Tulare County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 473,117. The county seat is Visalia. 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
thumb|upright|left|Road sign, 1920
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.
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. 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.
Adjacent counties
thumb|right|Mount Whitney is located on the Tulare–Inyo county line.
- Fresno County—north
- Inyo County—east
- Kern County—south
- Kings County—west
Lakes
thumb|Columbine Lake
Rivers
Parks
National protected areas
- Blue Ridge National Wildlife Refuge
- Giant Sequoia National Monument (part)
- Inyo National Forest (part)
- Kings Canyon National Park (part)
- Pixley National Wildlife Refuge
- Sequoia National Forest (part)
- Sequoia National Park
Sequoia National Park
thumb|right|Sequoia National Park is located within Tulare County.
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 . Encompassing a vertical relief of nearly , 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).
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’s Office provides court protection, county jail operation, patrol and detective functions in the unincorporated areas of the county. Incorporated cities have municipal police departments or contract with the Sheriff’s Office for their police operations.
Transportation
Major highways
- 20px State Route 43
- 21px State Route 63
- 20px State Route 65
- 20px State Route 99
- 25px State Route 137
- 25px State Route 180
- 25px State Route 190
- 25px State Route 198
- 25px State Route 201
- 25px State Route 216
- 25px State Route 245
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 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.
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
|-
! colspan="3" | Population and crime rates
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | Population
| colspan="2" | 473,117
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | Violent crime
| 334 || 0.70
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | Homicide
| 1,254 || 2.65
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | Motor vehicle theft
! data-sort-type="number" | Violent crimes
|align-fn=center
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<br> 1860–1870 1880–1890<br> 1900 1910 1920<br> 1930 1940 1950<br> 1960 1970 1980<br> 1990
2000 2010
| align = right
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 473,117 and a median age of 32.3 years; 30.0% of residents were under the age of 18 and 12.2% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 98.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 96.5 males.
The racial makeup was 39.4% White, 1.4% Black or African American, 2.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 3.6% Asian, 0.2% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 34.9% from some other race, and 18.3% from two or more races; Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 65.5% of the population.
According to Census 2020, 3.7% of residents reported German ancestry, 3.2% English, 2.8% Irish, 2.4% Portuguese, and 2.3% American, while 48.7% spoke English, 47.4% Spanish, and 1.0% Indo-European languages as their first language.
79.9% of residents lived in urban areas, while 20.1% lived in rural areas.
There were 141,987 households, of which 45.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 24.6% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present, 16.8% of households were made up of individuals, and 7.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. Of all households, 52.5% were married couples living together, 15.2% had a male householder with no spouse present, 20.8% were non-families, and the average household and family sizes were 3.20 and 3.57 respectively.
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. 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.
!Pop 1990
!Pop 2000
!Pop 2010
!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" | Pop 2020
!% 1980
!% 1990
!% 2000
!% 2010
!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |% 2020
|-
|White alone (NH)
|159,996
|170,283
|153,916
|143,935
|style='background: #ffffe6; |125,022
|65.11%
|54.59%
|41.82%
|32.55%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |26.43%
|-
|Black or African American alone (NH)
|3,448
|4,305
|5,122
|5,497
|style='background: #ffffe6; |5,332
|1.40%
|1.38%
|1.39%
|1.24%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1.13%
|-
|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)
|2,558
|3,228
|3,011
|3,323
|style='background: #ffffe6; |3,458
|1.04%
|1.03%
|0.82%
|0.75%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.73%
|-
|Asian alone (NH)
|5,066
|12,468
|11,457
|14,204
|style='background: #ffffe6; |15,997
|2.06%
|4.00%
|3.11%
|3.21%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |3.38%
|-
|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)
|x
|x
|257
|370
|style='background: #ffffe6; |511
|x
|x
|0.07%
|0.08%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.11%
|-
|Other race alone (NH)
|1,372
|744
|444
|641
|style='background: #ffffe6; |2,132
|0.56%
|0.24%
|0.12%
|0.14%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.45%
|-
|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)
|x
|x
|6,968
|6,144
|style='background: #ffffe6; |10,770
|x
|x
|1.89%
|1.39%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |2.28%
|-
|Hispanic or Latino (any race)
|73,298
|120,893
|186,846
|268,065
|style='background: #ffffe6; |309,895
|29.83%
|38.76%
|50.77%
|60.62%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |65.50%
|-
|Total
|245,738
|311,921
|368,021
|442,179
|style='background: #ffffe6; |473,117
|100.00%
|100.00%
|100.00%
|100.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%
|}
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.
