Butte County, California
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Butte County () is a
county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...
located in the northern central part of the U.S. state of
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
. In the 2020 census, its population was 211,632. The
county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
is Oroville. Butte County comprises the Chico, California, metropolitan statistical area. It is in the California Central Valley, north of the state capital of
Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...
. Butte County is drained by the Feather River and the
Sacramento River The Sacramento River () is the principal river of Northern California in the United States and is the largest river in California. Rising in the Klamath Mountains, the river flows south for before reaching the Sacramento–San Joaquin River D ...
. Butte Creek and Big Chico Creek are additional perennial streams, both tributary to the Sacramento. The
county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...
is home to California State University, Chico and Butte College.


History

Butte County is named for the visually striking +
Sutter Buttes The Sutter Buttes (Maiduan languages, Maidu: ''Histum Yani'' or ''Esto Yamani'', Wintuan languages, Wintun: ''Olonai-Tol'', Nisenan language, Nisenan: ''Estom Yanim'') are a small circular complex of eroded volcanic lava domes which rise as but ...
in neighboring Sutter County. Butte County was incorporated as one of California's 27 original counties on February 18, 1850. The county went across the present limits of the Tehama, Plumas, Colusa, and Sutter Counties. Between November 8 and 25, 2018, a major wildfire, the Camp Fire, destroyed most of the town of
Paradise In religion and folklore, paradise is a place of everlasting happiness, delight, and bliss. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical, eschatological, or both, often contrasted with the miseries of human ...
, the adjacent community of
Concow Concow (Maidu: ''Koyoom Kʼawi'', meaning "Meadow") is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in the Sierra Nevada foothills covering eastern Butte County, California, Butte County, California. Due to a ...
, and a large area of rural, hilly country east of Chico. More than 80 people were killed, 50,000 were displaced, over 150,000 acres were burned, and nearly 20,000 buildings were destroyed. The Camp Fire was California's most destructive and deadliest fire.


Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which (2.4%) are covered by 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 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 primari ...
, the steep slopes making it prime territory for the siting of
hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...
power plants. About a half dozen of these plants are located in the county, one of which, serves the
Oroville Dam Oroville Dam is an earthfill embankment dam on the Feather River east of the city of Oroville, California, in the Sierra Nevada foothills east of the Sacramento Valley. At 770 feet (235 m) high, it is the tallest dam in the U.S. and serv ...
.


National protected areas

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


Adjacent counties

*
Sutter County, California Sutter County is a county (United States), county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 99,633. The county seat is Yuba City, California, Yuba City. Sutter County is includ ...
– south *
Colusa County, California Colusa County () is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 21,839. The county seat is Colusa. It is in the northern Sacramento Valley, northwest of the state capital, Sacramento. Histo ...
– southwest *
Glenn County, California Glenn County is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 28,917. The county seat is Willows. It is located in the Sacramento Valley, in the northern part of the California Central Valley. ...
– west *
Tehama County, California Tehama County ( ) is a county located in the northern part of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 65,829. The county seat and largest city is Red Bluff. Tehama County comprises the Red Bluff, California ...
– northwest *
Plumas County, California Plumas County () is a county located in the Sierra Nevada of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 19,790. The county seat is Quincy, and the only incorporated city is Portola. The largest comm ...
– northeast *
Yuba County, California Yuba County (; Maidu: ''Yubu'') is a county located in north-central Central Valley, California, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 81,575. Yuba County is included in the Yuba City metropolitan statistical area, ...
– southeast


Demographics


2020 census


2011


Places by population, race, and income


2010 Census

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. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 31,116 persons (14.1%).


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 . There were 85,523 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 84.5%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 10.5% of the population were
Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or Latino, 3.3% Asian, 1.9% Native American, 1.4%
Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...
or
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 0.2%
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 4.8% from other races, and 3.9% from two or more races. 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.


