List of counties in California

The U.S. state of California is divided into fifty-eight 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 do not lie within incorporated cities.

The county is the default unit of local government (all parts of the state's land are allocated to one of the state's 58 counties). Each county has a Board of Supervisors and is subject to mandatory duties under state law to provide its residents with services like law enforcement, healthcare, road maintenance, and so on. Balancing a county's mandatory and discretionary duties is a very difficult task; any sufficiently injured county taxpayer has standing to sue the county to enforce certain duties where financial distress is no excuse, such as healthcare.
Residents of a sufficiently large piece of unincorporated county land can incorporate a city. The city government then takes some of the tax revenue that would have gone to the county, and can impose additional taxes on its residents. It can then choose to provide almost all the services usually provided by the county (and more), or provide only a few and pay the county to do the rest. A city in this last arrangement is called a contract city; this type of contract is generally known among lawyers as the "Lakewood Plan," because it was pioneered by the city of Lakewood in 1954.^[1]
The idea of "opting out" of county control in California has been taken to its logical extremes. Almost all of the city of Vernon is one large industrial zone, while almost all of the town of Los Altos Hills is zoned as residential.
Due to geographical variations in property tax and sales tax revenue (the primary revenue source for cities and counties) and differing attitudes towards priorities, there are interesting variations in the levels of various services from one city to the next. For example, the city of Santa Monica is far more generous when it comes to helping the homeless than other cities in Los Angeles County or the county government.
Also, county ordinances do not apply to cities unless they are ratified by each individual city. Thus, for instance, in Los Angeles County, a few cities have not ratified the ordinance requiring the posting of restaurant food safety ratings — even though it was passed many years ago — and in those cities, ratings need not be posted.
The state of California has one consolidated city-county, San Francisco. The city's board of supervisors govern both aspects, and there is both a city police department and a county sheriff, the latter mostly responsible for operating the county jail.

1 First establishment of California counties
2 Table of California counties
3 Defunct counties
4 See also
5 Notes
6 External links

First establishment of California counties

County FIPS code of California

On January 4, 1850, the California constitutional committee recommended the formation of 18 counties. They 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 22, the counties of Branciforte, Calaveras, Coloma, Colusi, Marin, Mendocino, Napa, Trinity, and Yuba were added. Benicia was renamed Solano, Coloma to El Dorado, Fremont to Yolo, Mt. Diablo to Contra Costa, San Jose to Santa Clara, Oro to Tuolumne, and Redding to Shasta. One of the first state legislative acts regarding counties was to rename Branciforte County to Santa Cruz, Colusi to Colusa, and Yola to Yolo.

The last California county to have been established is Imperial County in 1907.

Table of California counties

The current number of counties was achieved over time by subdivision of many of the larger counties into smaller ones. The links in the column FIPS County Code are to the Census Bureau Info page for that county. The map at the right hand side also shows the FIPS codes for all the counties (on one map for easy reference).

Population Note: County and city populations are counted by two agencies, one the California Department of Finance (CDF) January 2008 data , and also US Census Bureau July 2008 data, using different counting methodology. California claims US Census consistently underreports due to difficulty in tracking immigrants, population data is used to calculate distribution of money for federal programs.

California's postal abbreviation is CA and its FIPS state code is 06.

