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List of counties in California
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The state of California has 58 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 are not in cities.
California's United States Postal Service code is CA and its FIPS code is 06.
List
| County |
FIPS Code [1] |
County seat [2] |
Established [2] |
Formed from |
Meaning of name [3] |
Population |
Area [2] |
Map |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alameda County | 001 | Oakland | 1853 | Contra Costa and Santa Clara | Spanish for "avenue shaded by trees" or "cottonwood grove." | 1,510,271 | 738 sq mi (1,911 km²) |
|
| Alpine County | 003 | Markleeville | 1864 | Amador, El Dorado, Calaveras, Mono and Tuolumne | Location high in the Sierra Nevada. | 1,175 | 739 sq mi (1,914 km²) |
|
| Amador County | 005 | Jackson | 1854 | Calaveras | Jose Maria Amador (1794–1883), a soldier, rancher, and miner who, along with several Native Americans, made a successful gold mining camp near present-day Amador City in 1848. | 38,091 | 606 sq mi (1,570 km²) |
|
| Butte County | 007 | Oroville | 1850 | Original | Sutter Buttes, mistakenly thought to be in the county during the county's establishment. | 220,000 | 1,640 sq mi (4,248 km²) |
|
| Calaveras County | 009 | San Andreas | 1850 | Original | Calaveras River; calaveras is Spanish for "skulls". | 45,578 | 1,020 sq mi (2,642 km²) |
|
| Colusa County | 011 | Colusa | 1850 | Original | Rancho Colus land grant from Mexico. | 21,419 | 1,151 sq mi (2,981 km²) |
|
| Contra Costa County | 013 | Martinez | 1850 | Original | Spanish for "opposite coast", from its location across San Francisco Bay from San Francisco. | 1,049,025 | 720 sq mi (1,865 km²) |
|
| Del Norte County | 015 | Crescent City | 1857 | Klamath | Spanish for "northern", from its far northern location. | 28,610 | 1,008 sq mi (2,611 km²) |
|
| El Dorado County | 017 | Placerville | 1850 | Original | El Dorado, a mythical city of gold, owing to the area's importance in the California Gold Rush. | 181,058 | 1,712 sq mi (4,434 km²) |
|
| Fresno County | 019 | Fresno | 1856 | Mariposa, Merced and Tulare | Fresno Creek; fresno is Spanish for "ash tree." | 930,450 | 5,963 sq mi (15,444 km²) |
|
| Glenn County | 021 | Willows | 1891 | Colusa | Dr. Hugh J. Glenn, a California businessman and politician. | 28,122 | 1,315 sq mi (3,406 km²) |
|
| Humboldt County | 023 | Eureka | 1853 | Trinity | Humboldt Bay, named after Alexander von Humboldt, a German naturalist and explorer. | 134,623 | 3,573 sq mi (9,254 km²) |
|
| Imperial County | 025 | El Centro | 1907 | San Diego | Imperial Valley, named for the Imperial Land Company. | 174,528 | 4,175 sq mi (10,813 km²) |
|
| Inyo County | 027 | Independence | 1866 | Mono and Tulare | Disputed original; early settlers believed Inyo to be the native name for area mountains, but this term may be the name of a Mono Indian leader | 18,546 | 10,192 sq mi (26,397 km²) |
|
| Kern County | 029 | Bakersfield | 1866 | Los Angeles and Tulare | Kern River, named for Edward Kern, cartographer for John C. Fremont's 1845 expedition. | 839,631 | 8,142 sq mi (21,088 km²) |
|
| Kings County | 031 | Hanford | 1893 | Tulare | Kings River, original Spanish name Rio de los Santos Reyes ("River of the Holy Kings"). | 152,982 | 1,390 sq mi (3,600 km²) |
|
| Lake County | 033 | Lakeport | 1861 | Napa | Clear Lake | 64,665 | 1,258 sq mi (3,258 km²) |
|
| Lassen County | 035 | Susanville | 1864 | Plumas and Shasta, and now defunct Lake County, Nevada | Peter Lassen, a Danish naturalist and explorer. | 34,895 | 4,558 sq mi (11,805 km²) |
|
| Los Angeles County | 037 | Los Angeles | 1850 | Original | Spanish for "The Angels", abbreviated from El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Angeles del Río de Porciúncula (The Village of Our Lady, the Queen of the Angels of the river of Porziuncola). | 9,818,605 | 4,060 sq mi (10,515 km²) |
