About the Antelope Valley

The Antelope Valley (AV) is located approximately 60 miles northeast of Los Angeles. Expanding over two counties, Los Angeles and Kern, the AV is known as the high desert because it has an average elevation of 2,800 feet above sea level. It consists of the cities/communities of Mojave, California City, Rosamond, Lancaster, Palmdale, Littlerock, Pearblossom, Lake Los Angeles, Leona Valley, and Lake Elizabeth. The AV, which consists of over 3,000 square miles, experiences all four seasons, with snow falling, on average, every 2-3 years.

 

Antelope Valley Population Growth

1980
1990
2000
2010
2015
Lancaster
47,882
97,291
118,718
156,593
165,361
Palmdale
27,344
80,992
116,760
152,779
181,139

 
The "backbone" of the AV is the aerospace industry. A world leader in aerospace since the 1950's, the AV has all the big names in aerospace. Boeing, Lockheed-Martin, Northrop-Grumman, Rockwell, BAE Systems, and even Lockheed's top secret Skunk Works are all located in Palmdale. Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier at Edwards Air Force Base (Rosamond) in the late 1940's. The B-1 and B-2 bombers were both built in Palmdale, as was the first Space Shuttle in the 1980's. The X-33, the next generation space shuttle, is also currently under development in the AV. Even today, the space shuttle will occasionally land at Edwards Dry Lake Bed, as it did regularly in the 1980's. Looking forward, it now appears that The nations newest jet fighter, the F-22, will also be built, in whole or in part, in the AV! This will be the Pentagon's most expensive weapon system ever produced, $60 Billion over Several Years.

The AV’s aerospace industry employs nearly 30,000 civilian and military personnel, with a payroll that tops $1 billion annually. Contract spending by aerospace firms adds nearly $600M to the local economy and approximately 20,000 jobs indirectly. Overall, that amounts to an economic impact of $3B annually.


Also assembled and tested out of Plant 42 in Palmdale is the F-22 Raptor by Lockheed Martin. Developed for the Air Force, the F-22 is the world’s most advanced air to air combat fighter and has the technology to attack air targets from afar. It can also outmaneuver any existing, or on the “drawing board”, aircraft. The F-22 is a Mach 2 class aircraft.

 

The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. The fuselage for this aircraft is built at Northrop Grumman’s site at Plant 42 in Palmdale. When completed, the fuselages are sent to Fort Worth for final assembly. The F-35 can attack ground targets over the horizon by linking up with satellites to acquire target coordinates.

 

 
The Air Force’s next generation long range bomber, the B-21, is also being built and assembled by Northrop Grumman at Plant 42. Notice the similarity to the B-2, also a Northrop Grumman aircraft that was built in the late 1980’s at Palmdale.

Mojave Air & Space Port, over the past several years, has become a major player in aerospace in the Antelope Valley. Initially a WW II Marine Corps pilot training base, the Mojave Air & Space Port is now 1 of 10 licensed spaceports in the country. Today the Mojave Air & Space Port has some 2,000 employees with 70 tenants. It is the 5th largest aerospace employer in the region and one of the top ten employers in the Antelope Valley. Tenants include: Virgin Galactic,The Spaceship Co, Masten Space Systems, Stratolaunch Systems, Scaled Composites, and the National Test Pilot School. The Mojave area is also a major transportation hub, with Highways 14 and 58 joining in Mojave as well as rail and other industries. The Mojave Air & Space Port is a “one stop shop for innovation”. One of Mojave’s high profile aircraft is the SpaceShipTwo, an aircraft that will carry paying commercial passengers into sub-orbital space.

Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo


The AV is strategically located only and hour's drive from major population centers, making it an affordable option for those that get priced out of their own more expensive housing markets. To the southwest of the AV are the areas of Canyon Country/Valencia, San Fernando Valley and the Los Angeles Basin. To the northwest is Bakersfield. All totaled, this puts between 7-10 million people only an hour's drive from the AV. In these competing areas, the average entry level home is twice as expensive as a comparable home in the AV. Thus, one can easily see why affordable housing is the #1 attraction in the AV. A pro-business environment, cleaner air, a simpler/quieter life style, and a family friendly atmosphere also bring people here to stay.

 

 

 
Lancaster and Palmdale are the two largest cities in the AV. Both have housing options for any income level. Retail in the AV is anchored by the AV Mall in Palmdale and the Power Center in Lancaster. Best Buy, Costco, Staples, Gottschalks, Mervyns, Dillards, Harris, Sears, Circuit City, Target, Wal Mart, and K-Mart are just a few that have invested in the AV.

AV Major auto dealers are located in the Auto Malls of Lancaster & Palmdale. Antelope Valley Community College, a two year school, is located in Lancaster, serves the entire valley, and has plans for a Palmdale Campus. Developers building new homes in the AV include such names as: U.S. Home, Beazer, Harris, Kaufman & Broad, Rancho Vista Development, Barratt Homes, Inco Homes, Granite Homes, & David Spiegel & Assoc.

 

The main dining room of the Cascades restaurant, named after the cascading rock-lined waterfall near the 18th green, also overlooks green belt fairways.

 


In the 1980's, the AV overall, experienced a population increase of 87%. While growth in the 1990's did slow from the explosive growth rate of the 1980's, Palmdale and Lancaster, collectively, bounced back in the ten year period from 2000 to 2010, growing 31%. Lancaster’s Fox Field area is poised to contribute to the Antelope Valley’s future growth offering amultitude of sites for light industry.

 


 
The Antelope Valley has 49% of all undeveloped land that makes up the County of Los Angeles. Los Angeles County has few places to grow aggressively. The AV is one place where a lack of land and open space are NOT going to inhibit growth. The AV gives every indication of being poised for growth in the next millennium!