San Bernardino County, California


San Bernardino County, officially the County of San Bernardino, is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California, and is located within the Inland Empire area. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 2,181,654, making it the fifth-most populous county in California and the 14th-most populous in the United States. The county seat is San Bernardino.
While included within the Greater Los Angeles area, San Bernardino County is included in the Riverside–San Bernardino–Fontana metropolitan statistical area.
With an area of, San Bernardino County is the largest county in the contiguous United States by area, although some of Alaska's boroughs and census areas are larger. The county is close to the size of West Virginia or the country of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and spans an area from south of the San Bernardino Mountains in San Bernardino Valley, to the Nevada border and the Colorado River.
89% of the population resides in three Census County Divisions, counting 1.93 million people as of the 2020 Census across just 9% of the county area. With a population that is 53.7% Hispanic, it is California's [List of Majority-Hispanic or Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino Counties in the U.S.|most populous majority-Hispanic county] and the second-largest nationwide.
WWW sbcounty.govR/ 909

History

Indigenous

The indigenous peoples that resided in what is now San Bernardino County were primarily the Taaqtam (Serrano) and ʔívil̃uqaletem (Cahuilla) peoples who lived in the San Bernardino Valley and the San Bernardino Mountains; the Chemehuevi and the Kawaiisu peoples who lived in the Mojave Desert region; and the 'Aha Makhav (Mohave) and the Piipaash (Maricopa) peoples who lived along the Colorado River. These groups established various villages and settlements throughout the region that were interconnected by a series of extensive trails.
Wa'aachnga was a major Tongva village site, also occupied by the Serrano and Cahuilla, located near what is now the city of San Bernardino. The village was part of an extensive trade network along the Mohave Trail that connected villages in San Bernardino County from the Colorado River to the Los Angeles Basin. Wá'peat was a Desert Serrano village located near what is now the city of Hesperia. It was part of a series of villages located along the Mojave River. By the late 1700s, villages in the area were being increasingly encroached upon by Spanish soldiers and missionaries, who were coming into the region from Mission San Gabriel.

Spanish era

Spanish Missionaries from Mission San Gabriel Arcángel established a church at the village of Wa'aachnga, which would be renamed Politania in 1810. Father Francisco Dumetz named the church San Bernardino on May 20, 1810, after the feast day of St. Bernardino of Siena. The Franciscans also gave the name San Bernardino to the snowcapped peak in Southern California, in honor of the saint and it is from him that the county derives its name. In 1819, they established the San Bernardino de Sena Estancia, a mission farm in what is now Redlands.

Mexican era

Following Mexican independence from Spain in 1821, Mexican citizens were granted land grants to establish ranchos in the area of the county. Rancho Jurupa in 1838, Rancho Cucamonga and El Rincon in 1839, Rancho Santa Ana del Chino in 1841, Rancho San Bernardino in 1842 and Rancho Muscupiabe in 1844.
Agua Mansa was the first town in what became San Bernardino County, settled by immigrants from New Mexico on land donated from the Rancho Jurupa in 1841.

