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38°01′N 119°56′W / 38.02°N 119.94°W
Tuolumne County, California | |
|---|---|
| County of Tuolumne | |
   Images, from top down, left to right: the Old Tuolumne County Courthouse in Sonora, a shop in Columbia State Historic Park, Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite National Park | |
 Flag  Seal | |
 Interactive map of Tuolumne County | |
 Location in the state of California | |
| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| Regions | Sierra Nevada, Gold Country |
| Incorporated | February 15, 1850[1] |
| County seat | Sonora |
| Largest city | Sonora |
| Government | |
| • Type | Council–Administrator |
| • Body | Board of Supervisors |
| • Chair | Kathleen Haff |
| • Vice Chair | David Goldemberg |
| • Board of Supervisors[3] | Supervisors
|
| • County Administrator | Tracie Riggs[2] |
| Area | |
| • Total | 2,274 sq mi (5,890 km2) |
| • Land | 2,221 sq mi (5,750 km2) |
| • Water | 54 sq mi (140 km2) |
| Highest elevation | 13,114 ft (3,997 m) |
| Population | |
| • Total | 55,620 |
| • Density | 24/sq mi (9.4/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−8 (Pacific Time Zone) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−7 (Pacific Daylight Time) |
| Congressional district | 5th |
| Website | tuolumnecounty |
Tuolumne County (/tuˈɒləmi/ ⓘ), officially the County of Tuolumne, is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 55,620.[6] The county seat and only incorporated city is Sonora.[7]
Tuolumne County comprises the Sonora, CA Micropolitan Statistical Area. The county is in the Sierra Nevada region.
The northern half of Yosemite National Park is located in the eastern part of the county.
Etymology
The name Tuolumne is of Native American origin and has been given different meanings, such as Many Stone Houses, The Land of Mountain Lions, and Straight Up Steep, the latter an interpretation of William Fuller, a native Chief.[8] Mariano Vallejo, in his report to the first California State Legislature, said that the word is "a corruption of the Native American word talmalamne which signifies 'cluster of stone wigwams.'"[9] The name may mean "people who dwell in stone houses," i.e., in caves.
History
Tuolumne County Boundaries
One of California's original 27 counties, Tuolumne was organized in 1850.
Prior to the official naming of counties by the state, Tuolumne was sometimes referred to as Oro County.[10]
The original lines of Tuolumne County were not long established. In 1854 and 1855 the portion of Tuolumne County that extended west into the San Joaquin Valley was reorganized as Stanislaus County. In 1864 a number of the original counties including Tuolumne contributed lands that would lead to the establishment of Alpine County to the northeast. With the State's Adoption of the Political Code in 1872 the current boundaries of Tuolumne County were largely established as shown in the maps below.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,274 square miles (5,890 km2), of which 2,221 square miles (5,750 km2) is land and 54 square miles (140 km2) (2.4%) is water.[11] A California Department of Forestry document reports Tuolumne County's 1,030,812 acres (4,171.55 km2) include federal lands such as Yosemite National Park, Stanislaus National Forest, Bureau of Land Management lands, and Indian reservations. Notable landforms in the county include Table Mountain.
Special Districts
Special districts in Tuolumne County include:
- Belleview Elementary School District
- Big Oak Flat-Groveland Unified School District
- Chinese Camp Elementary School District
- Columbia Fire District
- Columbia Union Elementary School District
- Curtis Creek Elementary School District
- Groveland Community Services District
- Jamestown Elementary School District
- Jamestown Fire District
- Mi-Wuk Sugar Pine Fire Protection District
- Sonora Elementary School District
- Sonora Union High School District
- Soulsbyville Elementary School District
- Strawberry Fire District
- Summerville Elementary School District
- Summerville Union High School District
- Tuolumne County Air Pollution Control District
- Tuolumne County Water District No. 1
- Tuolumne Fire District
- Tuolumne Regional Water District
- Tuolumne Utilities District
- Twain Harte Fire District
- Twain Harte-Long Barn Union Elementary School District
- Yosemite Community College District
Adjacent counties
- Alpine County, California - north
- Calaveras County, California - northwest
- Stanislaus County, California - southwest
- Mariposa County, California - south
- Madera County, California - southeast
- Mono County, California - east
- Merced County, California - southwest
Geographical features
- Environmental
- Red Hills (Tuolumne County) (Area of Critical Environmental Concern)
- Stanislaus National Forest (National protected area, part)
- Yosemite National Park (NPA, part)
- Valleys
- Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne
- Lone Gulch[12]
- Tiltill Valley
Transportation
Major highways
Public transportation
Tuolumne County Transit bus routes radiate from Sonora to serve most of the county. In Columbia, a connection can be made to Calaveras County Transit. There is no public transportation into or out of Tuolumne County that connects to any of the closest metropolitan areas.
Yosemite Area Regional Transportation System (YARTS) makes a single daily round trip from Sonora into Yosemite Valley during the summer months.
