Sutter County, California

Sutter County, California
County
County of Sutter
Images, from top down, left to right: Sutter Buttes terrain, Live Oak Blvd near Pennington Road in the City of Live Oak, bridges crossing the Feather River
Seal
Location in the state of California
California's location in the United States
Country	United States
State	California
Region	Sacramento Valley
Metro area	Sacramento metropolitan area
Incorporated	February 18, 1850[1]
Named for	John Augustus Sutter
County seat	Yuba City
Area
• Total	1,570 km2 (608 sq mi)
• Land	1,560 km2 (602 sq mi)
• Water	16 km2 (6.1 sq mi)
Population (April 1, 2010)[2]
• Total	94,737
• Estimate (2016)[3]	96,651
• Density	60/km2 (160/sq mi)
Time zone	Pacific Time Zone (UTC-8)
• Summer (DST)	Pacific Daylight Time (UTC-7)
Website	www.co.sutter.ca.us

Sutter County is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, the population was 94,737.^[2] The county seat is Yuba City.^[4]

Sutter County is included in the Yuba City, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the Sacramento-Roseville, CA Combined Statistical Area. The county is located along the Sacramento River in the Sacramento Valley.

History

Sutter County was one of the original counties of California, created in 1850 at the time of statehood. Parts of the county were given to Placer County in 1852.

Sutter County is named after one of the state’s more engaging and complex historical personalities, and an agricultural visionary. John Augustus Sutter, a German native born to Swiss parents, was one of the first to recognize the Sacramento Valley for its potential as an agricultural empire, and his Hock Farm, established in 1841 on the Feather River just south of present-day Yuba City, was the site of the valley’s first large agricultural enterprise.

Sutter obtained the Rancho New Helvetia Mexican land grant, and called his first settlement New Helvetia (which included the present day city of Sacramento). In 1850, Sutter retired to Hock Farm when gold seekers deprived him of most of his holdings at Sacramento.

Sutter County is the birthplace (Yuba City, 1858) of John Joseph Montgomery, who was the first American to successfully pilot a heavier than air craft, 20 years before the Wright Brothers, and who held the first patent for an "aeroplane."

In the 1890s Sutter County was one of the two prohibition counties in California; the other was Riverside County. Both outlawed saloons and sale or consumption of alcohol in public.^[5]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 608 square miles (1,570 km²), of which 602 square miles (1,560 km²) is land and 6.1 square miles (16 km²) (1.0%) is water.^[6] It is the fourth-smallest county in California by total area. Some 88 percent of the county is prime farmland and grazing land.

Sutter County is home to the Sutter Buttes, known as the "World's Smallest Mountain Range." This volcanic formation provides relief to the otherwise seemingly flat Sacramento Valley.

Bordered by the Sacramento River on the west and the Feather River on the east, Sutter County has 240 miles (390 km) of levees. The Sutter Bypass, which diverts flood waters from the Sacramento River, cuts through the heart of Sutter County.

National protected areas

• Butte Sink National Wildlife Refuge (part)
• Sutter National Wildlife Refuge

Sutter County also has the State Feather River Wildlife Area, consisting of the Nelson Slough, O'Connor Lakes, Abbott Lake, Shanghai Bend, and Morse Road Units in Sutter County. Also, a 1795-acre State Park in the Sutter Buttes. In addition, there are the state public trust lands of the Feather, Bear and Sacramento rivers as well as smaller streams including Butte Creek and Butte Slough.

Transportation

Major highways

• State Route 20
• State Route 70
• State Route 99
• State Route 113

Public transportation

Yuba Sutter Transit operates local bus service, as well as commuter runs to Downtown Sacramento.

Airports

Sutter County Airport is a general aviation airport located just south of Yuba City.

Politics

Voter registration statistics

Population and registered voters
Total population[7]	94,192
Registered voters[8][note 1]	41,760	44.3%
Democratic[8]	13,557	32.5%
Republican[8]	18,571	44.5%
Democratic–Republican spread[8]	-5,014	-12.0%
Independent[8]	1,328	3.2%
Green[8]	117	0.3%
Libertarian[8]	224	0.5%
Peace and Freedom[8]	124	0.3%
Americans Elect[8]	1	0.0%
Other[8]	550	1.3%
No party preference[8]	7,288	17.5%

Cities by population and voter registration

Cities by population and voter registration
City	Population[7]	Registered voters[8] [note 1]	Democratic[8]	Republican[8]	D–R spread[8]	Other[8]	No party preference[8]
Live Oak	8,244	35.9%	44.5%	29.9%	+14.6%	8.9%	19.6%
Yuba City	64,224	42.6%	34.2%	41.3%	-7.1%	9.2%	18.7%