Establishment

Following the purchase of Rancho San Bernardino, and the establishment of the town of San Bernardino in 1851 by Mormon colonists, San Bernardino County was formed in 1853 from parts of Los Angeles County. Some of the southern parts of the county's territory were given to Riverside County in 1893.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and is water. It is the largest county by area in California and the largest in the United States. It is slightly larger than the states of New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware and Rhode Island combined, and is also slightly larger than Switzerland. It borders both Nevada and Arizona.
The bulk of the population, nearly two million, live in the roughly 480 square miles south of the San Bernardino Mountains adjacent to Riverside and in the San Bernardino Valley in the southwestern portion of the county. About 390,000 residents live just north of the San Bernardino Mountains, in and around the roughly 280 square-mile area that includes the Victor Valley. Roughly another 100,000 people live scattered across the rest of the sprawling county.
The Mojave National Preserve covers some of the eastern desert, especially between Interstate 15 and Interstate 40. The desert portion also includes the cities of Needles next to the Colorado River and Barstow at the junction of Interstate 15 and Interstate 40. Trona is at the northwestern part of the county, west of Death Valley. This national park, mostly within Inyo County, also has a small portion of land within San Bernardino County. The largest metropolitan area in the Mojave Desert part of the county is the Victor Valley, with the incorporated localities of Adelanto, Apple Valley, Hesperia, and Victorville. Further south, a portion of Joshua Tree National Park overlaps the county near the High Desert area, in the vicinity of Twentynine Palms. The remaining towns make up the remainder of the High Desert: Pioneertown, Yucca Valley, Joshua Tree, Landers, and Morongo Valley.
The mountains are home to the San Bernardino National Forest, and include the communities of Crestline, Lake Arrowhead, Running Springs, Big Bear City, Forest Falls, and Big Bear Lake.
The San Bernardino Valley is at the eastern end of the San Gabriel Valley. The San Bernardino Valley includes the cities of Ontario, Chino, Chino Hills, Upland, Fontana, Rialto, Colton, Grand Terrace, Montclair, Rancho Cucamonga, San Bernardino, Loma Linda, Highland, Redlands, and Yucaipa.

Adjacent counties




As shown by the map on the left, San Bernardino County is bordered on the north by Inyo County; on the northeast by Clark County, Nevada; on the east by Mohave County, Arizona; on the southeast by La Paz County, Arizona; on the south by Riverside County; on the southwest by Orange County; on the west by Los Angeles County; and on the northwest by Kern County.

National protected areas

More than 80% of the county's land is owned by the federal government. There are at least 35 official wilderness areas in the county that are part of the National Wilderness Preservation System. This is the largest number of any county in the United States. The majority are managed by the Bureau of Land Management, but some are integral components of the above listed national protected areas. Most of these wilderness areas lie entirely within the county, but a few are shared with neighboring counties.
Except as noted, these wilderness areas are managed solely by the Bureau of Land Management and lie within San Bernardino County:

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 2,181,654 and a median age of 34.9 years; 25.3% of residents were under the age of 18 and 12.7% 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 95.8 males age 18 and over.
The racial makeup of the county was 35.9% White, 8.5% Black or African American, 1.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 8.4% Asian, 0.3% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 28.5% from some other race, and 16.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 53.7% of the population.
94.6% of residents lived in urban areas, while 5.4% lived in rural areas.
There were 667,836 households in the county, of which 40.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 25.8% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 18.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 731,899 housing units, of which 8.8% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 60.8% were owner-occupied and 39.2% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.3% and the rental vacancy rate was 5.0%.
Race / Ethnicity Pop 1980Pop 1990Pop 2000Pop 2010Pop 2020% 1980% 1990% 2000% 2010% 2020
White alone 653,303862,113752,222677,598566,11372.99%60.78%44.00%33.29%25.95%
Black or African American alone 46,615109,162150,201170,700173,3225.21%7.70%8.79%8.39%7.94%
Native American or Alaska Native alone 10,08410,0189,8048,5238,4121.13%0.71%0.57%0.42%0.39%
Asian alone 14,92955,38778,154123,978176,2041.67%3.90%4.57%6.09%8.08%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone xx4,3875,8456,1730.26%0.29%0.26%0.29%0.28%
Other race alone 4,2223,1183,0394,05512,1170.47%0.22%0.18%0.20%0.56%
Mixed race or Multiracial xx42,24043,36668,400xx2.47%2.13%3.14%
Hispanic or Latino 165,863378,582669,3871,001,1451,170,91318.53%26.69%39.16%49.19%53.67%
Total895,0161,418,3801,709,4342,035,2102,181,654 100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%

2010 Census

The 2010 United States census reported that San Bernardino County had a population of 2,035,210. The racial makeup of San Bernardino County was 1,153,161 White, 181,862 African American, 22,689 Native American, 128,603 Asian, 6,870 Pacific Islander, 439,661 from other races, and 102,364 from two or more races. There were 1,001,145 people of Hispanic or Latino origin, of any race.

