List of counties in California

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The US state of California is now divided into 58 counties . They are responsible for all elections, property taxes, public notarizations and local jurisdiction. It also uses the sheriff as a police body, who is responsible for enforcing the law outside of the independent cities. In San Francisco, the city and county government are merged. The county sheriff is still primarily responsible for managing the prison.

California's symbol is CA and the FIPS code is 06 .

Establishment of the first counties of California

On January 4, 1850, the California Constitutional Commission proposed the creation of 18 counties. These first counties 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 22nd, Branciforte, Calaveras, Coloma, Colusi, Marin, Mendocino, Napa, Trinity and Yuba were added, and Benicia was renamed Solano, Coloma in El Dorado, Fremont in Yolo, Mt.Diablo in Contra Costa, San Jose in Santa Clara, Oro in Tuolumne and Redding in Shasta. The actions of the first legislature of California then included the further renaming of Branciforte County in Santa Cruz, Colusi in Colusa and Yola in Yolo.

The youngest county in California is Imperial County, established in 1907.

table

county	FIPS code	County Seat	Founded	origin	Origin of name	population	surface	map
Alameda County	001	Oakland	1853	Parts of Contra Costa County and Santa Clara County.	A Spanish word for a score in a poplar style	1,474,368	738 sq mi (1,911 km² )
Alpine County	003	Markleeville	1864	Amador County, El Dorado County, Calaveras County, Mono County, Tuolumne County.	Alps	1,061	739 sq mi (1,914 km² )
Amador County	005	Jackson	1854	Calaveras County.	Jose Maria Amador (1794–1883), soldier, rancher and miner. The word means lover in Spanish	38,238	1,536 km² ( 593 sq mi)
Butte County	007	Oroville	1850	One of the 27 originally established counties.	The Sutter Buttes mountain range , which was mistakenly believed to be within this county	220.337	4,248 km² ( 1,640 sq mi)
Calaveras County	009	San Andreas	1850	One of the 27 originally established counties.	Calaveras River , whose name means skull in Spanish	46,843	2,642 km² ( 1,020 sq mi)
Colusa County	011	Colusa	1850	One of the 27 originally established counties.	From two lands of Mexico; Coluses (1844) and Colus (1845).	21,204	2,981 km² ( 1,151 sq mi)
Contra Costa County	013	Martinez	1850	One of the 27 originally established counties.	Spanish for opposite coast because Contra Costa is opposite San Francisco County	1,029,703	1,865 km² ( 720 sq mi)
Del Norte County	015	Crescent City	1857	Klamath County.	Spanish for north because it is the northernmost county	29,100	2,611 km² ( 1,008 sq mi)
El Dorado County	017	Placerville	1850	One of the 27 originally established counties.	from the mythical Eldorado , as the area played a major role in the California gold rush .	176.075	4,434 km² ( 1,712 sq mi)
Fresno County	019	Fresno	1856	Mariposa Counties, Merced Counties, and Tulare Counties.	Fresno Creek, Fresno means ash in Spanish	909.153	15,444 km² ( 5,963 sq mi)
Glenn County	021	Willows	1891	Colusa County.	Hugh J. Glenn (1824-1883), California businessman and politician	28,237	3,406 km² ( 1,315 sq mi)
Humboldt County	023	Eureka	1853	Trinity County.	Humboldt Bay , after Baron Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859), naturalist and explorer.	129,000	9,254 km² ( 3,573 sq mi)
Imperial County	025	El Centro	1907	San Diego County	After the Imperial Valley, which takes its name from the Imperial Land Company has	163.972	10,813 km² ( 4,175 sq mi)
Inyo County	027	Independence	1866	Mono County and Tulare County.	From an Indian word for where the great spirit dwells	17,136	26,397 km² ( 10,192 sq mi)
Kern County	029	Bakersfield	1866	Los Angeles County and Tulare County.	Kern River , after Edward Kern , cartographer during the expedition of General John C. Frémont in 1845	800,458	21,088 km² ( 8,142 sq mi)
