Yuba City, California

Yuba City ( Maidu: ''Yubu'') is a city in Northern California 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 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. 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). On the map of the area made by Jean Jacques Vioget in 1841, a Maidu rancheria called Buba, noted in Stephen Powers' 1877 book ''The Tribes of California'' as the village of Yú-ba, was located at the present site of Yuba City.

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 Sutter County in 1854. The same year, however, voters decided that Nicolaus 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.

The 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.

The 1961 B-52 airplane crash

On March 14, 1961, a Boeing B-52 Stratofortress 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.

The 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 in Orinda, California plunged 28 feet off the exit ramp on I-680 at Marina Vista Road in Martinez, California. Twenty-seven students and one adult chaperone died and twenty-three students were seriously injured.

The 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 Chico 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.

The 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, the first time that a mosque was destroyed in the United States. Eventually the mosque was rebuilt with help of Sikhs, Mormons, Christians, and other groups. The story is told in the 2012 documentary '' An American Mosque''.

The 2020 police brutality incident

On April 12, 2020, a retired 64 year old veteran named Gregory Gross was assaulted by Yuba City police officers Joshua Jackson, Scott Hansen and Nathan Livingston after they had charged Gross for driving while intoxicated. Gross was handcuffed and compliant at the time of the incident. After twisting his arm and stating that he was now using "pain compliance techniques," Jackson proceeded to throw Gross face first into the ground, severing his vertebrae and leaving him permanently paralyzed. Jackson was afterwards allowed to retire, while Hansen and Livingston remained officers with the Yuba City Police Department. No charges have been brought against any of the officers, despite body camera video emerging which captured the prolonged abuse of the handcuffed senior citizen.

In 2022, after several surgeries and years of physical therapy, Gross sued the police department, ultimately winning a $20 million settlement, which was one of the largest such settlements in U.S. history.

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 0.52% water.

The Yuba City area is located north of Sacramento and situated in the Sacramento Valley. 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 Sacramento Valley. Autumn starts out warm but becomes cooler, wetter, and foggier as the season progresses.

Demographics

2020

The 2020 United States census reported that Yuba City had a population of 70,117. The population density was . The racial makeup of Yuba City was 43.2% White, 2.4% African American, 2.0% Native American, 22.3% Asian, 0.3% Pacific Islander, 17.3% from other races, and 12.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 30.9% of the population.

The census reported that 99.0% of the population lived in households, 0.3% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0.7% were institutionalized.

There were 23,179 households, out of which 39.4% included children under the age of 18, 50.7% were married-couple households, 6.9% were cohabiting couple households, 25.6% had a female householder with no partner present, and 16.8% had a male householder with no partner present. 21.0% of households were one person, and 10.2% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.99. There were 16,896 families (72.9% of all households).

The age distribution was 25.4% under the age of 18, 9.2% aged 18 to 24, 26.4% aged 25 to 44, 23.5% aged 45 to 64, and 15.4% who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 36.1years. For every 100 females, there were 98.2 males.

There were 24,027 housing units at an average density of , of which 23,179 (96.5%) were occupied. Of these, 57.0% were owner-occupied, and 43.0% were occupied by renters.

2023 estimates

In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that 24.1% of the population were foreign-born. Of all people aged 5 or older, 61.5% spoke only English at home, 20.0% spoke Spanish, 15.7% spoke other Indo-European languages, 2.6% spoke Asian or Pacific Islander languages, and 0.2% spoke other languages. Of those aged 25 or older, 77.3% were high school graduates and 20.1% had a bachelor's degree.

The median household income was $72,322, and the per capita income was $33,563. About 13.2% of families and 15.6% of the population were below the poverty line.

Transportation

Local bus service in Yuba City is provided by Yuba Sutter Transit.

The Amtrak Thruway 3 provides thrice daily connections from neighboring Marysville (with a stop at 858 I Street) to/from Sacramento and Stockton

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 is the major north–south route, running south toward Sacramento, and north to Chico. State Route 99 is also the city's only freeway, running from State Route 20 to just north of Eager Road (exit 344) outside of the city.

Economy

Yuba City is home to the largest dried fruit processing plant in the world, Sunsweet Growers Incorporated. In 1988 Yuba City was home to the California Prune Festival. In 2001 the name was changed to the California Dried Plum Festival 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 an important part of the Yuba–Sutter area. The unemployment rate in Yuba city is 8.20%.

Top employers

According to the city's 2022 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:

Arts and culture

Annual events

Sikh Parade

Yuba City is known for its sizeable Sikh 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 Northern California. In 2012, the parade participants rose to an estimated number of 150,000 people.

California Swan Festival

Yuba City participated in the California Swan 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

Government

In the California State Legislature, 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, the first Sikh American woman Mayor in the United States.

Education

Public schools are part of the Yuba City Unified School District. The three high schools in the district are Yuba City High School, River Valley High School, and Albert Powell Continuation High School. Faith Christian High School and Adventist Christian School are private christian schools located in Yuba City. The Yuba City Charter School 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 and is served by Yuba Community College 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'' is also widely sold and read in Yuba City.

Although KKCY 103.1, KUBA 1600 AM and 98.1 FM, KETQ-LP 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

* Giovanni Aguilar, soccer player
* Josh Appelt, mixed martial artist
* Frank Bacon, actor
* Guy Branum, actor, comedian, podcaster, and writer
* Richard Buckner, singer-songwriter
* William Jennings Capell, heir presumptive to the Earldom of Essex
* Juan Corona, serial-killer
* Marcie Dodd, singer and actress
* Cam Eden, Major League Baseball outfielder
* Wally Herger, politician, member of U.S. House of Representatives 1987–2012
* Brad Johnson, actor and real estate developer
* Brandun Lee, professional boxer
* Leanne Marshall, winner of Season 5 of '' Project Runway''
* Adrian Molina, 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, 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, Philadelphia Phillies first baseman
* Max Stassi, Los Angeles Angels catcher
* Rick Stephenson, bodybuilding champion and United States Army Ranger
* Charlotte Stewart, actress
* Preet Didbal, city mayor
* Tyler Rich, singer
* Ron Porter, NFL Kicker
* Yuba County Five, five men who went missing in 1978
* JJ White, country music duo

Sister cities

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

See also

* Yuba County, California
* Yuba–Sutter area
* Marysville, California
* Yuba City Astronomical Observatory

References

External links

*

{{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
Indian-American culture in California
Populated places established in 1849
1849 establishments in California
Sacramento Valley