Kings County is a county located in 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 ...

. The population was 152,486 at the 2020 census. 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 Hanford. Kings County comprises the Hanford- Corcoran, CA metropolitan statistical area, which is also included in the Visalia- Porterville-Hanford, CA combined statistical area. It is in the

San Joaquin Valley The San Joaquin Valley ( ; Spanish language in California, Spanish: ''Valle de San Joaquín'') is the southern half of California's Central Valley (California), Central Valley. Famed as a major breadbasket, the San Joaquin Valley is an importa ...

, a rich agricultural region.

History

The area was inhabited for thousands of years by Native Americans including the Tachi Yokuts tribe. They continue to live in the area on the Santa Rosa Rancheria. It was colonized by Spain, Mexico and the United States. An 1805 expedition probably led by Spanish Army Lieutenant Gabriel Moraga recorded discovering the river, which they named ''El Rio de los Santos Reyes'' (River of the Holy Kings) after the Three Wise Men of the

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

.Hoover, p. 132 At the time of the United States conquest of California in 1848, the new government changed the name to Kings River after which the county was named. In 1880, a dispute over land titles between settlers and the

Southern Pacific Railroad The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials) was an American Railroad classes#Class I, Class I Rail transport, railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was oper ...

resulted in a bloody gun battle on a farm northwest of Hanford; seven men died. This event became known as the Mussel Slough Tragedy. Kings County was formed in 1893 from the western part of Tulare County. In 1909, by an act of the state legislature, of Fresno County territory was added to the northwest portion of Kings County. Settlers reclaimed Tulare Lake and its

wetlands A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

for agricultural development. In surface area, it was formerly the largest body of freshwater west of the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...

, and supported a large population of migratory birds as well as local birds and wildlife.

Monoculture In agriculture, monoculture is the practice of growing one crop species in a field at a time. Monocultures increase ease and efficiency in planting, managing, and harvesting crops short-term, often with the help of machinery. However, monocultur ...

has sharply reduced habitat for many species. In 1928, oil was discovered in the Kettleman Hills located in the southwestern part of Kings County. The Kettleman North Dome Oil Field became one of the most productive oil fields in the United States. During the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

, over 18,000 cotton pickers in the southern San Joaquin Valley, mostly migrant Mexican workers, went on strike in the California agricultural strikes of 1933. During the strike, 3,500 striking farm workers lived in a four-acre camp on the land of a small farmer on the outskirts of Corcoran. Ultimately, the federal government intervened to force both sides to negotiate a settlement. Lemoore Army Airfield was established for training and defense during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In 1961, the U.S. Navy opened NAS Lemoore west of Lemoore, not far from the earlier site. The completion of the California Aqueduct in the early 1970s brought needed water for agriculture and domestic use to the west side of the county.

Historic sites

* Kingston * Mussel Slough Tragedy * El Adobe de los Robles Rancho built by Daniel Rhoads * Vaca Adobe * Cox & Clark Trading Post and Steamboat Landing * Witt Site

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.2%) is water. Kings County is bordered on the north and northwest by Fresno County, on the east by Tulare County, on the south by

Kern County Kern 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 909,235. Its county seat is Bakersfield, California, Bakersfield. Kern County compris ...

and a small part of San Luis Obispo County and on the west by Monterey County.

Table Mountain Table Mountain (; ) is a flat-topped mountain forming a prominent landmark overlooking the city of Cape Town in South Africa. It is a significant tourist attraction, with many visitors using the Table Mountain Aerial Cableway, cableway or hik ...

is the highest point in Kings County at an elevation of . It is located in the Diablo Range in southwestern Kings County on the boundary between Kings and Monterey counties. Most of the historic Tulare Lake was within Kings County. Although reclaimed for farming late in the 19th century, it was the largest freshwater lake west of the Great Lakes.

Demographics

2020 census

2011

Places by population, race, and income

2010 Census

The 2010 United States Census reported that Kings County had a population of 152,982. The census included inmates of the three men's state prisons. According to the

California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) is the penal law enforcement agency of the government of California responsible for the operation of the California state prison and parole systems. Its headquarters are in Sacra ...

, there were 18,640 inmates in Kings County prisons on March 31, 2010, which was 12.2% of the population. The inmate population had been reduced to 13,894 on December 31, 2013. The racial makeup of Kings County was 83,027 (54.3%)

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 ...

, 11,014 (7.2%)

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 ...

, 2,562 (1.7%) Native American, 5,620 (3.7%) Asian, 271 (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 ...

, 42,996 (28.1%) from other races, and 7,492 (4.9%) from two or more races.

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 of any race were 77,866 persons (50.9%). The U.S. Census does not identify how many residents are undocumented immigrants. However, the Public Policy Institute of California issued a report in July 2011, which estimated there were 9,000 illegal immigrants living in Kings County in 2008, which would be 5.8% of the county's population. According to the California Board of State and Community Corrections, Kings County had the highest incarceration rate of California's 58 counties in 2014 at 1,384 per 100,000 population. Statewide, the rate was 567 per 100,000.

2000

As of the 2000 census, there were 129,461 people, 34,418 households, and 26,983 families residing in the county. However, the California Department of Finance estimates that the population had grown 154,434 as of January 1, 2008. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), 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 geog ...

based on the 2000 census was 36/km² (93/sq mi). There were 36,563 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 53.7%

, 8.3%

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 ...

, 1.7% Native American, 3.1% Asian, 0.2%

, 28.3% from other races, and 4.8% from two or more races. 43.6% of the population were

or Latino of any race. 7.1% were of Portuguese, 6.2% German, 5.3% Irish and 5.1%

American ancestry In the demography of the United States, some people self-identify their ancestral origin or descent as "American", rather than the more common officially recognized racial and ethnic groups that make up the bulk of the American people. The ...

according to Census 2000. 63.6% spoke English, 30.9% Spanish, 1.4% Tagalog, 1.4% Portuguese and 1.3% Samoan as their first language. There were 34,418 households, out of which 46.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.0% were

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

living together, 14.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.6% were non-families. 17.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.18 and the average family size was 3.56. In the county, the population was spread out, with 29.0% under the age of 18, 11.8% from 18 to 24, 35.0% from 25 to 44, 16.8% from 45 to 64, and 7.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years in 2000, which had increased to 31.1 by the time of the 2010 census. For every 100 females there were 134.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 148.8 males. The ratio may be attributed to the presence of three men's state prisons in the county.

Government and policing

Administration

Kings County is a general law county under the California Constitution. That is, it does not have a county

charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the ...

. 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. On January 7, 2020, the Board elected Supervisor Doug Verboon as chairman and Supervisor Craig Pederson as vice-chairman to serve during 2020. Other Supervisors include Richard Valle, Joe Neves and Richard Fagundes. The Board of Supervisors appoints a County Administrative Officer. Rebecca Campbell was appointed to that office effective on January 1, 2018. She succeeded Larry Spikes who held the post from 1993 through 2017.

District Attorney

The Kings County District Attorney is Keith Fagundes. The District Attorney of each of the 58 counties in California is responsible for prosecuting the violation of California state and local laws and ordinances. The District Attorney is the sole criminal prosecuting entity in the county. In addition to the prosecution duties of the District Attorney, the Kings County District Attorney also has civil and criminal investigative authority with its own Bureau of Investigations composed of sworn peace officers with arresting authority. The Kings County District Attorney's Victim-Witness Assistance Program also provides assistance to victims of crime through federal, state, and local resources.

City police departments

Within Kings County, there are four city police departments: Hanford (the county seat), Corcoran, Lemoore, and Avenal.

Sheriff

The Kings County Sheriff-Coroner-Public Administrator is David Robinson. The Kings County Sheriff's Office provides court protection, county jail operation, and coroner services for the entire county. It provides patrol and detective services to the unincorporated areas of the county.

State and federal representation

In the

California State Legislature The California State Legislature is the bicameral state legislature of the U.S. state of California, consisting of the California State Assembly (lower house with 80 members) and the California State Senate (upper house with 40 members). ...

, Kings County is in , and in . In the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

, Kings County in California's 21st District and is represented by Republican David Valadao.

Politics

Voter registration

According to the Kings County Election Office, as of March 24, 2017, 51,323 residents were registered to vote. There were 22,341 voters registered as Republicans, 17,429 registered as Democrats and 9,443 did not state a party preference. The remaining 2,104 registered with minor parties.

Cities by population and voter registration

Overview

Kings has long been a strongly Republican county in Presidential elections. The last Democratic candidate for president to win the county was Hubert Humphrey in 1968, and the last to win a majority was

Lyndon Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after assassination of John F. Kennedy, the assassination of John F. Ken ...

in 1964. In November 2008, Kings County voted 73.7% for Proposition 8 which amended the California Constitution to define marriage as between one man and one woman.

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

Economy

The economy is based on agriculture. About 87% of Kings County's 890,000 acres is agricultural farmland. The gross value of all agricultural crops and products produced during 2018 in Kings County was $2,351,983,000. Kings County is 10th among California counties in agricultural production. The top commodity in 2018 was milk with a value of $676.7 million. Other major agricultural commodities included pistachios, cotton, cattle and calves, almonds and processing tomatoes. Another major employer is NAS Lemoore, the U.S. Navy's newest and largest master jet base. According to a Navy study in 2008, payroll, base spending, retiree and veterans' checks total more than $1 billion in annual economic impact to the region. Other important employers include a Del Monte Foods tomato processing plant, Adventist Health, the J. G. Boswell Company, an

Olam International Olam International is an agri-business company, operating in 60 countries and supplying food and industrial raw materials to over 20,900 customers worldwide, placing them among the world's largest suppliers of cocoa beans, coffee, cotton a ...

tomato processing facility, Leprino Foods, the largest

mozzarella Mozzarella is a Types of cheese#Semi-soft cheese, semi-soft non-aged cheese prepared using the ('stretched-curd') method with origins from southern Italy. It is prepared with cow's milk or buffalo milk, taking the following names: * or mozz ...

cheese maker in the world, the Kings County Government and the

which operates three state prisons in Kings County. In 2011–2013, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that the median household income in the county was $47,035 and that 17.6% of the population was 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 ...

