Sutter County, California

County of Sutter
—  County  —
Seal
Location in the state of California
California's location in the United States
Country	United States
State	California
Region	Sacramento Valley
Metro area	Sacramento metropolitan area
Incorporated	1850
County seat	Yuba City
Area
– Total	1,576.2 km2 (608.58 sq mi)
– Land	1,560.6 km2 (602.54 sq mi)
– Water	15.6 km2 (6.04 sq mi)
Population (2010)
– Total	94,737
– Density	60.1/km2 (155.7/sq mi)
Time zone	Pacific Standard Time (UTC-8)
– Summer (DST)	Pacific Daylight Time (UTC-7)
Website	www.co.sutter.ca.us

Sutter County is a county located along the Sacramento River in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California, north of state capital Sacramento. Sutter County is part of the Greater Sacramento CSA.

As of 2010^[update] its population was 94,737. The county seat is Yuba City.

History

Sutter County was one of the original counties of California, created in 1850 at the time of statehood. Parts of the county were given to Placer County in 1852.

Sutter County is named after one of the state’s more engaging and complex historical personalities, and an agricultural visionary. John Augustus Sutter, a German native born to Swiss parents, was one of the first to recognize the Sacramento Valley for its potential as an agricultural empire, and his Hock Farm, established in 1841 on the Feather River just south of present-day Yuba City, was the site of the valley’s first large agricultural enterprise.

Sutter obtained the Rancho New Helvetia Mexican land grant, and called his first settlement New Helvetia (which included the present day city of Sacramento). In 1850, Sutter retired to Hock Farm when gold seekers deprived him of most of his holdings at Sacramento.

Sutter County is the birthplace (Yuba City, 1858) of John Joseph Montgomery, who was the first American to successfully pilot a heavier than air craft, 20 years before the Wright Brothers, and who held the first patent for an "aeroplane."

In the 1890s Sutter County was one of the two prohibition counties in California; the other was Riverside County. Both outlawed saloons and sale or consumption of alcohol in public.^[1]

Geography

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 608.58 square miles (1,576.2 km²), of which 602.54 square miles (1,560.6 km²) (or 99.01%) is land and 6.04 square miles (15.6 km²) (or 0.99%) is water.^[2] Some 88 percent of the county is prime farmland and grazing land.

Sutter County is home to the Sutter Buttes, known as the "World's Smallest Mountain Range." This volcanic formation provides relief to the otherwise seemingly flat Sacramento Valley. For further information about the Sutter Buttes go to [1]

Bordered by the Sacramento River on the west and the Feather River on the east, Sutter County has 240 miles (390 km) of levees. The Sutter Bypass, which diverts flood waters from the Sacramento River, cuts through the heart of Sutter County.

Cities and towns

Incorporated cities

• Yuba City
• Live Oak

Census-designated places

• East Nicolaus
• Meridian
• Nicolaus
• Rio Oso
• Robbins
• Sutter
• Trowbridge

Unincorporated communities

• Catlett
• Kirkville
• Lee
• Pleasant Grove
• Riego
• Rio Ramaza
• Verona

Proposed town

• Sutter Pointe

Adjacent counties

• Sacramento County, California - south
• Yolo County, California - south
• Colusa County, California - west
• Butte County, California - north
• Yuba County, California - east
• Placer County, California - southeast

National protected areas

• Butte Sink National Wildlife Refuge (part)
• Sutter National Wildlife Refuge

Transportation infrastructure

Major highways

• State Route 20
• State Route 70
• State Route 99
• State Route 113

Public transportation

Yuba Sutter Transit operates local bus service, as well as commuter runs to Downtown Sacramento.

Airports

Sutter County Airport is a general aviation airport located just south of Yuba City.

Politics

Sutter County vote
by party in presidential elections

Year	GOP	DEM	Others
2008	57.5% 18,911	40.8% 13,412	2.1% 698
2004	67.2% 20,254	31.9% 9,602	1.0% 289
2000	65.3% 17,350	31.7% 8,416	3.0% 798
1996	57.6% 14,264	34.4% 8,504	8.0% 1,977
1992	50.1% 12,956	30.5% 7,883	19.4% 5,021
1988	67.5% 14,100	31.1% 6,557	1.2% 241
1984	71.2% 14,477	27.2% 5,535	1.5% 311
1980	63.5% 11,778	27.5% 5,103	9.0% 1,676
1976	54.2% 8,745	43.2% 6,966	2.6% 420
1972	62.5% 10,224	33.0% 5,409	4.5% 739
1968	59.8% 8,665	31.8% 4,624	8.6% 1,256
1964	51.6% 7,241	48.3% 6,787	0.1% 16
1960	62.9% 7,520	36.6% 4,379	0.5% 55
1956	62.8% 6,327	36.5% 3,673	0.8% 77
1952	67.3% 7,053	32.3% 3,382	0.4% 44
1948	52.5% 3,913	45.1% 3,362	2.5% 183
1944	50.0% 3,111	49.5% 3,083	0.5% 29
1940	42.1% 3,089	57.1% 4,195	0.8% 61
1936	28.1% 1,613	70.0% 4,019	1.9% 106
1932	25.7% 1,392	70.4% 3,807	3.8% 208
1928	54.0% 2,239	45.2% 1,875	0.8% 34
1924	49.9% 1,617	11.3% 367	38.8% 1,255
1920	70.3% 1,862	24.0% 636	5.7% 150

