Butte County, California


Butte County is a county located in the northern central part of the U.S. state of California. In the 2020 census, its population was 211,632. The county seat 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.
Butte County is drained by the Feather River and the Sacramento River. Butte Creek and Chico Creek">Chico, California">Chico Creek are additional perennial streams, both tributary to the Sacramento. The county is home to California State University, Chico and Butte College.

History

Butte County is named for the visually striking + Sutter Buttes 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. Suffragists from Butte County including Minnie Sharkey Abrams played a notable role in the women's suffrage campaign in 1911.
Between November 8 and 25, 2018, a major wildfire, the Camp Fire, destroyed most of the town of Paradise, the adjacent community of Concow, 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.
On July 24, 2024, the Park Fire ignited four miles south of downtown Chico in Bidwell Park. This was due to an act of arson by Chico resident Ronnie Dean Stout II, as he revved the engines of his mom's 2007 Toyota Yaris because he got stuck in the grass, causing the surrounding area to catch fire. Over the course of the next 64 days, the fire crossed the county line with Tehama County, burned 429,603 acres, killed one person, and destroyed 709 structures. It became the largest wildfire caused by arson in the state's history, the fourth largest fire in the state's history, the largest fire of the 2024 California Wildfire Season, and the second largest single fire in the state's history.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which 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 steep slopes making it prime territory for the siting of hydroelectric power plants. About a half dozen of these plants are located in the county, one of which, serves the Oroville Dam.

National protected areas

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Butte County had a population of 211,632. The median age was 37.9 years, 20.5% of residents were under the age of 18, and 19.0% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 97.8 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 96.3 males age 18 and over.
79.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 21.0% lived in rural areas.
There were 83,268 households in the county, of which 27.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 28.7% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 28.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
The county's population was 70.7% White, 1.7% Black or African American, 2.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 5.0% Asian, 0.3% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 8.6% from some other race, and 11.7% from two or more races; Latino Americans|Hispanic or Latino] residents of any race comprised 19.0% of the population.
There were 90,133 housing units, of which 7.6% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 56.2% were owner-occupied and 43.8% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.5% and the rental vacancy rate was 4.7%.

Racial and ethnic composition

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 White, 3,415 African American, 4,395 Native American, 9,057 Asian, 452 Pacific Islander, 12,141 from other races, and 10,444 from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 31,116 persons.

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, 10.5% of the population were Hispanic or Latino, 3.3% Asian, 1.9% Native American, 1.4% Black or African American, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 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. 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 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 in. The county is in.
According to the California Secretary of State, as of February 10, 2019, Butte County has 172,054 registered voters. Of those, 42,093 are registered Democrats, 41,330 are registered Republicans and 30,377 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 in 2008 [United States presidential election in California|2008], Mitt Romney in 2012, Donald Trump in 2016, and Joe Biden in 2020.

Education

Public schools

There are roughly 90 public schools in the county according to the National Center for Educational Statistics.
The following school districts cover portions of the county:
K-12:
Secondary:
Elementary:
Butte County Library provides library services to residents of the County through six branches in Biggs, Chico, Durham, Gridley, Oroville and Paradise. 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

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 and FlixBus buses stop in Chico.
Amtrak's Coast Starlight passenger train makes a stop daily in each direction in Chico's Chico station.

Airports

General Aviation airports in Butte County include:

Cities

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

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2010 census of Butte County.
† county seat
RankCity/Town/etc.Municipal typePopulation
1ChicoCity86,187
2ParadiseTown26,218
3† 'OrovilleCity15,546
4MagaliaCDP11,310
5Oroville EastCDP8,280
6ThermalitoCDP6,646
7GridleyCity6,584
8South OrovilleCDP5,742
9DurhamCDP5,518
10PalermoCDP5,382
11Kelly RidgeCDP2,544
12BiggsCity1,707
13Berry CreekCDP1,424
14Forest RanchCDP1,184
15Butte Creek CanyonCDP1,086
16Butte ValleyCDP899
17CohassetCDP847
18ConcowCDP710
19BangorCDP646
20HoncutCDP370
21Yankee HillCDP333
t-22ForbestownCDP320
t-22NordCDP320
23Stirling CityCDP295
24RichvaleCDP244
25RackerbyCDP204
26Berry Creek RancheriaAIAN152
27Clipper MillsCDP142
28Robinson MillCDP80
29CherokeeCDP69
30Butte MeadowsCDP40
31Enterprise Rancheria'AIAN1

In popular culture

Several movies have been filmed in Butte County, including Gone with the Wind, The Outlaw Josey Wales, Friendly Persuasion, Magic Town, The Klansman, Ruby Ridge: An American Tragedy, The Adventures of Robin Hood, and Under Wraps. A 2013 episode of the television series Sons of Anarchy involves the sons coming into contact with corrupt police in the fictional town of Eden, located in Butte County.