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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 | ( 1,911 km²) |
738 sq mi ![]()
|
Alpine County | 003 | Markleeville | 1864 | Amador, El Dorado, Calaveras, Mono and Tuolumne | Location high in the Sierra Nevada. | 1,175 | ( 1,914 km²) |
739 sq mi ![]()
|
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 | ( 1,570 km²) |
606 sq mi ![]()
|
Butte County | 007 | Oroville | 1850 | Original | Sutter Buttes, mistakenly thought to be in the county during the county's establishment. | 220,000 | ( 4,248 km²) |
1,640 sq mi ![]()
|
Calaveras County | 009 | San Andreas | 1850 | Original | Calaveras River; calaveras is Spanish for "skulls". | 45,578 | ( 2,642 km²) |
1,020 sq mi ![]()
|
Colusa County | 011 | Colusa | 1850 | Original | Rancho Colus land grant from Mexico. | 21,419 | ( 2,981 km²) |
1,151 sq mi ![]()
|
Contra Costa County | 013 | Martinez | 1850 | Original | Spanish for "opposite coast", from its location across San Francisco Bay from San Francisco. | 1,049,025 | ( 1,865 km²) |
720 sq mi ![]()
|
Del Norte County | 015 | Crescent City | 1857 | Klamath | Spanish for "northern", from its far northern location. | 28,610 | ( 2,611 km²) |
1,008 sq mi ![]()
|
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 | ( 4,434 km²) |
1,712 sq mi ![]()
|
Fresno County | 019 | Fresno | 1856 | Mariposa, Merced and Tulare | Fresno Creek; fresno is Spanish for "ash tree." | 930,450 | ( 15,444 km²) |
5,963 sq mi ![]()
|
Glenn County | 021 | Willows | 1891 | Colusa | Dr. Hugh J. Glenn, a California businessman and politician. | 28,122 | ( 3,406 km²) |
1,315 sq mi ![]()
|
Humboldt County | 023 | Eureka | 1853 | Trinity | Humboldt Bay, named after Alexander von Humboldt, a German naturalist and explorer. | 134,623 | ( 9,254 km²) |
3,573 sq mi ![]()
|
Imperial County | 025 | El Centro | 1907 | San Diego | Imperial Valley, named for the Imperial Land Company. | 174,528 | ( 10,813 km²) |
4,175 sq mi ![]()
|
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 | ( 26,397 km²) |
10,192 sq mi ![]()
|
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 | ( 21,088 km²) |
8,142 sq mi ![]()
|
Kings County | 031 | Hanford | 1893 | Tulare | Kings River, original Spanish name Rio de los Santos Reyes ("River of the Holy Kings"). | 152,982 | ( 3,600 km²) |
1,390 sq mi ![]()
|
Lake County | 033 | Lakeport | 1861 | Napa | Clear Lake | 64,665 | ( 3,258 km²) |
1,258 sq mi ![]()
|
Lassen County | 035 | Susanville | 1864 | Plumas and Shasta, and now defunct Lake County, Nevada | Peter Lassen, a Danish naturalist and explorer. | 34,895 | ( 11,805 km²) |
4,558 sq mi ![]()
|
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 | ( 10,515 km²) |
4,060 sq mi ![]()
|
Madera County | 039 | Madera | 1893 | Mariposa | Spanish for "wood", in reference to the forested area of the landscape | 150,865 | ( 5,537 km²) |
2,138 sq mi ![]()
|
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 | ( 1,347 km²) |
520 sq mi ![]()
|
Mariposa County | 043 | Mariposa | 1850 | Original | Spanish for "butterfly". | 18,251 | ( 3,758 km²) |
1,451 sq mi ![]()
|
Mendocino County | 045 | Ukiah | 1850 | Original | Antonio de Mendoza, first viceroy of New Spain. | 87,841 | ( 9,088 km²) |
3,509 sq mi ![]()
|
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 | ( 4,996 km²) |
1,929 sq mi ![]()
|
Modoc County | 049 | Alturas | 1874 | Siskiyou | The Modoc people | 9,686 | ( 10,215 km²) |
3,944 sq mi ![]()
|
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 | ( 7,884 km²) |
3,044 sq mi ![]()
|
Monterey County | 053 | Salinas | 1850 | Original | Monterey Bay, Spanish portmanteau of monte ("hill") and rey ("king"). | 415,057 | ( 8,604 km²) |
3,322 sq mi ![]()
|
Napa County | 055 | Napa | 1850 | Original | Disputed origin; possibly derived from the Patwin word napo, meaning home. | 136,484 | ( 1,953 km²) |
754 sq mi ![]()
|
Nevada County | 057 | Nevada City | 1851 | Yuba | Spanish for "snow-covered", referencing the area's high elevation | 98,764 | ( 2,481 km²) |
