Solano County, California

Solano County is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, the population was 413,344.[3] The county seat is Fairfield.[5]

Solano County, California
County
County of Solano
Images, from top down, left to right: The Solano County Government Center in Downtown Fairfield, Benicia Capitol State Historic Park, Suisun City Marina, Military C-5 Aircraft based at Travis Air Force Base, Vacaville Hills
Seal
Location in the state of California
California's location in the United States
Country United States
State California
RegionSan Francisco Bay Area
IncorporatedFebruary 18, 1850[1]
Named forChief Solano of the Suisun people
County seatFairfield
Largest cityVallejo (population)
Fairfield (area)
Area
 • Total906 sq mi (2,350 km2)
 • Land822 sq mi (2,130 km2)
 • Water84 sq mi (220 km2)
Highest elevation2,822 ft (860 m)
Population
 • Total413,344
 • Estimate 
(2019)[4]
447,643
 • Density460/sq mi (180/km2)
Time zoneUTC−8 (Pacific Time Zone)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−7 (Pacific Daylight Time)
Area code707
FIPS code06-095
GNIS feature ID277312
Websitewww.solanocounty.com

Solano County comprises the Vallejo–Fairfield, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the San Jose–San Francisco–Oakland, CA Combined Statistical Area.[6] Solano County is the northeastern county in the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area region.

A portion of the South Campus at the University of California, Davis is in Solano County.

History

Solano County was one of the original counties of California, created in 1850 at the time of statehood.

At the request of General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, the county was named for Chief Solano of the Suisun people, a Native American tribe of the region and Vallejo's close ally. Chief Solano at one time led the tribes between the Petaluma River and the Sacramento River. The chief was also called Sem-Yeto, which signifies "brave or fierce hand." The Chief was given the Spanish name Francisco Solano during baptism at the Catholic Mission, and is named after the Spanish Franciscan missionary, Father Francisco Solano. "Solano" is a common surname in the north of Spain, especially in Navarra, Zaragoza and La Rioja.

Travis Air Force Base is located just east of Fairfield.

Region

Solano County is the easternmost county of the North Bay.[6] As such, it is sometimes reported by news agencies as being in the East Bay.[7][8][9] Additionally, a portion of the county extends into the Sacramento Valley, geographically.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 906 square miles (2,350 km2), of which 822 square miles (2,130 km2) is land and 84 square miles (220 km2) (9.3%) is water.[10]

Solano County has several inactive cinnabar mines including the Hastings Mine and St. John's Mine,[11] both of which are subject to ongoing mercury monitoring. These mines were worked in the first half of the twentieth century.

Flora and fauna

Solano County has a number of rare and endangered species including the beetle Elaphrus viridis, the wildflower Lasthenia conjugens, commonly known as Contra Costa goldfields and the annual plant Legenere limosa or False Venus' looking glass.

Adjacent counties

National protected area

Transportation
See also: Rail transportation in Solano County, California

Major highways

Public transportation

Solano County is served by several transit agencies:

Each agency interconnects with each other, enabling transit trips throughout the county. Service also connects with BART stations in Contra Costa County. Transit links are provided to Napa, Yolo and Sacramento counties as well.

Greyhound and Amtrak provide long-distance intercity service.

Airports

General aviation airports in Solano County which are open to the public are the Nut Tree Airport and Rio Vista Municipal Airport.

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

Demographics

A 2014 analysis by The Atlantic found Solano County to be the 5th most racially diverse county in the United States, behind Aleutians West Census Area and Aleutians East Borough in Alaska, Queens County in New York, and Alameda County in California.[15]

2011

Places by population, race, and income

2010
Historical population
CensusPop.%±
1850580—
18607,1691,136.0%
187016,871135.3%
188018,4759.5%
189020,94613.4%
190024,14315.3%
191027,55914.1%
192040,60247.3%
193040,8340.6%
194049,11820.3%
1950104,833113.4%
1960134,59728.4%
1970169,94126.3%
1980235,20338.4%
1990340,42144.7%
2000394,54215.9%
2010413,3444.8%
2019 (est.)447,643[4]8.3%
U.S. Decennial Census[22]
1790-1960[23] 1900-1990[24]
1990-2000[25] 2010-2015[3]