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed"
|-
!colspan=10|Population reported at 2010 United States census
|-
| |||| || || || || || || ||
|-
| Tulare County
|align="right"|442,179||align="right"|265,618||align="right"|7,196||align="right"|6,993||align="right"|15,176||align="right"|509||align="right"|128,263||align="right"|18,424||align="right"|268,065
|-
| |||| || || || || || || ||
|-
|Dinuba
|align="right"|21,453||align="right"|11,166||align="right"|141||align="right"|193||align="right"|454||align="right"|17||align="right"|8,630||align="right"|852||align="right"|18,114
|-
|Exeter
|align="right"|10,334||align="right"|7,150||align="right"|67||align="right"|171||align="right"|138||align="right"|8||align="right"|2,416||align="right"|384||align="right"|4,703
|-
|Farmersville
|align="right"|10,588||align="right"|5,295||align="right"|60||align="right"|213||align="right"|72||align="right"|5||align="right"|4,494||align="right"|449||align="right"|8,876
|-
|Lindsay
|align="right"|11,768||align="right"|6,480||align="right"|85||align="right"|128||align="right"|267||align="right"|4||align="right"|4,367||align="right"|437||align="right"|10,056
|-
|Porterville
|align="right"|54,165||align="right"|31,847||align="right"|673||align="right"|1,007||align="right"|2,521||align="right"|64||align="right"|15,482||align="right"|2,571||align="right"|33,549
|-
|Tulare
|align="right"|59,278||align="right"|36,347||align="right"|2,328||align="right"|694||align="right"|1,276||align="right"|80||align="right"|15,713||align="right"|2,840||align="right"|34,062
|-
|Visalia
|align="right"|124,442||align="right"|80,203||align="right"|2,627||align="right"|1,730||align="right"|6,768||align="right"|164||align="right"|27,249||align="right"|5,701||align="right"|57,262
|-
|Woodlake
|align="right"|7,279||align="right"|3,691||align="right"|37||align="right"|108||align="right"|52||align="right"|9||align="right"|3,072||align="right"|310||align="right"|6,381
|-
| |||| || || || || || || ||
|-
|Allensworth
|align="right"|471||align="right"|158||align="right"|22||align="right"|0||align="right"|8||align="right"|0||align="right"|279||align="right"|4||align="right"|436
|-
|Alpaugh
|align="right"|1,026||align="right"|381||align="right"|4||align="right"|11||align="right"|4||align="right"|0||align="right"|597||align="right"|29||align="right"|867
|-
|California Hot Springs
|align="right"|37||align="right"|34||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|1||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|2||align="right"|3
|-
|Camp Nelson
|align="right"|97||align="right"|94||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|2||align="right"|1||align="right"|6
|-
|Cedar Slope
|align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|0
|-
|Cutler
|align="right"|5,000||align="right"|2,421||align="right"|50||align="right"|53||align="right"|64||align="right"|1||align="right"|2,241||align="right"|170||align="right"|4,829
|-
|Delft Colony
|align="right"|454||align="right"|213||align="right"|13||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|224||align="right"|4||align="right"|428
|-
|Ducor
|align="right"|612||align="right"|251||align="right"|0||align="right"|15||align="right"|20||align="right"|0||align="right"|302||align="right"|24||align="right"|502
|-
|Earlimart
|align="right"|8,537||align="right"|3,193||align="right"|67||align="right"|45||align="right"|536||align="right"|0||align="right"|4,303||align="right"|393||align="right"|7,805
|-
|East Orosi
|align="right"|495||align="right"|209||align="right"|0||align="right"|5||align="right"|2||align="right"|1||align="right"|261||align="right"|17||align="right"|466
|-
|East Porterville
|align="right"|6,767||align="right"|3,660||align="right"|65||align="right"|153||align="right"|102||align="right"|58||align="right"|2,431||align="right"|298||align="right"|4,930
|-
|East Tulare Villa
|align="right"|778||align="right"|491||align="right"|9||align="right"|6||align="right"|10||align="right"|0||align="right"|226||align="right"|36||align="right"|428
|-
|El Rancho
|align="right"|124||align="right"|71||align="right"|1||align="right"|1||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|49||align="right"|2||align="right"|117
|-
|Goshen
|align="right"|3,006||align="right"|1,186||align="right"|76||align="right"|90||align="right"|11||align="right"|1||align="right"|1,496||align="right"|146||align="right"|2,482
|-
|Hartland
|align="right"|30||align="right"|27||align="right"|3||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|0
|-
|Idlewild
|align="right"|43||align="right"|43||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|0
|-
|Ivanhoe
|align="right"|4,495||align="right"|2,002||align="right"|19||align="right"|80||align="right"|29||align="right"|1||align="right"|2,221||align="right"|143||align="right"|3,752
|-
|Kennedy Meadows
|align="right"|28||align="right"|25||align="right"|0||align="right"|1||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|2||align="right"|0||align="right"|3
