The City of Thousand Oaks is a premiere community recognized for being one of the most desirable places in all of California to live, work, recreate, and raise a family. Located in between Los Angeles and Santa Barbara in Ventura County, Thousand Oaks is nestled against the Santa Monica Mountains and with over 15,000 acres of natural publicly owned open space located within the City’s boundaries.
The City prides itself on its designated open space with 150 miles of trails for hiking, biking, or just leisurely walking. Our efforts at local electricity generation have also been very successful, especially at our wastewater treatment plant. Thousand Oaks is a Tree City, USA, and has been named one of the county’s greenest cities.
We have been designated one of the safest cities in the US and one of 10 great cities to raise your kids. Thousand Oaks is home to some of the nation’s top schools, outstanding parks, and a myriad of shopping opportunities, including one of the largest auto malls in the nation. It is named after the many oak trees present in the area.
The city forms the central populated core of the Conejo Valley. Thousand Oaks was incorporated in 1964, but has since expanded to the west and east. Two-thirds of master-planned community of Westlake and most of Newbury Park were annexed by the city during the late 1960s and 1970s. The Los Angeles County–Ventura County line crosses at the city’s eastern border with Westlake Village.
The population was 126,966 at the 2020 census, up from 126,683 at the 2010 census. One of the earliest names used for the area was Conejo Mountain Valley, as used by the founder of Newbury Park, Egbert Starr Newbury, in the 1870s. During the 1920s, today’s Thousand Oaks was home to 100 residents. In the 1920s came talks of coming up with a name for the specific area of Thousand Oaks. A local name contest was held, where 14-year-old Bobby Harrington’s name suggestion won: Thousand Oaks. The valley was and still is characterized by its tens of thousands of oak trees (50,000–60,000 in 2012).
When Thousand Oaks was incorporated in 1964, the Janss Corporation suggested the name Conejo City (City of Conejo). A petition was signed by enough residents to put Thousand Oaks on the ballot. An overwhelming majority 87% of the city’s 19,000 residents voted for the name Thousand Oaks during the September 29, 1964, election.
Between 1950 and 1970, Conejo Valley experienced a population boom, and increased its population from 3,000 to 30,000 residents. From 3,500 residents in 1957, Thousand Oaks had over 103,000 inhabitants by 1989.
While ranching and agriculture were the dominant industries until the 1950s, a number of new businesses appeared throughout the 1960s and 1970s.
Particularly many high-tech firms moved to Thousand Oaks in the ’60s and ’70s. Packard Bell and Technology Instrument Company were two high-technology businesses that moved into the Newbury Park industrial park in the 1960s. Since then, Thousand Oaks has been a Mecca for Families, Business owners and great people alike.