. In 2018, according to the U.S.

Bureau of Economic Analysis The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) of the United States Department of Commerce is a U.S. government agency that provides official macroeconomic and industry statistics, most notably reports about the gross domestic product (GDP) of the United ...

, average per capita income was $35,306 in Kings County, which ranked it last of California's 58 counties. Per capita personal income is calculated by dividing the population by the total personal income of the area's residents. In Kings County's case, the U.S. Census Bureau's estimated population of 151,366 was used for that calculation. However, the population estimate includes incarcerated persons with little or no income. The homeownership rate was 54.2% at the time of the 2010 census.''Fresno Bee'', May 15, 2011 According to Zillow Real Estate Research, an estimated 24% of homeowners in the county owned their homes free and clear in the third quarter of 2012. Taxable sales in 2015 totaled about $1.7 billion. Kings County did not escape the effects of the

Great Recession The Great Recession was a period of market decline in economies around the world that occurred from late 2007 to mid-2009.

. The unemployment rate in May 2012 was 14.9%, up from 10.1% in July 2008. However, the rate had dropped to 9.8% in February 2020 at the eve of the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

pandemic. The unemployment rate had risen to 16.8% in April of that year. According to the California Employment Development Department, as of December 2012, civilian employment totaled 53,100 and an additional 8,900 people were unemployed. Many residents of Kings County were employed in services (31,900 persons, including 14,800 government employees) and agriculture (5,500 employees) as well as in some manufacturing enterprises (4,300 employees) and construction (1,000 employees). Jeffrey Michael, director of the Business Forecasting Center at the University of the Pacific, stated in an October 2010 newspaper interview that nearly half of Kings County's personal earnings come from government jobs, which pay more than agricultural employment. Kings County's dairy industry dropped from $670 million in milk sold in 2008 to $411 million in 2009 - a 39% drop. By mid-2009, the price paid to milk producers had dropped to a point that was far below the cost of production according to a July 2009 quote from Bill Van Dam, CEO of the Alliance of Western Milk Producers. By December 2010, milk prices had increased to about $13 per hundredweight from a low of below $10 in 2009. However, the price of corn used for feed had increased because of its use by the ethanol industry. Van Dam was quoted that month as saying that at current prices, dairy operators are at or close to the break-even point. By the summer of 2012, it was reported that despite a milk price of about $15 per hundredweight, the rising cost of cattle feed had caused many dairy farmers to sell all or part of their herds and even file for bankruptcy. In 2014, milk prices were topping $22 per hundredweight and the value of milk sold rose to $970 million in that year. However, by March 2016 milk was reportedly selling closer to $13 per hundredweight.

Culture

Kings County has a large annual celebration held each May called Kings County Homecoming Week. In 2015, the event was scaled back to one day and renamed Pioneer Days. The event returned as Kings County Homecoming Week in 2016 but without the traditional parade.

Transportation

Major highways

Interstate 5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels thro ...

State Route 33 * California 41

State Route 41 * California 43

State Route 43 * California 137

State Route 137 * California 198

State Route 198 * California 269

State Route 269

Public transportation

Kings Area Regional Transit (KART) operates regularly scheduled fixed route bus service, vanpool service for commuters and Paratransit (demand response) services throughout Kings County as well as to Fresno.

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 ...

trains stop in Corcoran and Hanford. Orange Belt Stages provides inter-city bus service to and from Hanford. Connections with

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 ...

can be made in Visalia or Paso Robles.

Airports

Hanford Municipal Airport is a general aviation airport located just southeast of Hanford. The privately owned airport in Avenal is the home of the Central California Soaring Club.

Communities

Incorporated cities

* Avenal * Corcoran * Hanford (county seat) * Lemoore

Census-designated places

* Armona * Grangeville * Hardwick * Home Garden * Kettleman City * Lemoore Station * Stratford

Unincorporated communities

* Halls Corner * Lakeside

Formerly proposed new city

* Quay Valley

Native American Reservation

* Santa Rosa Rancheria

Population ranking

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

Explanatory notes

References

External links

*
Kings County Crop Reports

Kings County Community Health Status Report, 2008-2009

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/19991109003240/http://www.kingsedc.org/ Kings County Economic Development Corporation website
Kings County Facts - Index Mundi
{{Authority control California counties San Joaquin Valley 1893 establishments in California Populated places established in 1893 Majority-minority counties in California