|-
|Lemon Cove
|align="right"|308||align="right"|261||align="right"|0||align="right"|5||align="right"|3||align="right"|2||align="right"|12||align="right"|25||align="right"|76
|-
|Lindcove
|align="right"|406||align="right"|284||align="right"|2||align="right"|15||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|96||align="right"|9||align="right"|197
|-
|Linnell Camp
|align="right"|849||align="right"|397||align="right"|3||align="right"|18||align="right"|8||align="right"|0||align="right"|393||align="right"|30||align="right"|832
|-
|London
|align="right"|1,869||align="right"|761||align="right"|6||align="right"|46||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|976||align="right"|80||align="right"|1,737
|-
|Matheny
|align="right"|1,212||align="right"|651||align="right"|44||align="right"|24||align="right"|4||align="right"|0||align="right"|436||align="right"|53||align="right"|890
|-
|McClenney Tract
|align="right"|10||align="right"|9||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|1||align="right"|0
|-
|Monson
|align="right"|188||align="right"|121||align="right"|1||align="right"|5||align="right"|4||align="right"|0||align="right"|57||align="right"|0||align="right"|147
|-
|Orosi
|align="right"|8,770||align="right"|3,861||align="right"|65||align="right"|57||align="right"|803||align="right"|1||align="right"|3,638||align="right"|345||align="right"|7,606
|-
|Panorama Heights
|align="right"|41||align="right"|35||align="right"|1||align="right"|1||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|4||align="right"|0||align="right"|4
|-
|Patterson Tract
|align="right"|1,752||align="right"|999||align="right"|0||align="right"|33||align="right"|73||align="right"|0||align="right"|577||align="right"|70||align="right"|1,133
|-
|Pierpoint
|align="right"|52||align="right"|51||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|1||align="right"|0||align="right"|1
|-
|Pine Flat
|align="right"|166||align="right"|158||align="right"|0||align="right"|3||align="right"|3||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|2||align="right"|11
|-
|Pixley
|align="right"|3,310||align="right"|1,473||align="right"|90||align="right"|28||align="right"|16||align="right"|0||align="right"|1,587||align="right"|116||align="right"|2,675
|-
|Plainview
|align="right"|945||align="right"|358||align="right"|8||align="right"|20||align="right"|2||align="right"|0||align="right"|517||align="right"|40||align="right"|865
|-
|Ponderosa
|align="right"|16||align="right"|13||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|1||align="right"|2||align="right"|4
|-
|Poplar-Cotton Center
|align="right"|2,470||align="right"|1,729||align="right"|1||align="right"|15||align="right"|356||align="right"|0||align="right"|327||align="right"|42||align="right"|1,809
|-
|Posey
|align="right"|10||align="right"|6||align="right"|0||align="right"|3||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|1||align="right"|3
|-
|Poso Park
|align="right"|9||align="right"|9||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|0
|-
|Richgrove
|align="right"|2,882||align="right"|1,068||align="right"|20||align="right"|38||align="right"|140||align="right"|7||align="right"|1,521||align="right"|88||align="right"|2,705
|-
|Rodriguez Camp
|align="right"|156||align="right"|51||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|98||align="right"|7||align="right"|151
|-
|Sequoia Crest
|align="right"|10||align="right"|10||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|0
|-
|Seville
|align="right"|480||align="right"|200||align="right"|0||align="right"|5||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|259||align="right"|16||align="right"|458
|-
|Silver City
|align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|0
|-
|Springville
|align="right"|934||align="right"|836||align="right"|5||align="right"|20||align="right"|7||align="right"|0||align="right"|25||align="right"|41||align="right"|109
|-
|Strathmore
|align="right"|2,819||align="right"|1,490||align="right"|12||align="right"|41||align="right"|7||align="right"|1||align="right"|1,162||align="right"|106||align="right"|2,238
|-
|Sugarloaf Mountain Park
|align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|0
|-
|Sugarloaf Saw Mill
|align="right"|18||align="right"|14||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|1||align="right"|3||align="right"|4
|-
|Sugarloaf Village
|align="right"|10||align="right"|9||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|1||align="right"|2
|-
|Sultana
|align="right"|775||align="right"|315||align="right"|0||align="right"|3||align="right"|6||align="right"|0||align="right"|424||align="right"|27||align="right"|695
|-
|Terra Bella
|align="right"|3,310||align="right"|1,426||align="right"|5||align="right"|20||align="right"|75||align="right"|2||align="right"|1,733||align="right"|49||align="right"|2,894
|-
|Teviston
|align="right"|1,214||align="right"|449||align="right"|50||align="right"|9||align="right"|10||align="right"|0||align="right"|640||align="right"|56||align="right"|1,039
|-
|Three Rivers
|align="right"|2,182||align="right"|1,976||align="right"|7||align="right"|27||align="right"|31||align="right"|1||align="right"|75||align="right"|65||align="right"|212
|-
|Tipton
|align="right"|2,543||align="right"|1,535||align="right"|3||align="right"|15||align="right"|9||align="right"|0||align="right"|924||align="right"|57||align="right"|2,147
|-
|Tonyville
|align="right"|316||align="right"|178||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|12||align="right"|0||align="right"|115||align="right"|11||align="right"|286
|-
|Tooleville
|align="right"|339||align="right"|145||align="right"|5||align="right"|19||align="right"|8||align="right"|2||align="right"|148||align="right"|12||align="right"|279
|-
|Traver
|align="right"|713||align="right"|302||align="right"|1||align="right"|22||align="right"|6||align="right"|2||align="right"|357||align="right"|23||align="right"|551
|-
|Waukena
|align="right"|108||align="right"|86||align="right"|0||align="right"|3||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|19||align="right"|0||align="right"|45
|-
|West Goshen
|align="right"|511||align="right"|276||align="right"|2||align="right"|10||align="right"|7||align="right"|0||align="right"|195||align="right"|21||align="right"|358
|-
|Wilsonia
|align="right"|5||align="right"|5||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|0
|-
|Woodville
|align="right"|1,740||align="right"|1,345||align="right"|1||align="right"|31||align="right"|6||align="right"|0||align="right"|324||align="right"|33||align="right"|1,545
|-
|Yettem
|align="right"|211||align="right"|48||align="right"|5||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|0||align="right"|148||align="right"|10||align="right"|199
|-
| |||| || || || || || || ||
|-
|All others not CDPs (combined)
|align="right"|67,213||align="right"|46,040||align="right"|512||align="right"|1,753||align="right"|1,245||align="right"|78||align="right"|15,416||align="right"|2,169||align="right"|34,101
|}
2000 Census
As of the census of 2000, there were 368,021 people, 110,385 households, and 87,093 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 119,639 housing units at an average density of . 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. 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.
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,
According to the United States Census Bureau, Tulare County is the 7th largest county in California by total area.
| 202,825
| 33.2%
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | Democratic|source2=
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In the United States House of Representatives, Tulare County is split between three congressional districts:
- and
- .
In the California State Senate, it is split between two legislative districts:
- the 12th Senate District, represented by Republican Shannon Grove.
- .
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.
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, 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, the top employers in the county are:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! #
! Employer
! # of Employees
|-
| 1
|County of Tulare
|5,106
|-
|2
|Visalia Unified School District
|3,355
|-
|3
|Kaweah Delta Medical Center
|2,000
|-
|4
|Sierra View District Hospital
|1,800
|-
|5
|Ruiz Food Production, Inc
|1,800
|-
|6
|Wal-Mart Distribution Center
|1,692
|-
|7
|Porterville Developmental Center
|1,173
|-
|8
|College of the Sequoias
|1,160
|-
|9
|Jostens
|720
|-
|10
|City of Visalia
|653
|}
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
- Dinuba
- Exeter
- Farmersville
- Lindsay
- Porterville
- Tulare
- Visalia (county seat)
- Woodlake
Census designated places
- Allensworth
- Alpaugh
- California Hot Springs
- Camp Nelson
- Cedar Slope
- Cutler
- Delft Colony
- Ducor
- Earlimart
- East Orosi
- East Porterville
- East Tulare Villa
- El Monte Mobile Village
- El Rancho
- Goshen
- Hartland
- Hypericum
- Idlewild
- Ivanhoe
- Jovista
- Kennedy Meadows
- Lemon Cove
- Lindcove
- Linnell Camp
- London
- Matheny
- McClenney Tract
- Monson
- Orosi
- Panorama Heights
- Patterson Tract
- Pierpoint
- Pine Flat
- Pixley
- Plainview
- Ponderosa
- Poplar-Cotton Center
- Posey
- Poso Park
- Richgrove
- Rodriguez Camp
- Sequoia Crest
- Seville
- Silver City
- Springville
- Strathmore
- Sugarloaf Saw Mill
- Sugarloaf Village
- Sultana
- Terra Bella
- Teviston
- Three Rivers
- Tipton
- Tonyville
- Tooleville
- Traver
- Waukena
- West Goshen
- Wilsonia
- Woodville
- Woodville Farm Labor Camp
- Yettem
Former census designated places
- Sugarloaf Mountain Park
Other unincorporated communities
- Advance
- Angiola
- Badger
- Balance Rock
- Cairns Corner
- Calgro
- Johnsondale
- Kaweah
- Rocky Hill
- Ultra
- White River
- Yokohl Valley
- Zante
Indian reservation
- Tule River Indian Reservation
Population ranking
The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2020 census of Tulare County.