Airports
Columbia Airport and Pine Mountain Lake Airport are both general aviation airports located in the Southwest and Northeast corners of the county respectively.
Crime
The following table includes the number of incidents reported and the rate per 1,000 persons for each type of offense.
| Population and crime rates | ||
|---|---|---|
| Population[13] | 55,736 | |
| Violent crime[14] | 158 | 2.83 |
| Homicide[14] | 1 | 0.02 |
| Forcible rape[14] | 25 | 0.45 |
| Robbery[14] | 19 | 0.34 |
| Aggravated assault[14] | 113 | 2.03 |
| Property crime[14] | 669 | 12.00 |
| Burglary[14] | 354 | 6.35 |
| Larceny-theft[14][note 1] | 846 | 15.18 |
| Motor vehicle theft[14] | 100 | 1.79 |
| Arson[14] | 11 | 0.20 |
Cities by population and crime rates
| Cities by population and crime rates | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| City | Population[15] | Violent crimes[15] | Violent crime rate per 1,000 persons |
Property crimes[15] | Property crime rate per 1,000 persons | |||
| Sonora | 4,804 | 20 | 4.07 | 311 | 63.33 | |||
Demographics
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1850 | 8,351 | — | |
| 1860 | 16,229 | 94.3% | |
| 1870 | 8,150 | −49.8% | |
| 1880 | 7,848 | −3.7% | |
| 1890 | 6,082 | −22.5% | |
| 1900 | 11,166 | 83.6% | |
| 1910 | 9,979 | −10.6% | |
| 1920 | 7,768 | −22.2% | |
| 1930 | 9,271 | 19.3% | |
| 1940 | 10,887 | 17.4% | |
| 1950 | 12,584 | 15.6% | |
| 1960 | 14,404 | 14.5% | |
| 1970 | 22,169 | 53.9% | |
| 1980 | 33,928 | 53.0% | |
| 1990 | 48,456 | 42.8% | |
| 2000 | 54,501 | 12.5% | |
| 2010 | 55,365 | 1.6% | |
| 2020 | 55,620 | 0.5% | |
| 2023 (est.) | 54,204 | [16] | −2.5% |
| U.S. Decennial Census[17] 1790-1960[18] 1900-1990[19] 1990-2000[20] 2010[21] 2020[22] | |||
2020 census
| Race / Ethnicity | Pop 2010[21] | Pop 2020[22] | % 2010 | % 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| White alone (NH) | 45,325 | 42,254 | 81.87% | 75.97% |
| Black or African American alone (NH) | 1,114 | 989 | 2.01% | 1.78% |
| Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) | 830 | 784 | 1.50% | 1.41% |
| Asian alone (NH) | 530 | 770 | 0.96% | 1.38% |
| Pacific Islander alone (NH) | 62 | 110 | 0.11% | 0.20% |
| Some Other Race alone (NH) | 230 | 313 | 0.42% | 0.56% |
| Mixed Race/Multi-Racial (NH) | 1,356 | 3,276 | 2.45% | 5.89% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 5,918 | 7,124 | 10.69% | 12.81% |
| Total | 55,365 | 55,620 | 100.00% | 100.00% |
Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.
2011
| Population, race, and income | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total population[13] | 55,736 | ||||
| White[13] | 48,477 | 87.0% | |||
| Black or African American[13] | 1,172 | 2.1% | |||
| American Indian or Alaska Native[13] | 1,008 | 1.8% | |||
| Asian[13] | 605 | 1.1% | |||
| Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander[13] | 82 | 0.1% | |||
| Some other race[13] | 2,276 | 4.1% | |||
| Two or more races[13] | 2,116 | 3.8% | |||
| Hispanic or Latino (of any race)[23] | 5,861 | 10.5% | |||
| Per capita income[24] | $26,084 | ||||
| Median household income[25] | $47,359 | ||||
| Median family income[26] | $59,710 | ||||
Places by population, race, and income
| Places by population and race | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Place | Type[27] | Population[13] | White[13] | Other[13] [note 2] |
Asian[13] | Black or African American[13] |
Native American[13] [note 3] |
Hispanic or Latino (of any race)[23] |
| Cedar Ridge | CDP | 1,071 | 89.8% | 6.9% | 0.7% | 0.3% | 2.3% | 3.5% |
| Chinese Camp | CDP | 154 | 90.9% | 9.1% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 8.4% |
| Cold Springs | CDP | 293 | 94.2% | 5.8% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 6.5% |
| Columbia | CDP | 2,258 | 74.1% | 20.8% | 0.1% | 0.0% | 5.0% | 11.3% |
| East Sonora | CDP | 2,050 | 89.6% | 5.6% | 1.0% | 0.0% | 3.9% | 7.9% |
| Groveland | CDP | 612 | 97.2% | 2.8% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Jamestown | CDP | 4,031 | 89.4% | 10.4% | 0.2% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 19.7% |
| Long Barn | CDP | 353 | 100.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |