Manteca

History

Manteca is a city in the Central Valley of California, located east of San Francisco and 18 miles (29 kilometers) northwest of Modesto. The Manteca area was first inhabited by Yokuts. Manteca was formally established in 1861 by Joshua Cowell. Cowell claimed around and built houses on what is now the corner of Main and Yosemite, where Bank of America now stands. In 1873, the Central Pacific Railroad laid track directly through the area. The residents wanted to refer to their new train station as "Cowell Station", but there was already a Cowell Station near Tracy. The residents agreed to change the name of the community, choosing "Monteca" as the new name. This was misprinted as "Manteca" (Spanish for lard) by the railroad, In 1918, Manteca was incorporated as a city, and Joshua Cowell became its first mayor. In 1935, photojournalist Dorothea Lange took photos of William & Mary Dimotakis (immigrants from the Greek island of Crete), and their youngest child, son George, on the family farm in Manteca for the Farm Security Administration. The farm, near the industrial park area, is still owned by the Dimotakis family. The images can be found in the [https://www.loc.gov/search/?in=&q=Dimotakis&new=true&st= Library of Congress]. Manteca fashions itself the "Family City", and it lies at a crossroads of major highways and railroads. As recently as the 1970s, Manteca existed primarily on agriculture and was still barely a stop between two freeways, Interstate 5 and State Route 99. The continuing rise in Bay Area housing prices caused Bay Area families to look further eastward for more affordable places to live. Since the construction of the 120 bypass portion of State Route 120, Manteca has become a popular choice for these commuters. The 1990s saw an increase in…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , 99.89% of it land and 0.11% of it water. Neighboring towns include Lathrop, Ripon, Escalon, and Tracy. Manteca is located approximately 18 miles northwest of Modesto and 15 miles south of Stockton. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Manteca has a hot-summer mediterranean climate, abbreviated "Csa" on climate maps. It is hot and dry in summer, and mild or cool in winter, except during spells of seasonal tule fog, when it can be quite chilly for many days. In December 2025, there were about 2 weeks during which the temperature failed to exceed 46 Fahrenheit. Summers are exceptionally dry, whereas winters are rainy with stretches of fair weather.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• California/Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay

  Aphelocoma californica (Vigors, 1839) · Aves
  5,621
• House Finch

  Haemorhous mexicanus (P.L.Statius Müller, 1776) · Aves
  5,337
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  4,672
• Black Phoebe

  Sayornis nigricans (Swainson, 1827) · Aves
  4,557
• Northern Mockingbird

  Mimus polyglottos (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  4,363
• Anna's Hummingbird

  Calypte anna (R.Lesson, 1829) · Aves
  4,174
• Eurasian Collared-Dove

  Streptopelia decaocto (Frivaldszky, 1838) · Aves
  4,080
• Killdeer

  Charadrius vociferus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  3,478

Largest nearby schools

• Manteca High
  High · Manteca · 1,811 students · 20.3:1 ratio
• California Connections Academy Northern California
  Other · Ripon · 1,766 students · 35.3:1 ratio
• Sierra High
  High · Manteca · 1,693 students · 23.5:1 ratio
• Venture Academy
  Other · Stockton · 1,644 students · 20.8:1 ratio
• East Union High
  High · Manteca · 1,593 students · 20.4:1 ratio
• Lathrop High
  High · Lathrop · 1,535 students · 21.3:1 ratio
• Weston Ranch High
  High · Stockton · 1,265 students · 20.7:1 ratio
• George McParland Elementary
  Elementary · Manteca · 1,157 students · 25.7:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.63 — 2026-09-27
  26 km WSW of Westley, CA
• M 3.32 — 2026-09-27
  27 km WSW of Westley, CA
• M 2.51 — 2026-09-19
  10 km ENE of Milpitas, CA
• M 2.56 — 2026-09-17
  21 km E of Alum Rock, CA
• M 2.99 — 2026-09-14
  9 km SW of Brentwood, CA
• M 3.12 — 2026-09-12
  9 km ENE of Blackhawk, CA