Yolo County (;

Wintun The Wintun are members of several related Native American peoples of Northern California, including the Wintu (northern), Nomlaki (central), and Patwin (southern).Pritzker, 152 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 northern portion of 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 216,403. Its

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 ...

Woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the '' plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (see ...

. Yolo County is included in the Greater Sacramento metropolitan area and is located in the

Sacramento Valley , photo =Sacramento Riverfront.jpg , photo_caption= Sacramento , map_image=Map california central valley.jpg , map_caption= The Central Valley of California , location = California, United States , coordinates = , boundaries = Sierra Nevada (ea ...

. The majority of Yolo County remains a relatively rural agricultural region.

Etymology

In the original act of 1850 the name was spelled "Yola." ''Yolo'' is a

Patwin The Patwin (also Patween, Southern Wintu) are a band of Wintun people native to the area of Northern California. The Patwin comprise the southern branch of the Wintun group, native inhabitants of California since approximately 500 AD. The Patw ...

Native American name variously believed to be a corruption of a tribal name ''Yo-loy'' meaning "a place abounding in rushes", the village of Yodoi, believed to be in the vicinity of

Knights Landing, California Knights Landing (formerly, Baltimore and East Grafton) is a census-designated place in Yolo County, California, United States, founded by William Knight. It is located on the Sacramento River around 25 miles northwest of Sacramento in the northeas ...

, or the name of the chief of said village, ''Yodo''.

History

Yolo County was one of the original

counties of California The U.S. state of California is divided into 58 counties. The state was first divided into 27 counties on February 18, 1850. These were further sub-divided to form sixteen additional counties by 1860. Another fourteen counties were formed throug ...

, created in 1850 at the time of statehood.

Government

The county is governed by a board of five district supervisors as well as the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government i ...

s of its four

incorporated cities A municipal corporation is the legal term for a local governing body, including (but not necessarily limited to) cities, counties, towns, townships, charter townships, villages, and boroughs. The term can also be used to describe municipally owne ...

Davis Davis may refer to: Places Antarctica * Mount Davis (Antarctica) * Davis Island (Palmer Archipelago) * Davis Valley, Queen Elizabeth Land Canada * Davis, Saskatchewan, an unincorporated community * Davis Strait, between Nunavut and Gre ...

, West Sacramento, Winters, and

Geography

Aerial view of Watts-Woodland Airport and surrounding area

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 (0.9%) is water.

Adjacent counties

* Colusa County - north *

Sutter County Sutter County is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 99,633. The county seat is Yuba City. Sutter County is included in the Yuba City, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the Sacra ...

- northeast * Sacramento County - east *

Solano County Solano County () is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 453,491. The county seat is Fairfield. Solano County comprises the Vallejo–Fairfield, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area, which i ...

- south * Napa County - west * Lake County - northwest

Transportation

Major highways

* * * * * * * * * *

County roads

Addressing in Yolo County is based on a system of numbered county roads. The numbering system works in the following way: # North–South roads have numbers from 41 to 117 and increase from west to east. # East–West roads have numbers from 1 to 38A, and then from 151 to 161, and increase from north to south. Each integer road number is generally one mile (1.6 km) apart, with letters occasionally designating roads less than one mile (1.6 km) apart. County roads entering urban areas generally become named roads once they cross a city boundary. Some examples include County Road 101 in

being renamed Pioneer Ave. and County Road 102 (also known as County Route E8) in

being named Pole Line Road.

Public transportation

* Yolobus (Yolo County Transportation District) runs buses throughout Yolo County and into

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, and

Sacramento International Airport Sacramento International Airport is located northwest of Downtown Sacramento in Sacramento County, California, United States and covers . It serves the Sacramento Metropolitan Area, and it is run by the Sacramento County Airport System. The ...

. * The

University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The inst ...

and the city of

jointly run

Unitrans Unitrans is the transit system which operates in and around the campus of the University of California, Davis. It takes its name from an abbreviation of the words "University Transport". Excepting several managerial and maintenance positions, Un ...

, a combination local city bus and campus shuttle. *

Fairfield-Suisun Transit Fairfield and Suisun Transit (FAST) provides general public fixed route bus service through eight local and two intercity/commuter routes. All FAST buses are wheelchair accessible and most are equipped with bike racks. In , the system had a ride ...

Line 30 also stops in Davis on its runs between Fairfield (Solano County) and Sacramento. *

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada. ...

has a station in Davis.

Airports

* Yolo County Airport *

University Airport University Airport is a public-use airport located two nautical miles (4 km) west of the central business district of Davis, a city in Yolo County, California, United States. It is owned by the University of California and operated by Transp ...

* Borges-Clarksburg Airport * Watts-Woodland Airport

Port

The

Port of Sacramento The Port of Sacramento, now known as the Port of West Sacramento, is an inland port in West Sacramento, California, in the Sacramento metropolitan area. It is northeast of San Francisco, and is centered in the California Central Valley, one of t ...

, now known as the Port of West Sacramento, is an inland port in West Sacramento, California, in the

Sacramento metropolitan area The Greater Sacramento area refers to a metropolitan region in Northern California comprising either the U.S. Census Bureau defined Sacramento–Roseville–Arden-Arcade metropolitan statistical area or the larger Sacramento–Roseville combine ...

