List of counties in California
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The U.S. state of California is divided into fifty-eight counties. Counties are responsible for all elections, property-tax collection, maintenance of public records such as deeds, and local-level courts within their borders, as well as providing law enforcement (through the county sheriff and sheriff's deputies) to areas that do not lie within incorporated cities.
- The county is the default unit of local government (all parts of the state's land are allocated to one of the state's 58 counties). Each county has a Board of Supervisors and is subject to mandatory duties under state law to provide its residents with services like law enforcement, healthcare, road maintenance, and so on. Balancing a county's mandatory and discretionary duties is a very difficult task; any sufficiently injured county taxpayer has standing to sue the county to enforce certain duties where financial distress is no excuse, such as healthcare.
- If residents of a sufficiently large piece of unincorporated county land do not like their county's resource allocation decisions, they can incorporate a city. The city government then takes some of the tax revenue that would have gone to the county, and can impose additional taxes on its residents. It can then choose to provide almost all the services usually provided by the county (and more), or provide only a few and pay the county to do the rest. A city in this last arrangement is called a contract city; this type of contract is generally known among lawyers as the "Lakewood Plan," because it was pioneered by the city of Lakewood in 1954.[1]
- The idea of "opting out" of county control in California has been taken to its logical extremes. Almost all of the city of Vernon is one large industrial zone, while almost all of the town of Los Altos Hills is zoned as residential.
- Due to geographical variations in property tax and sales tax revenue (the primary revenue source for cities and counties) and differing attitudes towards priorities, there are interesting variations in the levels of various services from one city to the next. For example, the city of Santa Monica is far more generous when it comes to helping the homeless than other cities in Los Angeles County or the county government.
- Also, county ordinances do not apply to cities unless they are ratified by each individual city. Thus, for instance, in Los Angeles County, a few cities have not ratified the ordinance requiring the posting of restaurant food safety ratings — even though it was passed many years ago — and in those cities, ratings need not be posted.
- The state of California has one consolidated city-county, San Francisco. The city's board of supervisors govern both aspects, and there is both a city police department and a county sheriff, the latter mostly responsible for operating the county jail.
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[edit] First establishment of California counties
On January 4, 1850, the California constitutional committee recommended the formation of 18 counties. They were Benicia, Butte, Fremont, Los Angeles, Mariposa, Monterey, Mount Diablo, Oro, Redding, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Jose, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Sonoma, and Sutter. On April 22, the counties of Branciforte, Calaveras, Coloma, Colusi, Marin, Mendocino, Napa, Trinity, and Yuba were added. Benicia was renamed Solano, Coloma to El Dorado, Fremont to Yola, Mt. Diablo to Contra Costa, San Jose to Santa Clara, Oro to Tuolumne, and Redding to Shasta. One of the first state legislative acts regarding counties was to rename Branciforte County to Santa Cruz, Colusi to Colusa, and Yola to Yolo.
The last California county to have been established is Imperial County in 1907.
[edit] Table of California counties
The current number of counties was achieved over time by subdivision of many of the larger counties into smaller ones. The links in the column FIPS County Code are to the Census Bureau Info page for that county.