Kings County	031	Hanford	1893	Tulare County.	Kings River .	149,518	3,600 km² ( 1,390 sq mi)
Lake County	033	Lakeport	1861	Napa County.	Clear Lake, California .	64,866	3,258 km² ( 1,258 sq mi)
Lassen County	035	Susanville	1864	Plumas Counties and Shasta Counties and the now defunct Lake County in Nevada	Peter Lassen (1800-1859), Danish explorer	34,574	11,805 km² ( 4,558 sq mi)
Los Angeles County	037	los Angeles	1850	One of the 27 originally established counties.	Spanish for the Angels ; the Spanish galleons thought they would reach the sky if they reached the coast in the morning mist	9,862,049	10,515 km² ( 4,060 sq mi)
Madera County	039	Madera	1893	Fresno County.	Spanish for wood or beams	148.333	5,537 km² ( 2,138 sq mi)
Marin County	041	San Rafael	1850	One of the 27 originally established counties.	Controversial (see article), perhaps a mutilation of Marina as it is on San Francisco Bay.	248,794	1,347 km² ( 520 sq mi)
Mariposa County	043	Mariposa	1850	One of the 27 originally established counties.	Spanish for butterfly	17,976	3,758 km² ( 1,451 sq mi)
Mendocino County	045	Ukiah	1850	One of the 27 originally established counties.	Cape Mendocino , perhaps after Antonio of Mendoza or Lorenzo Suárez of Mendoza , viceroys of New Spain	86,221	9,088 km² ( 3,509 sq mi)
Merced County	047	Merced	1855	Mariposa County.	Merced River , from Spanish El Río de Nuestra Señora de la Merced , named during an expedition by Gabriel Moraga .	246.117	4,996 km² ( 1,929 sq mi)
Modoc County	049	Alturas	1874	Siskiyou County.	Modoc Indians.	9,184	10,215 km² ( 3,944 sq mi)
Mono County	051	Bridgeport	1861	Calaveras Counties, Fresno Counties, and Mariposa Counties.	Mono Paiute , an Indian tribe	12,774	7,884 km² ( 3,044 sq mi)
Monterey County	053	Salinas	1850	One of the 27 originally established counties.	Monterey Bay . From the Spanish words for monte (hill) and rey (king)	408.238	8,604 km² ( 3,322 sq mi)
Napa County	055	Napa	1850	One of the 27 originally established counties.	The Napans were an Indian tribe	133,433	1,953 km² ( 754 sq mi)
Nevada County	057	Nevada City	1851	Yuba County.	Snowfall in Spanish	97.118	2,481 km² ( 958 sq mi)
Orange County	059	Santa Ana	1889	Los Angeles County.	From the citrus fruit that was widely planted here when it was founded.	3,010,759	2,046 km² ( 790 sq mi)
Placer County	061	Auburn	1851	Sutter County and Yuba County.	Small gold flakes that were found here during the gold rush.	341.945	3,893 km² ( 1,503 sq mi)
Plumas County	063	Quincy	1854	Butte County.	Plumas means feathers in Spanish.	20,275	6,615 km² ( 2,554 sq mi)
Riverside County	065	Riverside	1893	San Bernardino County and San Diego County.	The city of Riverside	2,100,516	18,669 km² ( 7,208 sq mi)
Sacramento County	067	Sacramento	1850	One of the 27 originally established counties.	Sacramento River , after the Spanish expression for the Most Holy Sacrament (the Eucharist )	1,394,154	2,502 km² ( 966 sq mi)
San Benito County	069	Hollister	1874	Monterey County.	Benedict of Nursia , Benito is a diminutive of Benedict	54,699	3,597 km² ( 1,389 sq mi)
San Bernardino County	071	San Bernardino	1853	Los Angeles County.	Saint Bernard of Siena . San Bernardino is the largest county in the United States	2,015,355	51,960 km² ( 20,062 sq mi)
San Diego County	073	San Diego	1850	One of the 27 originally established counties.	San Diego Bay , to San Diego de Alcalá	3,001,072	10,888 km² ( 4,204 sq mi)
San Francisco County	075	San Francisco	1850	One of the 27 originally established counties.	Francis of Assisi , founder of the Franciscan order	808.976	122 km² ( 47 sq mi)
San Joaquin County	077	Stockton	1850	One of the 27 originally established counties.	Saint Joachim , Father of Mary	672,388	3,623 km² ( 1,399 sq mi)
San Luis Obispo County	079	San Luis Obispo	1850	One of the 27 originally established counties.	Spanish name of Bishop Ludwig of Toulouse	265.297	8,557 km² ( 3,304 sq mi)
San Mateo County	081	Redwood City	1856	San Francisco County.	Spanish name of the evangelist Matthew	712.690	1,163 km² ( 449 sq mi)
