Temecula is bordered by Murrieta on the northwest and the Pechanga Indian Reservation on the south, with unincorporated areas of Riverside County on all of its other borders. It is served by the Interstate 15 (Temecula Valley Freeway), Interstate 215 and California State Route 79 (Temecula Parkway).
With neighboring Murrieta, Temecula forms the southwestern anchor of the Inland Empire region. It is almost equidistant to San Diego, Los Angeles, and Orange County, California. Temecula is also home to military families from nearby Camp Pendleton, MCAS Miramar, March Air Reserve Base and the Navy bases in San Diego.
As of the census of 2000, there were 57,716 people, 18,293 households, and 15,164 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,198.3 people per square mile (848.6/km²). There were 19,099 housing units at an average density of 727.4/sq mi (280.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 78.93% White, 3.42% African American, 0.86% Native American, 4.73% Asian, 0.30% Pacific Islander, 7.41% from other races, and 4.35% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 19.01% of the population.
There were 18,293 households out of which 52.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.8% were married couples living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 17.1% were non-families. 12.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 3.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.15 and the average family size was 3.45.
In the city the population was spread out with 34.7% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 33.3% from 25 to 44, 17.2% from 45 to 64, and 7.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. The above average number of young people in Temecula was attriubted to an influx of middle-class families came to buy homes in the 1990s real estate boom. For every 100 females there were 97.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.2 males.
According to a 2007 estimate, the median income for a household in the city was $75,335, and the median income for a family was $80,836.[17] Males had a median income of $47,113 (2000) versus $31,608 (2000) for females. The per capita income for the city was $24,312 (2003). About 5.6% of families and 6.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.1% of those under age 18 and 3.2% of those age 65 or over.