County |
FIPS Code [2] |
County seat [3] |
Established [3] |
Origin |
Etymolgy |
Population [3] |
Area [3] |
Map |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Alameda County | 001 | Oakland | 1853 | Parts of Contra Costa County and Santa Clara County. | Spanish word meaning a "cottonwood grove". | 1,443,741 | mi² (1,911 km²) |
738 |
Alpine County | 003 | Markleeville | 1864 | Parts of Amador County, El Dorado County, Calaveras County, Mono County and Tuolumne County. | English word meaning "of, pertaining to, or connected with, the Alps". | 1,208 | ( 1,914 km²) |
739 sq mi|
Amador County | 005 | Jackson | 1854 | Part of Calaveras County. | Jose Maria Amador (1794-1883), a soldier, rancher and miner. In Spanish, the word amador means "lover". | 35,100 | ( 1,536 km²) |
593 sq mi|
Butte County | 007 | Oroville | 1850 | One of the twenty-seven original counties. | From the Sutter Buttes, which lay within the county's borders at the time of its creation. | 203,171 | ( 4,248 km²) |
1,640 sq mi|
Calaveras County | 009 | San Andreas | 1850 | One of the twenty-seven original counties. | From the Calaveras River | 40,554 | ( 2,642 km²) |
1,020 sq mi|
Colusa County | 011 | Colusa | 1850 | One of the twenty-seven original counties. | From two Mexican land grants; Coluses (1844) and Colus (1845). | 18,804 | ( 2,981 km²) |
1,151 sq mi|
Contra Costa County | 013 | Martinez | 1850 | One of the twenty-seven original counties. | Spanish for opposite coast, because Contra Costa County is across San Francisco Bay from San Francisco | 948,816 | ( 1,865 km²) |
720 sq mi|
Del Norte County | 015 | Crescent City | 1857 | Part of Klamath County. | Spanish for Northern, because Del Norte County is the northwesternmost county in the state. | 27,507 | ( 2,611 km²) |
1,008 sq mi|
El Dorado County | 017 | Placerville | 1850 | One of the twenty-seven original counties. | From the mythical El Dorado, The Gilded One, in relation to El Dorado County's importance in the California Gold Rush | 156,299 | ( 4,434 km²) |
1,712 sq mi|
Fresno County | 019 | Fresno | 1856 | Parts of Mariposa County, Merced County and Tulare County. | From Fresno Creek. In Spanish, Fresno means "ash tree". | 799,407 | ( 15,444 km²) |
5,963 sq mi|
Glenn County | 021 | Willows | 1891 | Part of Colusa County. | Named for Dr. Hugh J. Glenn (1824-1883), a California businessman and politician | 26,453 | ( 3,406 km²) |
1,315 sq mi|
Humboldt County | 023 | Eureka | 1853 | Part of Trinity County. | From Humboldt Bay, named for Baron Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859), a Prussian naturalist and explorer | 126,518 | ( 9,254 km²) |
3,573 sq mi|
Imperial County | 025 | El Centro | 1907 | Part of San Diego County.[4] | From the Imperial Valley, which tooks its name from the Imperial Land Company | 142,361 | ( 10,813 km²) |
4,175 sq mi|
Inyo County | 027 | Independence | 1866 | Parts of Mono County and Tulare County. | From a Native American word for dwelling place of the great spirit | 17,945 | ( 26,397 km²) |
10,192 sq mi|
Kern County | 029 | Bakersfield | 1866 | Parts of Los Angeles County and Tulare County. | From the Kern River, named for Edward Kern, cartographer for General John C. Fremont's 1845 expedition | 661,645 | ( 21,088 km²) |
8,142 sq mi|
Kings County | 031 | Hanford | 1893 | Part of Tulare County. | From the Kings River | 129,461 | ( 3,600 km²) |
1,390 sq mi|
Lake County | 033 | Lakeport | 1861 | Part of Napa County. | From Clear Lake. | 58,309 | ( 3,258 km²) |
1,258 sq mi|
Lassen County | 035 | Susanville | 1864 | Parts of Plumas County and Shasta County, and part of now defunct Lake County, Nevada. | Named for Peter Lassen (1800-1859), a native of Denmark and an early explorer of the area. | 33,828 | ( 11,805 km²) |
4,558 sq mi|
