Riverside County, California

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Riverside County, California
Seal of Riverside County, California
Map
Map of California highlighting Riverside County
Location in the state of California
Map of the U.S. highlighting California
California's location in the U.S.
Statistics
Founded 1893
Seat Riverside
Largest city Riverside
Area
 - Total
 - Land
 - Water
7,303 sq mi (18,915 km²)
7,207 sq mi (18,667 km²)
96 sq mi (248 km²), 1.31%
Population
 - (2007)
 - Density
2,070,315
215/sq mi (83/km²)
Website: www.countyofriverside.us
Named for: Riverside, California

Riverside County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of California, stretching from Orange County to the Colorado River, which is the border with Arizona. This county is part of the Riverside-San Bernardino Area, in a region of Southern California known as the Inland Empire.

The population of Riverside County was 1,545,387 in 2000, and the 2006 population has been estimated at 2,070,315[1]. The county seat is the city of Riverside.

Geographically, the county is desert. Most of Joshua Tree National Park is located in the county. Riverside County lies inland of Los Angeles, and south of San Bernardino. Large numbers of Los Angeles workers have moved to the county in recent years to take advantage of relatively affordable housing. Alongside neighboring San Bernardino County, it is one of the fastest growing parts of the Inland Empire. This spawned a wave of toll road construction in the area in the 1990s, starting with the addition of toll commuter lanes to the State Route 91 freeway, the main traffic artery to the western metropolitan area. In addition, smaller, but significant, numbers of people have been moving into southern Riverside County from the San Diego metropolitan area. The towns of Temecula and Murrieta account for 20% of increase in population of Riverside County between 2000 and 2007.

Such famous golf resorts as Indian Wells, La Quinta, Rancho Mirage, Palm Springs and Palm Desert are located in Riverside County. Indio is the center of an important date growing region.

Contents

[edit] History

Riverside County was created in 1893 from parts of San Bernardino County, California and San Diego County, California.

The county derives its name from the City of Riverside, California, christened when the upper canal of the Santa Ana River reached it in 1871.

[edit] Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 18,915 km² (7,303 sq mi) of which 18,667 km² (7,207 sq mi) is land and 248 km² (96 sq mi), or 1.31%, is water. At roughly 180 miles (290 km) wide in the east-west dimension, the area of the county is massive. County government documents frequently cite the Colorado River town of Blythe as being a "three-hour drive" from the county seat, Riverside. Some view the areas west of San Gorgonio Pass as the Inland Empire portion of the county and the eastern part as either the Mojave Desert or Colorado Desert portion. There are probably at least three geomorphic provinces: the Inland Empire western portion, the Santa Rosa Mountains communities, and the desert region. Other possible subdivisions include tribal lands, the Colorado River communities, and the Salton Sink.

Serving this area are 19 healthcare facilities identified as "General Acute Care Hospitals." Five of these are identified as rural, sixteen provide at least basic emergency care, and three are level 2 trauma centers. The State of California defines Riverside county as Health Service Area 12.

There are 14 major airports in Riverside County. County government projections expect the county's population to roughly double between 2004 and 2040. Most of the growth is expected in communities viewed as being within practical commute distances of work in Los Angeles County and Orange County.

In California, each County Office of Education has influence over funding and operation of schools within its area. The county includes a total of about 380 public schools including Riverside's California School for the Deaf. These schools are operated by about 24 school districts and by Tribal governments in conjunction with the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

The Inland Empire area of southern California is made up of the western portion of Riverside County.

[edit] Incorporated cities

Riverside County
Cities		 Year
Incorporated		 Population,
2007[2]		 Median Income,
2006[2]
Banning 1913 28,272 $41,268
Beaumont 1912 28,250 $39,553
Blythe 1916 22,178 $45,302
Calimesa 1990 7,415 $47,406
Canyon Lake 1990 10,939 $70,106
Cathedral City 1981 51,081 $50,654
Corona 1896 144,661 $72,162
Coachella 1946 35,207 $33,402
Desert Hot Springs 1963 22,011 $33,263
Hemet 1910 69,544 $31,749
Indian Wells 1967 4,865 $120,074
Indio 1930 71,654 $45,143
Lake Elsinore 1888 40,985 $54,595
La Quinta 1982 38,340 $71,127
Moreno Valley 1984 174,565 $52,426
Murrieta 1991 92,933 $75,102
Norco 1964 27,262 $62,652
Palm Desert 1973 49,539 $61,789
Palm Springs 1938 46,437 $46,399
Perris 1911 47,139 $35,338
Rancho Mirage 1973 16,672 $78,434
Riverside 1883 287,820 $52,023
San Jacinto 1888 31,066 $39,235
Temecula 1989 93,923 $71,754

See Southern California Zip Codes for individual Zip Code data.

