Tulare County, California Explained

Tulare County, California
Settlement Type:County
Image Map1:Map of California highlighting Tulare County.svg
Mapsize1:200px
Map Caption1:Location in the state of California
Coordinates:36.23°N -118.8°W
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:United States
Subdivision Type1:State
Subdivision Name1:California
Subdivision Type2:Regions
Subdivision Name2:San Joaquin Valley and Sierra Nevada
Subdivision Type3:Metro area
Subdivision Name3:Visalia-Porterville Metropolitan Area
Established Title:Incorporated
Established Date:1852
Named For:Tulare Lake, which is named for the tule rush that lined its shores
Seat Type:County seat
Seat:Visalia
Seat1 Type:Largest city
Seat1:Visalia
Parts Type:Incorporated cities
Parts:8
Government Type:Council–CAO
Governing Body:Board of Supervisors
Leader Title:Chair[1]
Leader Name:Eddie Valero
Leader Title1:Vice Chair[2]
Leader Name1:Dennis Townsend
Leader Title2:Board of Supervisors[3]
Leader Title3:Administrative Officer
Leader Name3:Jason Britt[4]
Unit Pref:US
Area Total Sq Mi:4839
Area Land Sq Mi:4823
Area Water Sq Mi:14
Elevation Max Footnotes:[5]
Elevation Max Ft:14501
Population Total:473117
Population As Of:2020
Population Density Sq Mi:auto
Timezone:Pacific
Utc Offset:-8
Timezone Dst:PDT
Utc Offset Dst:-7
Area Code Type:Area code
Area Code:559, 661
Blank Name Sec1:FIPS code
Blank Info Sec1:06-107
Blank1 Name Sec1:GNIS feature ID
Blank Name Sec2:Congressional districts
Blank Info Sec2:20th, 21st, 22nd

Tulare County is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 473,117.[6] The county seat is Visalia.[7] The county is named for Tulare Lake, once the largest freshwater lake west of the Great Lakes. Drained for agricultural development, the site is now in Kings County, which was created in 1893 from the western portion of the formerly larger Tulare County.

Tulare County comprises the Visalia-Porterville, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area. The county is located south of Fresno, spanning from the San Joaquin Valley east to the Sierra Nevada.

Sequoia National Park is located in the county, as is part of Kings Canyon National Park, in its northeast corner (shared with Fresno County), and part of Mount Whitney, on its eastern border (shared with Inyo County). As of the 2020 census, the population was 473,117, up from 442,179 at the 2010 census.

History

The land was occupied for thousands of years by the Yokuts. Beginning in the eighteenth century, Spain established missions to colonize California and convert the American Indians to Christianity. Comandante Pedro Fages, while hunting for deserters in the Central Valley in 1772, discovered a great lake surrounded by marshes and filled with rushes; he named it Los Tules (the tules). It is from this lake that the county derives its name. The root of the name Tulare is found in the Nahuatl word tullin, designating cattail or similar reeds.

In 1805, 1806 and again in 1816, the Spanish out of Mission San Luis Obispo explored Lake Tulare.[8] Bubal was a native village located on the Western side of Lake Tulare. In 1816, Fr. Luis Martinez of Mission San Luis Obispo arrived at Bubal with soldiers and armed Christian Northern Chumash pressuring the people to send their children for baptism at his mission on the coast. Conflict broke out, and Martinez's party burned Bubal to the ground, destroying the cache of food harvested for the winter.[9] Although Bubal's relationship with the Christian Salinans under Fr. Cabot at Mission San Miguel was better, between 1816 and 1834, Bubal was a center of native resistance. The marshes around Lake Tulare were impenetrable by Spanish horses, which gave the Yokuts a military advantage. At one point, the Spanish considered building a presidio with 100 soldiers at Bubal to control the resistance, but that never came to pass. The Spanish called the natives of the area Tulareños, and before 1816 and after 1834, they were incorporated into Mission San Miguel and Mission San Luis Obispo.

After Mexico achieved independence, it continued to rule California. After the Mexican Cession and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848, the area became part of the United States. Tulare County was soon formed from parts of Mariposa County only four years later in 1852. There were two early attempts to split off a new Buena Vista County in 1855 and Coso County in 1864, but both failed. Parts of the county's territory were given to Fresno County in 1856, to Kern County and Inyo County in 1866 and to Kings County in 1893.

The infectious disease Tularemia caused by the bacterium Francisella tularensis is named after Tulare County.

