Tulare County ( ) is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

located in the U.S. state of

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 473,117. The

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US ...

is Visalia. The county is named for Tulare Lake, once the largest freshwater lake west of the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...

. Drained for agricultural development, the site is now in

Kings County Kings County or King's County may refer to: Places Canada *Kings County, New Brunswick *Kings County, Nova Scotia *Kings County, Prince Edward Island ** King's County (electoral district), abolished in 1892 Ireland * County Offaly, formerly calle ...

, which was created in 1893 from the western portion of the formerly larger Tulare County. Tulare County comprises the Visalia- Porterville, CA

Metropolitan Statistical Area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally incorporated as a city or tow ...

. The county is located south of Fresno, spanning from the

San Joaquin Valley The San Joaquin Valley ( ; es, Valle de San Joaquín) is the area of the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California that lies south of the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta and is drained by the San Joaquin River. It comprises seven ...

east to the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primar ...

Sequoia National Park Sequoia National Park is an American national park in the southern Sierra Nevada east of Visalia, California. The park was established on September 25, 1890, and today protects of forested mountainous terrain. Encompassing a vertical relief ...

is located in the county, as is part of Kings Canyon National Park, in its northeast corner (shared with Fresno County), and part of

Mount Whitney Mount Whitney ( Paiute: Tumanguya; ''Too-man-i-goo-yah'') is the highest mountain in the contiguous United States and the Sierra Nevada, with an elevation of . It is in East– Central California, on the boundary between California's Inyo and ...

, on its eastern border (shared with Inyo County). As of the 2020 census, the population was 473,117, up from 442,179 at the 2010 census.

History

The land was occupied for thousands of years by the

Yokuts The Yokuts (previously known as MariposasPowell, 1891:90–91.) are an ethnic group of Native Americans native to central California. Before European contact, the Yokuts consisted of up to 60 tribes speaking several related languages. ''Yokuts ...

. Beginning in the eighteenth century, Spain established missions to colonize California and convert the American Indians to Christianity. Comandante

Pedro Fages Pedro Fages (1734–1794) was a Spanish soldier, explorer, first Lieutenant Governor of the Californias under Gaspar de Portolá. Fages claimed the governorship after Portolá's death, acting as governor in opposition to the official governor ...

, while hunting for deserters in the Central Valley in 1772, discovered a great

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

surrounded by

marsh A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found ...

es and filled with rushes; he named it ''Los Tules'' (the tules). It is from this lake that the county derives its name. The root of the name ''Tulare'' is found in the

Nahuatl Nahuatl (; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahua peoples, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have small ...

word ''tullin'', designating

cattail ''Typha'' is a genus of about 30 species of monocotyledonous flowering plants in the family Typhaceae. These plants have a variety of common names, in British English as bulrush or reedmace, in American English as reed, cattail, or punks, in ...

or similar reeds. In 1805, 1806 and again in 1816, the Spanish out of Mission San Luis Obispo explored Lake Tulare. Bubal was a native village located on the Western side of Lake Tulare. In 1816, Fr. Luis Martinez of Mission San Luis Obispo arrived at Bubal with soldiers and armed Christian Northern Chumash pressuring the people to send their children for baptism at his mission on the coast. Conflict broke out, and Martinez's party burned Bubal to the ground, destroying the cache of food harvested for the winter. Although Bubal's relationship with the Christian

Salinan The Salinan are a Native American tribe whose ancestral territory is in the southern Salinas Valley and the Santa Lucia Range in the Central Coast of California. Today, the Salinan governments are now working toward federal tribal recognition ...

s under Fr. Cabot at Mission San Miguel was better, between 1816 and 1834, Bubal was a center of native resistance. The marshes around Lake Tulare were impenetrable by Spanish horses, which gave the Yokuts a military advantage. At one point, the Spanish considered building a presidio with 100 soldiers at Bubal to control the resistance, but that never came to pass. The Spanish called the natives of the area Tulareños, and before 1816 and after 1834, they were incorporated into Mission San Miguel and Mission San Luis Obispo. After Mexico achieved independence, it continued to rule California. After the

Mexican Cession The Mexican Cession ( es, Cesión mexicana) is the region in the modern-day southwestern United States that Mexico originally controlled, then ceded to the United States in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848 after the Mexican–American W ...