Santa Barbara County	083	Santa Barbara	1850	One of the 27 originally established counties.	Barbara of Nicomedia	405.396	7,091 km² ( 2,738 sq mi)
Santa Clara County	085	San Jose	1850	One of the 27 originally established counties.	Clare of Assisi and the mission station in Santa Clara	1,764,499	3,344 km² ( 1,291 sq mi)
Santa Cruz County	087	Santa Cruz	1850	One of the 27 originally established counties.	The city of Santa Cruz	253.137	1,155 km² ( 446 sq mi)
Shasta County	089	Redding	1850	One of the 27 originally established counties.	To Mount Shasta , although this is actually not in it	180.214	9,806 km² ( 3,786 sq mi)
Sierra County	091	Downieville	1852	Yuba County.	Spanish for mountain range	3,263	2,468 km² ( 953 sq mi)
Siskiyou County	093	Yreka	1852	Shasta County and Klamath County.	Siskiyou Mountain Range ; The etymology of Siskiyou is controversial	44,542	16,283 km² ( 6,287 sq mi)
Solano County	095	Fairfield	1850	One of the 27 originally established counties.	The Solanos were an Indian tribe	407,515	2,145 km² ( 828 sq mi)
Sonoma County	097	Santa Rosa	1850	One of the 27 originally established counties.	After the place Sonoma	466.741	4,082 km² ( 1,576 sq mi)
Stanislaus County	099	Modesto	1854	Tuolumne County.	Named after Chief Stanislaus who fought the Mexicans in the 1820s	510.694	3,872 km² ( 1,495 sq mi)
Sutter County	101	Yuba City	1850	One of the 27 originally established counties.	Johann August Sutter (1803–1880), Swiss pioneer, his ranch was originally called Nueva Helvetica , Latinized form for Switzerland	92.207	1,562 km² ( 603 sq mi)
Tehama County	103	Red bluff	1856	Butte County, Colusa County, and Shasta County.	Arabicism in Spanish, meaning: hot lowlands	61,550	7,643 km² ( 2,951 sq mi)
Trinity County	105	Weaverville	1850	Klamath County, one of the 27 originally established counties.	Trinity River , so named by Pierson B. Reading because he believed it would flow into Trinidad Bay .	14,317	8,234 km² ( 3,179 sq mi)
Tulare County	107	Visalia	1852	Mariposa County.	Tulare Lake , a dry lake	426.276	12,494 km² ( 4,824 sq mi)
Tuolumne County	109	Sonora	1850	One of the 27 originally established counties.	Tuolomnes Indians	55,644	5,791 km² ( 2,236 sq mi)
Ventura County	111	Ventura	1872	Santa Barbara County.	Abbreviation of San Buenaventura , the Spanish name of Bonaventura	797.740	4,781 km² ( 1,846 sq mi)
Yolo County	113	Woodland	1850	One of the 27 originally established counties.	Yolans Indians	197,658	2,621 km² ( 1,012 sq mi)
Yuba County	115	Marysville	1850	One of the 27 originally established counties.	The Yuba family owned lands in the Sacramento River Valley.	73,067	1,632 km² ( 630 sq mi)

Former counties

• Klamath County was spun off from part of Trinity County in 1851, and in 1874 it was split into Humboldt County and Siskiyou County, after parts of Del Norte had already merged in 1857.
• Pautah County was created in 1852 from a territory that actually belonged to Nevada because the State of California assumed Congress would reclassify the country accordingly, but it did not. Officially, the county that never existed was abolished in 1859.

Web links

• California State Association of Counties
• Map with links to statistical data

Individual evidence

1. ↑ EPA County FIPS Code Listing . In: EPA.gov . Retrieved February 23, 2008.
2. ^ ^{A b c} National Association of Counties: NACo - Find a county . Archived from the original on September 23, 2012. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved April 30, 2008. 
3. ^ US Census Bureau: County Population Estimates . Archived from the original on March 22, 2009. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved March 30, 2009. 
4. ↑ Mariposa was originally the largest county, but its area has since been divided into twelve others: Fresno, Inyo, Kern, Kings, Los Angeles, Madera, Merced, Mono, San Benito, San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo, and Tulare.