In 1908 Colonel Allen Allensworth and associates founded the town of Allensworth as a black farming community. They intended to develop a place where African Americans could thrive free of white discrimination. It was the only community in California founded, financed and governed by African Americans. While its first years were highly successful, the community encountered environmental problems from dropping water tables which eventually caused it to fail. Today the historic area is preserved as the Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and, or 0.3%, is water.[10]

Adjacent counties

National protected areas

Sequoia National Park

Sequoia National Park is a national park in the southern Sierra Nevada, east of Visalia. It was established in 1890 as the second U.S. national park, after Yellowstone. The park spans 404051acres. Encompassing a vertical relief of nearly 13000feet, the park contains among its natural resources the highest point in the contiguous 48 United States, Mount Whitney, at above sea level. The park is south of and contiguous with Kings Canyon National Park; the two are administered by the National Park Service as one unit, called Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks.

Flora

Tulare County is rich in native plant species due in part to a diversity in habitats, including creeks, rivers, hills, and mountains. Native plants include incense cedar (Calocedrus decurrens), valley oak (Quercus lobata), California bay (Umbellularia californica), manzanita (Arctostaphylos manzanita), Salvia spathacea, mountain mahogany (Cercocarpus betuloides), milkweed (Asclepias speciosa), Epilobium cleistogamum, monkeyflower (Mimulus), Penstemon, California melic (Melica californica), and deer grass (Muhlenbergia rigens).[11]

Government and policing

Administration

Tulare County is a general law county under the California Constitution. That is, it does not have a county charter. The county is governed by a five-member Board of Supervisors. Supervisors are elected by districts for four-year terms. There are no term limits in effect. The chairman and vice-chairman are elected annually by the Board of Supervisors from among its members.

Sheriff

The Tulare County Sheriff provides court protection, county jail operation, patrol and detective functions in the unincorporated areas of the county. Incorporated towns have municipal police departments or contract with the Sheriff for their police operations.

Transportation

Major highways

Public transportation

Tulare County Area Transit (TCaT) provides an intracounty bus service linking the population centers. One TCaT route connects to Delano in Kern County.

The cities of Tulare, Porterville, and Visalia have their own local intracity bus services.

Greyhound Lines provides long-distance, intercity bus service outside the county.

Airports

The Porterville Municipal Airport, located 3nmi from Downtown Porterville. The airport offers general aviation to the public; it is also home to Porterville Air Attack Base on the south part of the airport. The Visalia Municipal Airport is a city-owned airport for the city of Visalia, California. Mefford Field is a city-owned general aviation airport located in Tulare.

The nearest full-operation commercial airports are Bakersfield's Meadows Field Airport to the south, and Fresno's Fresno Yosemite International Airport to the north. V-LINE buses operate daily service between the Visalia Transit Center and the Fresno Airport.

Crime

The following table includes the number of incidents reported and the rate per 1,000 persons for each type of offense, as of 2019.

Cities by population and crime rates

Demographics

2020 census

Tulare County, California - Demographic Profile
(NH = Non-Hispanic)!Race / Ethnicity!Pop 2010[16] !Pop 2020[17] !% 2010!% 2020
White alone (NH)143,935125,02232.55%26.43%
Black or African American alone (NH)5,4975,3321.24%1.13%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)3,3233,4580.75%0.73%
Asian alone (NH)14,20415,9973.21%3.38%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)3705110.08%0.11%
Some Other Race alone (NH)6412,1320.14%0.45%
Mixed Race/Multi-Racial (NH)6,14410,7701.39%2.28%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)268,065309,89560.62%65.50%
Total442,179473,117100.00%100.00%
Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.

The 2020 United States Census reported that Tulare County had a population of 473,117 and the population was spread out, with 31.0% under the age of 18, 69.0% from 18 to 64, 6.5% from 65 to 74, 3.2% from 75 to 84 and 1.4% who were 85 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years.

The racial makeup of Tulare County including Hispanics was 186,255 (39.4%) White, 6,668 (1.4%) African American, 10,645 (2.2%) Native American, 17,194 (3.6%) Asian, 723 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 165,230 (34.9%) from other races, and 86,402 (18.2%) from two or more races. There were 309,895 people (65.5%) of Hispanic or Latino origin, of any race.[18] 3.7% were of German, 3.2% English, 2.8% Irish, 2.4% Portuguese and 2.3% American ancestry according to Census 2020. 48.7% spoke English, 47.4% Spanish and 1.0% Indo-European as their first language.

