Butte County, California

County of Butte
County
Butte County, 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
Region	Sacramento Valley
Incorporated	February 18, 1850
County seat	Oroville
Largest city	Chico
Area
• Total	1,677 sq mi (4,340 km2)
• Land	1,636 sq mi (4,240 km2)
• Water	41 sq mi (110 km2)
Highest elevation	7,124 ft (2,171 m)
Population (April 1, 2010)
• Total	220,000
• Estimate (2014)	224,241
• Density	130/sq mi (51/km2)
Time zone	Pacific Time Zone (UTC-8)
• Summer (DST)	Pacific Daylight Time (UTC-7)
Area code	530
FIPS code	06-007
GNIS feature ID	1675842
Website	www.buttecounty.net

Butte County is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, the population was 220,000. The county seat is Oroville.

Butte County comprises the Chico, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is located 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 watered 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 used to allow residents to burn household trash outdoors.

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.

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.

National protected areas

• Butte Sink National Wildlife Refuge (part)
• Lassen National Forest (part)
• Plumas National Forest (part)
• Sacramento River National Wildlife Refuge (part)

Demographics

2011

Population, race, and income
Total population	219,309
White	182,734	83.3%
Black or African American	3,353	1.5%
American Indian or Alaska Native	2,513	1.1%
Asian	9,240	4.2%
Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander	479	0.2%
Some other race	8,661	3.9%
Two or more races	12,329	5.6%
Hispanic or Latino (of any race)	30,476	13.9%
Per capita income	$23,431
Median household income	$42,971
Median family income	$54,175

Places by population, race, and income

Places by population and race
Place	Type	Population	White	Other	Asian	Black or African American	Native American	Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
Bangor	CDP	416	88.5%	5.0%	2.2%	0.0%	4.3%	0.0%
Berry Creek	CDP	1,305	85.9%	11.7%	0.2%	0.0%	2.1%	4.1%
Biggs	City	1,927	74.2%	19.8%	3.3%	0.6%	2.1%	35.6%
Butte Creek Canyon	CDP	924	96.6%	2.4%	0.6%	0.0%	0.3%	3.6%
Butte Meadows	CDP	21	100.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Butte Valley	CDP	954	100.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	10.5%
Cherokee	CDP	105	86.7%	0.0%	13.3%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Chico	City	85,605	82.0%	10.2%	4.6%	1.9%	1.2%	14.8%
Clipper Mills	CDP	91	100.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Cohasset	CDP	955	98.4%	1.0%	0.0%	0.5%	0.0%	3.0%
Concow	CDP	581	78.0%	12.4%	2.4%	3.8%	3.4%	1.0%
Durham	CDP	5,829	91.8%	2.6%	3.8%	0.2%	1.5%	11.6%
Forbestown	CDP	291	72.9%	24.7%	0.0%	0.0%	2.4%	10.0%
Forest Ranch	CDP	1,294	93.9%	6.1%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.5%
Gridley	City	6,509	79.8%	18.8%	0.0%	1.0%	0.4%	50.5%
Honcut	CDP	745	54.6%	43.9%	0.0%	1.5%	0.0%	52.5%
Kelly Ridge	CDP	2,246	99.2%	0.0%	0.0%	0.8%	0.0%	0.0%
Magalia	CDP	11,188	90.5%	5.7%	1.8%	0.2%	1.8%	9.2%
Nord	CDP	196	100.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	20.4%
Oroville	City	15,445	71.0%	12.8%	11.4%	3.3%	1.4%	11.3%
Oroville East	CDP	9,663	82.1%	9.7%	2.4%	1.2%	4.6%	7.9%
Palermo	CDP	4,775	77.0%	19.7%	0.8%	1.0%	1.4%	23.2%
Paradise	Town	26,348	91.0%	6.0%	1.4%	0.8%	0.7%	7.7%
Rackerby	CDP	254	100.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	3.5%
Richvale	CDP	155	83.9%	16.1%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	16.1%
Robinson Mill	CDP	136	84.6%	15.4%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	15.4%
South Oroville	CDP	5,982	63.9%	7.8%	17.3%	8.3%	2.7%	15.2%
Stirling City	CDP	271	100.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Thermalito	CDP	6,295	80.2%	5.9%	10.8%	1.3%	1.7%	12.7%
Yankee Hill	CDP	240	88.8%	11.2%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	2.5%

