Menifee, California

Menifee is a city in Riverside County, California, United States. It is part of the Inland Empire. The city is named after Luther Menifee Wilson, a local miner. People started living in Menifee during the 1800s. It became a city in 2008. In the 2020 census, about 102,527 people lived there.

Menifee is in the middle of Southern California in a place called the Menifee Valley. It is about 15 miles north of Temecula and just north of Murrieta. Menifee covers about 46 square miles and is 1,424 feet above sea level. The city includes the nearby areas of Sun City, Quail Valley, and Romoland.

History

The Menifee area has been home to the Luiseño people, especially the Pechanga band. In the 1700s, it became part of Spanish rule and later passed to the United States in 1848 after the Mexican–American War.

Farming started there in the mid-1800s. Mining began in the 1880s when a miner named Luther Menifee Wilson found gold. The area was named after him. In the 1960s, a place called Sun City was built there for people to live in retirement. It was designed by a builder from Phoenix, Arizona.

Menifee grew more in the late 1980s and early 1990s but still had few shops and jobs. People often went to nearby cities like Temecula or Murrieta for work and fun. Recently, Menifee has attracted many new families. On June 3, 2008, people voted to become a city, and Menifee was officially established as a city on October 1, 2008.

Geography

The city of Menifee is surrounded by the cities of Perris, Canyon Lake, Lake Elsinore, Wildomar, Murrieta, and the community of Winchester. The center of the city is where Newport Road meets Interstate 215.

Menifee covers an area of 46.6 square miles (120.7 km²), with most of it being land and a small part being water. The Menifee Hills are a ridge about 2 miles long and 1.5 miles wide, and Bell Mountain is a mountain in the area that stands at 1,848 feet tall.

Menifee has mild winters and hot, dry summers. The weather there is known as a Mediterranean climate, which means it is warm and dry most of the year with sunny days. The city usually gets rain mostly in the winter months.

Demographics

2020 census

The 2020 United States census said that Menifee had a population of 102,527.

The racial makeup of Menifee was 52.2% White, 6.8% African American, 1.3% Native American, 6.5% Asian, 0.5% Pacific Islander, 16.5% from other races, and 16.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people made up 37.8% of the population.

Most people lived in homes with their families. Many homes had children under 18. People of many ages lived there, with the median age being 39.6 years. Many homes were owned by the people living in them. In 2019–2023, the median household income was $89,183, and only a small number of people lived below the federal poverty line.

Economy

Menifee has many jobs and places where people work. The city keeps track of the biggest places that employ people.

Top employers

The city shared a report in 2024 showing the ten biggest places that hire people in Menifee.

Parks and recreation

Menifee has 47 public parks. Twenty-three parks are owned by the city, and twenty-four are owned by a group that takes care of parks for the whole Valley. In October 2025, the city leaders thought about taking control of twelve of these parks.

One special park is the Gale Webb Action Sports Park. It is the biggest extreme bike park in Southern California and covers four acres. The city also has a popular skate park called the Audie Murphy Ranch Skate Park. An amphitheater is being built in Central Park. When finished, it will be a place for performances.

Politics

Menifee is part of California's 41st congressional district, with Ken Calvert as its representative. It is also in the 63rd district of the California State Assembly and the 32nd district of the California State Senate.

Menifee became an official city on October 1, 2008. Wallace Edgerton was the first mayor. Over the years, many people have been mayor. The city has celebrations for Independence Day each year.

Currently, more voters in Menifee support the Republican party.

Public Safety

In June 2019, Menifee decided to start its own police department, which began in July 2020. For the 2023–2024 year, spending on the police was a big part of the city's budget.

Menifee works with the Riverside County Fire Department and CAL FIRE for fire and emergency help. There are four fire stations in Menifee, each with special vehicles for emergencies. Additional help comes from a unit at Fire Station #7. Paramedic services are provided by American Medical Response, with their main office in Menifee.

Education

Menifee has several schools for students from kindergarten through high school. The main school groups are the Menifee Union School District, the Romoland School District, and the Perris Union High School District. They watch over schools like Paloma Valley High School and Heritage High School. These districts also cover nearby places such as Lake Elsinore, Wildomar, Murrieta, and French Valley.

Besides public schools, Menifee has two special schools called charter schools: Santa Rosa Academy and the Bear River Student Center. There is also a college called the Menifee Valley Campus of Mt. San Jacinto College, which is one of four campuses.

Menifee has two big libraries. The Sun City Library and the Menifee Public Library are both part of the Riverside County Library System. The Sun City Library started in 1962. The Menifee Public Library opened in July 2021 and is a large place for reading and learning.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Roads and highways

Menifee's main roads are Interstate 215 and Newport Road/Dominegoni Parkway. Other important streets are Scott Road, McCall Boulevard, Ethanac Road, and State Route 74. Upgrades at the I-215 and Scott Road interchange finished in 2020, with more upgrades coming.

Public transportation

Buses and Dial-A-Ride stops help people travel around Menifee. RTA Routes 27, 40, 61, and 74 connect Menifee to nearby cities like Temecula and Lake Elsinore. Metrolink trains stop at the South Perris Station north of Menifee, with plans to possibly extend the line through the city.

Health care

The 84-bed Menifee Global Medical Center provides emergency care. It opened in 1989 and is located on McCall Boulevard.

Water

Menifee gets its water from the Eastern Municipal Water District. A desalination plant in the city cleans underground water to make drinking water.

Notable people

Menifee has been home to many interesting people. Some of them are Tony Burton, an actor, and Phyllis Love, also an actress. Others include Benny Mardones, a singer, and Audie Murphy, who was a soldier, actor, and songwriter. There are also athletes like Fernando Gonzalez, an MMA fighter, and Steve Lamson, a motocross racer.