There were 144,109 households, out of which 45.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.5% were married couples living together, 15.2% had a male householder with no spouse present, 24.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 20.8% were non-families, and 8.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.20 and the average family size was 3.57.

There were 150,652 household units, and 141,987 occupied housing units in the county. The population density was 98.1/mi2.[19]

The median income for a household in the county was $57,692, and the median income for a family was $53,330. The per capita income for the county was $23,096.[20] About 18.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.0% of those under age 18 and 13.8% of those age 65 or over.

2011

Places by population, race, and income

2010 Census

The 2010 United States Census reported that Tulare County had a population of 442,179. The racial makeup of Tulare County was 265,618 (60.1%) White, 7,196 (1.6%) African American, 6,993 (1.6%) Native American, 15,176 (3.4%) Asian, 509 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 128,263 (29.0%) from other races, and 18,424 (4.2%) from two or more races. There were 268,065 people (60.6%) of Hispanic or Latino origin, of any race.

2000 Census

As of the census[31] of 2000, there were 368,021 people, 110,385 households, and 87,093 families residing in the county. The population density was 76/mi2. There were 119,639 housing units at an average density of 25/mi2. The racial makeup of the county was 58.1% White, 1.6% Black or African American, 1.6% Native American, 3.3% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 30.8% from other races, and 4.6% from two or more races. 50.8% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 6.2% were of American, 5.7% German and 5.0% English ancestry according to Census 2000. 56.3% spoke English, 38.9% Spanish and 1.1% Portuguese as their first language.

There were 110,385 households, out of which 44.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.1% were married couples living together, 14.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.1% were non-families. 17.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.28 and the average family size was 3.67.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 33.8% under the age of 18, 10.6% from 18 to 24, 27.6% from 25 to 44, 18.2% from 45 to 64, and 9.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females there were 100.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.7 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $33,983, and the median income for a family was $36,297. Males had a median income of $30,892 versus $24,589 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,006. About 18.8% of families and 23.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 32.6% of those under age 18 and 10.5% of those age 65 or over.

Metropolitan Statistical Area

The United States Office of Management and Budget has designated Tulare County as the Visalia-Porterville, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area.[32] The United States Census Bureau ranked the Visalia-Porterville, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area as the 111th most populous metropolitan statistical area of the United States as of July 1, 2012.[33]

The Office of Management and Budget has further designated the Visalia-Porterville, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area as a component of the more extensive Visalia-Porterville-Hanford, CA Combined Statistical Area,[32] the 80th most populous combined statistical area and the 92nd most populous primary statistical area of the United States as of July 1, 2012.[33] [34]

According to the United States Census Bureau, Tulare County is the 7th largest county in California by total area.

Politics

Voter registration statistics

Cities by population and voter registration

Overview

Tulare is a strongly Republican county in presidential and congressional elections. The last Democratic candidate for president to win a majority in the county was Lyndon Johnson in 1964. In the 2016 presidential election, Republican candidate and overall winner, Donald Trump, won Tulare by a 9.39% margin of victory, the closest margin of victory for a Republican in the county since Richard Nixon's 8.37% margin in 1960. The Republican advantage narrowed further in the 2020 presidential election when Donald Trump won the county by a 7.82% margin despite losing nationally to Joe Biden, the closest margin of victory for a Republican in the county since Dwight D. Eisenhower's 5.33% margin in 1956.

In the United States House of Representatives, Tulare County is split between three congressional districts:[37]

In the California State Senate, it is split between two legislative districts:[38]

In the California State Assembly, the county is represented by the 33rd Assembly district, represented by Republican Devon Mathis, and the 32nd Assembly District, represented by Republican Vince Fong. [39]

Economy

The dairy industry, with sales of milk products, brings in the most revenue for the county, typically more than US$1 billion a year annually. Oranges, grapes, and cattle-related commodities also earn hundreds of millions of dollars annually.

In 2001, Tulare became the most productive county in the U.S. in terms of agricultural revenues, at US$3.5 billion annually. It surpassed Fresno County's US$3.2 billion, which had held the top spot for over two decades. Due to the importance of agriculture in the county as well as its location in the state, since 1968 the city of Tulare has been the site of the annual World Ag Expo,[40] the world's largest agricultural exposition.

Minor league sports teams, such as the baseball Visalia Rawhide of the class-A level California League (an affiliate to the Arizona Diamondbacks), two teams of the Minor League Football Association in Tulare and Visalia, and four teams of the Central California Basketball League based in Porterville, attract many residents and add to the amenities in the county.