County	FIPS Code ^[2]	County seat ^[3]	Established ^[3]	Origin	Etymolgy	Population (CDF 1-08) ^[4]	Population	Area ^[3]
Alameda County	001	Oakland	1853	Parts of Contra Costa County and Santa Clara County.	Spanish word meaning a "cottonwood grove".	1543000	&0000000001474368.0000001,474,368	&0000000000000738.000000738 mi² (1,911 km²)
Alpine County	003	Markleeville	1864	Parts of Amador County, El Dorado County, Calaveras County, Mono County and Tuolumne County.	English word meaning "of, pertaining to, or connected with, the Alps".	1222	&0000000000001061.0000001,061	&0000000000000739.000000739 sq mi (&0000000000001914.0000001,914 km²)
Amador County	005	Jackson	1854	Part of Calaveras County.	Jose Maria Amador (1794-1883), a soldier, rancher and miner. In Spanish, the word amador means "lover".	37943	&0000000000038238.00000038,238	&0000000000000593.000000593 sq mi (&0000000000001536.0000001,536 km²)
Butte County	007	Oroville	1850	One of the twenty-seven original counties.	From the Sutter Buttes, which were erroneously believed to lie within the county's borders at the time of its creation.	220407	&0000000000220337.000000220,337	&0000000000001640.0000001,640 sq mi (&0000000000004248.0000004,248 km²)
Calaveras County	009	San Andreas	1850	One of the twenty-seven original counties.	From the Calaveras River which in turn is named for the spanish word for skulls	46127	&0000000000046843.00000046,843	&0000000000001020.0000001,020 sq mi (&0000000000002642.0000002,642 km²)
Colusa County	011	Colusa	1850	One of the twenty-seven original counties.	From two Mexican land grants; Coluses (1844) and Colus (1845).	21910	&0000000000021204.00000021,204	&0000000000001151.0000001,151 sq mi (&0000000000002981.0000002,981 km²)
Contra Costa County	013	Martinez	1850	One of the twenty-seven original counties.	Spanish for opposite coast, because Contra Costa County is across San Francisco Bay from San Francisco.	1051674	&0000000001029703.0000001,029,703	&0000000000000720.000000720 sq mi (&0000000000001865.0000001,865 km²)
Del Norte County	015	Crescent City	1857	Part of Klamath County.	Spanish for Northern, because Del Norte County is the northwesternmost county in the state.	29419	&0000000000029100.00000029,100	&0000000000001008.0000001,008 sq mi (&0000000000002611.0000002,611 km²)
El Dorado County	017	Placerville	1850	One of the twenty-seven original counties.	From the mythical El Dorado, The Gilded One, in relation to El Dorado County's importance in the California Gold Rush.	179722	&0000000000176075.000000176,075	&0000000000001712.0000001,712 sq mi (&0000000000004434.0000004,434 km²)
Fresno County	019	Fresno	1856	Parts of Mariposa County, Merced County and Tulare County.	From Fresno Creek. In Spanish, Fresno means "ash tree".	931098	&0000000000909153.000000909,153	&0000000000005963.0000005,963 sq mi (&0000000000015444.00000015,444 km²)
Glenn County	021	Willows	1891	Part of Colusa County.	Named for Dr. Hugh J. Glenn (1824-1883), a California businessman and politician.	29195	&0000000000028237.00000028,237	&0000000000001315.0000001,315 sq mi (&0000000000003406.0000003,406 km²)
Humboldt County	023	Eureka	1853	Part of Trinity County.	From Humboldt Bay, named for Baron Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859), a Prussian naturalist and explorer.	132821	&0000000000129000.000000129,000	&0000000000003573.0000003,573 sq mi (&0000000000009254.0000009,254 km²)
Imperial County	025	El Centro	1907	Part of San Diego County.^[5]	From the Imperial Valley, which tooks its name from the Imperial Land Company.	176158	&0000000000163972.000000163,972	&0000000000004175.0000004,175 sq mi (&0000000000010813.00000010,813 km²)
Inyo County	027	Independence	1866	Parts of Mono County and Tulare County.	From a Native American word for dwelling place of the great spirit.	18152	&0000000000017136.00000017,136	&0000000000010192.00000010,192 sq mi (&0000000000026397.00000026,397 km²)
