Ventura County Real Estate

Ventura County provides an alternative to Los Angeles County for commuters that work in the city of Los Angeles. Ventura County is much less populated than Los Angeles County because of strict Smart Growth Policies that were implemented in the 1980s. Living in Ventura can be a welcome change from the high-density population of Los Angeles County.

Ventura has a population of 753,197 according to the 2000 census. There are 243,234 households and 182,911 families living in the county. Ventura County's population is 69 percent white, 5.35 percent Asian, 1.95 percent African American and 33.42 percent Hispanic or Latino of any race. Out of the 243,234 households, 39.7 percent have children under 18 years of age, 59.5 percent are married couples and 24.8 percent are non-families.

Ventura County through the Ages

The Chumash Indians resided in the areas of Ventura County for thousands of years, living off wildlife, grains and acorns. When European settlers arrived in the late 1700s, the Chumash were permanently displaced. With them, the settlers brought ranching and farming to the area. The Spanish settlers raised cattle and other livestock in addition to planting crops, something the Ventura County area had never seen before,

The Spaniards also brought missionaries and set up missions to convert the Chumash to Christianity. Ventura County gets its name from the Mission San Buenaventura, which was established in 1782. Buenaventura, which means "good fortune" in Spanish, was what the area around the mission became known as. Eventually the name was shortened to Ventura.