and the

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ( es, Tratado de Guadalupe Hidalgo), officially the Treaty of Peace, Friendship, Limits, and Settlement between the United States of America and the United Mexican States, is the peace treaty that was signed on 2 ...

in 1848, the area became part of the United States. Tulare County was soon formed from parts of Mariposa County only four years later in 1852. There were two early attempts to split off a new Buena Vista County in 1855 and

Coso County Coso County was a failed attempt in California to create a county from the territory of Tulare County and parts of Mono County east of the Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Centr ...

in 1864, but both failed. Parts of the county's territory were given to Fresno County in 1856, to Kern County and Inyo County in 1866 and to

in 1893. The infectious disease Tularemia caused by the bacterium ''Francisella tularensis'' is named after Tulare County. In 1908 Colonel Allen Allensworth and associates founded Allensworth as a black farming community. They intended to develop a place where African Americans could thrive free of white discrimination. It was the only community in California founded, financed and governed by African Americans. While its first years were highly successful, the community encountered environmental problems from dropping water tables which eventually caused it to fail. Today the historic area is preserved as the Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park, which is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and , or 0.3%, is water.

Adjacent counties

* Fresno County—north * Inyo County—east * Kern County—south *

—west

Lakes

Rivers

Parks

National protected areas

* Blue Ridge National Wildlife Refuge * Giant Sequoia National Monument (part) * Inyo National Forest (part) * Kings Canyon National Park (part) *

Pixley National Wildlife Refuge Pixley National Wildlife Refuge is located south of Tulare, California and north of Bakersfield in the San Joaquin Valley. The nature refuge represents one of the few remaining examples of the grasslands, vernal pools, and playas that once bor ...

* Sequoia National Forest (part) *

Sequoia National Park

is a

national park A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual ...

in the southern

, east of Visalia. It was established in 1890 as the second U.S. national park, after

Yellowstone Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in the western United States, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U.S. Congress with the Yellow ...

. The park spans . Encompassing a vertical relief of nearly , the park contains among its natural resources the highest point in the contiguous 48 United States,

, at above sea level. The park is south of and contiguous with Kings Canyon National Park; the two are administered by the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational properti ...

as one unit, called Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks.

Flora

Tulare County is rich in native plant species due in part to a diversity in habitats, including creeks, rivers, hills, and mountains. Native plants include incense cedar ('' Calocedrus decurrens''), valley oak ('' Quercus lobata''), California bay ('' Umbellularia californica''), manzanita (''

Arctostaphylos manzanita One of many species of manzanita, ''Arctostaphylos manzanita'' has the common names common manzanita and whiteleaf manzanita. ''Arctostaphylos manzanita'' is endemic to California, where it can be found in the Coast Ranges and Sierra Nevada f ...

''), '' Salvia spathacea'', mountain mahogany (''

Cercocarpus betuloides ''Cercocarpus betuloides'' is a shrub or small tree in the rose family.Flowering Plants of the Santa Monica Mountains, Nancy Dale,2nd Ed, 2000, p. 170 Its common names include mountain mahogany and birch leaf mountain mahogany The common name " ...

''), milkweed (''

Asclepias speciosa ''Asclepias speciosa'' is a milky-sapped perennial plant in the dogbane family (Apocynaceae), known commonly as the showy milkweed and is found in the western half of North America. Description This flowering plant is a hairy, erect perennial ...

''), ''

Epilobium cleistogamum ''Epilobium cleistogamum'' is a species of willowherb known by the common name selfing willowherb. This plant is endemic to central California where it is a resident of vernal pools and mudflats. It is a small annual plant with fuzzy pointed gre ...

'', monkeyflower ('' Mimulus''), '' Penstemon'', California melic (''

Melica californica ''Melica californica'' is a species of grass known by the common name California melic. Distribution This grass is native to Oregon and California, where it grows in many types of habitat, from mountain forests to open grassland at sea level. D ...

''), and deer grass (''

Muhlenbergia rigens ''Muhlenbergia rigens'', commonly known as deergrass, is a warm season perennial bunchgrass. It is found in sandy or well-drained soils below in elevation in the Southwestern United States and parts of Mexico. Description Deergrass is character ...

'').

Government and policing

Administration

Tulare County is a general law county under the

California Constitution The Constitution of California ( es, Constitución de California) is the primary organizing law for the U.S. state of California, describing the duties, powers, structures and functions of the government of California. California's original c ...