Health and crime

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 once allowed residents to burn household trash outdoors. 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


Government


Law enforcement

The Butte County Sheriff's Office provides general-service law enforcement to unincorporated areas of Butte County, serving as the equivalent of the county police for unincorporated areas of the county as well as incorporated cities within the county who have contracted with the agency for law-enforcement services (known as " contract cities" in local jargon). It also holds primary jurisdiction over facilities operated by Butte County, such as local parks, marinas and government buildings; provides marshal service for the Butte County Superior Court; operates the
county jail A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where people are imprisoned under the authority of the state, usually as punishment for various cr ...
system; and provides services such as laboratories and academy training to smaller law enforcement agencies within the county. The first sheriff of Butte County was Joseph Q. Wilbur. Kory Honea has been the sheriff since 2014.


Voter registration statistics


Cities by population and voter registration


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

Butte County is split between the
1st First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...
and 3rd Assembly districts, represented by and , respectively. The county is in . According to the
California Secretary of State The secretary of state of California is the chief clerk of the U.S. state of California, overseeing a department of 500 people. The Secretary of state (U.S. state government), secretary of state is elected for four year terms, like the state's o ...
, as of February 10, 2019, Butte County has 172,054 registered voters. Of those, 42,093 (34.4%) are registered Democrats, 41,330 (33.8%) are registered Republicans and 30,377 (24.8%) have declined to state a political party. 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 . Butte is a bellwether county in presidential elections, and one of only thirteen to have voted for
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
in
2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...
,
Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American businessman and retired politician. He served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Utah from 2019 to 2025 and as the 70th governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 ...
in
2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...
,
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
in
2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...
, and
Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...
in
2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...
.


Education


Public schools

There are roughly 90 public schools in the county according to the
National Center for Educational Statistics The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the principal federal agency responsible for collecting, analyzing, and reporting data on education in the United States. Established under , it operates within the Institute of Education S ...
. The following school districts cover portions of the county: K-12:
Text list
/ref> * Biggs Unified School District * Chico Unified School District * Durham Unified School District * Gridley Unified School District * Marysville Joint Unified School District * Paradise Unified School District Secondary: * Oroville Union High School District Elementary: * Bangor Union Elementary School District * Feather Falls Union Elementary School District * Golden Feather Union Elementary School District * Manzanita Elementary School District * Oroville City Elementary School District * Palermo Union School District * Pioneer Union Elementary School District * Thermalito Union School District


Colleges and universities

* Butte College * Butte–Glenn Community College District * California State University, Chico


Public libraries

Butte County Library provides library services to residents of the County through six branches in
Biggs Biggs may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Biggs (TV channel), a Portuguese television channel formerly for kids, teens and youth and now for teens and youth. * Biggs Darklighter, a character in ''Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope'' * Biggs, a re ...
, Chico, Durham, Gridley, Oroville and
Paradise In religion and folklore, paradise is a place of everlasting happiness, delight, and bliss. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical, eschatological, or both, often contrasted with the miseries of human ...
. 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 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


Major highways

* State Route 32 * State Route 70 * State Route 99 * State Route 149 * State Route 162 * State Route 191


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 The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a dog breed, breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Some are kept as show dogs or pets. Greyhounds are defined as a tall, muscular, smooth-c ...
and
FlixBus FlixBus (; styled FLiXBUS) is a German brand that offers low-cost Intercity bus service, intercity coach services in Europe, North America, South America and Asia. It is owned by , which also operates FlixTrain, FlixCar, , and Greyhound Lines. F ...
buses stop in Chico.
Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
's ''
Coast Starlight The ''Coast Starlight'' is a Amtrak Long Distance, long-distance passenger train operated by Amtrak on the West Coast of the United States between Seattle and Los Angeles via Portland, Oregon, Portland and the San Francisco Bay Area. The train, ...
'' (
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
-
Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
) passenger train makes a stop daily in each direction in Chico's Chico station.