Los Angeles County | 037 | Los Angeles | 1850 | One of the twenty-seven original counties. | Spanish for the angels | 9,519,338 | ( 10,515 km²) |
4,060 sq mi|
Madera County | 039 | Madera | 1893 | Part of Fresno County. | Spanish for wood | 123,109 | ( 5,537 km²) |
2,138 sq mi|
Marin County | 041 | San Rafael | 1850 | One of the twenty-seven original counties. | Disputed | 247,289 | ( 1,347 km²) |
520 sq mi|
Mariposa County | 043 | Mariposa | 1850 | One of the twenty-seven original counties.[5] | Spanish for butterfly | 17,130 | ( 3,758 km²) |
1,451 sq mi|
Mendocino County | 045 | Ukiah | 1850 | One of the twenty-seven original counties. | From Cape Mendocino, named probably for either Antonio de Mendoza or Lorenzo Suárez de Mendoza, viceroys of New Spain | 86,265 | ( 9,088 km²) |
3,509 sq mi|
Merced County | 047 | Merced | 1855 | Part of Mariposa County. | From the Merced River, or in Spanish El Río de Nuestra Señora de la Merced (River of Our Lady of Mercy); named in 1806 by an expedition headed by Gabriel Moraga | 210,554 | ( 4,996 km²) |
1,929 sq mi|
Modoc County | 049 | Alturas | 1874 | Part of Siskiyou County. | From the Native American Modoc people | 9,449 | ( 10,215 km²) |
3,944 sq mi|
Mono County | 051 | Bridgeport | 1861 | Parts of Calaveras County, Fresno County and Mariposa County. | - | 12,853 | ( 7,884 km²) |
3,044 sq mi|
Monterey County | 053 | Salinas | 1850 | One of the twenty-seven original counties. | From Monterey Bay. The name itself is composed of the Spanish words monte (hill) and rey (king) | 401,762 | ( 8,604 km²) |
3,322 sq mi|
Napa County | 055 | Napa | 1850 | One of the twenty-seven original counties. | - | 124,279 | ( 1,953 km²) |
754 sq mi|
Nevada County | 057 | Nevada City | 1851 | Part of Yuba County. | - | 92,033 | ( 2,481 km²) |
958 sq mi|
Orange County | 059 | Santa Ana | 1889 | Part of Los Angeles County. | From the citrus fruit widely grown in the region at the time the county was formed | 2,846,289 | ( 2,046 km²) |
790 sq mi|
Placer County | 061 | Auburn | 1851 | Parts of Sutter County and Yuba County. | - | 307,004 | ( 3,893 km²) |
1,503 sq mi|
Plumas County | 063 | Quincy | 1854 | Part of Butte County. | For the Feather River, "Plumas" meaning "feathers" in Spanish | 20,824 | ( 6,615 km²) |
2,554 sq mi|
Riverside County | 065 | Riverside | 1893 | Parts of San Bernardino County and San Diego County. | From the city of Riverside being alongside the Santa Ana River | 1,545,387 | ( 18,669 km²) |
7,208 sq mi|
Sacramento County | 067 | Sacramento | 1850 | One of the twenty-seven original counties. | From the Sacramento River, itself named for the Santisimo Sacramento (Spanish for Most Holy Sacrament) a reference to the Eucharist | 1,223,499 | ( 2,502 km²) |
966 sq mi|
San Benito County | 069 | Hollister | 1874 | Part of Monterey County. | - | 53,234 | ( 3,597 km²) |
1,389 sq mi|
San Bernardino County | 071 | San Bernardino | 1853 | Part of Los Angeles County. | Named for Saint Bernardino of Siena | 1,709,434 | ( 51,960 km²) |
20,062 sq mi|
San Diego County | 073 | San Diego | 1850 | One of the twenty-seven original counties. | Named for San Diego Bay, itself named for Saint Didacus of Alcalá, or San Diego de Alcalá in Spanish | 2,813,833 | ( 10,888 km²) |
4,204 sq mi|
San Francisco County | 075 | San Francisco | 1850 | One of the twenty-seven original counties. | Francis of Assisi (1181-1226), a Roman Catholic saint and founder of the Order of Friars Minor (Franciscans) | 776,733 | ( 122 km²) |
47 sq mi|
San Joaquin County | 077 | Stockton | 1850 | One of the twenty-seven original counties. | - | 563,598 | ( 3,623 km²) |
1,399 sq mi|
San Luis Obispo County | 079 | San Luis Obispo | 1850 | One of the twenty-seven original counties. | Spanish for St. Louis, the Bishop. | 246,681 | ( 8,557 km²) |
3,304 sq mi|
