Butte County, California

Butte County is a county in northern California. In the 2010 census, the population was 220,000.[4] The county seat is Oroville.[5]

Butte County, California
County
County of Butte
Butte County in 2005, with a view of the Sutter Buttes in the background
Seal
Nickname(s): 
"The Land of Natural Wealth and Beauty"
Location in the state of California
California's location in the United States
Country United States
State California
IncorporatedFebruary 18, 1850[1]
Named forThe nearby Sutter Buttes
County seatOroville
Largest cityChico (population and area)
Area
 • Total1,677 sq mi (4,340 km2)
 • Land1,636 sq mi (4,240 km2)
 • Water41 sq mi (110 km2)
Highest elevation7,124 ft (2,171 m)
Population
 • Total220,000
 • Estimate 
(2019)[3]
219,186
 • Density130/sq mi (51/km2)
Time zoneUTC−8 (Pacific Time Zone)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−7 (Pacific Daylight Time)
Area code530
FIPS code06-007
GNIS feature ID1675842
Websitewww.buttecounty.net

Butte County comprises the Chico, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is in the California Central Valley, north of the state capital of Sacramento. Butte County is known as the "Land of Natural Wealth and Beauty."

Butte County is drained by the Feather River and the Sacramento River. Butte Creek and Big Chico Creek are additional perennial streams, both tributary to the Sacramento. The county is the home of California State University, Chico and of Butte College.

There are four major hospitals and the State of California defines Butte County as being inside Health Service Area 1. A special district, the Butte County Air Quality Management District, regulates airborne pollutant emissions in the county. It does this following regional regulations, state, and federal laws. For example, in recent years, the agency changed rules that once allowed residents to burn household trash outdoors.

History

Butte County is named for the Sutter Buttes in neighboring Sutter County; butte means "small knoll" or "small hill" in French.[6] Butte County was incorporated as one of California's 19 original counties on 18 February 1850. The county went across the present limits of the Tehama, Plumas, Colusa, and Sutter counties.[7] The first sheriff was Joseph Q. Wilbur.[8]

Between November 8–25, 2018, a major wildfire, the Camp Fire, destroyed most of the town of Paradise, the adjacent community of Concow, and many square miles of rural, hilly country east of Chico. More than eighty people were killed, fifty thousand were displaced, over 150,000 acres were burned, and nearly twenty thousand buildings were destroyed.[9][10] The Camp Fire is California's most destructive and deadliest fire.[11]

Geography
South Table Mountain Near Oroville

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,677 square miles (4,340 km2), of which 1,636 square miles (4,240 km2) is land and 41 square miles (110 km2) (2.4%) is water.[4]

The county is drained by the Feather River and Butte Creek. Part of the county's western border is formed by the Sacramento River. The county lies along the western slope of the Sierra Nevada, the steep slopes making it prime territory for the siting of hydroelectric power plants. About a half dozen of these plants are located in the county, one of which, serves the Oroville Dam which became severely stressed by overflow water in 2017, and which remains a concern today.

National protected areas

Adjacent counties

Demographics

2011

Places by population, race, and income

2010
Historical population
CensusPop.%±
18503,574—
186012,106238.7%
187011,403−5.8%
188018,72164.2%
189017,939−4.2%
190017,117−4.6%
191027,30159.5%
192030,03010.0%
193034,09313.5%
194042,84025.7%
195064,93051.6%
196082,03026.3%
1970101,96924.3%
1980143,85141.1%
1990182,12026.6%
2000203,17111.6%
2010220,0008.3%
2019 (est.)219,186[3]−0.4%
U.S. Decennial Census[20]
1790–1960[21] 1900–1990[22]
1990–2000[23] 2010–2015[4]

The 2010 United States Census reported that Butte County had a population of 220,000. The racial makeup of Butte County was 180,096 (81.9%) White, 3,415 (1.6%) African American, 4,395 (2.0%) Native American, 9,057 (4.1%) Asian, 452 (0.2%) Pacific Islander, 12,141 (5.5%) from other races, and 10,444 (4.7%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 31,116 persons (14.1%).[24]

2000

As of the census[25] of 2000, there were 203,171 people, 79,566 households, and 49,410 families residing in the county. The population density was 124 people per square mile (48/km2). There were 85,523 housing units at an average density of 52 per square mile (20/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 84.5% White, 1.4% Black or African American, 1.9% Native American, 3.3% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 4.8% from other races, and 3.9% from two or more races. 10.5% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 14.2% were of German, 11.1% English, 10.2% Irish, 7.8% American and 5.6% Italian ancestry according to Census 2000. 87.9% spoke English, 7.8% Spanish and 1.4% Hmong as their first language.