[edit] Unincorporated communities and neighborhoods

[edit] Indian reservations

[edit] Adjacent counties

[edit] National protected areas

[edit] Law, government and politics

[edit] Law

Presidential Election Results
Year GOP DEM Others
2004 57.8% 322,473 41.0% 228,806 1.1% 6,300
2000 51.4% 231,955 44.9% 202,576 3.7% 16,596
1996 45.6% 178,611 43.1% 168,579 11.3% 44,423
1992 37.1% 159,457 38.6% 166,241 24.3% 104,577
1988 59.5% 199,979 39.6% 133,122 1.0% 3,247
1984 63.5% 182,324 35.5% 102,043 1.0% 2,835
1980 59.9% 145,642 31.5% 76,650 8.6% 20,986
1976 49.2% 97,774 48.5% 96,228 2.3% 4,556
1972 58.0% 108,120 38.4% 71,591 3.6% 6,693
1968 52.9% 83,414 38.8% 61,146 8.3% 13,110
1964 43.1% 61,165 56.8% 80,528 0.1% 95
1960 56.2% 65,855 43.4% 50,877 0.5% 544

The Riverside Superior Court is responsible for upholding the law for Riverside County. The unified trial court system has a total of 13 courts: Riverside Historic Courthouse, Riverside Hall of Justice, Riverside Family Law Court, Riverside Juvenile Court, Southwest Justice Center - Murrieta, Moreno Valley Court, Banning Court, Hemet Court, Temecula Court, Larson Justice Center - Indio, Larson Justice Center - Annex, Indio Juvenile Court, and Blythe Court.[3]

The main courthouse is the Riverside Historic Courthouse. This landmark, erected in 1904, was modeled after the Grand and Petit Palais in Paris, France. The courthouse, designed by Los Angeles architects Burnham and Bliesner, has a classical design—including a great hall that connects all the departments (courtrooms).[4] In 1994, the courthouse was shut down for seismic retrofits due to the 1992 Landers and 1994 Northridge earthquakes. The courthouse was rededicated in September 1998.[5]

[edit] Politics

Riverside is a strongly Republican county in Presidential and congressional elections. The last Democrat to have ever won the county was Bill Clinton in 1992.

In the House of Representatives, Riverside is mostly in California's 45th congressional district, with parts in the 41st, 44th, and 49th districts. All four districts are held by Republicans, the 41st by Jerry Lewis, the 44th by Ken Calvert, the 45th by Mary Bono, and the 49th by Darrell Issa.

In the State Assembly all of the 64th district and parts of the 63rd, 65th, 66th, 71st, and 80th districts are in the county. They are all represented by Republicans: the 63rd by Bill Emmerson, the 64th by John J. Benoit, the 65th by Paul Cook, the 66th by Kevin Jeffries, the 71st by Todd Spitzer, and the 80th by Bonnie Garcia.

In the State Senate all of the 37th district and parts of the 31st, 36th, and 40th districts are in the county. The 31st, 36th, and 37th districts are held by Republicans, Robert Dutton, Dennis Hollingsworth, and Jim Battin respectively, and the 40th is held by Democrat Denise Moreno Ducheny.

[edit] Government

A General Plan was prepared for the county by the firm of Earth Metrics in the year 1994;[6] in 2003 the County Supervisors authorized updating of this plan with respect to certain unincorporated areas.

[edit] Transportation

[edit] Major highways

[edit] Public transportation

  • Riverside Transit Agency serves the city of Riverside and the western third of Riverside County, as far east as Banning.
  • Sunline Transit Agency serves Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley area.
  • Palo Verde Valley Transit Agency provides service in Blythe, near the Arizona border.

Riverside County is also served by Greyhound buses. Amtrak trains stop in Riverside and Palm Springs. Metrolink trains provide commuter rail service from western Riverside County to Los Angeles and Orange Counties.

[edit] Airports

The other airports in Riverside County are for general aviation only:

[edit] Demographics

As of the census[7] of 2000, there were 1,545,387 people, 506,218 households, and 372,576 families residing in the county. The population density was 214 people per square mile (83/km²). There were 584,674 housing units at an average density of 81 per square mile (31/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 65.58% White, 6.24% Black or African American, 1.18% Native American, 3.69% Asian, 0.25% Pacific Islander, 18.69% from other races, and 4.37% from two or more races. 36.21% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 9.2% were of German, 6.9% English, 6.1% Irish and 5.0% American ancestry according to Census 2000. 67.2% spoke English and 27.7% Spanish as their first language.

In 2006 the county had 2,026,803 people, an increase of 31.2% since 2000. In 2005 45.8% of the population was non-Hispanic whites. The percentages of African Americans, Asians and Native Americans remained relatively similar. The percentage of Pacific Islanders had majorly risen to 0.4. Hispanics now constituted 41% of the population.

There were 506,218 households out of which 38.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.50% were married couples living together, 12.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.40% were non-families. 20.70% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.98 and the average family size was 3.47.

In the county the population was spread out with 30.30% under the age of 18, 9.20% from 18 to 24, 28.90% from 25 to 44, 18.90% from 45 to 64, and 12.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 99.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.80 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $42,887, and the median income for a family was $48,409. Males had a median income of $38,639 versus $28,032 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,689. About 10.70% of families and 14.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.50% of those under age 18 and 7.60% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Education

[edit] Universities and colleges

[edit] Military installations

[edit] Places of interest

[edit] Sources

  • US Department of Education, National Center for Educational Statistics
  • US Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration
  • California Department of Health Services
  • County of Riverside General Plan (2004).

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.dof.ca.gov/HTML/DEMOGRAP/ReportsPapers/Estimates/E2/documents/E-2%20Report.xls
  2. ^ a b Husing, John (October, 2007). "Inland Empire City Profile 2007". Inland Empire Quarterly Economic Report 19 (4). Redlands: Economics & Politics, Inc. 
  3. ^ Riverside Superior Court - Locations
  4. ^ Rededication of the Historic Riverside County Courthouse
  5. ^ California Courts - Main Courthouse
  6. ^ General Plan for Riverside County, Earth Metrics Inc., Burlingame, Ca. (1994)
  7. ^ American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.

[edit] External links

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Municipalities and communities of
Riverside County, California
County seat: Riverside
Cities
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Coordinates: 33°44′N 115°59′W / 33.73, -115.98