. That is, it does not have a county charter. The county is governed by a five-member Board of Supervisors. Supervisors are elected by districts for four-year terms. There are no term limits in effect. The Chairman and Vice-Chairman are elected annually by the Board of Supervisors from among its members.

Sheriff

The Tulare County Sheriff provides court protection, county jail operation, patrol and detective functions in the unincorporated areas of the county. Incorporated towns have municipal police departments or contract with the Sheriff for their police operations.

Transportation

Major highways

State Route 43 * California 63

State Route 63 * California 65

State Route 65 * California 99

State Route 99 * California 137

State Route 137 * California 180

State Route 180 * California 190

State Route 190 * California 198

State Route 198 * California 201

State Route 201 * California 216

State Route 216 * California 245

State Route 245

Public transportation

Tulare County Area Transit (TCaT) provides a intracounty bus service linking the population centers. One TCaT route connects to Delano in Kern County. The cities of Tulare, Porterville, and Visalia have their own local intracity bus services. Greyhound and Orange Belt Stages provide long-distance, intercity bus service outside the county.

Airports

The Porterville Municipal Airport, located from Downtown Porterville, has very limited commercial passenger service with WestAir. The airport offers general aviation to the public; it is also home to Porterville Air Attack Base on the south part of the airport. The

Visalia Municipal Airport Visalia Municipal Airport is five miles west of downtown Visalia, in Tulare County, California, United States. The airport is eligible for the Essential Air Service program, but has no scheduled air service, and is not eligible to request fund ...

is a city-owned airport for the city of

Visalia, California Visalia ( ) is a city in the agricultural San Joaquin Valley of California. The population was 141,384 as per the 2020 census. Visalia is the fifth-largest city in the San Joaquin Valley, the 42nd most populous in California, and 192nd in ...

. Mefford Field is a city-owned

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...

airport located in Tulare. The nearest full-operation commercial airports are

Bakersfield Bakersfield is a city in Kern County, California, United States. It is the county seat and largest city of Kern County. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley and the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's populat ...

's Meadows Field Airport to the south, and Fresno's

Fresno Yosemite International Airport Fresno Yosemite International Airport is a joint military/public airport in Fresno, California, United States. It is the primary commercial airport for the San Joaquin Valley and three national parks: Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon. It ...

to the north.

Crime

The following table includes the number of incidents reported and the rate per 1,000 persons for each type of offense, as of 2019.

Cities by population and crime rates

Demographics

2020 census

''Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.'' The

2020 United States Census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to off ...

reported that Tulare County had a population of 473,117 and the population was spread out, with 31.0% under the age of 18, 69.0% from 18 to 64, 6.5% from 65 to 74, 3.2% from 75 to 84 and 1.4% who were 85 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. The racial makeup of Tulare County including Hispanics was 186,255 (39.4%)

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

, 6,668 (1.4%)

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 10,645 (2.2%) Native American, 17,194 (3.6%) Asian, 723 (0.1%)

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 165,230 (34.9%) from other races, and 86,402 (18.2%) from two or more races. There were 309,895 people (65.5%) of

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino origin, of any race. 3.7% were of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

, 3.2%

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

, 2.8% Irish, 2.4% Portuguese and 2.3%

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

ancestry according to Census 2020. 48.7% spoke

, 47.4% Spanish and 1.0%

Indo-European The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the overwhelming majority of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and the northern Indian subcontinent. Some European languages of this family, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, Du ...

as their first language. There were 144,109

household A household consists of two or more persons who live in the same dwelling. It may be of a single family or another type of person group. The household is the basic unit of analysis in many social, microeconomic and government models, and is i ...

s, out of which 45.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.5% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

living together, 15.2% had a male householder with no spouse present, 24.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 20.8% were non-families, and 8.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.20 and the average family size was 3.57. There were 150,652 household units, and 141,987 occupied housing units in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...

was 98.1 people per square mile (37.9/km²). The median income for a household in the county was $57,692, and the median income for a family was $53,330. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the county was $23,096. About 18.8% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 26.0% of those under age 18 and 13.8% of those age 65 or over.

2011

Places by population, race, and income

2010 Census

The

2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators serving ...

reported that Tulare County had a population of 442,179. The racial makeup of Tulare County was 265,618 (60.1%)

, 7,196 (1.6%)

, 6,993 (1.6%) Native American, 15,176 (3.4%) Asian, 509 (0.1%)

, 128,263 (29.0%) from other races, and 18,424 (4.2%) from two or more races. There were 268,065 people (60.6%) of

or Latino origin, of any race.

