush and hot, dry weather, intensified a fire which burned 457 acres on the north side of Lake Wohlford. Although arson was blamed for starting the blaze, shifting seabreeze winds of 15 to 25 mph, helped keep it from being controlled. Eleven homes, twenty out buildings, and thirty vehicles were lost. Damage was estimated at $1.75 million |
| February 2004 | Flash Flood | Valley Center | $35,000 | no account filed |
| February 2004 | Flash Flood | Valley Center | $30,000 | no account filed |
| February 2005 | Flash Flood | Valley Center | $20,000 | no account filed |
| March 2004 | Flash Flood | Valley Center | $20,000 | no account filed |
| January 2005 | Flash Flood | Valley Center | $5,000 | no account filed |
| January 2023 | Flash Flood | Valley Center | - | The Department of Highways reported water flowing across Cole Grade Road from the San Luis Rey River. Rainfall of 8 to 11 inches had been received in the 72 hours prior to the flood report. |
| January 2023 | Flood | Valley Center | - | Report received from CalTrans. Woods Valley Road near Valley Center was flooded in both lanes due to rainwater runoff and poor drainage. |
| January 2023 | Flood | Valley Center | - | CalTrans report - Woods Valley Road near Valley Center was flooded in both lanes due to rainwater runoff and poor drainage. |
| March 2023 | Flood | Valley Center | - | Flooding on Vesper Road lead to multiple vehicle spinouts. About 0.90 to 1.10 inches of rain fell in this area in the previous 12 hours. |
| November 2019 | Flash Flood | Valley Center | - | Flash flooding at Cumbres Road, northwest of Valley Center. One inch in one hour was observed in one hour, and two inches of rain fell the day before. Some damage was reported in the area. |
| September 2014 | Flash Flood | Valley Center | - | California Highway Patrol reported a river of flood waters washing across the road at the intersection of Highway 79 and Chihuahua Valley Road. They shut down the road at that spot. |
| August 2014 | Flash Flood | Valley Center | - | CHP reported water over the highway near the intersection of Highway 79 and Chihuahua Valley Road with traffic stopped in both directions. A spotter also reported the roadway washed out at the same location. |
| October 1999 | Wildfire | Valley Center | - | This was initially a one acre fire that was controlled on October 1, but it flared up on October 2 and quickly grew to 150 acres before it was brought under control again. |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hidden Meadows | 4.2 miles | 42 | |
| Jesmond Dene | 4.8 miles | 42 | |
| Lilac | 5.5 miles | 32 | |
| Lawrence Welk Resort Village | 5.7 miles | 40 | |
| Rincon | 6.3 miles | 35 | |
| Pauma Valley | 6.5 miles | 35 | |
| Twin Oaks | 6.8 miles | 40 | |
| Richland | 7.2 miles | 40 |
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on Valley Center | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q2861838 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1661616. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.















