About

Morro Bay is an incorporated waterfront city in San Luis Obispo County, California located along California State Route 1 on California's Central Coast. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 10,234, down from 10,350 at the 2000 census.

Geography

Morro Bay is the name of the large estuary that is situated along the northern shores of the bay itself. The larger bay on which the local area lies is Estero Bay, which also encompasses the communities of Cayucos and Los Osos. The city of Morro Bay is 20 km (12 mi) northwest of San Luis Obispo and is located on Highway 1. Los Osos Creek discharges into Morro Bay. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 10.3 square miles (27 km2), of which, 5.3 square miles (14 km2) of it is land and 5.0 square miles (13 km2) of it (48.63%) is water.

Climate

Morro Bay experiences a mild warm-summer Mediterranean climate characteristic of coastal California featuring dry, warm summers and wet, mild winters. The city is located next to the Pacific Ocean, which helps moderate temperatures and create an overall pleasant mild year-round climate, resulting in warmer winters and cooler summers compared with places farther inland, such as Atascadero. Summers in Morro Bay are cool for a city located on the 35th parallel north latitude, with July averaging around 60 °F (16 °C). Winters are mild, with January averaging at 55 °F (13 °C) with around 8 days of measurable precipitation.

Demographics

The 2010 United States Census reported that Morro Bay had a population of 10,234. The population density was 991.5 people per square mile (382.8/km2). The racial makeup of Morro Bay was 8,909 (87.1%) White, 44 (0.4%) African American, 92 (0.9%) Native American, 258 (2.5%) Asian, 9 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 613 (6.0%) from other races, and 309 (3.0%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1,526 persons (14.9%).  The Census reported that 10,073 people (98.4% of the population) lived in households, 36 (0.4%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 125 (1.2%) were institutionalized.