2000 Census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

of 2000, there were 368,021 people, 110,385 households, and 87,093 families residing in the county. The

was 76 people per square mile (29/km²). There were 119,639 housing units at an average density of 25 per square mile (10/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 58.1%

, 1.6%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...

, 1.6% Native American, 3.3% Asian, 0.1%

, 30.8% from other races, and 4.6% from two or more races. 50.8% of the population were

or Latino of any race. 6.2% were of

, 5.7%

and 5.0%

ancestry according to Census 2000. 56.3% spoke

, 38.9% Spanish and 1.1% Portuguese as their first language. There were 110,385 households, out of which 44.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.1% were

living together, 14.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.1% were non-families. 17.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.28 and the average family size was 3.67. In the county, the population was spread out, with 33.8% under the age of 18, 10.6% from 18 to 24, 27.6% from 25 to 44, 18.2% from 45 to 64, and 9.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females there were 100.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.7 males. The median income for a household in the county was $33,983, and the median income for a family was $36,297. Males had a median income of $30,892 versus $24,589 for females. The

for the county was $14,006. About 18.8% of families and 23.9% of the population were below the

, including 32.6% of those under age 18 and 10.5% of those age 65 or over.

Crime statistics

(reported by the sheriff's office or county police) * Murders: 30 * Rapes: 40 * Robberies: 87 * Assaults: 411 * Burglaries: 1328 * Thefts: 2117 * Auto thefts: 11

Metropolitan Statistical Area

The

United States Office of Management and Budget The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is the largest office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP). OMB's most prominent function is to produce the president's budget, but it also examines agency programs, pol ...

has designated Tulare County as the Visalia-Porterville, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area. The

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of th ...

ranked the Visalia-Porterville, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area as the 111th most populous

metropolitan statistical area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally incorporated as a city or tow ...

of the United States as of July 1, 2012. The Office of Management and Budget has further designated the Visalia-Porterville, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area as a component of the more extensive Visalia-Porterville-Hanford, CA Combined Statistical Area, the 80th most populous

combined statistical area Combined statistical area (CSA) is a United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB) term for a combination of adjacent metropolitan statistical area, metropolitan (MSA) and micropolitan statistical areas (µSA) across the 50 US states and ...

and the 92nd most populous primary statistical area of the United States as of July 1, 2012. According to the United States Census Bureau, Tulare County is the 7th largest county in California by total area.

Politics

Voter registration statistics

Cities by population and voter registration

Overview

Tulare is a strongly Republican county in presidential and congressional elections. The last Democratic candidate for president to win a majority in the county was

Lyndon Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

in 1964. In the 2016 presidential election, Republican candidate and overall winner,

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

, won Tulare by a 9.39% margin of victory, the closest margin of victory for a Republican in the county since

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

's 8.37% margin in

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...

. The Republican advantage narrowed further in the

2020 presidential election This national electoral calendar for 2020 lists the national/ federal elections held in 2020 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *5 January: ** ...

when Donald Trump won the county by a 7.82% margin despite losing nationally to Joe Biden, the closest margin of victory for a Republican in the county since Dwight D. Eisenhower's 5.33% margin in

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim Elliot and Pete Fleming, are kille ...

. In the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

, Tulare County is split between three congressional districts: * * and * . In the

California State Senate The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature, the lower house being the California State Assembly. The State Senate convenes, along with the State Assembly, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. D ...

, it is split between three legislative districts: * , * , and * . In the

California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature, the upper house being the California State Senate. The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. The ...

, the county is split between , and .

Economy

The dairy industry, with sales of milk products, brings in the most revenue for the county, typically more than US$1 billion a year annually. Oranges, grapes, and cattle-related commodities also earn hundreds of millions of dollars annually. In 2001, Tulare became the most productive county in the U.S. in terms of agricultural revenues, at US$3.5 billion annually. It surpassed Fresno County's US$3.2 billion, which had held the top spot for over two decades. Due to the importance of agriculture in the county as well as its location in the state, since 1968 the city of Tulare has been the site of the annual

World Ag Expo World Ag Expo is the largest annual outdoor agricultural trade fair, exposition with over 1,450 exhibitors and an attendance of more than 100,000 each year. It is held at the International Agri-Center in Tulare, California, in the United States, ...