Places by population and income
Place	Type	Population	Per capita income	Median household income	Median family income
Bangor	CDP	416	$18,172	$45,625	$47,917
Berry Creek	CDP	1,305	$22,277	$36,164	$51,607
Biggs	City	1,927	$17,159	$44,485	$50,714
Butte Creek Canyon	CDP	924	$37,677	$58,750	$76,786
Butte Meadows	CDP	21
Butte Valley	CDP	954	$28,426	$69,659	$77,500
Cherokee	CDP	105	$20,351	$80,714	$80,714
Chico	City	85,605	$23,611	$41,632	$56,268
Clipper Mills	CDP	91
Cohasset	CDP	955	$21,628	$55,175	$55,425
Concow	CDP	581	$26,821	$24,792	$53,750
Durham	CDP	5,829	$34,886	$64,720	$75,357
Forbestown	CDP	291	$19,434	$58,167	$82,750
Forest Ranch	CDP	1,294	$51,819	$46,901	$47,057
Gridley	City	6,509	$15,525	$36,563	$41,474
Honcut	CDP	745	$8,071	$48,144	$48,277
Kelly Ridge	CDP	2,246	$33,366	$49,444	$60,205
Magalia	CDP	11,188	$19,400	$37,182	$42,277
Nord	CDP	196	$19,182	$69,063	$69,063
Oroville	City	15,445	$18,750	$35,678	$45,430
Oroville East	CDP	9,663	$24,503	$53,167	$65,142
Palermo	CDP	4,775	$19,783	$42,292	$46,458
Paradise	Town	26,348	$25,132	$42,363	$54,267
Rackerby	CDP	254	$17,387	$46,141	$46,184
Richvale	CDP	155	$45,061	$87,150	$87,150
Robinson Mill	CDP	136	$21,793	$54,762	$54,762
South Oroville	CDP	5,982	$11,666	$32,205	$38,750
Stirling City	CDP	271	$14,811	$82,969
Thermalito	CDP	6,295	$16,301	$37,738	$38,053
Yankee Hill	CDP	240	$21,149	$22,054	$44,286

2010

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1850	3,574		—
1860	12,106		238.7%
1870	11,403		−5.8%
1880	18,721		64.2%
1890	17,939		−4.2%
1900	17,117		−4.6%
1910	27,301		59.5%
1920	30,030		10.0%
1930	34,093		13.5%
1940	42,840		25.7%
1950	64,930		51.6%
1960	82,030		26.3%
1970	101,969		24.3%
1980	143,851		41.1%
1990	182,120		26.6%
2000	203,171		11.6%
2010	220,000		8.3%
Est. 2014	224,241		1.9%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790–1960 1900–1990 1990–2000 2010–2014

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%).

Population reported at 2010 United States Census
The County	Total Population	White	African American	Native American	Asian	Pacific Islander	other races	two or more races	Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
Butte County	220,000	180,096	3,415	4,395	9,057	452	12,141	10,444	31,116
Incorporated cities and towns	Total Population	White	African American	Native American	Asian	Pacific Islander	other races	two or more races	Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
Biggs	1,707	1,302	11	54	9	1	252	78	580
Chico	86,187	69,606	1,771	1,167	3,656	210	5,437	4,340	13,315
Gridley	6,584	4,283	55	98	249	3	1,552	344	3,000
Oroville	15,546	11,686	453	573	1,238	56	554	986	1,945
Paradise	26,218	24,129	112	301	330	24	416	906	1,836
Census-designated places	Total Population	White	African American	Native American	Asian	Pacific Islander	other races	two or more races	Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
Bangor	646	543	5	17	4	1	18	58	47
Berry Creek	1,424	1,249	8	48	13	3	13	90	98
Butte Creek Canyon	1,086	1,011	0	20	18	1	8	28	48
Butte Meadows	40	38	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
Butte Valley	899	782	0	19	9	1	42	46	89
Cherokee	69	48	0	2	8	0	0	11	1
Clipper Mills	142	131	0	3	0	0	2	6	5
Cohasset	847	764	8	14	2	1	20	38	43
Concow	710	611	0	24	5	3	10	57	56
Durham	5,518	5,088	19	55	35	9	165	147	614
Forbestown	320	262	4	15	10	0	4	25	23
Forest Ranch	1,184	1,116	8	6	4	1	20	29	52
Honcut	370	248	6	14	4	0	85	13	145
Kelly Ridge	2,544	2,287	20	56	35	7	43	96	204
Magalia	11,310	10,398	40	141	90	17	134	490	765
Nord	320	233	1	6	16	0	48	16	122
Oroville East	8,280	6,830	126	477	294	8	147	398	702
Palermo	5,382	3,901	39	221	246	4	642	329	1,281
Rackerby	204	193	0	1	0	0	3	7	18
Richvale	244	216	0	11	0	0	10	7	27
Robinson Mill	80	74	0	1	0	1	0	4	11
South Oroville	5,742	3,407	406	245	885	9	361	429	851
Stirling City	295	264	1	11	0	0	1	18	17
Thermalito	6,646	4,594	61	257	1,102	37	270	325	713
Yankee Hill	333	305	2	7	4	0	5	10	22
Unincorporated communities	Total Population	White	African American	Native American	Asian	Pacific Islander	other races	two or more races	Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
All others not CDPs (combined)	29,123	24,497	259	531	791	55	1,879	1,111	4,486

2000

As of the census 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.

