Placer County, California


Placer County, officially the County of Placer, is located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 404,739. The county seat is Auburn.
Placer County is included in the Greater Sacramento metropolitan area. It is in both the Sacramento Valley and Sierra Nevada regions, in what is known as the Gold Country. The county stretches roughly from Sacramento's suburbs at Roseville to the Nevada border and the shore of Lake Tahoe.

Etymology

The discovery of gold in 1848 brought tens of thousands of miners from around the world during the California gold rush. In addition, many more thousands came to provide goods and services to the miners. On April 25, 1851, the fast-growing county was formed from parts of Sutter and Yuba Counties with Auburn as the county seat. Placer County took its name from the Spanish word for sand or gravel deposits containing gold. Miners washed away the gravel, leaving the heavier gold, in a process known as "placer mining".

History

Gold mining was a major industry through the 1880s, but gradually the new residents turned to farming the fertile foothill soil, harvesting timber and working for the Southern Pacific Railroad. Auburn was settled when Claude Chana discovered gold in Auburn Ravine in May 1848, and it later became a shipping and supply center for the surrounding gold camps. The cornerstone of Placer's courthouse, which is clearly visible from Interstate 80 through Auburn, was laid on July 4, 1894. The building was renovated during the late 1980s and continues to serve the public with courtrooms, a sheriff's office and the Placer County Museum. Roseville, once a small agricultural center, became a major railroad center and grew to the county's most populous city after the Southern Pacific Railroad moved its railroad switching yards there in 1908.
Loomis and Newcastle began as mining towns, but soon became centers of a booming fruit-growing industry, supporting many local packing houses. Penryn was founded by a Welsh miner, Griffith Griffith, who established a large granite quarry. Rocklin began as a railroad town and became home to a number of granite quarries. Lincoln and Sheridan continue to support ranching and farming. Lincoln also is the home of one of the county's oldest businesses, the Gladding, McBean terra cotta clay manufacturing plant, established in 1875.
The 1960 Winter Olympics were hosted in Squaw Valley, in Placer County.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of, of which is land and is water. Watercourses in Placer County include the American River and Bunch Creek. 40.96% of Lake Tahoe's surface area is in Placer County, more than in any of the four other counties in which it lies.
The county is typically divided into three regions; "South Placer" in the Central Valley and the Sierra Nevada foothills south of Auburn, "Gold Country" which consists of the Sierra Foothills around Auburn, Colfax, and Foresthill, and the Sierra Nevada which consists of all areas east of Foresthill and northeast of Colfax. Roughly 3/4ths of the population lives in South Placer, Roseville being the primary job and retail center of the county. Auburn and Lincoln are the main secondary commercial centers.

Adjacent counties

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 404,739. The median age was 42.4 years; 22.6% of residents were under the age of 18 and 20.5% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 94.8 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 92.0 males age 18 and over.
The racial makeup of the county was 71.3% White, 1.7% Black or African American, 0.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 8.8% Asian, 0.3% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 5.0% from some other race, and 12.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 15.0% of the population.
85.4% of residents lived in urban areas, while 14.6% lived in rural areas.
There were 152,101 households in the county, of which 32.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 23.5% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 23.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 172,356 housing units, of which 11.8% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 71.7% were owner-occupied and 28.3% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.0% and the rental vacancy rate was 4.9%.

Racial and ethnic composition

2010 census

The 2010 United States census reported that Placer County had a population of 348,432. The racial makeup of Placer County was 290,977 White, 4,751 African American, 3,011 Native American, 20,435 Asian, 778 Pacific Islander, 13,375 from other races, and 15,105 from two or more races. There were 4,710 Hispanics or Latinos of any race.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 248,399 people, 93,382 households, and 67,701 families residing in the county. The population density was. There were 107,302 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the county was 88.6% White, 0.8% Black or African American, 0.9% Native American, 3.0% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 3.4% from other races, and 3.2% from two or more races. 9.7% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 15.5% were of German, 12.3% English, 10.6% Irish, 7.1% Italian and 7.0% American ancestry according to Census 2000. 89.7% spoke only English at home; 6.0% spoke Spanish.
There were 93,382 households, out of which 35.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.4% were married couples living together, 9.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.5% were non-families. 21.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.06.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 26.5% under the age of 18, 6.9% from 18 to 24, 29.00% from 25 to 44, 24.5% from 45 to 64, and 13.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.9 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $57,535, and the median income for a family was $65,858. Males had a median income of $50,410 versus $33,763 for females. The per capita income for the county was $27,963. About 3.9% of families and 5.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.3% of those under age 18 and 3.8% of those age 65 or over. Unemployment in the county is just under 7% which is considerably lower than the state's average.

Politics, government, and policing

Government

County government is by a five-person four-year term elected board of supervisors from five single member districts with a board-appointed county manager and his/her department administrators.

Law enforcement

The Placer County Sheriff's Office provides court protection, jail administration, and coroner services for all of Placer County. It provides patrol, detective, and other police services for the unincorporated areas of the county plus by contract to the city of Colfax and the town of Loomis.

Politics

Voter registration

Cities by population and voter registration

CityPopulationRegistered voters
DemocraticRepublicanD-R spreadThird parties, Unknown, OtherNo party preference-
Auburn13,77610,0723,4883,724-2.34%9321,928-
Colfax1,9951,178302481-15.20%142253-
Lincoln49,75739,13512,36816,676-11.01%3,2356,856-
Loomis6,8365,0701,1212,566-28.50%478905-
Rocklin71,60147,93615,14219,173-8.41%4,0189,603-
Roseville147,773103,88235,39639,078-3.54%8,38221,026
Unincorporated Areas113,00184,20623,90237,419-16.05%7,47115,414-

Overview

In its early history Placer County was solidly Republican: it voted Republican in every election between 1860 and 1912, when Bull Moose nominee Theodore Roosevelt was California's official Republican nominee. Between 1916 and 1976, however, the county voted Republican only in three landslide elections of 1920, 1952 and 1972 – in all of which its GOP margins were much smaller than for the state or nation. Since the "Reagan Revolution" Placer County has become and remained a stronghold of the Republican Party; it consistently elects Republican public officials and has voted for presidential candidates from the party in every election since 1980.
In the United States House of Representatives, Placer County is within California's 3rd congressional district, represented by.
In the California State Senate, Placer County is split between the 1st, 4th, and 6th districts, represented by,, and, respectively.
In the California State Assembly, the county is split between the 1st, 3rd, and 5th districts, represented by,, and respectively.