The 2010 United States Census reported that Solano County had a population of 413,344. The racial makeup of Solano County was 210,751 (51.0%) White, 60,750 (14.7%) African American, 3,212 (0.8%) Native American, 60,473 (14.6%) Asian, 3,564 (0.9%) Pacific Islander, 43,236 (10.5%) from other races, and 31,358 (7.6%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 99,356 persons (24.0%).[26] At 52,641 Filipinos in the county making up 12% of the population, Solano County has the largest percentage Filipino population of any county in the United States.

2000

At the 2000 census there were 394,542 people, 130,403 households, and 97,411 families in the county. The population density was 476 people per square mile (184/km2). There were 134,513 housing units at an average density of 162 per square mile (63/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 56.4% White, 14.9% Black or African American, 0.8% Native American, 12.8% Asian, 0.8% Pacific Islander, 8.0% from other races, and 6.4% from two or more races. 17.64% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 8.5% were of German, 6.4% Irish and 6.0% English ancestry according to Census 2000. 75.7% spoke English, 12.1% Spanish and 6.6% Tagalog as their first language.[27] Of the 130,403 households 39.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.7% were married couples living together, 13.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.3% were non-families. 19.6% of households were one person and 6.5% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.90 and the average family size was 3.33.

The age distribution was 28.3% under the age of 18, 9.2% from 18 to 24, 31.3% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 9.5% 65 or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 101.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.2 males.

The median household income was $54,099 and the median family income was $60,597. Males had a median income of $41,787 versus $31,916 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,731. About 6.1% of families and 8.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.3% of those under age 18 and 6.3% of those age 65 or over.

Government and politics

Government
Main article: Government of Solano County, California

The Government of Solano County is defined and authorized under the California Constitution and law as a general law county. The County government provides countywide services such as elections and voter registration, law enforcement, jails, vital records, property records, tax collection, public health, and social services. In addition the County serves as the local government for all unincorporated areas.

The County government is composed of the elected five-member Board of Supervisors, several other elected offices including the Sheriff-Coroner, District Attorney, Assessor/Recorder, Auditor-Controller, and Treasurer/Tax Collector/County Clerk, and numerous county departments and entities under the supervision of the County Administrator. As of January 2013 the members of the Solano County Board of Supervisors were:

  • Erin Hannigan, District 1, Vice-Chairwoman
  • Monica Brown, District 2
  • Jim Spering, District 3
  • John Vasquez, District 4, Chairman
  • Skip Thomson, District 5

Voter registration statistics
Cities by population and voter registration

Overview

Since 1932, Solano County has been a Democratic stronghold in presidential and congressional elections, with Californians Richard Nixon in 1972 and Ronald Reagan in 1980 and 1984 being the only Republicans to win the county since.

