Homes, condos and land for sale and rent in Morro Bay, CA

The town of Morro Bay was founded by Franklin Riley in 1870 as a port for the export of dairy and ranch products. He was instrumental in the building of a wharf which has now become the Embarcadero. During the 1870s, schooners could often be seen at the Embarcadero picking up wool, potatoes, barley, and dairy products.
Since the beginning of the 20th century, the town has been a center for beach holidays. Tourism is the city’s largest industry, coexisting with the town’s commercial fishery. The most popular beach is on the north side of Morro Rock, north of the harbor. There are also excellent beaches north and south of the town which are now owned by the State of California.
In the 1940s, Morro Bay developed an abalone fishing industry; it peaked in 1957, and stocks of abalone have declined significantly due to overfishing. Halibut, sole, rockfish, albacore, and many other species are still caught by both commercial and sport vessels. In addition, oysters are aquacultured in the shallow back bay.

Morro Bay is also 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.

The town’s most striking feature is Morro Rock, a 576 foot high volcanic plug which stands at the entrance to the harbor. Originally it was surrounded by water, but the northern channel was filled in to make the harbor. It was quarried from 1889 to 1969, and in 1968, it was designated a Historical Landmark.
The area around the base of Morro Rock is open to visitors, with parking lots and paths. However, climbing the rock itself is prohibited except with a permit, both due to risk of injury, and because it is a peregrine falcon reserve.
Morro Rock is one in a series of similar plugs that stretch in a line inland called the Nine Sisters. It is possible that the landscape moved over a volcanic hot spot through the ages.

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.

There were 4,844 households, out of which 919 (19.0%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 1,972 (40.7%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 405 (8.4%) had a female householder with no husband present, 217 (4.5%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 330 (6.8%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 35 (0.7%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 1,808 households (37.3%) were made up of individuals and 783 (16.2%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.08. There were 2,594 families (53.6% of all households); the average family size was 2.70.

The population was spread out with 1,530 people (15.0%) under the age of 18, 815 people (8.0%) aged 18 to 24, 2,264 people (22.1%) aged 25 to 44, 3,200 people (31.3%) aged 45 to 64, and 2,425 people (23.7%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 48.9 years. For every 100 females there were 95.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.6 males.
There were 6,320 housing units at an average density of 612.3 per square mile (236.4/km2), of which 2,583 (53.3%) were owner-occupied, and 2,261 (46.7%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 3.3%; the rental vacancy rate was 6.3%. 5,218 people (51.0% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 4,855 people (47.4%) lived in rental housing units.