Napa County, California

Napa County () is a county north of San Pablo Bay located in the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 138,019. The county seat is the City of Napa. The prisoners were utilized to supplement a dwindled able bodied agricultural labor force caused by the needs of the American war effort.

Following the war, several new small and medium size businesses began operating in the county. A large majority of these businesses were related to the wine industry and tourism. Agriculture in the county remained very diverse until late in the 20th century when wine grapes again became the primary focus. While vineyards were planted on well over 90% of the agricultural land in the county, by the end of the 20th century, modern day farmers have recently begun exploring the possibility of raising other food crops in order to again diversify and take advantage of growing conditions.

In October 2019, heavy smoke and unscheduled black outs by Pacific Gas and Electric Company of up to 20,000 customers affected the county due to fierce winds and threats from the Kincade Fire.

Geography

thumb|right|Rolling hills of Napa Valley

right|thumb|Fall in Napa Valley

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (5.1%) is water.

| align-fn = center

| footnote = U.S. Decennial Census

There were 49,738 households in the county, of which 30.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 26.8% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 25.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

85.3% of residents lived in urban areas, while 14.7% lived in rural areas.

Racial and ethnic composition

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"

|+Napa County, California – Racial and ethnic composition

!Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)

!Pop 1980

!Pop 1990

!Pop 2000

!Pop 2010

!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" | Pop 2020

!% 1980

!% 1990

!% 2000

!% 2010

!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |% 2020

|White alone (NH)

|86,373

|89,453

|85,932

|76,967

|style='background: #ffffe6; |68,909

|87.07%

|80.76%

|69.14%

|56.39%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |49.93%

|Black or African American alone (NH)

|866

|1,167

|1,527

|2,440

|style='background: #ffffe6; |2,300

|0.87%

|1.05%

|1.23%

|1.79%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1.67%

|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

|725

|687

|642

|544

|style='background: #ffffe6; |507

|0.73%

|0.62%

|0.52%

|0.40%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.37%

|Asian alone (NH)

|2,095

|3,391

|3,641

|8,986

|style='background: #ffffe6; |10,520

|2.11%

|3.06%

|2.93%

|6.58%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |7.62%

|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)

|254

|313

|style='background: #ffffe6; |316

|0.20%

|0.23%

|0.20%

|0.23%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.23%

|Other race alone (NH)

|504

|126

|226

|221

|style='background: #ffffe6; |910

|0.51%

|0.11%

|0.18%

|0.16%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.66%

|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)

|2,641

|3,003

|style='background: #ffffe6; |5,728

|2.13%

|2.20%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |4.15%

|Hispanic or Latino (any race)

|8,636

|15,941

|29,416

|44,010

|style='background: #ffffe6; |48,829

|8.71%

|14.39%

|23.67%

|32.25%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |35.38%

|Total

|99,199

|110,765

|124,279

|136,484

|style='background: #ffffe6; |138,019

|100.00%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%

2010 census

The 2010 United States census reported Napa County had a population of 136,484. The racial makeup of Napa County was 97,525 (71.5%) White, 2,668 (2.0%) African American, 1,058 (0.8%) Native American, 9,223 (6.8%) Asian, 372 (0.3%) Pacific Islander, 20,058 (14.7%) from other races, and 5,580 (4.1%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 44,010 persons (32.2%).|source2=

Historically, Napa County was heavily Republican. It only supported a Democrat for president seven times – four of which were for Franklin D. Roosevelt – in the thirty-two presidential elections between 1860 and 1988. However, a Republican hasn't carried the county since George H. W. Bush in 1988. It is now one of the most Democratic counties in California, and is reckoned as part of the solid bloc of blue counties in the northern part of the state.

On November 4, 2008, Napa County voted 56 percent against Proposition 8, which amended the California Constitution to ban same-sex marriages. According to the California Secretary of State, as of February 10, 2017, Napa County has 76,038 registered voters, out of 93,926 eligible (81.0%). Of those, 35,660 (46.9%) are registered Democrats, 18,417 (24.2%) are registered Republicans, and 17,827 (23.4%) have declined to state a political party.

| 76,038

| 56.2%

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

Unified:

Calistoga Joint Unified School District
Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District
Napa Valley Unified School District
St. Helena Unified School District

Elementary:

Howell Mountain Elementary School District
Pope Valley Union Elementary School District

Library

The Napa County Library, is the public library of Napa California. The main branch is in downtown Napa. There are three branch libraries, in American Canyon, Calistoga and Yountville.