Presidential election results
Solano County vote
by party in presidential elections[29]
Year GOP DEM Others
2020 33.5% 69,306 63.6% 131,639 2.8% 5,886
2016 30.8% 51,920 60.8% 102,360 8.2% 13,870
2012 34.0% 52,092 63.3% 96,783 2.5% 3,965
2008 34.6% 56,035 63.1% 102,095 2.1% 3,458
2004 41.8% 62,301 57.1% 85,096 0.9% 1,440
2000 39.1% 51,604 57.0% 75,116 3.8% 5,015
1996 34.7% 40,742 55.1% 64,644 10.1% 11,893
1992 29.4% 38,883 48.6% 64,320 21.8% 28,908
1988 47.4% 50,314 51.2% 54,344 1.3% 1,430
1984 54.5% 51,678 44.2% 41,982 1.2% 1,138
1980 50.7% 40,919 38.3% 30,952 10.9% 8,805
1976 42.4% 26,136 54.6% 33,682 2.9% 1,826
1972 54.0% 31,314 42.7% 24,766 3.2% 1,885
1968 34.7% 17,683 53.5% 27,271 11.7% 5,998
1964 30.3% 15,263 69.5% 34,930 0.0% 47
1960 40.8% 18,751 58.8% 26,977 0.3% 141
1956 41.6% 17,865 58.1% 24,903 0.2% 95
1952 42.3% 19,369 57.1% 26,130 0.4% 216
1948 33.7% 12,345 63.5% 23,257 2.7% 1,022
1944 29.7% 10,361 69.9% 24,335 0.3% 105
1940 28.5% 6,081 70.5% 15,054 0.9% 193
1936 20.8% 3,603 78.0% 13,459 1.0% 182
1932 30.3% 4,382 67.1% 9,712 2.5% 367
1928 52.3% 7,061 46.5% 6,278 1.1% 158
1924 48.0% 4,782 9.6% 957 42.3% 4,223
1920 64.7% 7,102 26.9% 2,954 8.2% 909
1916 36.3% 3,536 58.3% 5,678 5.2% 514
1912 0.5% 40 45.6% 3,650 53.8% 4,303[note 5]
1908 54.7% 3,115 35.7% 2,033 9.5% 545
1904 61.3% 3,176 30.0% 1,555 8.5% 444
1900 55.3% 3,114 40.2% 2,262 4.4% 249
1896 53.1% 2,702 44.9% 2,284 1.8% 94
1892 49.2% 2,403 44.5% 2,174 6.2% 306
1888 49.6% 2,231 48.0% 2,158 2.2% 103
1884 53.6% 2,382 44.5% 1,977 1.8% 84
1880 49.8% 1,963 49.7% 1,959 0.5% 20

Solano County is split between California's 3rd and 5th congressional districts, represented by John Garamendi (D–Walnut Grove) and Mike Thompson (D–St. Helena), respectively.[30]

In the California State Assembly, Solano County is split between the 4th Assembly District, represented by Democrat Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, and the 11th Assembly District, represented by Democrat Jim Frazier. In the California State Senate, it is in the 3rd Senate District, represented by Democrat Bill Dodd.[31]

On November 4, 2008, Solano County voted 55.82% in favor of Proposition 8, which amended the California Constitution to ban same-sex marriages. It was the only Bay Area county to approve the initiative.[32] In the 2008 presidential election that day, Barack Obama carried the county by a 28.5% margin over John McCain, a larger margin than statewide (24%).[33]

According to the California Secretary of State, as of February 10, 2019, Solano County has 236,028 registered voters. Of those, 106,452 (45.1%) are registered Democrats, 50,006 (21.2%) are registered Republicans, and 66,558 (28.2%) have declined to state a political party.[34] Democrats hold voter-registration advantages in all incorporated cities and towns in Solano County. However, Republicans lead in registration in the unincorporated communities of the county (40%-35%), making Solano the only county in the Bay Area where Republicans out-number Democrats in unincorporated communities. The Democrats' largest registration advantage in Solano is in the city of Vallejo, wherein there are only 8,242 Republicans (14.6%) out of 56,313 total voters compared to 33,753 Democrats (59.9%) and 12,157 voters who have declined to state a political party (21.6%).

Communities

Cities

Census-designated places

Other unincorporated communities

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2010 census of Solano County.[35]

† county seat

Rank Settlement Municipal type Population (2010 census)
1 Vallejo City 115,942
2 † Fairfield City 105,321
3 Vacaville City 92,428
4 Suisun City City 28,111
5 Benicia City 26,997
6 Dixon City 18,351
7 Rio Vista City 7,360
8 Hartley CDP 2,510
9 Green Valley CDP 1,625
10 Allendale CDP 1,506
11 Elmira CDP 188

Miscellania
  • In 1985 Humphrey the humpback whale strayed off his migration route and ended up in Shag Slough north of Rio Vista. Rescuers from the Marine Mammal Center and other volunteers dismantled a county bridge before being able to turn him around in the narrow slough.