2000

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,709,434 people, 528,594 households, and 404,374 families residing in the county. The population density was. There were 601,369 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the county was 58.9% White, 9.1% African American, 1.2% Native American, 4.7% Asian, 0.3% Pacific Islander, 20.8% from other races, and 5.0% from two or more races. 39.2% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 8.3% were of German, 5.5% English and 5.1% Irish ancestry. 66.1% spoke English, 27.7% Spanish and 1.1% Tagalog as their first language.
There were 528,594 households, out of which 43.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.8% were married couples living together, 14.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.5% were non-families. 18.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.6% had someone 65 years of age or older living alone. The average household size was 3.2 people, and the average family size was 3.6 people.
The number of homeless in San Bernardino County grew from 5,270 in 2002 to 7,331 in 2007, a 39% increase.
In the county, 32.3% of the population was under the age of 18, 10.3% was from 18 to 24, 30.2% from 25 to 44, 18.7% from 45 to 64, and 8.6% was 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.2 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $42,066, and the median income for a family was $46,574. Males had a median income of $37,025 versus $27,993 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,856. About 12.6% of families and 15.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.6% of those under age 18 and 8.4% of those age 65 or over.

Government

County government

As of 2021, the Board of Supervisors oversees a $7.9 billion annual budget and 25,430 employees.
The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors has 5 members elected from their districts:
Other County of San Bernardino Elected Officials
  • Ensen Mason
  • Chris Wilhite
  • Theodore Alejandre
  • Jason Anderson
  • Shannon Dicus

State and federal representation

In the United States House of Representatives, San Bernardino County is split among 6 congressional districts:
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In the California State Assembly, San Bernardino County is split among 10 assembly districts:
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In the California State Senate, San Bernardino County is split among 7 districts:
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Politics

San Bernardino County is a county in which candidates from both major political parties have won in recent elections. Republican Donald Trump carried the county in 2024, flipping it for the first time in a presidential race since 2004.
In past presidential elections, Democrat Joe Biden carried the county by a majority and by double digits as well as Hillary Clinton in 2016. The Democratic Party also carried the county in 2008 and 2012, when Barack Obama won majorities of the county's votes, and in 1992 and 1996, when Bill Clinton won pluralities. Republican George W. Bush took the county in 2000 by a plurality and in 2004 by a majority. The county is split between heavily Latino, middle-class, and Democratic areas and wealthier conservative areas. The heavily Latino cities of Ontario and San Bernardino went for John Kerry in 2004 but with a relatively low voter turnout. In 2006, San Bernardino's population exceeded 201,000, and in 2004, only 42,520 votes were cast in the city; that same year, strongly Republican Rancho Cucamonga had over 145,000 residents, of whom 53,054 voted.
In the 1980s, Northern San Bernardino County proposed to create Mojave County due to the abysmal service levels the county provided. Ultimately, the vote for county secession failed. The proposed county was from the Cajon Pass to the city of Needles.
In 1998, County administrator James Hlawek resigned after being subject to an FBI investigation for bribery, but only after Harry Mays, county Treasurer-Tax Collector Thomas O'Donnell, County Investment Officer Sol Levin and three businessmen had agreed to plead guilty to federal bribery charges.
In 2004, County Supervisor Gerald Eaves Pleaded guilty to bribery for accepting gifts from businesses for allowing billboards on county land.
On November 4, 2008, San Bernardino County voted 67% for Proposition 8, which amended the California Constitution to ban same-sex marriages.
From 2004 to 2016, the county was embroiled in a corruption scandal over the Colonies housing development in Upland with real estate developer Jeff Burum. The scandal resulted in $102 million being paid to Burum's real estate company. Supervisor Bill Postmus pleaded guilty to 10 felonies in regard to his previous post as county assessor. In 2020, Burum sued the county again and the county reached for a $69 million settlement. 2022, the county's insurance company, Ironside, balked at paying the settlement, claiming that the county willfully "retaliate against the Colonies II Plaintiffs as part of a decades-long dispute over land and water rights in Upland, California, culminating in a malicious prosecution of Burum."
In 2020, voters approved Measure K, which limited county supervisors to one term instead of three, while reducing pay from 250 thousand dollars to 60 thousand dollars. County Supervisors appealed the decision, only to lose in the state's appeals court. By 2022, term limits were restored and pay was restored to 80% of the annual base compensation for San Bernardino Superior Court judges under a supervisor lead ballot measure.
In 2022, The Board of supervisors were pushed by a major supervisor campaign contributor Jeff Burum to vote for secession from the State of California to form the state of Empire. A referendum in 2022 requesting the county board seek a "fair share" of government funding, by means including secession, narrowly passed.
In 2023, San Bernardino County Chief Executive Officer Leonard X. Hernandez resigned, claiming urgent family health issues, after being accused of having an affair with a county employee. After the accustation came out, the county placed Hernandez on Leave. After Hernandez resigned, Hernandez still got paid for one year after his departure.

