Population : 49,692 (2008)
Median Income: $ 80,162 (2008)
Elevation : 250 feet
City's Area: 6.59 Square Miles

Average temperature:
Highest: 74-63 *F
Lowest: 57-45 *F

Airport Distances:
John Wayne Airport: 17.5 Mi.
LAX Airport : 37.4 Mi.
Ontario Airport : 29.7 Mi.

Placentia is a city in northern Orange County, California. The population was 46,488 at the 2000 census. The 2004 population estimate for Placentia is 49,949. This includes the community of Atwood, which is included in the city of Placentia, and is located in its southernmost quadrants.

In recent years Placentia has encountered fiscal difficulties due to its limited tax base and the mismanagement of the OnTrac project, a failed railroad realignment project in its Old Town district. As of January 2007, the city was about $30 million in debt, forcing a reduction of city services.

History
In 1837, the Mexican Governor in charge of what is now Southern California granted a grand swath of land to Juan Ontiveros called the Rancho San Juan Cajón de Santa Ana, comprising the modern cities of Anaheim, Fullerton, La Habra, Placentia and Yorba Linda.

The first English-speaking pioneer to the area, Daniel Kraemer, arrived in 1865. He acquired 3,900 acres (16 km²) of the Rancho. In 1868, William McFadden and Sarah Ann McFadden purchased an additional 100 acres (400,000 m²). Within a few years, enough settlers had been attracted to the area to form the Cajon School District. In 1878, at the suggestion of Sarah Jane McFadden, the name was changed to the Placentia School District, derived from a Spanish word meaning "pleasant place to live." The name was soon applied to the whole town.