Top employers

According to the county's 2020 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,[41] the top employers in the county are:

Employer
  1. of Employees
1County of Tulare5,106
2Visalia Unified School District3,355
3Kaweah Delta Medical Center2,000
4Sierra View District Hospital1,800
5Ruiz Food Production, Inc1,800
6Wal-Mart Distribution Center1,692
7Porterville Developmental Center1,173
8College of the Sequoias1,160
9Jostens720
10City of Visalia653

Utilities and infrastructure

Electricity service in Tulare County is provided by Southern California Edison and PG&E. Gas is provided by SoCalGas and PG&E. TV and Internet service is provided by several companies, such as Spectrum, DISH, DirecTV and HughesNET.

Communities

Cities

Census designated places

Former census designated places

Other unincorporated communities

Indian reservation

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2020 census of Tulare County.[42]

† county seat

RankCity/Town/etc.Municipal typePopulation (2020 Census)
1† Visalia City154,048
2Tulare City77,101
3Porterville City77,681
4Dinuba City34,855
5Lindsay City17,729
6Farmersville City10,397
7Exeter City10,334
8Orosi CDP8,329
9Earlimart CDP7,679
10East Porterville CDP5,549
11Woodlake City7,419
12Cutler CDP4,480
13Ivanhoe CDP4,468
t-14Pixley CDP3,828
t-14Terra Bella CDP2,910
15Goshen CDP4,968
16Richgrove CDP2,358
17Strathmore CDP2,830
18Tipton CDP2,519
19Poplar-Cotton Center CDP2,370
20Three Rivers CDP2,053
21London CDP1,518
22Patterson Tract CDP1,888
23Woodville CDP1,680
24Teviston CDP1,185
25Matheny CDP1,125
26Tule River Reservation[43] AIAN1,250
27Alpaugh CDP1,026
28Plainview CDP871
29Springville CDP967
30Linnell Camp CDP696
31East Tulare Villa CDP773
32Sultana CDP779
33Traver CDP731
34Ducor CDP616
35West Goshen CDP536
36East Orosi CDP423
37Seville CDP446
38Allensworth CDP531
39Delft Colony CDP412
40Lindcove CDP189
41Tooleville CDP286
42Tonyville CDP329
43Lemon Cove CDP298
44Yettem CDP201
45Monson CDP152
46Pine Flat CDP206
47Rodriguez Camp CDP133
48El Rancho CDP96
49Waukena CDP80
50Camp Nelson CDP106
51Pierpoint CDP59
52Idlewild CDP32
53Panorama Heights CDP44
54California Hot Springs CDP50
55Hartland CDP69
56Kennedy Meadows CDP58
57Sugarloaf Saw Mill CDP14
58Ponderosa CDP51
t-59McClenney Tract CDP15
t-59Posey CDP23
t-59Sequoia Crest CDP24
t-59Sugarloaf Village CDP7
60Poso Park CDP9
61Wilsonia CDP14
t-62Cedar Slope CDP10
t-62Silver City CDP0
t-62Sugarloaf Mountain Park CDP0