Sutter is a strongly Republican county in Presidential and congressional elections. The last Democrat to win a majority in the county was Franklin Roosevelt in 1940. Sutter is part of California's 2nd congressional district, which is held by Republican Wally Herger. In the state legislature Sutter is in the 2nd Assembly district, which is held by Republican Jim Nielsen, and the 4th Senate district, which is held by Republican Doug LaMalfa.

On November 4, 2008, Sutter County voted 70.7 % for Proposition 8 which amended the California Constitution to ban same-sex marriages.

Demographics

2010

The 2010 United States Census reported that Sutter County had a population of 94,737. The racial makeup of Sutter County was 57,749 (61.0%) White, 1,919 (2.0%) African American, 1,365 (1.4%) Native American, 13,663 (14.4%) Asian, 281 (0.3%) Pacific Islander, 14,463 (15.3%) from other races, and 5,297 (5.6%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 27,251 persons (28.8%).^[3]

Population reported at 2010 United States Census
The County	Total Population	White	African American	Native American	Asian	Pacific Islander	other races	two or more races	Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
Sutter County	94,737	57,749	1,919	1,365	13,663	281	14,463	5,297	27,251
Incorporated cities	Total Population	White	African American	Native American	Asian	Pacific Islander	other races	two or more races	Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
Live Oak	8,392	4,491	138	130	978	17	2,173	465	4,093
Yuba City	64,925	37,382	1,591	909	11,190	228	9,772	3,853	18,413
Census-designated places	Total Population	White	African American	Native American	Asian	Pacific Islander	other races	two or more races	Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
East Nicolaus	225	159	0	1	19	0	41	5	49
Meridian	358	268	2	7	0	0	58	23	85
Nicolaus	211	186	1	0	5	0	10	9	13
Rio Oso	356	274	5	7	26	1	32	11	53
Robbins	323	208	0	9	5	0	94	7	181
Sutter	2,904	2,503	16	54	30	1	160	140	410
Trowbridge	226	167	3	5	25	0	15	11	38
Unincorporated communities	Total Population	White	African American	Native American	Asian	Pacific Islander	other races	two or more races	Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
All others not CDPs (combined)	16,817	12,111	163	243	1,385	34	2,108	773	3,916

2000

As of the census^[4] of 2000, there were 78,930 people, 27,033 households, and 19,950 families residing in the county. The population density was 131 people per square mile (51/km²). There were 28,319 housing units at an average density of 47 per square mile (18/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 67.52% White, 1.91% Black or African American, 1.55% Native American, 11.26% Asian, 0.20% Pacific Islander, 12.96% from other races, and 4.60% from two or more races. 22.21% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 10.3% were of German, 9.0% American, 7.1% English and 6.1% Irish ancestry according to Census 2000. 70.3% spoke English, 17.9% Spanish and 9.3% Punjabi as their first language.

There were 27,033 households out of which 37.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.0% were married couples living together, 11.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.2% were non-families. 21.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.87 and the average family size was 3.35.

In the county the population was spread out with 29.00% under the age of 18, 9.2% from 18 to 24, 28.2% from 25 to 44, 21.3% from 45 to 64, and 12.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 98.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.3 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $38,375, and the median income for a family was $44,330. Males had a median income of $35,723 versus $25,778 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,428. About 12.1% of families and 15.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.3% of those under age 18 and 7.7% of those age 65 or over.

Media

MySYtv.com provides television coverage of local events in the area.

See also

California Central Valley portal

• Hiking trails in Sutter County
• List of school districts in Sutter County, California
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Sutter County, California

References

1. ^ Berkeley Gazette, 1905. July 28
2. ^ "Census 2000 U.S. Gazetteer Files: Counties". United States Census. http://www.census.gov/tiger/tms/gazetteer/county2k.txt. Retrieved 2011-02-13. 
3. ^ "2010 Census P.L. 94-171 Summary File Data". United States Census Bureau. http://www2.census.gov/census_2010/01-Redistricting_File--PL_94-171/California/. 
4. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 

External links

• Official County of Sutter website

Coordinates: 39°02′N 121°41′W / 39.04°N 121.69°W / 39.04; -121.69