. It is northeast of

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

, and is centered in the

California Central Valley The Central Valley is a broad, elongated, flat valley that dominates the interior of California. It is wide and runs approximately from north-northwest to south-southeast, inland from and parallel to the Pacific coast of the state. It cover ...

, one of the richest agricultural regions in the world.

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

Politics

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

Dwight Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War I ...

in 1952, which is the longest Republican drought for any California county. In fact, since 1932, Eisenhower's win in 1952 was the only time the county was carried by the Republican presidential nominee. Yolo County has been somewhat more likely to elect Republican governors since then (

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

carried the county in

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo ...

, George Deukmejian in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal en ...

, and

Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, film producer, businessman, retired professional bodybuilder and politician who served as the 38th governor of California between 2003 and 2011. ''Time'' ...

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A ...

and

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro votes to declare independence from Serbia; The 2006 ...

). 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 ...

, Yolo County is split between California's

3rd Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (disambiguation) * Third Avenue (disambiguation) * H ...

and

6th 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second ...

congressional districts, represented by and , respectively. 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 ...

, the county is split between the

and

Senate districts, represented by and , respectively. 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 the 4th and 7th Assembly districts, represented by and , respectively. In June 1978, Yolo was one of only three counties in the entire state to reject Proposition 13 (the others being

and Kern). In November 2008, Yolo was one of just three counties in California's interior in which voters rejected

Proposition 8 Proposition 8, known informally as Prop 8, was a California ballot proposition and a state constitutional amendment intended to ban same-sex marriage; it passed in the November 2008 California state elections and was later overturned in cou ...

to ban gay marriage. Yolo voters rejected Proposition 8 by a vote of 58.65 percent to 41.35 percent. The other interior counties in which Proposition 8 failed to receive a majority of votes were Alpine County and Mono County.

Cities by population and voter registration

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.''

2011

Places by population, race, and income

2010

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 Yolo County had a population of 200,849. The ethnic makeup of Yolo County was 126,883 (63.2%)

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 ...

, 5,208 (2.6%)

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 ...

, 2,214 (1.1%) Native American, 26,052 (13.0%) Asian, 910 (0.5%)

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 ...

, 27,882 (13.9%) from other races, and 11,700 (5.8%) from two or more races.

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 of any race were 60,953 persons (30.3%).

2000

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 168,660 people, 59,375 households, and 37,465 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 61,587 housing units at an average density of 61 per square mile (23/km²). The ethnic makeup of the county was 67.7%

, 2.0%

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 ...

, 1.2% Native American, 9.9% Asian, 0.3%

, 13.8% from other races, and 5.2% from two or more races. 25.9% of the population were

or Latino of any race. 10.0% 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 ...

, 6.6%

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 ...

and 6.4% Irish ancestry according to

Census 2000 The United States census of 2000, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2 percent over the 248,709,873 people enumerated during the 1990 ce ...

. 68.5% spoke

, 19.5% Spanish, 2.1% Chinese or Mandarin and 1.8% Russian as their first language. There were 59,375 households, out of which 33.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.6% 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, 11.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.9% were non-families. 23.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.71 and the average family size was 3.25. In the county, the population was spread out, with 25.2% under the age of 18, 18.3% from 18 to 24, 28.2% from 25 to 44, 18.9% from 45 to 64, and 9.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.2 males. The median income for a household in the county was $40,769, and the median income for a family was $51,623. Males had a median income of $38,022 versus $30,687 for females. 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 $19,365. About 9.5% of families and 18.4% 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 16.0% of those under age 18 and 7.4% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Public schools

The county's public schools are managed by the

Yolo County Office of Education Yolo or YOLO may refer to: Phrases * YOLO (aphorism) ("you only live once") Places * Yolo, California, an unincorporated community and census-designated place * Yolo County, California ** Yolo County Airport *Yolo City, the former name of W ...

Colleges and universities

* Woodland Community College

Communities

Cities

* West Sacramento * Winters *

Census-designated places

* Brooks * Clarksburg * Dunnigan * El Macero * Esparto * Guinda *

Knights Landing Knights Landing (formerly, Baltimore and East Grafton) is a census-designated place in Yolo County, California, United States, founded by William Knight. It is located on the Sacramento River around 25 miles northwest of Sacramento in the northeas ...

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

* Monument Hills * Rumsey *

Tancred Tancred or Tankred is a masculine given name of Germanic origin that comes from ''thank-'' (thought) and ''-rath'' (counsel), meaning "well-thought advice". It was used in the High Middle Ages mainly by the Normans (see French Tancrède) and espe ...

University of California-Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The instit ...

* Yolo

Other unincorporated communities

* Capay * Plainfield * Zamora

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2010 census of Yolo County. † ''county seat''

Notes

References

The Bancroft Library The Bancroft Library in the center of the campus of the University of California, Berkeley, is the university's primary special-collections library. It was acquired from its founder, Hubert Howe Bancroft, in 1905, with the proviso that it retai ...

{{Authority control California counties Sacramento Valley Counties in the Sacramento metropolitan area 1850 establishments in California Populated places established in 1850 Majority-minority counties in California