San Mateo County | 081 | Redwood City | 1856 | Part of San Francisco County. | - | 707,161 | ( 1,163 km²) |
449 sq mi|
Santa Barbara County | 083 | Santa Barbara | 1850 | One of the twenty-seven original counties. | Spanish for Saint Barbara | 399,347 | ( 7,091 km²) |
2,738 sq mi|
Santa Clara County | 085 | San Jose | 1850 | One of the twenty-seven original counties. | - | 1,682,585 | ( 3,344 km²) |
1,291 sq mi|
Santa Cruz County | 087 | Santa Cruz | 1850 | One of the twenty-seven original counties. | - | 255,602 | ( 1,155 km²) |
446 sq mi|
Shasta County | 089 | Redding | 1850 | One of the twenty-seven original counties. | - | 163,256 | ( 9,806 km²) |
3,786 sq mi|
Sierra County | 091 | Downieville | 1852 | Part of Yuba County. | - | 3,555 | ( 2,468 km²) |
953 sq mi|
Siskiyou County | 093 | Yreka | 1852 | Parts of Shasta County and Klamath County. | County named after Siskiyou Mountain Range; etymology of Siskiyou is disputed | 44,301 | ( 16,283 km²) |
6,287 sq mi|
Solano County | 095 | Fairfield | 1850 | One of the twenty-seven original counties. | - | 394,542 | ( 2,145 km²) |
828 sq mi|
Sonoma County | 097 | Santa Rosa | 1850 | One of the twenty-seven original counties. | - | 458,614 | ( 4,082 km²) |
1,576 sq mi|
Stanislaus County | 099 | Modesto | 1854 | Part of Tuolumne County. | - | 446,997 | ( 3,872 km²) |
1,495 sq mi|
Sutter County | 101 | Yuba City | 1850 | One of the twenty-seven original counties. | Named for Johann Augustus Sutter (a.k.a. John Sutter) (1803–1880), a Swiss pioneer of California known for his association with the California Gold Rush | 78,930 | ( 1,562 km²) |
603 sq mi|
Tehama County | 103 | Red Bluff | 1856 | Parts of Butte County, Colusa County and Shasta County. | - | 56,039 | ( 7,643 km²) |
2,951 sq mi|
Trinity County | 105 | Weaverville | 1850 | One of the twenty-seven original counties. | - | 13,022 | ( 8,234 km²) |
3,179 sq mi|
Tulare County | 107 | Visalia | 1852 | Part of Mariposa County. | - | 368,021 | ( 12,494 km²) |
4,824 sq mi|
Tuolumne County | 109 | Sonora | 1850 | One of the twenty-seven original counties. | - | 54,501 | ( 5,791 km²) |
2,236 sq mi|
Ventura County | 111 | Ventura | 1872 | Part of Santa Barbara County. | Abbreviation of San Buenaventura, Spanish for St. Bonaventure. | 753,197 | ( 4,781 km²) |
1,846 sq mi|
Yolo County | 113 | Woodland | 1850 | One of the twenty-seven original counties. | - | 168,660 | ( 2,621 km²) |
1,012 sq mi|
Yuba County | 115 | Marysville | 1850 | One of the twenty-seven original counties. | - | 71,938 | ( 1,632 km²) |
630 sq mi
[edit] Defunct counties
- Klamath County was created in 1851 from the northern half of Trinity County, but in 1874 it was divided between Humboldt and Siskiyou counties. Part of the county's territory went to Del Norte in 1857.
- Pautah County was created in 1852 out of territory which, the state of California assumed, was to be ceded to it by the United States Congress from territory in what is now the state of Nevada. When the cession never occurred, the California State Legislature officially abolished the never-created county in 1859.
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ Reynolds, 48-49.
- ^ EPA County FIPS Code Listing. EPA.gov. Retrieved on 2008-02-23.
- ^ a b c d National Association of Counties. NACo - Find a county. Retrieved on 2008-04-30.
- ^ The most recent county formed.
- ^ Mariposa County was the largest of the state's original counties, but territory that was once part of Mariposa is now part of 12 other counties -- Fresno, Inyo, Kern, Kings, Los Angeles, Madera, Merced, Mono, San Benito, San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo, and Tulare.
[edit] External links
- California State Association of Counties
- State map showing the county names and linking to county data
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