Kings County is a county located in the U.S. state of California. The population was 152,486 at the 2020 census. The county seat is Hanford.

Kings County comprises the Hanford-Corcoran, CA metropolitan statistical area, which is also included in the Visalia-Porterville-Hanford, CA combined statistical area. It is in the San Joaquin Valley, a rich agricultural region.

History

The area was inhabited for thousands of years by Native Americans including the Tachi Yokuts<!--Yokut is an erroneous singular, and should only be used when referring to the federal Tachi Yokut Tribe of Lemoore, CA, that is, the government, and not the group of people (nation.)--> tribe. They continue to live in the area on the Santa Rosa Rancheria. It was colonized by Spain, Mexico and the United States.

An 1805 expedition probably led by Spanish Army Lieutenant Gabriel Moraga recorded discovering the river, which they named El Rio de los Santos Reyes (River of the Holy Kings) after the Three Wise Men of the Bible. At the time of the United States conquest of California in 1848, the new government changed the name to Kings River after which the county was named.

Settlers reclaimed Tulare Lake and its wetlands for agricultural development. In surface area, it was formerly the largest body of freshwater west of the Great Lakes, and supported a large population of migratory birds as well as local birds and wildlife. Monoculture has sharply reduced habitat for many species.

In 1928, oil was discovered in the Kettleman Hills located in the southwestern part of Kings County. The Kettleman North Dome Oil Field became one of the most productive oil fields in the United States.

During the Great Depression, over 18,000 cotton pickers in the southern San Joaquin Valley, mostly migrant Mexican workers, went on strike in the California agricultural strikes of 1933. During the strike, 3,500 striking farm workers lived in a four-acre camp on the land of a small farmer on the outskirts of Corcoran. Ultimately, the federal government intervened to force both sides to negotiate a settlement.

Lemoore Army Airfield was established for training and defense during World War II. In 1961, the U.S. Navy opened NAS Lemoore west of Lemoore, not far from the earlier site.

The completion of the California Aqueduct in the early 1970s brought needed water for agriculture and domestic use to the west side of the county.

Historic sites

  • Kingston
  • Mussel Slough Tragedy
  • El Adobe de los Robles Rancho built by Daniel Rhoads
  • Vaca Adobe
  • Cox & Clark Trading Post and Steamboat Landing
  • Witt Site

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.2%) is water.

Kings County is bordered on the north and northwest by Fresno County, on the east by Tulare County, on the south by Kern County and a small part of San Luis Obispo County and on the west by Monterey County.

Table Mountain is the highest point in Kings County at an elevation of . It is located in the Diablo Range in southwestern Kings County on the boundary between Kings and Monterey counties. Tent Hills is a ridge in Kings County.

Most of the historic Tulare Lake was within Kings County. Although reclaimed for farming late in the 19th century, it was the largest freshwater lake west of the Great Lakes.

Demographics

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In November 2008, Kings County voted 73.7% for Proposition 8 which amended the California Constitution to define marriage as between one man and one woman.

Crime

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

{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed"

|-

! colspan="3" | Population and crime rates

|-

! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | Population

| 562 || 3.69

|-

! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | &nbsp;&nbsp;Homicide

| 1,428 || 9.37

|-

! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | &nbsp;&nbsp;Motor vehicle theft

! data-sort-type="number" | Violent crimes Another major employer is NAS Lemoore, the U.S. Navy's newest and largest master jet base. According to a Navy study in 2008, payroll, base spending, retiree and veterans' checks total more than $1 billion in annual economic impact to the region. Other important employers include a Del Monte Foods tomato processing plant, Adventist Health, the J. G. Boswell Company, an Olam International tomato processing facility, Leprino Foods, the largest mozzarella cheese maker in the world, the Kings County Government and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation which operates three state prisons in Kings County.

In 2011–2013, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that the median household income in the county was $47,035 and that 17.6% of the population was below the poverty line. In 2018, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, average per capita income was $35,306 in Kings County, which ranked it last of California's 58 counties. Per capita personal income is calculated by dividing the population by the total personal income of the area's residents. In Kings County's case, the U.S. Census Bureau's estimated population of 151,366 was used for that calculation. However, the population estimate includes incarcerated persons with little or no income.

The homeownership rate was 54.2% at the time of the 2010 census. According to Zillow Real Estate Research, an estimated 24% of homeowners in the county owned their homes free and clear in the third quarter of 2012.

Taxable sales in 2015 totaled about $1.7 billion.