Airports

General Aviation airports in Butte County include: * Chico Municipal Airport * Oroville Municipal Airport * Paradise Airport * Ranchaero Airport * Richvale Airport


Communities


Cities

*
Biggs Biggs may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Biggs (TV channel), a Portuguese television channel formerly for kids, teens and youth and now for teens and youth. * Biggs Darklighter, a character in ''Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope'' * Biggs, a re ...
* Chico * Gridley * Oroville (county seat)


Towns

*
Paradise In religion and folklore, paradise is a place of everlasting happiness, delight, and bliss. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical, eschatological, or both, often contrasted with the miseries of human ...


Census-designated places

* Bangor * Berry Creek * Butte Creek Canyon * Butte Meadows * Butte Valley *
Cherokee The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...
* Clipper Mills * Cohasset *
Concow Concow (Maidu: ''Koyoom Kʼawi'', meaning "Meadow") is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in the Sierra Nevada foothills covering eastern Butte County, California, Butte County, California. Due to a ...
* Durham * Forbestown * Forest Ranch * Honcut * Kelly Ridge * Magalia * Nord * Oroville East *
Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...
* Rackerby * Richvale * Robinson Mill * South Oroville * Stirling City * Thermalito * Yankee Hill


Unincorporated communities

* Centerville * DeSabla * Helltown * Inskip * Lomo * Lovelock * Powellton


Former townships

In August 1851, the county was divided into six judicial (civil) townships, the four marked by asterisks below, plus Quartz and Mineral, which were separated from Butte County with the formation of Plumas County in 1854. Between 1851 and 1861, there were several additions and other realignments of the township boundaries; from 1861, the townships were: * Bidwell * Chico * Concow * Hamilton* * Kimshew * Mountain Spring * Ophir* * Oregon* * Oro* * Wyandotte Townships created and dissolved between 1851 and 1861 were Benton, Eureka, and Cascade.


Ghost towns

* Bidwell's Bar – now located under Lake Oroville * Butte Creek * Coutolenc * Diamondville * Forks of Butte – a former gold mining settlement *
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...
- 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, downstream from Oroville. * Lynchburg


Population ranking

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


In popular culture

Several movies have been filmed in Butte County, including ''
Gone with the Wind Gone with the Wind most often refers to: * Gone with the Wind (novel), ''Gone with the Wind'' (novel), a 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell * Gone with the Wind (film), ''Gone with the Wind'' (film), the 1939 adaptation of the novel Gone with the Wind ...
'', '' The Outlaw Josey Wales'', '' Friendly Persuasion'', '' Magic Town'', '' The Klansman'', '' Ruby Ridge: An American Tragedy'', ''
The Adventures of Robin Hood ''The Adventures of Robin Hood'' is a 1938 American Epic film, epic swashbuckler film from Warner Bros. Pictures. It was produced by Hal B. Wallis and Henry Blanke, directed by Michael Curtiz and William Keighley, and written by Norman Reilly Ra ...
'', and '' Under Wraps''. A 2013 episode of the television series ''
Sons of Anarchy ''Sons of Anarchy'' is an American Action film, action crime drama television series created by Kurt Sutter for FX (TV channel), FX. Originally aired from September 3, 2008, to December 9, 2014, ''Sons of Anarchy'' follows the lives of a close-k ...
'' involves the sons coming into contact with corrupt police in the fictional 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) The Shasta Cascade region of California is in the northeastern and north-central sections of the state bordering Oregon and Nevada, including far northern parts of the Central Valley (California), Central Valley and the Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierr ...
*
National Register of Historic Places listings in Butte County, California __NOTOC__ This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Butte County, California. This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Butte County, Cal ...


Notes

;Notes ;References


References


External links

*
Butte County Association of Governments
{{Coord, 39.66, -121.60, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-CA_source:UScensus1990 California counties Sacramento Valley Shasta Cascade 1850 establishments in California Populated places established in 1850