Grover Beach was originally known as Town of Grover, which was founded on August 1, 1887. The town was named for its founder, D.W. Grover. Grover filed his plans at the San Luis Obispo CountyCourt House and eventually founded what was to be known as City of Grover City. There was a popular vote that allowed incorporating on December 21, 1959 as City of Grover City. However, the name seemed redundant so some people sought better names, especially ocean-oriented names. In 1992, there was another popular vote, in which the town's name was officially changed from "City of Grover City" to "Grover Beach" to emphasize the seaside location.
At the 2010 census Grover Beach had a population of 13,156. The population density was 5,684.2 people per square mile. The racial makeup of Grover Beach was 9,964 White, 146 African American, 186 Native American, 542 Asian, 35 Pacific Islander, 1,582 from other races, and 701 from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3,840 persons. The census reported that 12,967 people lived in households, 185 lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 4 were institutionalized. There were 5,111 households, 1,656 had children under the age of 18 living in them, 2,178 were opposite-sex married couples living together, 735 had a female householder with no husband present, 335 had a male householder with no wife present. There were 428 unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 54 same-sex married couples or partnerships. 1,330 households were one person and 439 had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.54. There were 3,248 families ; the average family size was 3.04. The age distribution was 2,928 people under the age of 18, 1,264 people aged 18 to 24, 3,809 people aged 25 to 44, 3,603 people aged 45 to 64, and 1,552 people who were 65 or older. The median age was 36.9 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.6 males. There were 5,748 housing units at an average density of 2,483.5 per square mile, of the occupied units 2,390 were owner-occupied and 2,721 were rented. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.0%; the rental vacancy rate was 3.7%. 5,719 people lived in owner-occupied housing units and 7,248 people lived in rental housing units.
2000
At the 2000 census there were 13,067 people in 5,023 households, including 3,305 families, in the city. The population density was 5,637.4 people per square mile. There were 5,382 housing units at an average density of 2,321.9 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 79.75% White, 1.03% African American, 1.69% Native American, 3.75% Asian, 0.30% Pacific Islander, 9.23% from other races, and 4.25% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 22.51%. Of the 5,023 households 32.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.9% were married couples living together, 14.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.2% were non-families. 24.6% of households were one person and 8.2% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.07. The age distribution was 25.6% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 32.0% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 11.5% 65 or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.9 males. The median household income was $38,087 and the median family income was $41,859. Males had a median income of $31,045 versus $26,506 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,812. About 8.8% of families and 11.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.0% of those under age 18 and 8.1% of those age 65 or over.