There were 79,566 households, out of which 28.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.7% were married couples living together, 11.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.9% were non-families. 27.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.02.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.0% under the age of 18, 13.6% from 18 to 24, 24.8% from 25 to 44, 21.8% from 45 to 64, and 15.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 96.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.6 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $31,924, and the median income for a family was $41,010. Males had a median income of $34,137 versus $25,393 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,517. About 12.2% of families and 19.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.8% of those under age 18 and 7.3% of those age 65 or over.

Crime

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

Cities by population and crime rates

Government

Voter registration statistics

Cities by population and voter registration

Local

The citizens of the county of Butte are represented by the five member Butte County Board of Supervisors.

Tribal

The Berry Creek Rancheria of Tyme Maidu Indians of California is headquartered in Oroville. The Berry Creek Rancheria operates Gold Country Casino.

The Mooretown Rancheria of Maidu Indians of California is also headquartered in Oroville. The Mooretown Rancheria operates Feather Falls Casino.

The governmental headquarters of the Mechoopda Indian Tribe of Chico Rancheria is located in Chico.

State
See also: List of members of the California Senate from Butte County

Butte County is split between the 1st and 3rd Assembly districts, represented by Republican Megan Dahle and Republican James Gallagher, respectively.[29] The county is in the 4th Senate District, represented by Republican Jim Nielsen.[30]

According to the California Secretary of State, as of February 10, 2019, Butte County has 172,054 registered voters. Of those, 42,093 (34.4%) are registered Democrats, 41,330 (33.8%) are registered Republicans and 30,377 (24.8%) have declined to state a political party.[31]

On November 4, 2008 Butte County voted 56.7% for Proposition 8 which amended the California Constitution to ban same-sex marriages.[32]

Federal

Butte County is in California's 1st congressional district, represented by Republican Doug LaMalfa.[33]

Butte is a Republican-leaning county in Presidential and congressional elections. Lyndon Johnson in 1964 is the last Democrat to win a majority in the county (It was also his weakest county victory in the state that year); however, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden won the county by plurality in 1992, 2008, and 2020, respectively.

Butte County is one of only twelve counties to have voted for Obama in 2008, Romney in 2012, Trump in 2016, and Biden in 2020, a pattern that was particularly evident elsewhere in the Mountain West.[lower-alpha 1]

Presidential elections results
Butte County vote
by party in presidential elections[34]
Year GOP DEM Others
2020 47.7% 48,730 49.4% 50,426 2.9% 2,910
2016 46.5% 45,144 42.9% 41,567 10.6% 10,291
2012 48.9% 44,479 46.9% 42,669 4.3% 3,873
2008 47.3% 46,706 49.7% 49,013 3.0% 2,988
2004 53.7% 51,662 44.1% 42,448 2.1% 2,047
2000 54.5% 45,584 37.4% 31,338 8.1% 6,799
1996 49.0% 38,961 38.5% 30,651 12.5% 9,938
1992 37.2% 31,608 38.2% 32,489 24.6% 20,917
1988 56.0% 40,143 42.5% 30,406 1.5% 1,082
1984 63.1% 45,381 35.3% 25,421 1.6% 1,162
1980 57.9% 38,188 29.6% 19,520 12.6% 8,304
1976 51.8% 28,400 44.1% 24,203 4.1% 2,251
1972 57.6% 28,819 36.8% 18,401 5.6% 2,808
1968 56.7% 22,225 32.9% 12,887 10.5% 4,099
1964 48.4% 19,574 51.5% 20,831 0.0% 14
1960 57.6% 20,838 41.9% 15,163 0.5% 174
1956 58.4% 18,382 41.1% 12,933 0.5% 147
1952 63.3% 19,248 35.9% 10,913 0.9% 263
1948 49.4% 10,948 45.7% 10,133 5.0% 1,100
1944 46.8% 7,852 52.6% 8,811 0.6% 105
1940 40.5% 7,433 58.2% 10,684 1.4% 255
1936 32.0% 5,103 65.9% 10,490 2.1% 335
1932 29.1% 4,322 65.0% 9,645 5.8% 865
1928 60.5% 6,306 37.8% 3,946 1.7% 180
1924 42.3% 4,382 12.5% 1,299 45.2% 4,691
1920 65.7% 5,409 27.5% 2,262 6.8% 563
1916 40.9% 3,956 50.6% 4,888 8.5% 825
1912 0.1% 10 45.7% 4,028 54.2% 4,784
1908 52.7% 3,094 36.6% 2,146 10.7% 626
1904 58.8% 2,799 33.1% 1,574 8.1% 384
1900 52.6% 2,322 45.5% 2,011 2.0% 86
1896 48.3% 2,075 49.4% 2,120 2.3% 100
1892 46.7% 2,180 45.9% 2,141 7.4% 344
1888 48.3% 2,191 48.8% 2,215 3.0% 135
1884 49.1% 2,172 47.8% 2,118 3.1% 137
1880 49.8% 1,814 50.3% 1,832 0.0% 0