Kern County	029	Bakersfield	1866	Parts of Los Angeles County and Tulare County.	From the Kern River, named for Edward Kern, cartographer for General John C. Fremont's 1845 expedition.	817517	&0000000000800458.000000800,458	&0000000000008142.0000008,142 sq mi (&0000000000021088.00000021,088 km²)
Kings County	031	Hanford	1893	Part of Tulare County.	From the Kings River.	154434	&0000000000149518.000000149,518	&0000000000001390.0000001,390 sq mi (&0000000000003600.0000003,600 km²)
Lake County	033	Lakeport	1861	Part of Napa County.	From Clear Lake.	64059	&0000000000064866.00000064,866	&0000000000001258.0000001,258 sq mi (&0000000000003258.0000003,258 km²)
Lassen County	035	Susanville	1864	Parts of Plumas County and Shasta County, and part of now defunct Lake County, Nevada.	Named for Peter Lassen (1800-1859), a native of Denmark and an early explorer of the area.	35757	&0000000000034574.00000034,574	&0000000000004558.0000004,558 sq mi (&0000000000011805.00000011,805 km²)
Los Angeles County	037	Los Angeles	1850	One of the twenty-seven original counties.	Spanish for the Angels or when the Spanish galleons spotted the coastline was covered in morning fog to be reminiscent of entering "heaven".	10363850	&0000000009862049.0000009,862,049	&0000000000004060.0000004,060 sq mi (&0000000000010515.00000010,515 km²)
Madera County	039	Madera	1893	Part of Fresno County.	Spanish for wood or timber.	150887	&0000000000148333.000000148,333	&0000000000002138.0000002,138 sq mi (&0000000000005537.0000005,537 km²)
Marin County	041	San Rafael	1850	One of the twenty-seven original counties.	Disputed but may have been a corrupted term for Marina for its location on the San Francisco Bay.	257406	&0000000000248794.000000248,794	&0000000000000520.000000520 sq mi (&0000000000001347.0000001,347 km²)
Mariposa County	043	Mariposa	1850	One of the twenty-seven original counties.^[6]	Spanish for butterfly.	18406	&0000000000017976.00000017,976	&0000000000001451.0000001,451 sq mi (&0000000000003758.0000003,758 km²)
Mendocino County	045	Ukiah	1850	One of the twenty-seven original counties.	From Cape Mendocino, named probably for either Antonio de Mendoza or Lorenzo Suárez de Mendoza, viceroys of New Spain.	90163	&0000000000086221.00000086,221	&0000000000003509.0000003,509 sq mi (&0000000000009088.0000009,088 km²)
Merced County	047	Merced	1855	Part of Mariposa County.	From the Merced River, or in Spanish El Río de Nuestra Señora de la Merced (River of Our Lady of Mercy); named in 1806 by an expedition headed by Gabriel Moraga.	255250	&0000000000246117.000000246,117	&0000000000001929.0000001,929 sq mi (&0000000000004996.0000004,996 km²)
Modoc County	049	Alturas	1874	Part of Siskiyou County.	From the Native American Modoc people.	9702	&0000000000009184.0000009,184	&0000000000003944.0000003,944 sq mi (&0000000000010215.00000010,215 km²)
Mono County	051	Bridgeport	1861	Parts of Calaveras County, Fresno County and Mariposa County.	For a local Native American tribe, the Mono Paiute people.	13759	&0000000000012774.00000012,774	&0000000000003044.0000003,044 sq mi (&0000000000007884.0000007,884 km²)
Monterey County	053	Salinas	1850	One of the twenty-seven original counties.	From Monterey Bay. The name itself is composed of the Spanish words monte (hill) and rey (king).	428549	&0000000000408238.000000408,238	&0000000000003322.0000003,322 sq mi (&0000000000008604.0000008,604 km²)
Napa County	055	Napa	1850	One of the twenty-seven original counties.	For a local Native American tribe, the Napans.	136704	&0000000000133433.000000133,433	&0000000000000754.000000754 sq mi (&0000000000001953.0000001,953 km²)
Nevada County	057	Nevada City	1851	Part of Yuba County.	snowfall in Spanish.	99186	&0000000000097118.00000097,118	&0000000000000958.000000958 sq mi (&0000000000002481.0000002,481 km²)
Orange County	059	Santa Ana	1889	Part of Los Angeles County.	From the citrus fruit widely grown in the region at the time the county was formed.	3121251	&0000000003010759.0000003,010,759	&0000000000000790.000000790 sq mi (&0000000000002046.0000002,046 km²)
