Placer County

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 become 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 Olympic Valley, in Placer County.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 1,502 square miles (3,890 km2), of which 1,407 square miles (3,640 km2) is land and 95 square miles (250 km2) (6.4%) 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 (including the Lake Tahoe region). 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

Nevada County - north

Washoe County, Nevada - northeast

Carson City, Nevada - east

Douglas County, Nevada - southeast

El Dorado County - south

Sacramento County - southwest

Sutter County - west

Yuba County - northwest

National protected areas

Eldorado National Forest in part

Tahoe National Forest in part

Demographics

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%.

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 (83.5%) White, 4,751 (1.4%) African American, 3,011 (0.9%) Native American, 20,435 (5.9%) Asian, 778 (0.2%) Pacific Islander, 13,375 (3.8%) from other races, and 15,105 (4.3%) from two or more races. There were 4,710 Hispanics or Latinos of any race (12.8%).

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 177 inhabitants per square mile (68/km2). There were 107,302 housing units at an average density of 76 per square mile (29/km2). 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 (these figures had risen to $68,463 and $80,987 respectively as of a 2007 estimate). 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

The Government of Placer County operates as a Charter County under the California Constitution and law and the Charter of the County of Placer and The 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.

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. However, since 2008 Democrats have managed to at least obtain 40%.

In the United States House of Representatives, Placer County is within California's 3rd congressional district, represented by Kevin Kiley (I–Rocklin).

In the California State Senate, Placer County is split between the 1st, 4th, and 6th districts, represented by Megan Dahle, Marie Alvarado-Gil, and Roger Niello, respectively.

In the California State Assembly, the county is split between the 1st, 3rd, and 5th districts, represented by Heather Hadwick, Vacant, and Joe Patterson respectively.

Crime

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

Economy

Top employers

According to the county's 2010 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the county are:

mPOWER Placer

mPOWER Placer is Placer County's Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) program. It provides financing to commercial, industrial, agricultural and multifamily property owners to install energy efficiency, water conservation and renewable energy retrofits. The program, administered by the Placer County Treasurer-Tax Collector’s Office, was approved by the Board of Supervisors on February 9, 2010, and launched on March 22, 2010, and is open to eligible Placer County property owners.

Transportation

Major highways

Interstate 80

State Route 28

State Route 49

State Route 65

State Route 89

State Route 174

State Route 193

State Route 267

Public transportation

Placer County Transit provides basic bus service primarily along the I-80 corridor between Alta and the Watt Ave. Sacramento Regional Transit light rail station. PCT also runs commuter service to Downtown Sacramento.

Roseville has its own local fixed route transit service and a commuter service to Sacramento. Lincoln previously operated transit and Auburn operates a dial-a-ride service.

Nevada County Connects (Nevada County) provides a connection between Auburn and Grass Valley.

Tahoe Truckee Area Regional Transit, operated by Placer County and the City of Truckee, operates in Truckee (Nevada County), Tahoe City and along the North Shore of Lake Tahoe to Incline Village, Nevada.

Greyhound and Amtrak provide long-distance intercity service.

Airports

There are three general aviation airports in Placer County:

Lincoln Regional Airport

Auburn Airport

Truckee-Tahoe Airport

The closest commercial airport is Sacramento International Airport in Sacramento.

Communities

Cities

Auburn (county seat)

Colfax

Lincoln

Rocklin

Roseville

Town

Loomis

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2020 census of Placer County.

† county seat

Education

School districts include:

Unified K-12:

Secondary school districts:

Additionally, Twin Rivers Unified School District includes a section of the county for grades 9–12 only.

Elementary school districts: