Madera County, California

Madera County, officially the County of Madera, is a county located at the geographic center of the U.S. state of California. It features a varied landscape, encompassing the eastern San Joaquin Valley and the central Sierra Nevada, with Madera serving as the county seat. Established in 1893 from part of Fresno County, Madera County reported a population of 156,255 in the 2020 census.
The name Madera is Spanish for "wood," a reference to the county’s early lumber industry. Portions of Yosemite National Park lie within the county, and tourism, along with agriculture—particularly almonds, grapes, and pistachios—form major parts of the local economy. According to the United States Census Bureau, the county’s median household income is below the state average, and its poverty rate is higher than the California average.
According to the United States Census Bureau, 59.6% of Madera County’s population identifies as Hispanic or Latino, and 20.3% of residents are foreign-born, both above the national averages. Nearly half of the county’s residents speak a language other than English at home. The area also has a significant Native American population, and its history includes immigration and migration dating back to the California Gold Rush.

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Etymology

Madera is the Spanish term for wood. The county derives its name from the town of Madera, named when the [Madera Sugar Pine, California|Sugar Pine Company|California Lumber Company] built a log flume to carry lumber to the Central Pacific Railroad there in 1876.

History

Madera County was formed in 1893 from Fresno County during a special election held in Fresno on May 16, 1893. Citizens residing in the area that was to become Madera County voted 1,179 to 358 for separation from Fresno County and the establishment of Madera County.
The Madera County Sheriff's Department employed the first woman in California to die in the line of duty as a sworn law enforcement officer—Tulare native Lucille Helm. For 15 years, the Madera housewife and mother of four worked on call as a "matron" assisting with female transfers.

Human history

Native People

The region now known as Madera County was historically inhabited by the Mono, Chukchansi, and Miwok. The Mono lived along the upper San Joaquin River, including areas near North Fork and Crane Valley. The Chukchansi occupied lands around present-day Oakhurst, Coarsegold, Ahwahnee, and the lower foothills of the San Joaquin Valley. The Miwok lived in the areas of Ahwahnee, Wawona, Mariposa, and the Yosemite Valley.
Following the California Gold Rush, many Native American communities were displaced during events such as the Mariposa War and by the Act for the Government and Protection of Indians. The establishment of the Sierra National Forest in 1897 required land-use permits available only to citizens, which excluded Native Americans until citizenship was extended under the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924.

Immigration and Migration

Early United States Era

Following the Mexican–American War, the region retained a significant population of residents of Mexican descent. During the California Gold Rush, people from across the United States and abroad settled in the area. Chinese laborers contributed to construction of the Madera Flume and worked in the Sugar Pine lumber yards. Their numbers declined after federal immigration restrictions such as the Chinese Exclusion Act and the Immigration Act of 1917. Mexican immigrants later filled many of these labor roles.

20th century

In the 1930s, Madera County received significant numbers of refugees from the Dust Bowl, particularly from Oklahoma and Arkansas.
During the mid-20th century, the Bracero Program brought agricultural laborers from Mexico to address shortages during World War II and the Korean War. The Madera County Chamber of Commerce supported extending the program, which ended in 1964. After the program ended, migration from Mexico continued. By the 1990s, an estimated 5,000 Mixtec migrants from Oaxaca were working in the county’s agricultural sector.

Geography

Madera County includes portions of the San Joaquin Valley, the Sierra Nevada foothills, and the Sierra Nevada mountains. Part of Yosemite National Park lies within the county. Major waterways include sections of the San Joaquin River and several reservoirs.
The county has a total area of, of which is land and, or 0.8 percent, is water. The highest point is Mount Ritter, at.
Climate ranges from arid in the valley to alpine in the higher elevations of the Sierra Nevada.
Madera County is part of the Madera AVA wine region.