Placer County	061	Auburn	1851	Parts of Sutter County and Yuba County.	Named for the small flakes of gold found in the area during Gold Rush.	333401	&0000000000341945.000000341,945	&0000000000001503.0000001,503 sq mi (&0000000000003893.0000003,893 km²)
Plumas County	063	Quincy	1854	Part of Butte County.	For the Feather River, "Plumas" meaning "feathers" in Spanish.	20917	&0000000000020275.00000020,275	&0000000000002554.0000002,554 sq mi (&0000000000006615.0000006,615 km²)
Riverside County	065	Riverside	1893	Parts of San Bernardino County and San Diego County.	From the city of Riverside being alongside the Santa Ana River and the boundary extends to the Colorado River.	2088322	&0000000002100516.0000002,100,516	&0000000000007208.0000007,208 sq mi (&0000000000018669.00000018,669 km²)
Sacramento County	067	Sacramento	1850	One of the twenty-seven original counties.	From the Sacramento River, itself named for the Santisimo Sacramento (Spanish for Most Holy Sacrament) a reference to the Eucharist.	1424415	&0000000001394154.0000001,394,154	&0000000000000966.000000966 sq mi (&0000000000002502.0000002,502 km²)
San Benito County	069	Hollister	1874	Part of Monterey County.	in honor of San Benedicto (Saint Benedict), Benito is the diminuative of Benedicto.	57784	&0000000000054699.00000054,699	&0000000000001389.0000001,389 sq mi (&0000000000003597.0000003,597 km²)
San Bernardino County	071	San Bernardino	1853	Part of Los Angeles County.	Named for Saint Bernardino of Siena. The biggest county in the U.S.	2055766	&0000000002015355.0000002,015,355	&0000000000020062.00000020,062 sq mi (&0000000000051960.00000051,960 km²)
San Diego County	073	San Diego	1850	One of the twenty-seven original counties.	Named for San Diego Bay, itself named for Saint Didacus of Alcalá, or San Diego de Alcalá in Spanish.	3146274	&0000000003001072.0000003,001,072	&0000000000004204.0000004,204 sq mi (&0000000000010888.00000010,888 km²)
San Francisco County	075	San Francisco	1850	One of the twenty-seven original counties.	Francis of Assisi (1181-1226), a Roman Catholic saint and founder of the Order of Friars Minor (Franciscans).	845559	&0000000000845559.000000845,559	&0000000000000047.00000047 sq mi (&0000000000000122.000000122 km²)
San Joaquin County	077	Stockton	1850	One of the twenty-seven original counties.	Spanish for Saint Joachim.	685660	&0000000000672388.000000672,388	&0000000000001399.0000001,399 sq mi (&0000000000003623.0000003,623 km²)
San Luis Obispo County	079	San Luis Obispo	1850	One of the twenty-seven original counties.	Spanish for St. Louis, the Bishop.	269337	&0000000000265297.000000265,297	&0000000000003304.0000003,304 sq mi (&0000000000008557.0000008,557 km²)
San Mateo County	081	Redwood City	1856	Part of San Francisco County.	Spanish for Saint Matthew	739469	&0000000000712690.000000712,690	&0000000000000449.000000449 sq mi (&0000000000001163.0000001,163 km²)
Santa Barbara County	083	Santa Barbara	1850	One of the twenty-seven original counties.	Spanish for Saint Barbara.	428655	&0000000000405396.000000405,396	&0000000000002738.0000002,738 sq mi (&0000000000007091.0000007,091 km²)
Santa Clara County	085	San Jose	1850	One of the twenty-seven original counties.	Spanish for Saint Clare, for the Santa Clara Valley and the Mission town of Santa Clara.	1837075	&0000000001764499.0000001,764,499	&0000000000001291.0000001,291 sq mi (&0000000000003344.0000003,344 km²)
Santa Cruz County	087	Santa Cruz	1850	One of the twenty-seven original counties.	Named for the city of Santa Cruz, California but was originally called Branciforte County.	266519	&0000000000253137.000000253,137	&0000000000000446.000000446 sq mi (&0000000000001155.0000001,155 km²)
Shasta County	089	Redding	1850	One of the twenty-seven original counties.	After Mount Shasta despite the fact the volcanic peak isn't located in the county per se.	182236	&0000000000180214.000000180,214	&0000000000003786.0000003,786 sq mi (&0000000000009806.0000009,806 km²)
