Colusa County, California


Colusa County is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 21,839. The county seat is Colusa. It is in the northern Sacramento Valley, northwest of the state capital, Sacramento.
WWW Official Site

History

Colusa County is one of the original List of [California counties|counties of California], created in 1850 at the time of statehood. Parts of the county's territory were given to Tehama County in 1856 and to Glenn County in 1891.
The county was named after the 1844 Rancho Colus Mexican land grant to John Bidwell. The name of the county in the original state legislative act of 1850 was spelled Colusi, and often in newspapers was spelled Coluse. The word is derived from the name of a Patwin village known as Ko'-roo or Korusi located on the west side of the Sacramento River on the site of the present-day city of Colusa. The name was established as Colusa by 1855.

Early history

Present-day Colusa County was originally home to the Patwin band of the Wintun people, whose territory included areas along the Sacramento River as well as lands extending west towards Lake County, bounded in the north by the sources of Stony Creek near Stonyford and in the south by Putah Creek.
Linguistically, the Patwin people in the Colusa area spoke two dialects of the Southern Wintuan language. River Patwin was spoken in villages along the Sacramento River, including at Korusi, site of the present city of Colusa. Hill Patwin was spoken in the plains and foothills to the west.

European settlement

Present-day Colusa County was included as part of three Mexican land grants: John Bidwell's smaller 1845 Rancho Colus grant, which included the modern city of Colusa; the larger 1844 Rancho Jimeno grant, which surrounded the Colus grant; and the 1844 Larkin's Children grant, located upriver from Colusa near the present town of Princeton, California.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and is water. A large number of streams drain the county, including Elk Creek, Salt Creek, Stony Creek and Bear Creek.
The county's eastern boundary is formed, in part, by the Sacramento River.

Adjacent counties

National protected areas

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 21,839. The median age was 35.5 years, with 28.0% of residents under the age of 18 and 14.9% 65 years and older. For every 100 females there were 101.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 99.2 males age 18 and over.
The racial makeup of the county was 42.9% White, 0.9% Black or African American, 2.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3% Asian, 0.4% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 32.7% from some other race, and 19.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 61.7% of the population.
57.3% of residents lived in urban areas, while 42.7% lived in rural areas.
There were 7,227 households in the county, of which 43.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 23.3% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 20.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 8,099 housing units, of which 10.8% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 61.1% were owner-occupied and 38.9% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.3% and the rental vacancy rate was 3.9%.

2010

The 2010 United States census reported that Colusa County had a population of 21,419. The racial makeup of Colusa County was 13,854 White, 195 African American, 419 Native American, 281 Asian, 68 Pacific Islander, 5,838 from other races, and 764 from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 11,804 persons.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 18,804 people, 6,097 households, and 4,578 families residing in the county. The population density was. There were 6,774 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the county was 64.3% White, 0.6% Black or African American, 2.3% Native American, 1.2% Asian, 0.4% Pacific Islander, 26.7% from other races, and 4.5% from two or more races. 46.5% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 8.5% were of German, 5.6% English, 5.5% American and 5.4% Irish ancestry according to Census 2000. 58.7% spoke English and 40.4% Spanish as their first language.
There were 6,097 households, out of which 41.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.6% were married couples living together, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.9% were non-families. 21.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.01 and the average family size was 3.51.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 31.6% under the age of 18, 10.3% from 18 to 24, 26.9% from 25 to 44, 19.8% from 45 to 64, and 11.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 103.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.8 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $35,062, and the median income for a family was $40,138. Males had a median income of $32,210 versus $21,521 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,730. About 13.0% of families and 16.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.5% of those under age 18 and 8.2% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

Overview

In its early history Colusa was one of the most reliable Democratic counties in California. Along with Mariposa County, it was one of only two counties in the Pacific States to support Alton B. Parker in 1904. From 1880 until 1952, Colusa only went Republican during the GOP landslides of the Roaring Twenties. Since 1952, however, Colusa has become a strongly Republican county in Presidential and congressional elections, with Lyndon Johnson, in 1964, being the last Democrat to win the county.
Colusa County is in. In the State Assembly, Colusa County is in. In the State Senate, the county is in. On November 4, 2008, Colusa County voted 71.6% for Proposition 8 which amended the California Constitution to ban same-sex marriages.

Crime

The following table includes the number of incidents reported and the rate per 1,000 persons for each type of offense.

Transportation

Major highways

Public transportation

Colusa County Transit runs buses from Colusa to Williams, Arbuckle, Grimes and College City, with limited service to Maxwell.

Airports

Colusa County Airport is a general-aviation airport located near the city of Colusa. The closest major airport is in Sacramento.

Communities

Cities

Census-designated places

Unincorporated community

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2010 census of Colusa County.
† county seat
RankCity/Town/etc.Municipal typePopulation
1† 'ColusaCity5,971
2WilliamsCity5,123
3ArbuckleCDP3,028
4MaxwellCDP1,103
5GrimesCDP391
6PrincetonCDP303
7College CityCDP290
8LodogaCDP197
9StonyfordCDP149
10Colusa RancheriaAIAN76
11Cortina Rancheria'AIAN21

California Historical Landmarks

California Historical Landmarks in Colusa County: