Yuba City ( Maidu: ''Yubu'') is a city in

Northern California Northern California (colloquially known as NorCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Spanning the state's northernmost 48 counties, its main population centers incl ...

and the county seat of Sutter County, California, United States. The population was 70,117 at the 2020 census. Yuba City is the principal city of the Yuba City Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of

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 ...

and Yuba County. The metro area's population is 164,138. It is the 21st largest metropolitan area in California, ranked behind Redding and

Chico Chico () means ''small'', ''boy'' or ''child'' in the Spanish language. It is also the nickname for Francisco in the Portuguese language (). Chico may refer to: Places *Chico, California, a city *Chico, Montana, an unincorporated community *Chic ...

. Its metropolitan statistical area is part of the Greater Sacramento CSA.

History

Early history

The Maidu people were settled in the region when they were first encountered by Spanish and Mexican scouting expeditions in the early 18th century. One version of the origin of the name "Yuba" is that during one of these expeditions, wild grapes were seen growing by a river, and so it was named "Uba", a variant spelling of the Spanish word ''uva'' (grape). The Mexican government granted a large expanse of land, which included the area in which Yuba City is situated, to John Sutter—the same John Sutter upon whose land gold was subsequently discovered in 1848. He sold part of this tract to some enterprising men who wished to establish a town near the confluence of the Yuba River and the Feather River, tributaries of the Sacramento River, with an eye to developing a commercial center catering to the thousands of gold miners headed upstream to the gold fields. At the same time, another town was developing on the eastern bank of the Feather River, the beginnings of what later would become Marysville. By 1852, Yuba City was a steamboat landing, had one hotel, a grocery store, a post office, and approximately 20 dwelling homes with a population of about 150. Yuba City was chosen as county seat for

in 1854. The same year, however, voters decided that

Nicolaus Nicolaus is a masculine given name. It is a Latin, Greek and German form of Nicholas. Nicolaus may refer to: In science: * Nicolaus Copernicus, Polish astronomer who provided the first modern formulation of a heliocentric theory of the solar syst ...

would be a better location, and the county seat was moved there. County voters returned to their first choice of Yuba City two years later, in 1856, and it has remained the county seat since. Yuba City saw its first major influx of population after World War II, pushing residential areas west and south from the city's original center. Orchards were turned into residential areas as new homes were built for people migrating to the city.

Flood of 1955

In December 1955, a series of storms dropped torrential rain throughout northern California. The deluge caused all the rivers in the region to overflow their banks and to break through levees. The Christmas Eve levee break at Yuba City was particularly disastrous, with 38 people losing their lives, and heavy damage occurring in the downtown section. According to Dick Brandt, manager of the Yuba County airport in 1955, between 550 and 600 Sutter County residents were rescued from the floodwater by helicopter.

B-52 airplane crash

On March 14, 1961, a

Boeing B-52 Stratofortress The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is an American long-range, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber. The B-52 was designed and built by Boeing, which has continued to provide support and upgrades. It has been operated by the United States Air ...

carrying nuclear weapons, flying near Yuba City, encountered a pressurization problem, and had to drop to a lower altitude. Because of this, more fuel than expected was used, and the aircraft ran out of fuel. It crashed before meeting with a tanker aircraft. The pilot gave the bailout command, and the crew egressed at 10,000 ft, except for the pilot, who ejected at 4,000 ft, while avoiding a populated area. The aircraft was destroyed. The weapons, two Mark 39 (3.8 megatons each) thermonuclear bombs (identified from declassified Department of Energy films and photographs) were destroyed on impact though no explosion took place, and there was no release of radioactive material as a result.

1976 school bus crash

On May 21, 1976, a school bus carrying members of the Yuba City High School's choir to a performance at

Miramonte High School Miramonte High School is a public high school located in Orinda, California, United States. It is part of the Acalanes Union High School District. The school has a college-preparatory program, with 15 Advanced Placement courses offered. Histo ...

Orinda, California Orinda is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city's population as of the 2020 census is estimated at 19,514 residents. History Orinda is located within four Mexican land grants: Rancho Laguna de los Palos Colorados ...

plunged 28 feet off the exit ramp on

I-680 Interstate 680 may refer to: *Interstate 680 (California), a connecting freeway between I-80 and I-280 in the San Francisco Bay Area, California *Interstate 680 (Nebraska–Iowa), a bypass in Omaha, Nebraska *Interstate 680 (Ohio), a loop through Y ...

at Marina Vista Road in Martinez, California. Twenty-seven students and one adult chaperone died and twenty-three students were seriously injured.