Education

Public schools

There are roughly 90 public schools in the county according to the National Center for Educational Statistics. The schools are operated by the County Office of Education and 15 school districts, which are:

Colleges and universities

Public libraries

Butte County Library provides library services to residents of the County through six branches in Biggs, Chico, Durham, Gridley, Oroville and Paradise. The mission of the Butte County Library is to provide all individuals, regardless of age, ethnic background, educational or economic level, with free access to ideas, information, and technology.

For many years, the library served rural and mountain communities through regularly scheduled bookmobile visits; however, due to budget cuts, this service was discontinued in 2009 and the bookmobile was sold. The library serves low-literacy adults through several programs of the Butte County Library Literacy Services division, including the Adult Reading Program, Families for Literacy and the Literacy Coach, a 36-foot (11 m) vehicle that provides mobile programming like story times, parent meetings, workshops, and computer and teacher trainings.

The library operates as a department of the County of Butte, governed by the Butte County Board of Supervisors.

Transportation
Butte County is home to Bidwell Park in Chico, one of the largest municipal parks in the United States.

Major highways

Public transportation

Butte Regional Transit or the B-Line, provides service in and between Chico, Oroville, Paradise, Gridley and Biggs. Chico is also a connection point for Glenn Ride buses to Glenn County and Plumas Transit Systems buses to Plumas County.

Greyhound buses stop in Chico.

Amtrak's Coast Starlight (Los Angeles-Seattle) passenger train makes a stop daily in each direction in Chico's Chico station.

Airports

General Aviation airports in Butte County include:

Communities
A photo of Bidwell Mansion in Chico.
Kendall Hall, the administration building at Chico State University in Chico

Cities

Towns

Census-designated places

Unincorporated communities

Ghost towns

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2010 census of Butte County.[36]

† county seat

Rank City/Town/etc. Municipal type Population (2010 Census)
1 Chico City 86,187
2 Paradise Town 26,218
3 † Oroville City 15,546
4 Magalia CDP 11,310
5 Oroville East CDP 8,280
6 Thermalito CDP 6,646
7 Gridley City 6,584
8 South Oroville CDP 5,742
9 Durham CDP 5,518
10 Palermo CDP 5,382
11 Kelly Ridge CDP 2,544
12 Biggs City 1,707
13 Berry Creek CDP 1,424
14 Forest Ranch CDP 1,184
15 Butte Creek Canyon CDP 1,086
16 Butte Valley CDP 899
17 Cohasset CDP 847
18 Concow CDP 710
19 Bangor CDP 646
20 Honcut CDP 370
21 Yankee Hill CDP 333
t-22 Forbestown CDP 320
t-22 Nord CDP 320
23 Stirling City CDP 295
24 Richvale CDP 244
25 Rackerby CDP 204
26 Berry Creek Rancheria AIAN 152
27 Clipper Mills CDP 142
28 Robinson Mill CDP 80
29 Cherokee CDP 69
30 Butte Meadows CDP 40
31 Enterprise Rancheria[37] AIAN 1

Several movies have been filmed in Butte County, including Gone with the Wind, The Outlaw Josey Wales, Friendly Persuasion, Magic Town, The Klansman, Ruby Ridge: An American Tragedy, The Adventures of Robin Hood and Under Wraps. The most recent season of the television series Sons of Anarchy features an episode in which the Sons come into contact with corrupt police in the fictional town of Eden, located in Butte County.