Population and crime rates
Population	219,309
Violent crime	932	4.25
Homicide	10	0.05
Forcible rape	87	0.40
Robbery	187	0.85
Aggravated assault	648	2.95
Property crime	3,579	16.32
Burglary	1,733	7.90
Larceny-theft	3,765	17.17
Motor vehicle theft	840	3.83
Arson	81	0.37

Cities by population and crime rates

Cities by population and crime rates
City	Population	Violent crimes	Violent crime rate per 1,000 persons	Property crimes	Property crime rate per 1,000 persons
Biggs	1,724	19	11.02	34	19.72
Chico	87,090	282	3.24	2,291	26.31
Gridley	6,654	78	11.72	220	33.06
Oroville	15,707	107	6.81	991	63.09
Paradise	26,492	66	2.49	479	18.08

Government

Voter registration statistics

Population and registered voters
Total population	219,309
Registered voters	121,388	55.4%
Democratic	41,767	34.4%
Republican	45,001	37.1%
Democratic–Republican spread	-3,234	-2.7%
Independent	4,137	3.4%
Green	1,429	1.2%
Libertarian	1,088	0.9%
Peace and Freedom	437	0.4%
Americans Elect	4	0.0%
Other	1,401	1.2%
No party preference	26,124	21.5%

Cities by population and voter registration

Cities by population and voter registration
City	Population	Registered voters	Democratic	Republican	D–R spread	Other	No party preference
Biggs	1,927	38.7%	36.7%	37.9%	-1.2%	8.8%	19.8%
Chico	85,605	55.0%	40.1%	30.3%	+9.8%	9.8%	22.7%
Gridley	6,509	40.6%	37.6%	34.8%	+2.8%	9.7%	21.3%
Oroville	15,445	40.8%	32.1%	36.2%	-4.1%	11.7%	24.2%
Paradise	26,348	62.1%	31.1%	40.8%	-9.7%	11.5%	20.5%

Butte County vote
by party in presidential elections

Year	GOP	DEM	Others
2012	49.2% 44,479	47.2% 42,669	3.5% 3,190
2008	47.6% 46,706	49.9% 49,013	2.7% 2,606
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	57.1% 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

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 Brian Dahle and Republican James Gallagher, respectively. The county is in the the 4th Senate District, represented by Republican Jim Nielsen.

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

Federal

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

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 and Barack Obama won the county by plurality in 1992 and 2008, respectively.

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:

• Bangor Union Elementary School District
• Biggs Unified School District
• Chico Unified School District
• Durham Unified School District
• Feather Falls Union Elementary School District
• Golden Feather Union Elementary School District
• Gridley Unified School District
• Manzanita Elementary School District
• Oroville City Elementary School District
• Oroville Union High School District
• Palermo Union School District
• Paradise Unified School District
• Pioneer Union Elementary School District
• Thermalito Union School District

Colleges and universities

• Butte College
• California State University, Chico

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

• State Route 32
• State Route 70
• State Route 99

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.

Airports

General Aviation airports in Butte County include:

• Chico Municipal Airport
• Oroville Municipal Airport
• Paradise Airport
• Ranchaero Airport
• Richvale Airport

Communities

A photo of Bidwell Mansion in Chico.

Kendall Hall, the administration building at Chico State University in Chico

Cities

• Biggs
• Chico
• Gridley
• Oroville (county seat)
• Paradise

Census-designated places

• Bangor
• Berry Creek
• Butte Creek Canyon
• Butte Meadows
• Butte Valley
• Cherokee
• Clipper Mills
• Cohasset
• Concow
• Durham
• Forbestown
• Forest Ranch
• Honcut
• Kelly Ridge
• Magalia
• Nord
• Oroville East
• Palermo
• Rackerby
• Richvale
• Robinson Mill
• South Oroville
• Stirling City
• Thermalito
• Yankee Hill

Ghost towns

• Hamilton – Was Butte County's first permanent county seat. John Bidwell discovered gold at Hamilton in 1848, and the settlement arose. It was located on the west side of the Feather River, 15 miles (24 km) downstream from Oroville.
• Bidwell's Bar – now located under Lake Oroville
• Forks of Butte

In popular culture

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 town of Eden, located in Butte County.

See also

• List of California counties
• List of school districts in Butte County, California
• List of museums in the Shasta Cascade (California)
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Butte County, California

Sources

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

External links

• 101 Things To Do In Butte County Magazine
• Butte County Search and Rescue
• CSU Chico (Chico State)
• Butte County Association of Governments
• Butte County Library
• Diseño of a portion of Butte County, Calif. : showing ranchos at The Bankcroft Library
• Listen to public safety radio traffic in Butte County