Kings County did not escape the effects of the Great Recession. The unemployment rate in May 2012 was 14.9%, up from 10.1% in July 2008. However, the rate had dropped to 9.8% in February 2020 at the eve of the COVID-19 pandemic. The unemployment rate had risen to 16.8% in April of that year. According to the California Employment Development Department, as of December 2012, civilian employment totaled 53,100 and an additional 8,900 people were unemployed. Many residents of Kings County were employed in services (31,900 persons, including 14,800 government employees) and agriculture (5,500 employees) as well as in some manufacturing enterprises (4,300 employees) and construction (1,000 employees). Jeffrey Michael, director of the Business Forecasting Center at the University of the Pacific, stated in an October 2010 newspaper interview that nearly half of Kings County's personal earnings come from government jobs, which pay more than agricultural employment.

Kings County's dairy industry dropped from $670 million in milk sold in 2008 to $411 million in 2009 - a 39% drop. By mid-2009, the price paid to milk producers had dropped to a point that was far below the cost of production according to a July 2009 quote from Bill Van Dam, CEO of the Alliance of Western Milk Producers. By December 2010, milk prices had increased to about $13 per hundredweight from a low of below $10 in 2009. However, the price of corn used for feed had increased because of its use by the ethanol industry. Van Dam was quoted that month as saying that at current prices, dairy operators are at or close to the break-even point. By the summer of 2012, it was reported that despite a milk price of about $15 per hundredweight, the rising cost of cattle feed had caused many dairy farmers to sell all or part of their herds and even file for bankruptcy. In 2014, milk prices were topping $22 per hundredweight and the value of milk sold rose to $970 million in that year. However, by March 2016 milk was reportedly selling closer to $13 per hundredweight.

Culture

Kings County has a large annual celebration held each May called Kings County Homecoming Week. In 2015, the event was scaled back to one day and renamed Pioneer Days. The event returned as Kings County Homecoming Week in 2016 but without the traditional parade.

Transportation

Major highways

  • 25px|link= |alt= Interstate 5
  • 25px|link= |alt= State Route 33
  • 25px|link= |alt= State Route 41
  • 25px|link= |alt= State Route 43
  • 25px|link= |alt= State Route 137
  • 25px|link= |alt= State Route 198
  • 25px|link= |alt= State Route 269

Public transportation

Kings Area Regional Transit (KART) operates regularly scheduled fixed route bus service, vanpool service for commuters and Paratransit (demand response) services throughout Kings County as well as to Fresno.

Amtrak trains stop in Corcoran and Hanford.

Greyhound provides inter-city bus service to/from Visalia or Paso Robles. FlixBus stops in Avenal.

The California High-Speed Rail project is currently under construction, with the right-of-way routed through the county. The Kings–Tulare Regional Station is currently under construction in Hanford.

Airports

Hanford Municipal Airport is a general aviation airport located just southeast of Hanford. The privately owned airport in Avenal is the home of the Central California Soaring Club.

Communities

Incorporated cities

  • Avenal
  • Corcoran
  • Hanford (county seat)
  • Lemoore

Census-designated places

  • Armona
  • Grangeville
  • Hardwick
  • Home Garden
  • Kettleman City
  • Lemoore Station
  • Stratford

Unincorporated communities

  • Halls Corner
  • Lakeside, California

Formerly proposed new city

  • Quay Valley

Native American Reservation

  • Santa Rosa Rancheria

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2010 census of Kings County.

† county seat

{| class="wikitable sortable"

|-

!Rank

!City/Town/etc.

!Municipal type

!Population (2010 Census)

|- style="background-color:#FFFACD;"

| 1

|† Hanford

| City

| 53,967

|- style="background-color:#FFFACD;"

| 2

|Corcoran

| City

| 24,813

|- style="background-color:#FFFACD;"

| 3

|Lemoore

| City

| 24,531

|- style="background-color:#FFFACD;"

| 4

|Avenal

| City

| 15,505

|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"

| 5

|Lemoore Station

| CDP

| 7,438

|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"

| 6

|Armona

| CDP

| 4,156

|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"

| 7

|Home Garden

| CDP

| 1,761

|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"

| 8

|Kettleman City

| CDP

| 1,439

|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"

| 9

|Stratford

| CDP

| 1,277

|- style="background-color:#FFFF99;"

| 10

|Santa Rosa Rancheria

| AIAN

| 652

|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"

| 11

|Grangeville

| CDP

| 469

|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"

| 12

|Hardwick

| CDP

| 138

|}

See also

  • California census statistical areas
  • List of museums in the San Joaquin Valley
  • Mussel Slough Tragedy
  • National Register of Historic Places listings in Kings County, California

Explanatory notes

References

  • Kings County Crop Reports
  • Kings County Community Health Status Report, 2008-2009
  • Kings County history website operated by the Kings County Office of Education
  • Kings County Economic Development Corporation website
  • Kings County Facts - Index Mundi