1978 missing person case

On February 24, 1978, five young men from Yuba City, Gary Dale Mathias, Jack Madruga, Jackie Huett, Theodore (Ted) Weiher and William Sterling, aged between 24 and 32 years, disappeared under mysterious circumstances. They went to a basketball game in

and on their way back drove up to a mountain road away from the main road back to Yuba, where their car had been found later, undamaged and with enough gas to drive back to Yuba City. Four of the men were later found in and near a trailer on June 4 of the same year. Ted Weiher was found inside the trailer, starved, covered in blankets. Inside the trailer there was enough food to supply all five men for about a year, and enough paper and wood to light a fire, but nothing was used this way. The corpses and bones of three of the other men were found outside the trailer, but Gary Mathias was never found.

1994 mosque burning

Yuba City has been home to a significant Muslim population, including Pakistani Americans descended from 1902 immigrants. In 1994 the Muslim community completed a mosque that cost an estimated $1.8 million and many hours of donated work. Soon after, the mosque was destroyed by an act of

arson Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wat ...

, the first time that a mosque was destroyed in the United States. Eventually the mosque was rebuilt with help of

Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...

Mormons Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...

, Christians, and other groups. The story is told in the 2012 documentary '' An American Mosque''.

Geography

Yuba City is located at 39°8'5" North, 121°37'34" West (39.134792, −121.626201). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. The total area is 0.53% water. The Yuba City area is located north of Sacramento and situated 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 ...

. It is home to the Sutter Buttes, the smallest mountain range in the world. The Feather River borders the city to the east and the area is sometimes referred to as the "Feather River Valley", which divides the city from its neighbor Marysville.

Climate

Yuba City has a hot-summer mediterranean climate (''Csa'' according to the Köppen climate classification system) which consists of cool, wet winters and hot, dry summers. On average, January is the coolest and wettest month, and July is the hottest and driest. During the wet season from mid-October to mid-April, Yuba City sees frequent rain and is usually under the tule fog. Snow is rare in the valley, but cold waves from the north may bring some light snow and ice. Spring is wet in the beginning but becomes drier and warmer as summer months approach. May has some rain, but usually from thunderstorms rather than from winter storms. Rain is rare from June to September. The Delta Breeze, which comes from the Bay Area on summer nights, helps cool temperatures and adds humidity. At times the Delta Breeze is strong enough to bring coastal fog inland to the

. Autumn starts out warm but becomes cooler, wetter, and foggier as the season progresses.

Demographics

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 servin ...

reported that Yuba City had a population of 64,925. The population density was . The racial makeup of Yuba City was 37,382 (57.6%) White, 1,591 (2.5%) African American, 909 (1.4%) Native American, 11,190 (17.2%)

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 228 (0.4%) Pacific Islander, 9,772 (15.1%) from other races, and 3,853 (5.9%) from two or more races. Hispanic or

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 18,413 persons (28.4%). The Census reported that 64,345 people (99.1% of the population) lived in households, 125 (0.2%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 455 (0.7%) were institutionalized. There were 21,550 households, out of which 9,012 (41.8%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 11,277 (52.3%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 2,969 (13.8%) had a female householder with no husband present, 1,412 (6.6%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 1,436 (6.7%)

unmarried opposite-sex partnerships POSSLQ ( , plural POSSLQs) is an abbreviation (or acronym) for "Person of Opposite Sex Sharing Living Quarters", a term coined in the late 1970s by the United States Census Bureau as part of an effort to more accurately gauge the prevalence of ...

, and 118 (0.5%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 4,753 households (22.1%) were made up of individuals, and 1,960 (9.1%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.99. There were 15,658 families (72.7% of all households); the average family size was 3.49. The population was spread out, with 18,314 people (28.2%) under the age of 18, 6,630 people (10.2%) aged 18 to 24, 17,575 people (27.1%) aged 25 to 44, 14,810 people (22.8%) aged 45 to 64, and 7,596 people (11.7%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33.0 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.3 males. There were 23,174 housing units at an average density of , of which 12,266 (56.9%) were owner-occupied, and 9,284 (43.1%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.3%; the rental vacancy rate was 7.1%. 36,525 people (56.3% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 27,820 people (42.8%) lived in rental housing units. Yuba City also has a large population of Punjabi Mexican Americans.

