Downey is recognized for its desired location, fine residential neighborhoods, and family lifestyle. It is a place of pride, history, involvement and community.

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
Civic pride is felt throughout the community by both residents and businesses. It is an active community where prize-winning rose floats have been designed, decorated and continuously entered in Pasadena's Tournament of Roses since 1955. They are completely financed, constructed and decorated by volunteers. Our outstanding YMCA continues to be one of the best. It is also operated by community volunteers and contributors. We are a city of many fine churches that offer a variety of religious and social activities and are reminiscent of small town living. Our unique community spirit and involvement is unmatched anywhere else in Southern California, as is evident by the strong participation and volunteer work during the Annual Holiday Lane Parade and Downey Street Faire, both produced by the Downey Chamber of Commerce.

AWARD-WINNING SCHOOLS
Downey's outstanding school district has won 4 California "Distinguished School" awards. A Downey school was recently one of only two in California to be awarded for academic excellence. Quality education is provided both publicly and privately.

QUALITY POLICE
Downey is a full-service city with its own quality police and fire departments. Downey consistently commits towards the best public protection for all its citizens and is known for its quiet, safe community.

FIRE SAFETY
The Downey Fire Department has four stations to serve the city. The City has consistently maintained a Class 2 rating, a factor that leads to lower insurance premiums for business. Downey maintains one of the few urban search and rescue units in the county.

TRANSPORTATION
Downey LINK, our public transportation network, puts the entire city within your reach.

A PREMIER BUSINESS CENTER
Downey is proud to be rated in the top 25% by California Business Magazine in the "100 Best Cities to Do Business in California." Downey is home to over 2,700 retail, service and manufacturing companies, providing over 47,000 jobs to the region. Downey offers contemporary retail, professional offices, modern industrial and prime business locations ready for development. Downey consistently rates as one of the safest cities for businesses and residents in the Los Angeles and Orange County region.

KEY RESOURCES
Educated and Skilled Workforce
Downey's long history with the aerospace industry and space programs has brought some of the world's most advanced technology to the region. With the strong influence of aerospace as well as the many universities in the area, Downey enjoys one of the largest concentrations of highly educated and skilled workers in the region.

Central Location
Why do so many companies consider Downey the ideal place to do business'? It's simple! Our location is centralized and easy to reach. Access to interstates, railroads, airports and seaports connects your business to your customer base. These many modes of access link your business to local and international markets.

Premier Businesses
Downey continues to lead the area with national tenants. We have successfully maintained and attracted top quality commercial and industrial businesses to our city.

WHERE WE ARE
Downey is located 12 miles southeast of the Los Angeles Civic Center and five miles from the Orange County line. It is bordered by two rivers the Rio Hondo to the west and the Rio San Gabriel to the east.

ACCESS
Freeways
Downey is geographically centered around Southern California's freeway system. Our superior access easily reaches four major freeways. North Downey - Santa Ana Freeway (Interstate 5); West Downey - Long Beach Freeway (Interstate 710); East Downey - San Gabriel Freeway (Interstate 605); South Downey - Century Freeway (Interstate 105) 3 1/2 miles south is the Artesia Freeway (Route 91)

Rail
Downey is host to a Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) light rail station serving the region's growing commercial needs. As part of MTA's Metrolink network, the "Green Line" connects Downey to over 400 miles of track serving Los Angeles, San Bernardino, and Riverside Counties. Commercial and industrial freight service is provided by Southern Pacific Railroad, with connections throughout the United States.

Airports
Downey is only a short drive to five major airports:
Los Angeles International (LAX), Ontario International, Long Beach, Burbank and Orange County's John Wayne. Interstate 105 provides quick and direct auto, truck and commuter rail access to LAX.

Seaports
Worldport LA, the seaports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, is located only 12 miles from the heart of Downey. It is the third largest metropolitan seaport in the world. Downey's easy access to the seaports provides first class transportation service for both passengers and cargo.

Attractions
Downey is conveniently located within 30 minutes of nearly every major attraction in the area, including Disneyland, Knotts Berry Farm, Universal Studios/Citywalk, Catalina Island, Cerritos Center for Performing Arts, Irvine Meadows Amphitheater, Farmer's Market, 3rd Street Promenade, Great Western Forum/Hollywood Park, The Greek Theatre, The Queen Mary, Los Angeles Zoo, Rodeo Drive, Hollywood Bowl and much more.

Educational Facilities
Downey is surrounded by educational facilities offering doctorate degrees to specific job training. Several nationally acclaimed universities are located within minutes of Downey. They include the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), the University of California at Irvine (UCI), the University of Southern California (USC), the California Institute of Technology (Cal Tech), Pepperdine University, Loyola Marymount University and the University of La Verne. Cerritos College, Rio Hondo College, Cal State Universities Long Beach, Los Angeles, Fullerton and Pomona also service the area.

POPULATION AND HOUSING CHARACTERISTICS
Population: 107,323
Number of Dwelling Units: 34,759
Median House Value: $320,700
Median Rent: $731/month
Median Household Income: $45,667
School Enrollment: K-12 15,239

CLIMATE
Average Minimum Temperature: 55 degrees
Average Maximum Temperature: 75 degrees
Average Annual Rainfall: 14.85"
Prevailing Winds: W-6 m.p.h.

MISCELLANEOUS
Altitude: 117 feet
Area of City: 12.7 square miles
Official Colors: Blue and Burnt Orange
Official Flower: Statice Perezii (everlasting)

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© 2003 Downey Chamber of Commerce