Overview

Sutter County vote
by party in presidential elections

Year	GOP	DEM	Others
2016	53.74% 18,176	38.66% 13,076	7.61% 2,572
2012	58.30% 18,122	39.22% 12,192	2.47% 769
2008	57.27% 18,911	40.62% 13,412	2.11% 698
2004	67.19% 20,254	31.85% 9,602	0.96% 289
2000	65.31% 17,350	31.68% 8,416	3.01% 798
1996	57.64% 14,264	34.37% 8,504	7.99% 1,977
1992	50.10% 12,956	30.48% 7,883	19.41% 5,021
1988	67.47% 14,100	31.38% 6,557	1.15% 241
1984	71.23% 14,477	27.24% 5,535	1.53% 311
1980	63.47% 11,778	27.50% 5,103	9.03% 1,676
1976	54.21% 8,745	43.18% 6,966	2.60% 420
1972	62.45% 10,224	33.04% 5,409	4.51% 739
1968	59.57% 8,665	31.79% 4,624	8.63% 1,256
1964	51.56% 7,241	48.33% 6,787	0.11% 16
1960	62.91% 7,520	36.63% 4,379	0.46% 55
1956	62.79% 6,327	36.45% 3,673	0.76% 77
1952	67.31% 7,053	32.27% 3,382	0.42% 44
1948	52.47% 3,913	45.08% 3,362	2.45% 183
1944	49.99% 3,111	49.54% 3,083	0.47% 29
1940	42.06% 3,089	57.11% 4,195	0.83% 61
1936	28.11% 1,613	70.04% 4,019	1.85% 106
1932	25.74% 1,392	70.41% 3,807	3.85% 208
1928	53.98% 2,239	45.20% 1,875	0.82% 34
1924	49.92% 1,617	11.33% 367	38.75% 1,255
1920	70.32% 1,862	24.02% 636	5.66% 150
1916	42.00% 1,211	53.52% 1,543	4.47% 129
1912	0.24% 5	51.65% 1,063	48.11% 990
1908	54.94% 896	39.98% 652	5.09% 83
1904	60.81% 872	34.03% 488	5.16% 74
1900	54.93% 819	43.06% 642	2.01% 30
1896	51.89% 796	46.48% 713	1.63% 25
1892	47.27% 745	46.64% 735	6.10% 96

Sutter is a strongly Republican county in presidential and congressional elections. The last Democrat to win a majority in the county was Franklin Roosevelt in 1940.

In the United States House of Representatives, Sutter County is in California's 3rd congressional district, represented by Democrat John Garamendi.^[9]

In the California State Legislature, the county is in the 4th Senate District, represented by Republican Jim Nielsen,^[10] and the 3rd Assembly District, represented by Republican James Gallagher.

On November 4, 2008, Sutter County voted 70.7% for Proposition 8 which amended the California Constitution to ban same-sex marriages.

Crime

The following table includes the number of incidents reported and the rate per 1,000 persons for each type of offense.

Population and crime rates
Population[7]	94,192
Violent crime[11]	316	3.35
Homicide[11]	1	0.01
Forcible rape[11]	24	0.25
Robbery[11]	54	0.57
Aggravated assault[11]	237	2.52
Property crime[11]	1,038	11.02
Burglary[11]	446	4.74
Larceny-theft[11][note 2]	1,474	15.65
Motor vehicle theft[11]	201	2.13
Arson[11]	11	0.12

Cities by population and crime rates

Cities by population and crime rates
City	Population[12]	Violent crimes[12]	Violent crime rate per 1,000 persons	Property crimes[12]	Property crime rate per 1,000 persons
Yuba City	65,653	247	3.76	1,982	30.19

Demographics

2011

Population, race, and income
Total population[7]	94,192
White[7]	61,951	65.8%
Black or African American[7]	1,800	1.9%
American Indian or Alaska Native[7]	1,428	1.5%
Asian[7]	13,029	13.8%
Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander[7]	290	0.3%
Some other race[7]	10,267	10.9%
Two or more races[7]	5,427	5.8%
Hispanic or Latino (of any race)[13]	26,642	28.3%
Per capita income[14]	$22,464
Median household income[15]	$50,010
Median family income[16]	$54,737

Places by population, race, and income

Places by population and race
Place	Type[17]	Population[7]	White[7]	Other[7] [note 3]	Asian[7]	Black or African American[7]	Native American[7] [note 4]	Hispanic or Latino (of any race)[13]
East Nicolaus	CDP	301	36.9%	46.5%	16.6%	0.0%	0.0%	46.5%
Live Oak	City	8,244	58.4%	30.7%	8.3%	0.4%	2.2%	50.3%
Meridian	CDP	485	97.3%	2.7%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	17.5%
Nicolaus	CDP	183	81.4%	4.4%	13.1%	1.1%	0.0%	0.0%
Rio Oso	CDP	349	100.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	15.2%
Robbins	CDP	285	82.1%	16.5%	0.0%	0.0%	1.4%	54.0%
Sutter	CDP	2,892	88.1%	9.2%	0.2%	0.6%	1.8%	9.0%
Trowbridge	CDP	112	95.5%	4.5%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Yuba City	City	64,224	62.2%	16.2%	17.3%	2.4%	1.9%	28.5%