2000

As of the census of

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

, there were 36,758 people (60,507 as of January 1, 2006), 13,290 households, and 8,944 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 13,912 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 67.0% White, 2.8% African American, 1.7% Native American, 6.4%

Asian American Asian Americans are Americans of Asian ancestry (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of such immigrants). Although this term had historically been used for all the indigenous people ...

, 0.3% Pacific Islander, 14.4% from other races, and 2.4% from two or more races. 12.5% of the population were Hispanic or

of any race. The European population in Yuba City was 0.5% Romanian, 0.3% Italian, and 1.6% German. There were 13,290 households, out of which 36.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.6% were married couples living together, 14.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.7% were "non-families." 26.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.70 and the average family size was 3.28. In the city, the population was spread out, with 29.0% under the age of 18, 10.7% from 18 to 24, 29.4% from 25 to 44, 18.7% from 45 to 64, and 12.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.7 males. The median income for a household in the city was $32,858, and the median income for a family was $39,381. Males had a median income of $34,303 versus $23,410 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,928. 18.1% of the population and 14.5% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 24.8% of those under the age of 18 and 9.5% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

Transportation

Bus service in Yuba City is provided by

Yuba Sutter Transit The Yuba-Sutter Transit Authority, operating as Yuba-Sutter Transit, is the public transportation agency serving the Yuba–Sutter area in Northern California. Service Yuba-Sutter Transit runs six local bus routes in Marysville, California, Mary ...

. The city is served by two highways. California State Route 20 is the major east–west route, running to Marysville to the east, and Williams to the west. California State Route 99 travels south toward Sacramento, and north to

Economy

Yuba City is home to the largest dried fruit processing plant in the world,

Sunsweet Growers Incorporated Sunsweet Growers Incorporated is an American agricultural marketing cooperative founded in 1917 as the California Prune and Apricot Growers Association. Sunsweet is headquartered in Yuba City, California, USA. The company operates the largest d ...

. In 1988 Yuba City was home to the California Prune Festival. In 2001 the name was changed to the

California Dried Plum Festival The California Dried Plum Festival, formerly the ''California Prune Festival'' was an annual festival held in Yuba City, California between 1988 and 2002. Its September 2002, edition included a freestyle disc tournament organized by the Freesty ...

and in early 2003 directors announced the end of the festival's 15-year run in the Yuba–Sutter area. This was primarily due to rise in costs, difficulty in securing sponsors, and competition from other festivals. Being a small town, retail and healthcare make up the largest sectors of the economy. Some other notable employers include the Geweke Auto Group, Hilbers Incorporated, SharpeSoft, Jaeger Construction, Ardent Mills (formerly Andean Naturals) and Nordic Industries, Inc. Farming is also the most important part of the Yuba–Sutter area.

Top employers

According to the city's 2014 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:

Arts and culture

Annual events

Sikh Parade

Yuba City is known for its sizeable

community. The Sikh population in the Yuba–Sutter area has grown to be one of the largest in the United States and one of the largest Sikh populations outside of the Punjab state of India. Each year on the first Sunday of November, Sikhs from the United States, Canada, India, the United Kingdom and throughout the world attend the Sikh parade in Yuba City, which commemorates the receipt by Sikhs of their Holy scripture, the Guru Granth Sahib, in 1708. The parade features floats and a procession of parade participants. The 2005 parade drew an estimated 56,000 people while the 2007 parade was estimated to draw between 75,000 and 85,000 people of both Sikh and non-Sikh background. In 2008, an estimated 80,000 people came out for the event which is now considered one of the largest gatherings in

. In 2012, the parade participants rose to an estimated number of 150,000 people.

California Swan Festival

Yuba City participated in the California

Swan Swans are birds of the family (biology), family Anatidae within the genus ''Cygnus''. The swans' closest relatives include the goose, geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form t ...

Festival, which had been held from 2013 to 2016, November 13–15, with the events centered in adjacent Marysville’s Caltrans Building.