Napa County Library is a member of LINK+, a union catalog of contributed holdings from participating libraries in California and Nevada.

Media

Napa County receives media from the rest of the Bay Area.

The county also has several media outlets that serve the local community:

Napa Valley Register
St. Helena Star
Weekly Calistogan
American Canyon Eagle
Calistoga Tribune
Yountville Sun
Napa Valley Life
KVON 1440 kHz AM
K245DK translating KVON 96.9 MHz in early 2019
KVYN 99.3 MHz FM
K278AH 103.5 MHz in Calistoga
KCMU-LP FM 103.3 MHz

Transportation

Major highways

Public transportation

Vine Transit operates local bus service in Napa, along with intercity routes that serve along State Route 29 between Vallejo (Solano County) and Calistoga, and State Route 12/I-80 to Fairfield and Suisun City, along with an Express route to El Cerrito Del Norte BART (WEEKDAYS ONLY) also another WEEKDAY ONLY Express route to Suisun City Amtrak. All routes within city of Napa only operate Monday to Saturday and regional routes operate everyday but all routes DO NOT operate on holidays.

Airports

Napa County Airport is a general aviation airport south of the City of Napa.
Angwin-Parrett Field is a public use airport east of Angwin and is owned by Pacific Union College.

Rail

The Napa Valley Railroad is owned by the Napa Valley Wine Train, a dining/excursion service. The Napa Wine train offers a variety of different experience packages some including: wine tasting including dinner, rides with Santa during Christmas time, special offers showcasing some of the valley's new releases. Customer will be seated in the 100 year old vintage train while they take a 36-mile round trip from Napa to St. Helena and back.

Events

thumb|Napa Valley Welcome Center in downtown Napa

Napa County hosts numerous cultural events throughout the year. The county fair takes place annually in early July at the Napa County Fairgrounds in Calistoga. The Napa Town and Country Fair takes place in mid-July at the Napa Valley Expo in Napa. In order to boost tourism during the normally slow winter months, area hotels, restaurants, tourist-based businesses partnered with the county's local arts agency Arts Council Napa Valley and visitor management bureau Visit Napa Valley to develop Arts in April], a program celebrating the diverse cultural offerings featured in wine and hospitality institutions, beginning in 2011. In March every year since the late '70s, the county plays host to the Napa Valley Marathon.

In June, the annual Napa Valley Wine Auction takes place. Wineries throughout the valley donate wines and other prizes to be auctioned off to the highest bidder. This annual event raises several million dollars per year, benefiting charities throughout Napa County.

Festival Napa Valley

In 2006, Napa Valley became home to the Festival Napa Valley, an annual food, wine, art, and music festival held at various venues throughout the valley. Additional music festivals, including Music in the Vineyards, Live in the Vineyard, the Robert Mondavi Summer Concert Series, all taking place annually in locations throughout the valley.

Napa Valley Film Festival

The Napa Valley Film Festival was founded in 2011 to recognize independent filmmaking of different genres. The festival occurs in November at various venues.

BottleRock Napa Valley

BottleRock Napa Valley is a music festival that took place for the first time in May 2013 on the grounds of the Napa Valley Exposition in Napa. The five-day festival featured over 60 bands and participation by over 300 wineries. A three-day event was held the following year, and every year since (excluding during COVID) on Memorial Day weekend, and features over 40 musical acts.

A year-round arts and cultural resource for the county, Napa Valley Now, is presented by Arts Council Napa Valley. It is free for the public to use and contribute to and features all major happenings throughout the Valley.

Communities

Cities

American Canyon
Calistoga
Napa (county seat)
St. Helena
Yountville

Census-designated places

Angwin
Deer Park
Moskowite Corner
Oakville
Rutherford
Silverado Resort

Other unincorporated communities

Aetna Springs
Berryessa Highlands
Circle Oaks
Lokoya
Pope Valley
Vichy Springs

Population ranking

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

† county seat

{| class="wikitable sortable"

!Rank

!City/Town/etc.

!Municipal type

!Population (2020 census)

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

| 1

|† Napa

| City

| 79,246

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

| 2

|American Canyon

| City

| 21,837

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

| 3

|St. Helena

| City

| 5,430

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

| 4

|Calistoga

| City

| 5,228

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

| 5

|Yountville

| City

| 3,436