Presidential election results and voter registration

According to the California Secretary of State, as of February 2020, there were 1,016,190 registered voters in San Bernardino County. Of those, 410,197 were registered Democrats, 298,234 were registered Republicans, with the remainder belonging to minor political parties or declining to state.

Public safety

Law enforcement

Sheriff

The county's primary law enforcement agency is the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department. The department provides law enforcement services in the unincorporated areas of the county and in 14 contract cities, operates the county jail system, provides marshal services in the county superior courts, and has numerous other divisions to serve the residents of the county.

Fire

The county operates the San Bernardino County Consolidated Fire District. The department provides "all-risk" fire, rescue, and emergency medical services to all unincorporated areas in the county except for several areas served by independent fire protection districts, and several cities that chose to contract with the department.
The San Bernardino County Fire Protection District or the San Bernardino County Fire Protection District provides fire protection and emergency medical services to the unincorporated parts of the county and 24 incorporated cities.
The department annexed the Crest Forest Fire Protection District on July 1, 2015;
the San Bernardino City and Twentynine Palms Fire Departments on July 1, 2016;
and the Upland Fire Department in July 2017.
As of April 2019 the City of Victorville declined to renew their contract with The San Bernardino County Fire Department.

District Attorney

The current district attorney is Jason Anderson, who was elected in March 2018 and took office on January 1, 2019.

Crime

The following table includes the number of incidents reported and the rate per 1,000 persons for each type of offense.
On December 2, 2015, in the city of San Bernardino, terrorists attacked a staff meeting being held in the Inland Regional Center, murdering 14 people and wounding 22.

Education

Colleges and universities

K-12 education

School districts are:
Unified:
Secondary:
Elementary:

Libraries

The San Bernardino County Library System consists of 32 branches across the county. Library services offered vary from branch to branch, but include internet access, children's story times, adult literacy services, book clubs, classes, and special events. The library system also offers e-books, digital music and movie downloads, free access to online learning through Lynda.com, and many other digital services.
City-sponsored public libraries also exist in San Bernardino County, including A. K. Smiley Public Library in Redlands, California, which was built in 1898. Other public libraries in the County include: The San Bernardino City Public Library System, Rancho Cucamonga Public Library, Upland Public Library, Colton City Library, Victorville City Library and the Ontario City Library. These libraries are separate from the county system and do not share circulation privileges.

Arts and culture

The San Bernardino County Museum in Redlands is a multidisciplinary museum offering a look at the area's past with an Inland Southern California regional focus. Its exhibits and collections draw from the cultural and natural history of San Bernardino County.
Keys Desert Queen Ranch in Joshua Tree National Park has ranger-led tours to learn about the cultural history of Keys Ranch, Native American history, mining, ranching, homesteading, the Keys family, and the site's transition into a protected historical site.
Kimberly Crest House & Gardens is a 6-acre estate in Redlands with a Victorian Chateau and Italian Renaissance styled gardens. The gardens are open to the public and the house serves as a museum offering guided tours.
The Wignall Museum of Contemporary Art at Chaffey College, Rancho Cucamonga is a non-collecting institution that features temporary exhibitions of contemporary art, education and community programming.