Museums and other points of interest

Community Memorial Museum of Sutter County The Sutter County Museum, (formerly the Community Memorial Museum of Sutter County), established in 1975 is the showplace and storehouse for many Yuba-Sutter history treasures and memories. The museum has Nisenan artifacts as well as many from ear ...

Government

In the

California State Legislature The California State Legislature is a bicameral state legislature consisting of a lower house, the California State Assembly, with 80 members; and an upper house, the California State Senate, with 40 members. Both houses of the Legisla ...

, Yuba City is in , and in . In the United States House of Representatives, Yuba City is in . Yuba City also elected the first Sikh American Mayor in the United States, Kash Gill, and

Preet Didbal Preet Didbal is the former mayor of Yuba City, California. She was elected in 2017 and was the first Sikh female mayor in the United States. Her period of office was 2017-2018. Early life Preet graduated from Yuba City High School and California ...

, the first Sikh American woman Mayor in the United States.

Parks

Community parks: * Sam Brannan Park * Blackburn-Talley Sports Complex/Park * Gauche Aquatic Park Neighborhood parks: * Bogue Park * Greenwood Park * Happy Park * Hillcrest Park * Holly Tree Park * Kingwood Park * Lloyd Park * Maple Park * Moore Park * Nakwhal Park * Northridge Park * Patriot Park * Regency Park * Shanghai Garden Park * Southside Park Passive parks: * Clark-Ainsley Mini Park * Plumas Tower Plaza Mini Park * Veterans Memorial Park Other recreational facilities: * April Lane School/Park * Geweke Field * City Hall * Senior Center * Feather River Levee Bike Trail * AK School/AKMS

Education

Public schools are part of the

Yuba City Unified School District Yuba may refer to: Places * Yuba City, California * Yuba County, California ** North Yuba AVA, California wine region in Yuba County ** Yuba, California, a former settlement * Yuba River, a major river in California * Yuba State Park, in Utah ...

. The three high schools in the district are

Yuba City High School Yuba City High School is a public secondary school in Yuba City, California. It had roughly 3,000 students before River Valley High School opened in 2005. The school colors are brown and gold. Its mascot is the "Honker", a nickname for Canada ...

, River Valley High School, and Albert Powell Continuation High School. Faith Christian High School and Adventist Christian School (http://www.acselementary.org) are

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

christian schools located in Yuba City. The

Yuba City Charter School Yuba City Charter School is a K-12 public school located in Yuba City, California. Yuba City Charter School is a college prep and CTE program that models and supports the development of good character while emphasizing rigorous academics and care ...

is K-12. Twin Rivers Charter is a K-8. St. Isidore Catholic School is a PK-8 parochial school under the auspices of St. Isidore Catholic Church. Yuba City is in the

Yuba Community College District Yuba Community College District is a community college district with a flagship campus, Yuba College, in Marysville, California, United States. It now has a second college, Woodland Community College in the county seat of Yolo County, California. ...

and is served by

Yuba Community College Yuba College () is a public community college in Marysville, Yuba County, California. It is part of the Yuba Community College District. The college district has an extension campus in Yuba City, California. Yuba College is one of two colleges ...

in neighboring Marysville.

Media

The main newspaper for Yuba City area is the '' Appeal-Democrat''. The newspaper is printed in Marysville, but serves the entire Yuba–Sutter area. ''

The Sacramento Bee ''The Sacramento Bee'' is a daily newspaper published in Sacramento, California, in the United States. Since its foundation in 1857, ''The Bee'' has become the largest newspaper in Sacramento, the fifth largest newspaper in California, and the 2 ...

'' is also widely sold and read in Yuba City. Although

KKCY KKCY (103.1 FM, "Country 103.1") is a radio station broadcasting a country music format. Licensed to Colusa, California, United States, the station serves the Yuba City-Marysville area. The station is currently owned by Results Radio of Chico L ...

103.1, KUBA 1600 AM and 98.1 FM,

KETQ-LP KETQ-LP (93.3 FM) is an American radio station licensed to serve the community of Yuba City, California. The station's broadcast license was issued in February 2015. Programming KETQ-LP broadcasts a community radio format including a mix of 1 ...

93Q, KKCY-HD2 95.5, KCYC-LP, KOBO, and KRYC-LP are the only radio stations within the city, there is a wide variety of others broadcasting nearby.