See also

Sources
  • US Department of Education, National Center for Educational Statistics.
  • State of California, Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development.

Notes
Notes
  1. The other eleven are Teton County, Idaho; Kendall County, Illinois; McLean County, Illinois; Tippecanoe County, Indiana; Kent County, Michigan; Leelanau County, Michigan; Carroll County, New Hampshire; Rockingham County, New Hampshire; Marion County, Oregon; Grand County, Utah; and Albany County, Wyoming.
References
  1. Other = Some other race + Two or more races
  2. Native American = Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander + American Indian or Alaska Native
  3. Only larceny-theft cases involving property over $400 in value are reported as property crimes.
  4. Percentage of registered voters with respect to total population. Percentages of party members with respect to registered voters follow.

References
  1. Statistical Report of the California State Board of Agriculture for the Year 1918. Sacramento, CA: California State Printing Office. 1919. p. 316. Retrieved May 14, 2012.
  2. "Butte County High Point". Peakbagger.com. Archived from the original on May 2, 2015. Retrieved February 11, 2015.
  3. "American FactFinder". U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 14, 2020. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
  4. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved April 3, 2016.
  5. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  6. Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States (PDF). United States Geological Survey. p. 62. Retrieved December 29, 2019.
  7. George C. Mansfield, History of Butte County, California, with biographical sketches of the leading men and women of the county who have been identified with its growth and development from the early days to the present, Hathitrust.org, 1918
  8. Butte County Sheriff History Archived February 14, 2018, at the Wayback Machine, Buttecounty.net
  9. "Death toll jumps to 23 as 'challenging' Camp Fire pushes toward Lake Oroville". The Sacramento Bee. November 10, 2018. Archived from the original on November 11, 2018.
  10. "California wildfires: Death toll rises to 25". BBC. November 11, 2018. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
  11. Gina Martinez (November 14, 2018). "The California Fire That Killed 48 People Is the Deadliest U.S. Wildfire in a Century". Time. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
  12. U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B02001. U.S. Census website . Retrieved October 26, 2013.
  13. U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B03003. U.S. Census website . Retrieved October 26, 2013.
  14. U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B19301. U.S. Census website . Retrieved October 21, 2013.
  15. U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B19013. U.S. Census website . Retrieved October 21, 2013.
  16. U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B19113. U.S. Census website . Retrieved October 21, 2013.
  17. U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. U.S. Census website . Retrieved October 21, 2013.
  18. U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B01003. U.S. Census website . Retrieved October 21, 2013.
  19. Data unavailable
  20. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
  21. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Archived from the original on August 11, 2012. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
  22. Forstall, Richard L., ed. (March 27, 1995). "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
  23. "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. April 2, 2001. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 18, 2014. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
  24. "2010 Census P.L. 94-171 Summary File Data". United States Census Bureau.
  25. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
  26. Office of the Attorney General, Department of Justice, State of California. Table 11: Crimes – 2009 Archived December 2, 2013, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved November 14, 2013.
  27. United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation. Crime in the United States, 2012, Table 8 (California) Archived June 28, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved November 14, 2013.
  28. California Secretary of State. February 10, 2013 - Report of Registration Archived November 3, 2013, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved October 31, 2013.
  29. "Members Assembly". State of California. Archived from the original on April 24, 2013. Retrieved March 19, 2013.
  30. "Senators". State of California. Archived from the original on April 24, 2013. Retrieved March 19, 2013.
  31. CA Secretary of State – Report of Registration – February 10, 2019
  32. https://elections.cdn.sos.ca.gov/sov/2008-general/ssov/10-ballot-measures-statewide-summary-by-county.pdf
  33. "California's 1st Congressional District - Representatives & District Map". Civic Impulse, LLC. Retrieved February 28, 2013.
  34. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on June 4, 2011. Retrieved March 26, 2018.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  35. Colby, Robert; McDonald, Lois (2005). Magalia to Stirling City. Arcadia. p. 66. ISBN 9780738530185.
  36. "2010 U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2015-05-25.
  37. Staff, Website Services & Coordination. "US Census Bureau 2010 Census Interactive Population Map". www.census.gov. Archived from the original on April 30, 2018. Retrieved April 30, 2018.

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