Transportation

Major highways

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Public transportation

Airports

Environmental quality

California Attorney General Jerry Brown sued the county in April 2007 under the state's environmental quality act for failing to account for the impact of global warming in the county's 25-year growth plan, approved in March. The Center for Biological Diversity, the Sierra Club and the Audubon Society also sued in a separate case. According to Brendan Cummings, a senior attorney for the plaintiffs: "San Bernardino has never seen a project it didn't like. They rubber-stamp development. It's very much of a frontier mentality." The plaintiffs want the county to rewrite its growth plan's environmental impact statement to include methods to measure greenhouse gases and take steps to reduce them.
According to county spokesman David Wert, only 15% of the county is controlled by the county; the rest is cities and federal and state land. However, the county says it will make sure employment centers and housing are near transportation corridors to reduce traffic and do more to promote compact development and mass transit. The county budgeted $325,000 to fight the lawsuit.
The state and the county reached a settlement in August 2007. The county agreed to amend its general plan to include a Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Plan, including an emission inventory and reduction targets. According to the LA Times in 2015, San Bernardino County had the highest levels of ozone in the United States, averaging 102 parts per billion.

Communities

Census-designated places

Unincorporated communities

Indian reservations

Ghost towns

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2020 census of San Bernardino County.
† county seat
RankCity/Town/etc.Municipal typePopulation
1† 'San BernardinoCity222,101
2FontanaCity208,393
3OntarioCity175,265
4Rancho CucamongaCity174,453
5VictorvilleCity134,810
6RialtoCity104,026
7HesperiaCity99,818
8ChinoCity91,403
9UplandCity79,040
10Chino HillsCity78,411
11Apple ValleyTown75,791
12RedlandsCity73,168
13HighlandCity56,999
14YucaipaCity54,542
15ColtonCity53,909
16AdelantoCity38,046
17MontclairCity37,865
18Twentynine PalmsCity28,065
19BarstowCity25,415
20Loma LindaCity24,791
21BloomingtonCDP24,339
22Yucca ValleyTown21,738
23PhelanCDP13,859
24Grand TerraceCity13,150
25Big Bear CityCDP12,738
26Lake ArrowheadCDP12,401
27CrestlineCDP11,650
28MuscoyCDP10,719
29Spring Valley LakeCDP9,598
30MentoneCDP9,557
31Oak HillsCDP9,450
32Fort IrwinCDP8,096
33Piñon HillsCDP7,258
34Joshua TreeCDP6,489
35Silver LakesCDP6,317
36Lucerne ValleyCDP5,331
37Running SpringsCDP5,268
38Big Bear LakeCity5,046
39NeedlesCity4,931
40WrightwoodCDP4,720
41LenwoodCDP3,623
42Morongo ValleyCDP3,514
43San Antonio HeightsCDP3,441
44Mountain View AcresCDP3,337
45Homestead ValleyCDP2,789
46Searles ValleyCDP1,565
47Colorado River Indian ReservationAIAN1,395
48Big RiverCDP1,084
49Lytle CreekCDP725
50Oak GlenCDP602
51BakerCDP442
52Chemehuevi ReservationAIAN464
53Fort Mojave Indian ReservationAIAN253
54San Manuel ReservationAIAN137
55BluewaterCDP116
56Twenty-Nine Palms Reservation'AIAN5

Places of interest

Newspapers, past and present

Chino Champion, ChinoDaily Press, VictorvilleThe Daily Report, OntarioDesert Dispatch, BarstowThe Desert Trail, Twentynine PalmsFontana Herald, FontanaHi-Desert Star, Yucca ValleyInland Valley Daily Bulletin, Rancho CucamongaNews Mirror, YucaipaRedlands Daily Facts, RedlandsThe San Bernardino Sun, San BernardinoBig Bear Grizzly, Big Bear LakeUpland News, Upland