See also

Notes
  1. Only larceny-theft cases involving property over $400 in value are reported as property crimes.
  2. Other = Some other race + Two or more races
  3. Native American = Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander + American Indian or Alaska Native
  4. Percentage of registered voters with respect to total population. Percentages of party members with respect to registered voters follow.
  5. This total comprised 3,353 votes for Progressive Theodore Roosevelt (who was official Republican nominee in California), 781 votes for Socialist Eugene V. Debs and 169 votes for Prohibition Party nominee Eugene W. Chafin.

References
  1. "Chronology". California State Association of Counties. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
  2. "Mount Vaca". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
  3. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  4. "American FactFinder". Archived from the original on February 14, 2020. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
  5. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
  6. Landis, John D.; Reilly, Michael (2003). "How We Will Grow: Baseline Projections of California's Urban Footprint Through the Year 2011". In Guhathakurta, Subhrajit (ed.). Integrated Land Use and Environmental Models: A Survey of Current Applications and Research. Springer. p. 84. ISBN 9783540005766. Retrieved 14 March 2012.
  7. Alston, John (18 April 2008). "Solano County's unemployment rate soars to 6.4 percent". abc7news.com. Archived from the original on 1 August 2013. Retrieved 14 March 2012.
  8. Walters, Dan (29 March 1986). "East Bay is a Socioeconomic Dichotomy". Lodi News-Sentinel. p. 12. Retrieved 14 March 2012.
  9. "Bay Area median home price falls below $500,000". San Francisco Business Times. 17 July 2008. Retrieved 14 March 2012.
  10. "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
  11. Hogan, C. Michael; Papineau, Marc (September 1989). "Environmental Assessment of the Columbus Parkway Widening between Ascot Parkway and the Northgate Development, Vallejo". Earth Metrics Inc. Report 7853. California State Clearinghouse.
  12. U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B02001. U.S. Census website. Retrieved 2013-10-26.
  13. Office of the Attorney General, Department of Justice, State of California. Table 11: Crimes – 2009 Archived 2013-12-02 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2013-11-14.
  14. United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation. Crime in the United States, 2012, Table 8 (California). Retrieved 2013-11-14.
  15. Narula, Svati Kirsten (April 29, 2014). "The 5 U.S. Counties Where Racial Diversity Is Highest—and Lowest". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2017-05-08.
  16. U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B03003. U.S. Census website. Retrieved 2013-10-26.
  17. U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B19301. U.S. Census website. Retrieved 2013-10-21.
  18. U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B19013. U.S. Census website. Retrieved 2013-10-21.
  19. U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B19113. U.S. Census website. Retrieved 2013-10-21.
  20. U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. U.S. Census website. Retrieved 2013-10-21.
  21. U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B01003. U.S. Census website. Retrieved 2013-10-21.
  22. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 31, 2014.
  23. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved May 31, 2014.
  24. "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 31, 2014.
  25. "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 31, 2014.
  26. "2010 Census P.L. 94-171 Summary File Data". United States Census Bureau.
  27. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2011-05-14.
  28. California Secretary of State. February 10, 2013 - Report of Registration Archived July 27, 2013, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2013-10-31.
  29. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved 2018-09-05.
  30. "California's 3rd Congressional District - Representatives & District Map". Civic Impulse, LLC. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
  31. "Statewide Database". UC Regents. Archived from the original on February 1, 2015. Retrieved December 4, 2014.
  32. https://elections.cdn.sos.ca.gov/sov/2008-general/ssov/10-ballot-measures-statewide-summary-by-county.pdf
  33. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". www.uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
  34. CA Secretary of State – Report of Registration – February 10, 2019 Archived March 23, 2019, at the Wayback Machine
  35. "2010 Census". www.census.gov. Retrieved 2 October 2016.

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