Notable people

Josh Appelt Josh Appelt is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the Heavyweight division. A professional competitor since 2009, he has competed for Bellator and King of the Cage. Background Born and raised in California, Appelt wrestled ...

, mixed martial artist * Frank Bacon, actor * Guy Branum, actor, comedian, podcaster, and writer * Richard Buckner, singer-songwriter * Juan Corona, serial-killer *

Marcie Dodd Marcie Dodd (born March 10, 1978) is an American musical theatre actress, who is best known for playing Elphaba and Nessarose in various U.S. companies of the smash-hit musical ''Wicked''. Early life and career Dodd was born in Yuba City, Cali ...

, singer and actress * Wally Herger, politician, member of U.S. House of Representatives 1987–2012 * Brad Johnson, actor and real estate developer *

Brandun Lee Brandun Lee (born April 25, 1999) is an American professional boxer who held the IBO Inter-Continental super lightweight title in 2021. Lee's knockout-to-win ratio stands at 85%. Early life Lee was born and raised in Yuba City, California ...

, professional boxer * Leanne Marshall, winner of Season 5 of '' Project Runway'' *

Adrian Molina Adrian Molina (born August 23, 1985) is an American animator, storyboard artist, screenwriter, director, and lyricist. He has been at Pixar since 2007, where he started as a 2D animator on ''Ratatouille''. He later moved on to be a storyboard a ...

, Academy Award-winning writer and director of '' Coco'' * John Joseph Montgomery, aviation pioneer, was born in Yuba City * Michael P. Moran, actor and screenplay writer *

Charlie Peacock Charles William Ashworth (born August 10, 1956), known professionally as Charlie Peacock, is an American singer, songwriter, pianist, record producer, and author. His albums include ''Love Press Ex-Curio'', ''Arc of the Circle'' and ''No Man's L ...

, award-winning songwriter, recording artist, record producer – born Charles W. Ashworth * Chris Petersen, University of Washington head football coach * Darryl Scott, Los Angeles Angels pitcher *

Brock Stassi Brock James Stassi ( ; born August 7, 1989) is an American professional baseball first baseman who is a free agent. Selected by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 33rd round of the 2011 Major League Baseball draft out of University of Nevada, Reno ...

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

first baseman *

Max Stassi Max Robert Stassi (born March 15, 1991) is an American professional baseball catcher for the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB). The Oakland Athletics drafted him in the fourth round of the 2009 MLB draft. In 2013, Stassi made hi ...

, Los Angeles Angels catcher *

Rick Stephenson Richard W. "Rick" Stephenson (born 1955 or 1956 in Yuba City) is an American bodybuilder and former United States Army Ranger. Biography He was involved sports since his youngest years and was a high school wrestler. He started to work out as ...

, bodybuilding champion and United States Army Ranger * Charlotte Stewart, actress *

City mayor *

Tyler Rich Tyler Rich (born February 24, 1986) is an American country music singer. He was born Tyler Weinrich in Yuba City, California and began listening to country music at age eight. Rich began learning to play guitar at age 14 and, after graduating coll ...

, singer * Sherman Clark, NASCAR Racer *

Ron Porter Ronald Dean Porter (July 27, 1945 - December 4, 2019) was a former American football player who played linebacker for seven seasons in the National Football League for the Baltimore Colts, Philadelphia Eagles, and Minnesota Vikings. Porter gra ...

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

Kicker *

Yuba County Five The Yuba County Five were a group of young men from Yuba City, California, with mild intellectual disabilities or psychiatric conditions, who attended a college basketball game at California State University, Chico, on the night of February ...

Five men who went missing in 1978 * William Jennings Capell heir presumptive to the

Earldom of Essex Earl of Essex is a title in the Peerage of England which was first created in the 12th century by King Stephen of England. The title has been recreated eight times from its original inception, beginning with a new first Earl upon each new cre ...

Sister cities

* – Toride, Ibaraki, Japan as determined by Sister Cities International.

References

External links

*
Yuba City Police Department
{{authority control Cities in Sutter County, California County seats in California Cities in Sacramento metropolitan area Geography of the Sacramento Valley Incorporated cities and towns in California Populated places established in 1849 1849 establishments in California Sacramento Valley