Places by population and income
Place	Type[17]	Population[18]	Per capita income[14]	Median household income[15]	Median family income[16]
East Nicolaus	CDP	301	$18,776	$32,813	$40,833
Live Oak	City	8,244	$16,052	$41,773	$40,919
Meridian	CDP	485	$30,530	$53,125	$77,500
Nicolaus	CDP	183	$35,223	$75,000	$100,000
Rio Oso	CDP	349	$32,149	$85,750	$90,357
Robbins	CDP	285	$22,532	$55,625	$55,268
Sutter	CDP	2,892	$28,772	$62,708	$76,667
Trowbridge	CDP	112	$33,904	$60,833	$62,083
Yuba City	City	64,224	$21,566	$48,830	$53,818

2010

The 2010 United States Census reported that Sutter County had a population of 94,737. The racial makeup of Sutter County was 57,749 (61.0%) White, 1,919 (2.0%) African American, 1,365 (1.4%) Native American, 13,663 (14.4%) Asian, 281 (0.3%) Pacific Islander, 14,463 (15.3%) from other races, and 5,297 (5.6%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 27,251 persons (28.8%).^[19]

Population reported at 2010 United States Census
The County	Total Population	White	African American	Native American	Asian	Pacific Islander	other races	two or more races	Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
Sutter County	94,737	57,749	1,919	1,365	13,663	281	14,463	5,297	27,251
Incorporated cities	Total Population	White	African American	Native American	Asian	Pacific Islander	other races	two or more races	Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
Live Oak	8,392	4,491	138	130	978	17	2,173	465	4,093
Yuba City	64,925	37,382	1,591	909	11,190	228	9,772	3,853	18,413
Census-designated places	Total Population	White	African American	Native American	Asian	Pacific Islander	other races	two or more races	Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
East Nicolaus	225	159	0	1	19	0	41	5	49
Meridian	358	268	2	7	0	0	58	23	85
Nicolaus	211	186	1	0	5	0	10	9	13
Rio Oso	356	274	5	7	26	1	32	11	53
Robbins	323	208	0	9	5	0	94	7	181
Sutter	2,904	2,503	16	54	30	1	160	140	410
Trowbridge	226	167	3	5	25	0	15	11	38
Unincorporated communities	Total Population	White	African American	Native American	Asian	Pacific Islander	other races	two or more races	Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
All others not CDPs (combined)	16,817	12,111	163	243	1,385	34	2,108	773	3,916

2000

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1850	3,444		—
1860	3,390		−1.6%
1870	5,030		48.4%
1880	5,159		2.6%
1890	5,469		6.0%
1900	5,886		7.6%
1910	6,328		7.5%
1920	10,115		59.8%
1930	14,618		44.5%
1940	18,680		27.8%
1950	26,239		40.5%
1960	33,380		27.2%
1970	41,935		25.6%
1980	52,246		24.6%
1990	64,415		23.3%
2000	78,930		22.5%
2010	94,737		20.0%
Est. 2016	96,651	[3]	2.0%
U.S. Decennial Census[20] 1790-1960[21] 1900-1990[22] 1990-2000[23] 2010-2015[2]

As of the census^[24] of 2000, there were 78,930 people, 27,033 households, and 19,950 families residing in the county. The population density was 131 people per square mile (51/km²). There were 28,319 housing units at an average density of 47 per square mile (18/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 67.5% White, 1.9% Black or African American, 1.6% Native American, 11.3% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 13.0% from other races, and 4.6% from two or more races. 22.2% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 10.3% were of German, 9.0% American, 7.1% English and 6.1% Irish ancestry according to Census 2000. 70.3% spoke English, 17.9% Spanish and 9.3% Punjabi as their first language.

There were 27,033 households out of which 37.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.0% were married couples living together, 11.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.2% were non-families. 21.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.87 and the average family size was 3.35.

In the county, the population was spread out with 29.0% under the age of 18, 9.2% from 18 to 24, 28.2% from 25 to 44, 21.3% from 45 to 64, and 12.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 98.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.3 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $38,375, and the median income for a family was $44,330. Males had a median income of $35,723 versus $25,778 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,428. About 12.1% of families and 15.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.3% of those under age 18 and 7.7% of those age 65 or over.

Media

MySYtv.com provides television coverage of local events in the area.

Communities

Cities

• Yuba City
• Live Oak

Census-designated places

Unincorporated communities

Proposed town

• Sutter Pointe

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2010 census of Sutter County.^[25]

† county seat

Rank	City/Town/etc.	Municipal type	Population (2010 Census)
1	† Yuba City	City	64,925
2	Live Oak	City	8,392
3	Sutter	CDP	2,904
4	Meridian	CDP	358
5	Rio Oso	CDP	356
6	Robbins	CDP	323
7	Trowbridge	CDP	226
8	East Nicolaus	CDP	225
9	Nicolaus	CDP	211

See also

• Hiking trails in Sutter County
• List of school districts in Sutter County, California
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Sutter County, California

Notes

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sutter County, California.

External links

• Official website

Coordinates: 39°02′N 121°41′W / 39.04°N 121.69°W / 39.04; -121.69