National protected areas

Demographics

2020 Census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 156,255 and a median age of 35.0 years; 27.5 percent of residents were under the age of 18 and 14.7 percent were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 99.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 98.0 males age 18 and over.
The racial makeup of the county was 41.8% White, 2.9% Black or African American, 4.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.5% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 31.6% from some other race, and 16.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 59.6% of the population.
61.4% of residents lived in urban areas, while 38.6 percent lived in rural areas.
There were 45,607 households in the county, of which 42.6 percent had children under the age of 18 living with them and 23.5 percent had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 17.2 percent of all households were made up of individuals and 9.3 percent had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 49,572 housing units, of which 8.0 percent were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 64.0 percent were owner-occupied and 36.0 percent were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.4 percent and the rental vacancy rate was 3.1 percent.

2022 American Community Survey

According to the 2022 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, the county’s median household income was $76,920, compared to $91,551 for California and $69,717 nationally, and the poverty rate was 24.3 percent, higher than the state average of 12.2 percent and the national average of 22.0 percent.
The homeownership rate was 69.0 percent, compared with 55.8 percent statewide, and median gross rent was $1,189, below the California average of $1,870.
Educational attainment was below the state average, with 21.4 percent of residents holding a bachelor’s degree or higher.
In 2022, 59.6 percent of residents identified as Hispanic or Latino, 20.3 percent of the population was foreign-born, and about 46.5 percent reported speaking a language other than English at home.

Immigration estimates

Estimates place the number of undocumented immigrants in the county between 12,500 and 15,000.

Racial and ethnic composition

The following table presents racial and ethnic composition across multiple decennial censuses.

Race / Ethnicity	Pop 1980	Pop 1990	Pop 2000	Pop 2010	Pop 2020	% 1980	% 1990	% 2000	% 2010	% 2020
White alone	42,136	52,974	57,391	57,380	48,399	66.76%	60.14%	46.62%	38.03%	30.97%
Black or African American alone	2,072	2,294	4,710	5,009	4,131	3.28%	2.60%	3.83%	3.32%	2.64%
Native American or Alaska Native alone	1,045	1,165	1,694	1,790	1,738	1.66%	1.32%	1.38%	1.19%	1.11%
Asian alone	625	1,084	1,480	2,533	3,581	0.99%	1.23%	1.20%	1.68%	2.29%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone	x	x	160	107	122	0.13%	0.07%	0.13%	0.07%	0.08%
Other race alone	322	173	287	649	723	0.51%	0.20%	0.23%	0.43%	0.46%
Mixed race or Multiracial	x	x	2,872	2,405	4,383	x	x	2.33%	1.59%	2.81%
Hispanic or Latino	16,916	30,400	54,515	80,992	93,178	26.80%	34.51%	44.28%	53.69%	59.63%
Total	63,116	88,090	123,109	150,865	156,255	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%

Economy

19th and 20th century

Madera County's origins are deeply rooted in boom-and-bust cycles, primarily driven by extractive industries. Initially, the county's economy was heavily reliant on mineral extraction and timber harvesting. Over time, agriculture and ag related industries became the predominant employer and economic force.

Gold

Gold mining in Madera County began during the California Gold Rush. When the county was created in 1893 from a portion of Fresno County, it included many of the region’s productive mines. These were located along the contact between the Sierra Nevada batholith and older schist and slate formations, extending from Grub Gulch to Hildreth.
Grub Gulch developed in the late 19th century as a mining settlement near present-day Highway 49. At its peak, the town supported several businesses, including saloons, a general store, a post office, and a boarding house. Of the estimated $1.35 million in gold extracted from Madera County, about $1 million came from mines in the Grub Gulch area.
By the 1950s, production had declined to dredging operations along the Fresno, Chowchilla, and San Joaquin Rivers, with little activity after 1959.

Tungsten

In the mid-20th century, tungsten was mined in Madera County’s High Sierra near Mammoth Lakes, Central Camp, and Fish Camp. The Strawberry Tungsten Mine was valued at $1 million in 1955 and by 1981 had the capacity to process 310 metric tons of ore daily.
Mining in the region declined in the 1980s due to lower tungsten prices and competition from imports, particularly from China. Tungsten production in Madera County and the Sierra Nevada has since ceased.

