Lancaster, California has a population of over 170,000 residents and a land area about 94.5 square miles. The City of Lancaster is the third largest city by land area and the fifth largest city by population in Los Angeles County. Lancaster is located about 70 miles by car north of Downtown Los Angeles. Lancaster is separated from the Los Angeles basin area by the east-west trending San Gabriel Mountains. Lancaster is separated from the San Joaquin Valley, which lies to the northwest, by the Tehachapi Mountains. Lancaster is in the western portion of the Mojave Desert in an area called the Antelope Valley. Lancaster is bounded on the north by Rosamond and Edwards Air Force Base; on the south by Palmdale and Desert View Highlands; on the west by Los Padres National Forest, and Quartz Hill; and on the east by Antelope Center, Lake Los Angeles, and Littlerock.
Business and JobsLancaster has earned a “Most Business-Friendly" Eddy Award from the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation. Lancaster has some of the most affordable commercial and industrial properties in Los Angeles County.
Like many cities in Los Angeles County, the aerospace industry played a major role in Lancaster’s development. The legacy of this industry is obvious on a map of Lancaster. To the northeast of central Lancaster is Edwards Air Force Base, once known as Muroc Army Airfield. Edwards Air Force Base is the second largest base in the Air Force. More than 10,000 military, civilian, and contract personnel are assigned to the base, which covers 481 square miles. The installation is home to the NASA Neil A. Armstrong Flight Research Center (formerly called the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center). The NASA Dryden Flight Research Center was the birthplace of several secret military aerospace design projects. With relatively inexpensive housing and well-paying jobs in the aerospace industry, Lancaster became a draw for people tired of the crowds and traffic of urban Los Angeles, and the San Fernando and San Gabriel Valleys.
Fox Field Industrial Center covers 8,000 acres. Offering parcels up to 1,000 acres, Fox Field Industrial Center is ideal for large distribution centers.
Lancaster Business Park has a focus on light industrial and corporate office uses and is home to around 100 companies employing over 4,000 people.
General William J. Fox Airfield is a General Aviation Airport that opened in 1959 and hosts over 50,000 takeoffs and landings annually. The airfield is owned and operated by the County of Los Angeles. Home to over 200 aircraft, the airfield has a restaurant and several aviation-related businesses on site, The airfield’s single runway is 7,210 feet long, which is adequate for aircraft weighing less the 200,000 pounds. An estimated $14 million in airport related spending benefits Lancaster and surrounding communities. General William J. Fox was the Director of Aviation for the County of Los Angeles during the period when the airfield was first developed.
United States Air Force Plant 42 in neighboring Palmdale is a classified manufacturing plant operated by several private aerospace contractors. Air Force Plant 42 is one of the largest employers in Antelope Valley and includes two approximately 12,000 foot long runways.
The BLVD is a stretch of Lancaster Boulevard in Downtown Lancaster that has been transformed by means of a streetscape redesign. Along this stretch, visitors can find an underground bowling alley, cinemas, the Museum of Art & History, and over 200 locally owned businesses. The Museum of Art & History has a collection of over 10,000 artworks and artifacts.
Antelope Valley Commerce Center upon completion in the summer of 2024 will offer industrial buildings with a total of 8 million square feet of space.
Other extant or in-development business parks include Antelope Valley Medical Main Street, Centerpointe Business Park, Enterprise Business Park, and South Amargosa Industrial.
Antelope Valley Solar Ranch One is a large photovoltaic facility with about 3.8 million solar panels. The facility generates enough electricity to power about 75,000 average homes. The facility generates electricity without water use or waste production. The facility’s solar panels optimize electricity production by tilting to track the sun’s daily path.
GovernmentThe Mayor and four City Councilmembers govern the City of Lancaster. The Council appoints the City Manager, City Attorney, and members of commissions and committees.
The City of Lancaster contracts with the Los Angeles County Fire Department for fire and paramedic services within its boundaries.
The City of Lancaster contracts with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department for law enforcement services. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, through its Lancaster Sherriff’s Station, also provides law enforcement services for unincorporated areas north of Lancaster up to the Los Angeles/Kern County line.
Antelope Valley Transit Authority states that it is the first all-electric transit agency in North America.
Antelope Valley Union High School District has eleven schools in Lancaster and neighboring communities.
Lancaster School District operates 23 schools, serving students from preschool through eighth grade who live in the City of Lancaster and a few adjacent unincorporated areas.
Antelope Valley College is a community college with more than 18,000 students and more than 850 employees. The college has an annual economic impact of around $265 million.
RecreationThe City of Lancaster operates several large parks, including Sgt. Steve Owen Memorial Park, formerly known as Lancaster Park, which encompasses an expansive 63 acres. Apollo Community Regional Park is operated by the Los Angeles County Parks & Recreation. The 54-acre park features three man-made lakes.
One of the treasures of the Antelope Valley – and indeed of the state of California – lies just west of Lancaster: The 1,781-acre Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve. The state of California has set aside this land and protected it from development. The Reserve is famed around the world for its seasonal native wildflower blooms, particularly during the late winter and early spring months when the eponymous California poppy, which is also the state flower, paints the landscape a vivid, electric orange for a brief period. There are other wildflowers in bloom during this and other seasons, so a visit to the Reserve at any time of year is warranted. Visitors should note that the park service does not interfere with the wild nature of the Reserve, in that it does not water, fertilize, control pests, or in any way encourage or manage the growth of the flowers, so it is up to nature to decide what someone who makes a trip to the Reserve will ultimately see.
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