Sierra County	091	Downieville	1852	Part of Yuba County.	Mountain range in Spanish.	3380	&0000000000003263.0000003,263	&0000000000000953.000000953 sq mi (&0000000000002468.0000002,468 km²)
Siskiyou County	093	Yreka	1852	Parts of Shasta County and Klamath County.	County named after Siskiyou Mountain Range; etymology of Siskiyou is disputed	45971	&0000000000044542.00000044,542	&0000000000006287.0000006,287 sq mi (&0000000000016283.00000016,283 km²)
Solano County	095	Fairfield	1850	One of the twenty-seven original counties.	After a local Native American tribe, the Solons.	426757	&0000000000407515.000000407,515	&0000000000000828.000000828 sq mi (&0000000000002145.0000002,145 km²)
Sonoma County	097	Santa Rosa	1850	One of the twenty-seven original counties.	After the village of Sonoma.	484470	&0000000000466741.000000466,741	&0000000000001576.0000001,576 sq mi (&0000000000004082.0000004,082 km²)
Stanislaus County	099	Modesto	1854	Part of Tuolumne County.	For a Roman Catholic saint Saint Stanislaus.	525903	&0000000000510694.000000510,694	&0000000000001495.0000001,495 sq mi (&0000000000003872.0000003,872 km²)
Sutter County	101	Yuba City	1850	One of the twenty-seven original counties.	Named for Johann Augustus Sutter (a.k.a. John Sutter) (1803–1880), a Swiss pioneer of California known for his association with the California Gold Rush. His ranch land was originally named Nueva Helvetia after his homeland of Switzerland in Latinized-Spanish.	95878	&0000000000092207.00000092,207	&0000000000000603.000000603 sq mi (&0000000000001562.0000001,562 km²)
Tehama County	103	Red Bluff	1856	Parts of Butte County, Colusa County and Shasta County.	For a local Native American tribe, the Tehama.	62419	&0000000000061550.00000061,550	&0000000000002951.0000002,951 sq mi (&0000000000007643.0000007,643 km²)
Trinity County	105	Weaverville	1850	Klamath county was one of the twenty-seven original counties.	But Klamath County, California was split so many times that in 1874, the final two pieces were given different names -	13966	&0000000000014317.00000014,317	&0000000000003179.0000003,179 sq mi (&0000000000008234.0000008,234 km²)
Tulare County	107	Visalia	1852	Part of Mariposa County.	For a dry lake, Tulare Lake on the western end of the county.	435254	&0000000000426276.000000426,276	&0000000000004824.0000004,824 sq mi (&0000000000012494.00000012,494 km²)
Tuolumne County	109	Sonora	1850	One of the twenty-seven original counties.	For a local Native American tribe, the Tuolomnes.	56799	&0000000000055644.00000055,644	&0000000000002236.0000002,236 sq mi (&0000000000005791.0000005,791 km²)
Ventura County	111	Ventura	1872	Part of Santa Barbara County.	Abbreviation of San Buenaventura, Spanish for St. Bonaventure.	831587	&0000000000797740.000000797,740	&0000000000001846.0000001,846 sq mi (&0000000000004781.0000004,781 km²)
Yolo County	113	Woodland	1850	One of the twenty-seven original counties.	For a local Native American tribe, the Yolans.	199066	&0000000000197658.000000197,658	&0000000000001012.0000001,012 sq mi (&0000000000002621.0000002,621 km²)
Yuba County	115	Marysville	1850	One of the twenty-seven original counties.	For the Yuba family whom owned ranchos in the Sacramento River Valley.	71929	&0000000000073067.00000073,067	&0000000000000630.000000630 sq mi (&0000000000001632.0000001,632 km²)

Defunct counties

Klamath County was created in 1851 from the northern half of Trinity County, but in 1874 it was divided between Humboldt and Siskiyou counties. Part of the county's territory went to Del Norte in 1857.
Pautah County was created in 1852 out of territory which, the state of California assumed, was to be ceded to it by the United States Congress from territory in what is now the state of Nevada. When the cession never occurred, the California State Legislature officially abolished the never-created county in 1859.