|
| Madera County | 039 | Madera | 1893 | Mariposa | Spanish for "wood", in reference to the forested area of the landscape | 150,865 | 2,138 sq mi (5,537 km²) |
|
| Marin County | 041 | San Rafael | 1850 | Original | Disputed, but could be a corrupted abbreviation of Bahía de Nuestra Señora del Rosario la Marina, the Spanish name for area headlands along San Francisco Bay. | 252,409 | 520 sq mi (1,347 km²) |
|
| Mariposa County | 043 | Mariposa | 1850 | Original | Spanish for "butterfly". | 18,251 | 1,451 sq mi (3,758 km²) |
|
| Mendocino County | 045 | Ukiah | 1850 | Original | Antonio de Mendoza, first viceroy of New Spain. | 87,841 | 3,509 sq mi (9,088 km²) |
|
| Merced County | 047 | Merced | 1855 | Mariposa | Merced River; original Spanish name El Río de Nuestra Señora de la Merced ("River of Our Lady of Mercy"). | 255,793 | 1,929 sq mi (4,996 km²) |
|
| Modoc County | 049 | Alturas | 1874 | Siskiyou | The Modoc people | 9,686 | 3,944 sq mi (10,215 km²) |
|
| Mono County | 051 | Bridgeport | 1861 | Calaveras, Fresno and Mariposa | Mono Lake; name derived from Monachi, a Yokut name for native peoples of the Sierra Nevada. | 14,202 | 3,044 sq mi (7,884 km²) |
|
| Monterey County | 053 | Salinas | 1850 | Original | Monterey Bay, Spanish portmanteau of monte ("hill") and rey ("king"). | 415,057 | 3,322 sq mi (8,604 km²) |
|
| Napa County | 055 | Napa | 1850 | Original | Disputed origin; possibly derived from the Patwin word napo, meaning home. | 136,484 | 754 sq mi (1,953 km²) |
|
| Nevada County | 057 | Nevada City | 1851 | Yuba | Spanish for "snow-covered", referencing the area's high elevation | 98,764 | 958 sq mi (2,481 km²) |
|
| Orange County | 059 | Santa Ana | 1889 | Los Angeles | The orange, which was widely grown in the area at the time the county was established. | 3,010,232 | 790 sq mi (2,046 km²) |
|
| Placer County | 061 | Auburn | 1851 | Sutter and Yuba | Spanish term for gravel deposits that contain gold; references the California Gold Rush, which was centered in the area. | 348,432 | 1,503 sq mi (3,893 km²) |
|
| Plumas County | 063 | Quincy | 1854 | Butte | Feather River; Spanish name El Rio de las Plumas. | 20,007 | 2,554 sq mi (6,615 km²) |
|
| Riverside County | 065 | Riverside | 1893 | San Bernardino and San Diego | The city of Riverside, named for its location on the Santa Ana River. | 2,189,641 | 7,208 sq mi (18,669 km²) |
|
| Sacramento County | 067 | Sacramento | 1850 | Original | Sacramento River, named for the Santisimo Sacramento (Spanish for "Most Holy Sacrament"). | 1,418,788 | 966 sq mi (2,502 km²) |
|
| San Benito County | 069 | Hollister | 1874 | Monterey | Saint Benedict (San Benedicto in Spanish; Benito is the diminutive of Benedicto). | 55,269 | 1,389 sq mi (3,597 km²) |
|
| San Bernardino County | 071 | San Bernardino | 1853 | Los Angeles | City of San Bernardino, named for Saint Bernardino of Siena (San Bernardino de Siena in Spanish) | 2,035,210 | 20,062 sq mi (51,960 km²) |
|
| San Diego County | 073 | San Diego | 1850 | Original | Spanish for Saint Didacus | 3,095,313 | 4,204 sq mi (10,888 km²) |
|
| San Francisco County | 075 | San Francisco | 1850 | Original | Spanish for Saint Francis. | 805,235 | 47 sq mi (122 km²) |
|
| San Joaquin County | 077 | Stockton | 1850 | Original | Spanish for Saint Joachim. | 685,306 | 1,399 sq mi (3,623 km²) |
|
| San Luis Obispo County | 079 | San Luis Obispo | 1850 | Original | Spanish for Saint Louis, the Bishop. | 269,637 | 3,304 sq mi (8,557 km²) |
|
| San Mateo County | 081 | Redwood City | 1856 | San Francisco and Santa Cruz | Spanish for Saint Matthew. | 718,451 | 449 sq mi (1,163 km²) |
|