Lumber

The first sawmill in Madera County was constructed in 1852 on the east fork of Redwood Creek, north of Oakhurst, in an area known as Old Corral. It supplied lumber to miners and settlers in the Coarsegold and Fresno Flats areas. In 1854, Charles Converse and Bill Chitister relocated the mill to Crane Valley, now Bass Lake.
In 1872, the California Lumber Company established a steam mill near Nelder Grove and constructed a log flume to transport lumber to Madera. The company was reorganized in 1874 and operated for several decades.
Logging operations in the county declined during the Great Depression. Activity resumed in 1941 with the opening of a new sawmill in North Fork, which used trucks and modern equipment to reach deeper areas of the Sierra National Forest. The industry contracted again in the early 1990s due to federal regulations that reduced timber harvests. The North Fork mill closed in February 1994.
The North Fork Loggers Jamboree is held annually to commemorate the county’s logging history.

21st century

Employment

Madera County's employment sectors are a blend of traditional industries like farming and manufacturing, coupled hospitality and service-oriented fields. Based on the average employment percentages from 2015 to 2022, the employment sectors in Madera County are ranked as follows:

Sector	Employment Share
Government	12.71%
Farm	12.08%
Health & Education	11.08%
Wholesale & Retail Trade	5.45%
Leisure	4.26%
Professional Services	3.63%
Manufacturing	3.31%
Construction	2.14%
Transportation and Utilities	1.44%
Financial Activities	0.71%
Information	0.30%

The sectors that saw the largest decrease in the period were information, financial activities and manufacturing. Looking towards the future, Government, Health and Education and Professional Sectors are forecast to be the fastest growing employment sectors.

Agriculture

Agriculture is a major sector of Madera County’s economy. In 2022, the county’s gross crop value was reported at $1.9 billion. The leading commodities were almonds, grapes, and pistachios. Cattle ranching and pollination services also ranked among the county’s top five agricultural sectors.
Madera County ranked first in California for fig production, and fourth statewide in almonds, pistachios, and grapes.

Commodity	2022 Rank	2022 Dollar Value	2021 Rank
Almonds, Nuts & Hulls	1	$570,739,000	1
Milk	2	$454,727,000	2
Grapes	3	$233,893,000	3
Pistachios	4	$227,873,000	4
Pollination	5	$66,880,000	5
Cattle & Calves	6	$62,317,000	6
Mandarins & Tangerines	7	$45,036,000	7
Corn Silage	8	$37,293,000	9
Replacement Heifers	9	$34,255,000	8
Alfalfa, Hay & Silage*	10	$26,845,000	**

In the 1990s Mixtec farmworkers were a large presence in the southern part of the state, and were beginning to filter northwards here along with other Mexican indigenous agricultural laborers to work in the county's farms.

Education

Madera County is mostly covered by the State Center Community College District centered on Fresno City College in Fresno. Other districts with territory within Madera County also include the West Hills Community College District and the Merced Community College District.
School districts include:
Unified:

Chawanakee Unified School District
Firebaugh-Las Deltas Unified School District
Golden Valley Unified School District
Madera Unified School District
Yosemite Unified School District - Includes some sections zoned for K-12 and some for grades 9–12 only

Secondary:

Chowchilla Union High School District

Elementary:

Government, policing, and politics

Government

The government of Madera County is mandated by the California Constitution to have a five-member Board of Supervisors elected to staggered four-year terms. The Board of Supervisors: District 1, Jordan Wamhoff; District 2, David Rogers; District 3, Robert Poythress; District 4, Leticia Gonzalez; District 5, Robert Macaulay; and County Administrator, Jay Varney; and staff provide for voter registration and elections, law enforcement, jails, vital records, property records, tax collection, public health, roads, and social services for the entire county. It is the local government for all unincorporated areas. Other elected offices include the Sheriff, Tyson Pogue; District Attorney, Sally Orme Moreno; Assessor, Brian Glover ; Auditor-Controller, David Richstone; Treasurer-Tax Collector, Tracy Kennedy; and Clerk/Registrar of Voters-Recorder, Rebecca Martinez.