958 sq mi ![]()
|
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 | ( 2,046 km²) |
790 sq mi ![]()
|
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 | ( 3,893 km²) |
1,503 sq mi ![]()
|
Plumas County | 063 | Quincy | 1854 | Butte | Feather River; Spanish name El Rio de las Plumas. | 20,007 | ( 6,615 km²) |
2,554 sq mi ![]()
|
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 | ( 18,669 km²) |
7,208 sq mi ![]()
|
Sacramento County | 067 | Sacramento | 1850 | Original | Sacramento River, named for the Santisimo Sacramento (Spanish for "Most Holy Sacrament"). | 1,418,788 | ( 2,502 km²) |
966 sq mi ![]()
|
San Benito County | 069 | Hollister | 1874 | Monterey | Saint Benedict (San Benedicto in Spanish; Benito is the diminutive of Benedicto). | 55,269 | ( 3,597 km²) |
1,389 sq mi ![]()
|
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 | ( 51,960 km²) |
20,062 sq mi ![]()
|
San Diego County | 073 | San Diego | 1850 | Original | Spanish for Saint Didacus | 3,095,313 | ( 10,888 km²) |
4,204 sq mi ![]()
|
San Francisco County | 075 | San Francisco | 1850 | Original | Spanish for Saint Francis. | 805,235 | ( 122 km²) |
47 sq mi ![]()
|
San Joaquin County | 077 | Stockton | 1850 | Original | Spanish for Saint Joachim. | 685,306 | ( 3,623 km²) |
1,399 sq mi ![]()
|
San Luis Obispo County | 079 | San Luis Obispo | 1850 | Original | Spanish for Saint Louis, the Bishop. | 269,637 | ( 8,557 km²) |
3,304 sq mi ![]()
|
San Mateo County | 081 | Redwood City | 1856 | San Francisco and Santa Cruz | Spanish for Saint Matthew. | 718,451 | ( 1,163 km²) |
449 sq mi ![]()
|
Santa Barbara County | 083 | Santa Barbara | 1850 | Original | Spanish for Saint Barbara. | 423,895 | ( 7,091 km²) |
2,738 sq mi ![]()
|
Santa Clara County | 085 | San Jose | 1850 | Original | Spanish for Saint Clare. | 1,781,642 | ( 3,344 km²) |
1,291 sq mi ![]()
|
Santa Cruz County | 087 | Santa Cruz | 1850 | Original | Mission Santa Cruz; Spanish for holy cross | 262,382 | ( 1,155 km²) |
446 sq mi ![]()
|
Shasta County | 089 | Redding | 1850 | Original | Mount Shasta | 177,223 | ( 9,806 km²) |
3,786 sq mi ![]()
|
Sierra County | 091 | Downieville | 1852 | Yuba | Spanish for "mountain range", referencing the area's topography | 3,240 | ( 2,468 km²) |
953 sq mi ![]()
|
Siskiyou County | 093 | Yreka | 1852 | Shasta and Klamath | Siskiyou Mountains; meaning of Siskiyou is disputed. | 44,900 | ( 16,283 km²) |
6,287 sq mi ![]()
|
Solano County | 095 | Fairfield | 1850 | Original | Chief Solano of the Suisunes | 413,344 | ( 2,145 km²) |
828 sq mi ![]()
|
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 | ( 4,082 km²) |
1,576 sq mi ![]()
|
Stanislaus County | 099 | Modesto | 1854 | Tuolumne | Stanislaus River, named for Estanislao. | 514,453 | ( 3,872 km²) |
1,495 sq mi ![]()
|
Sutter County | 101 | Yuba City | 1850 | Original | John Sutter, a Swiss pioneer of California associated with the California Gold Rush. | 94,737 | ( 1,562 km²) |
603 sq mi ![]()
|
Tehama County | 103 | Red Bluff | 1856 | Butte, Colusa and Shasta | The Tehama people, a local Native American tribe. | 63,463 | ( 7,643 km²) |
2,951 sq mi ![]()
|
Trinity County | 105 | Weaverville | 1850 | Original | The Trinity River, named for the town of Trinidad (Spanish for "Trinity"). | 13,786 | ( 8,234 km²) |
3,179 sq mi ![]()
|
Tulare County | 107 | Visalia | 1852 | Mariposa | Tulare Lake | 442,179 | ( 12,494 km²) |
4,824 sq mi ![]()
|
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 | ( 5,791 km²) |
2,236 sq mi ![]()
|
Ventura County | 111 | Ventura | 1872 | Santa Barbara | Abbreviation of San Buenaventura, Spanish for St. Bonaventure. | 823,318 | ( 4,781 km²) |
1,846 sq mi ![]()
|
Yolo County | 113 | Woodland | 1850 | Original | The Yolan people, a local Native American tribe. | 200,849 | ( 2,621 km²) |
1,012 sq mi ![]()
|
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 | ( 1,632 km²) |
630 sq mi ![]() |
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.