See also

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Eddie Valero, District 4 - Chairman - Board of Supervisors .
  2. Web site: Dennis Townsend, District 5 - Vice Chair - Board of Supervisors .
  3. Web site: County Supervisors - Board of Supervisors .
  4. Web site: County Administrative Officer - CAO . County of Tulare . February 8, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150209054200/http://www.tularecounty.ca.gov/cao/index.cfm/county-administrative-officer/ . February 9, 2015. dead .
  5. Web site: Mount Whitney. Peakbagger.com. February 9, 2015.
  6. Web site: Tulare County, California. United States Census Bureau. January 30, 2022.
  7. Web site: Find a County. June 7, 2011. National Association of Counties.
  8. S. F. . Cook . 1958 . Colonial Expeditions to the Interior of California Central Valley, 1800–1820 . Anthropological Records . 16 . 6 . 243, 245, 271 . June 14, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200614054559/https://digitalassets.lib.berkeley.edu/anthpubs/ucb/text/ucar016-007.pdf . dead . 0068-6336 . May 10, 2020 . Alt URL
  9. Book: Randall . Milliken . John . Johnson . 2005 . An ethnogeography of Salinan and Northern Chumash communities, 1769–1810 . Davis, California . Far Western Anthropological Research Group . 22 .
  10. Web site: US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990. United States Census Bureau. April 23, 2011. February 12, 2011.
  11. Web site: Drought-tolerant native plants . Sequoia Riverlands Trust . November 22, 2009 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20111009170452/http://www.sequoiariverlands.org/pdf/native-plants.pdf . October 9, 2011 .
  12. Web site: 2020 Geography Profile - Redistricting Data. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20211205162510/https://data.census.gov/cedsci/profile?g=0500000US06107. December 5, 2021. December 5, 2021. United States Census Bureau.
  13. Web site: September 28, 2020. Offenses Known to Law Enforcement – California, 2019. Uniform Crime Reporting – Federal Bureau of Investigation.
  14. Only larceny-theft cases involving property over $400 in value are reported as property crimes.
  15. https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2019/crime-in-the-u.s.-2019/tables/table-8/table-8-state-cuts/california.xls Crime in the United States, 2019, Table 8 (California)
  16. Web site: P2 HISPANIC OR LATINO, AND NOT HISPANIC OR LATINO BY RACE - 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) - Tulare County, California. United States Census Bureau.
  17. Web site: P2 HISPANIC OR LATINO, AND NOT HISPANIC OR LATINO BY RACE - 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) - Tulare County, California. United States Census Bureau.
  18. Web site: Total Population - Decennial Census Data. December 5, 2021. data.census.gov.
  19. Web site: August 12, 2021. 2020 Census Population and Housing Map. December 5, 2021. US Census Bureau - Tableau Public.
  20. Web site: Census profile: Tulare County. December 5, 2021. Census Reporter. en.
  21. U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B02001. U.S. Census website. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
  22. U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B03003. U.S. Census website. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
  23. U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B19301. U.S. Census website. Retrieved October 21, 2013.
  24. U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B19013. U.S. Census website. Retrieved October 21, 2013.
  25. U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B19113. U.S. Census website. Retrieved October 21, 2013.
  26. U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. U.S. Census website. Retrieved October 21, 2013.
  27. Other = Some other race + Two or more races
  28. Native American = Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander + American Indian or Alaska Native
  29. U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B01003. U.S. Census website. Retrieved October 21, 2013.
  30. Data unavailable
  31. Web site: U.S. Census website. United States Census Bureau. May 14, 2011.
  32. Web site: OMB Bulletin No. 13-01: Revised Delineations of Metropolitan Statistical Areas, Micropolitan Statistical Areas, and Combined Statistical Areas, and Guidance on Uses of the Delineations of These Areas. February 28, 2013. National Archives. Office of Management and Budget. March 20, 2013.
  33. Web site: Table 1. Annual Estimates of the Population of Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2012. CSV. 2012 Population Estimates. United States Census Bureau, Population Division. March 2013. March 20, 2013. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20130401093220/http://www.census.gov/popest/data/metro/totals/2012/tables/CBSA-EST2012-01.csv. April 1, 2013.
  34. Web site: Table 2. Annual Estimates of the Population of Combined Statistical Areas: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2012. CSV. 2012 Population Estimates. United States Census Bureau, Population Division. March 2013. March 20, 2013. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20130517083619/http://www.census.gov/popest/data/metro/totals/2012/tables/CBSA-EST2012-02.csv. May 17, 2013.
  35. California Secretary of State. February 10, 2021 - Report of Registration Retrieved December 7, 2021.
  36. Percentage of registered voters with respect to total population. Percentages of party members with respect to registered voters follow.
  37. Web site: Counties by County and by District . California Citizens Redistricting Commission . September 24, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20130930184128/http://wedrawthelines.ca.gov/downloads/meeting_handouts_072011/handouts_20110729_q2_cd_finaldraft_splits.zip . September 30, 2013. dead .
  38. Web site: Final Maps California Citizens Redistricting Commission . October 2, 2023 . en.
  39. Web site: District 32 Details California State Assembly . October 2, 2023 . www.assembly.ca.gov.
  40. Web site: International Agri-Center / Tulare, CA. www.worldagexpo.com.
  41. Web site: June 30, 2020. 2020FY Comprehensive Annual Financial Report . dead. December 5, 2021. County of Tulare, State of California. December 5, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211205171407/https://tularecounty.ca.gov/treasurertaxcollector/index.cfm/treasurer/reports/comprehensive-annual-financial-reports/.
  42. Web site: Decennial Census by Decades. The United States Census Bureau.
  43. https://www.census.gov/2010census/popmap/ipmtext.php?fl=4300

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