, the world's largest agricultural exposition. Minor league sports teams, such as the baseball Visalia Rawhide of the class-A level

California League The California League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in California. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following Major L ...

(an affiliate to the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The ...

), two teams of the Minor League Football Association in Tulare and Visalia, and four teams of the

Central California Basketball League Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

based in Porterville, attract many residents and add to the amenities in the county.

Top employers

According to the county's ''2020 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report'', the top employers in the county are:

Utilities and infrastructure

Electricity service in Tulare County is provided by

Southern California Edison Southern California Edison (or SCE Corp), the largest subsidiary of Edison International, is the primary electricity supply company for much of Southern California. It provides 15 million people with electricity across a service territory of ap ...

and

PG&E The Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is an American investor-owned utility (IOU). The company is headquartered in the Pacific Gas & Electric Building, in San Francisco, California. PG&E provides natural gas and electricity to 5.2 millio ...

. Gas is provided by

SoCalGas The Southern California Gas Company (trading as SoCalGas) is a utility company based in Los Angeles, California, and a subsidiary of Sempra Energy. It is the primary provider of natural gas to Los Angeles and Southern California. Overview Its ...

and PG&E. TV and Internet service is provided by several companies, such as

Spectrum A spectrum (plural ''spectra'' or ''spectrums'') is a condition that is not limited to a specific set of values but can vary, without gaps, across a continuum. The word was first used scientifically in optics to describe the rainbow of colors ...

, DISH,

DirecTV DirecTV (trademarked as DIRECTV) is an American multichannel video programming distributor based in El Segundo, California. Originally launched on June 17, 1994, its primary service is a digital satellite service serving the United States. I ...

and HughesNET.

Communities

Cities

Dinuba Dinuba is a city in Tulare County, California, United States. The population was 21,453 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Visalia-Porterville metropolitan statistical area. The Alta District Museum is located in Dinuba in a restored ra ...

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

* Farmersville * Lindsay * Porterville * Tulare * Visalia (county seat) * Woodlake

Census designated places

* Allensworth * Alpaugh * California Hot Springs * Camp Nelson * Cedar Slope * Cutler * Delft Colony * Ducor * Earlimart * East Orosi * East Porterville * East Tulare Villa * El Monte Mobile Village * El Rancho * Goshen * Hartland * Hypericum * Idlewild *

Ivanhoe ''Ivanhoe: A Romance'' () by Walter Scott is a historical novel published in three volumes, in 1819, as one of the Waverley novels. Set in England in the Middle Ages, this novel marked a shift away from Scott’s prior practice of setting ...

* Jovista * Kennedy Meadows * Lemon Cove * Lindcove * Linnell Camp *

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

* Matheny * McClenney Tract * Monson * Orosi * Panorama Heights * Patterson Tract * Pierpoint * Pine Flat * Pixley * Plainview * Ponderosa * Poplar-Cotton Center * Posey * Poso Park * Richgrove * Rodriguez Camp * Sequoia Crest *

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Penins ...

* Silver City * Springville * Strathmore * Sugarloaf Mountain Park * Sugarloaf Saw Mill * Sugarloaf Village * Sultana * Terra Bella * Teviston * Three Rivers *

Tipton Tipton is an industrial town in the West Midlands in England with a population of around 38,777 at the 2011 UK Census. It is located northwest of Birmingham. Tipton was once one of the most heavily industrialised towns in the Black Country, w ...

* Tonyville * Tooleville * Traver * Waukena * West Goshen * Wilsonia * Woodville * Woodville Farm Labor Camp * Yettem

Other unincorporated communities

* Advance * Angiola * Badger * Balance Rock * Cairns Corner * Calgro * Johnsondale * Kaweah * Rocky Hill *

Ultra adopted by British military intelligence in June 1941 for wartime signals intelligence obtained by breaking high-level encrypted enemy radio and teleprinter communications at the Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS) at Bletchley P ...

* White River * Yokohl Valley * Zante

Indian reservation

* Tule River Indian Reservation

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2020 census of Tulare County. † ''county seat''

Notes

References

External links

*
Tulare County Agricultural Commissioner/Sealer official website (with Annual Crop and Livestock Reports)
{{Authority control California counties San Joaquin Valley 1852 establishments in California Populated places established in 1852 Majority-minority counties in California