| Santa Barbara County | 083 | Santa Barbara | 1850 | Original | Spanish for Saint Barbara. | 423,895 | 2,738 sq mi (7,091 km²) |
|
| Santa Clara County | 085 | San Jose | 1850 | Original | Spanish for Saint Clare. | 1,781,642 | 1,291 sq mi (3,344 km²) |
|
| Santa Cruz County | 087 | Santa Cruz | 1850 | Original | Mission Santa Cruz; Spanish for holy cross | 262,382 | 446 sq mi (1,155 km²) |
|
| Shasta County | 089 | Redding | 1850 | Original | Mount Shasta | 177,223 | 3,786 sq mi (9,806 km²) |
|
| Sierra County | 091 | Downieville | 1852 | Yuba | Spanish for "mountain range", referencing the area's topography | 3,240 | 953 sq mi (2,468 km²) |
|
| Siskiyou County | 093 | Yreka | 1852 | Shasta and Klamath | Siskiyou Mountains; meaning of Siskiyou is disputed. | 44,900 | 6,287 sq mi (16,283 km²) |
|
| Solano County | 095 | Fairfield | 1850 | Original | Chief Solano of the Suisunes | 413,344 | 828 sq mi (2,145 km²) |
|
| Sonoma County | 097 | Santa Rosa | 1850 | Original | Disputed origin; possibly a Pomo term meaning "valley of the moon", which references a native legend about spiritual activity in the area. | 483,878 | 1,576 sq mi (4,082 km²) |
|
| Stanislaus County | 099 | Modesto | 1854 | Tuolumne | Stanislaus River, named for Estanislao. | 514,453 | 1,495 sq mi (3,872 km²) |
|
| Sutter County | 101 | Yuba City | 1850 | Original | John Sutter, a Swiss pioneer of California associated with the California Gold Rush. | 94,737 | 603 sq mi (1,562 km²) |
|
| Tehama County | 103 | Red Bluff | 1856 | Butte, Colusa and Shasta | The Tehama people, a local Native American tribe. | 63,463 | 2,951 sq mi (7,643 km²) |
|
| Trinity County | 105 | Weaverville | 1850 | Original | The Trinity River, named for the town of Trinidad (Spanish for "Trinity"). | 13,786 | 3,179 sq mi (8,234 km²) |
|
| Tulare County | 107 | Visalia | 1852 | Mariposa | Tulare Lake | 442,179 | 4,824 sq mi (12,494 km²) |
|
| Tuolumne County | 109 | Sonora | 1850 | Original | Disputed origin; possibly a corruption of the native term talmalamne, which means cluster of stone wigwams and references local cave dwelling tribes. | 55,365 | 2,236 sq mi (5,791 km²) |
|
| Ventura County | 111 | Ventura | 1872 | Santa Barbara | Abbreviation of San Buenaventura, Spanish for St. Bonaventure. | 823,318 | 1,846 sq mi (4,781 km²) |
|
| Yolo County | 113 | Woodland | 1850 | Original | The Yolan people, a local Native American tribe. | 200,849 | 1,012 sq mi (2,621 km²) |
|
| Yuba County | 115 | Marysville | 1850 | Original | The local Maidu native peoples who lived on the banks of what is now known as the Feather & Yuba Rivers - or by Gabriel Moraga who used the Spanish name for wild grapes growing abundantly at the river's edge. | 72,155 | 630 sq mi (1,632 km²) |
|
Old counties
- Klamath County was formed in 1851 from the northern half of Trinity County. Part of the county's territory went to Del Norte County in 1857, and in 1874 the rest was split between Humboldt and Siskiyou counties.
- Pautah County was formed in 1852 out of land which, the state of California thought, was to be given to it by the United States Congress from land in what is now the state of Nevada. In 1859 when the cession never occurred, the California State Legislature did not make the county.
Notes
- ↑ "EPA County FIPS Code Listing". EPA.gov. http://www.epa.gov/enviro/html/codes/ca.html. Retrieved February 23, 2008.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 National Association of Counties. "NACo - Find a county". http://www.naco.org/Template.cfm?Section=Find_a_County&Template=/cffiles/counties/state.cfm&state.cfm&statecode=CA. Retrieved April 30, 2008.
- ↑ Sanchez, Nellie Van de Grift (1914). Spanish and Indian Place Names of California: Their Meaning and Their Romance. San Francisco: A. M. Robertson. . https://books.google.com/books?id=gKgYAAAAIAAJ.