Policing

Madera County Sheriff's Office

The Sheriff's Office and staff provide court protection, jail administration, and coroner service for all of Madera County with its total population of approximately 156,000 residents. The Sheriff provides police patrol and detective services to the unincorporated areas of the county, which contain approximately 70,000 residents, or 45% of Madera County's total population. The Sheriff's main station and offices are in the City of Madera. There are two Sheriff's substations: Oakhurst, population 3,000, and The Madera Ranchos, population 12,000, both on Highway 41 to Yosemite National Park in the Sierras.

Municipal police departments

The municipal police departments within Madera County are Madera, the county seat, population 62,000, and Chowchilla, population 19,600.

Correctional Facilities

Madera County has three correctional facilities. The first is the Madera County Jail, managed by the elected Sheriff. The second, Valley State Prison, is a state-run prison located in Chowchilla. The third, the Central California Women's Facility, is also in Chowchilla, across from Valley State Prison. Inmates are counted in the county's census population.

Overview

Madera is a strongly Republican county in presidential and congressional elections. The last Democrat to win a majority in the county was Jimmy Carter in 1976.
Madera is split between the 5th and 13th congressional districts, represented by and, respectively.
With respect to the California State Assembly, the county is split between, and.
In the California State Senate, Madera is split between, and.
On November 4, 2008, Madera County voted 73.4% for Proposition 8, which amended the California Constitution to define marriage as a union between one man and one woman.
The county is one of three counties in California to establish a separate department to deal with corrections, pursuant to California Government Code §23013, the Madera County Department of Corrections, along with Napa County and Santa Clara County. The officers receive their powers under 831 and 831.5 of the California Penal Code.

Crime

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

Attractions

Transportation

Major highways

Areas Inaccessible by Road

Eastern Madera County includes areas such as Devils Postpile National Monument and Minaret Summit that are not accessible by road from the rest of the county. Access is through California State Route 203, which crosses into Mono County and connects to Mammoth Lakes. Red's Meadow Road branches from this route to reach Devils Postpile.
A gap of less than separates the end of Minaret Road, extending northeast from North Fork, from the terminus of Red’s Meadow Road in the Eastern Sierra. In the 20th century, proposals were advanced to link the San Joaquin Valley and the Eastern Sierra by highway or tunnel across Minaret Summit. To preserve the option for such a project, an area southwest of the summit was excluded from the Wilderness Act of 1964.
In the 1970s, Governor Ronald Reagan opposed the highway proposal after visiting the region. The area was later designated as wilderness under the California Wilderness Act of 1984.

Public transportation

Madera County Connection provides service between the cities of Madera and Chowchilla. Routes also run to eastern Madera County. A connection to Fresno can be made at Valley Children's Hospital near the county line.
The cities of Madera and Chowchilla also have their own local, intracity transit services named Madera Metro and Chowchilla Area Transit, respectively.
Greyhound buses and Amtrak trains stop in Madera

Airports

Madera Municipal Airport and Chowchilla Airport are general aviation airports.

Communities

Cities

Census-designated places

Unincorporated communities

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2010 census of Madera County.
† county seat

Rank	City/Town/etc.	Municipal type	Population
1	† 'Madera	City	61,416
2	Chowchilla	City	18,720
3	Madera Acres	CDP	9,163
4	Bonadelle Ranchos-Madera Ranchos	CDP	8,569
5	Yosemite Lakes	CDP	4,952
6	Oakhurst	CDP	2,829
7	Parksdale	CDP	2,621
8	Parkwood	CDP	2,268
9	Ahwahnee	CDP	2,246
10	Coarsegold	CDP	1,840
11	Fairmead	CDP	1,447
12	Rolling Hills	CDP	742
13	Bass Lake	CDP	527
14	Nipinnawasee	CDP	475
15	La Vina	CDP	279
16	Picayune Rancheria (Chukchansi Indians)	AIAN	69
17	Northfork Rancheria (Mono Indians)'	AIAN	60