† county seat
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Rank
!City/Town/etc.
!Municipal type
!Population (2020 Census)
|- style="background:#fffacd;"
| 1
|† Visalia
| City
|154,048
|- style="background:#fffacd;"
| 2
|Tulare
| City
| 77,101
|- style="background:#fffacd;"
| 3
|Porterville
| City
| 77,681
|- style="background:#fffacd;"
| 4
|Dinuba
| City
| 34,855
|- style="background:#fffacd;"
| 5
|Lindsay
| City
| 17,729
|- style="background:#fffacd;"
| 6
|Farmersville
| City
| 10,397
|- style="background:#fffacd;"
| 7
|Exeter
| City
| 10,334
|- style="background:honeyDew;"
| 8
|Orosi
| CDP
| 8,329
|- style="background:honeyDew;"
| 9
|Earlimart
| CDP
| 7,679
|- style="background:honeyDew;"
| 10
|East Porterville
| CDP
| 5,549
|- style="background:#fffacd;"
| 11
|Woodlake
| City
| 7,419
|- style="background:honeyDew;"
| 12
|Cutler
| CDP
| 4,480
|- style="background:honeyDew;"
| 13
|Ivanhoe
| CDP
| 4,468
|- style="background:honeyDew;"
| t-14
|Pixley
| CDP
| 3,828
|- style="background:honeyDew;"
| t-14
|Terra Bella
| CDP
| 2,910
|- style="background:honeyDew;"
| 15
|Goshen
| CDP
| 4,968
|- style="background:honeyDew;"
| 16
|Richgrove
| CDP
| 2,358
|- style="background:honeyDew;"
| 17
|Strathmore
| CDP
| 2,830
|- style="background:honeyDew;"
| 18
|Tipton
| CDP
| 2,519
|- style="background:honeyDew;"
| 19
|Poplar-Cotton Center
| CDP
| 2,370
|- style="background:honeyDew;"
| 20
|Three Rivers
| CDP
| 2,053
|- style="background:honeyDew;"
| 21
|London
| CDP
| 1,518
|- style="background:honeyDew;"
| 22
|Patterson Tract
| CDP
| 1,888
|- style="background:honeyDew;"
| 23
|Woodville
| CDP
|1,680
|- style="background:honeyDew;"
| 24
|Teviston
| CDP
| 1,185
|- style="background:honeyDew;"
| 25
|Matheny
| CDP
| 1,125
|- style="background:#ff9;"
| 26
|Tule River Reservation
| AIAN
| 1,250
|- style="background:honeyDew;"
| 27
|Alpaugh
| CDP
| 1,026
|- style="background:honeyDew;"
| 28
|Plainview
| CDP
|871
|- style="background:honeyDew;"
| 29
|Springville
| CDP
| 967
|- style="background:honeyDew;"
| 30
|Linnell Camp
| CDP
| 696
|- style="background:honeyDew;"
| 31
|East Tulare Villa
| CDP
| 773
|- style="background:honeyDew;"
| 32
|Sultana
| CDP
| 779
|- style="background:honeyDew;"
| 33
|Traver
| CDP
| 731
|- style="background:honeyDew;"
| 34
|Ducor
| CDP
| 616
|- style="background:honeyDew;"
| 35
|West Goshen
| CDP
| 536
|- style="background:honeyDew;"
| 36
|East Orosi
| CDP
| 423
|- style="background:honeyDew;"
| 37
|Seville
| CDP
| 446
|- style="background:honeyDew;"
| 38
|Allensworth
| CDP
| 531
|- style="background:honeyDew;"
| 39
|Delft Colony
| CDP
| 412
|- style="background:honeyDew;"
| 40
|Lindcove
| CDP
| 189
|- style="background:honeyDew;"
| 41
|Tooleville
| CDP
| 286
|- style="background:honeyDew;"
| 42
|Tonyville
| CDP
| 329
|- style="background:honeyDew;"
| 43
|Lemon Cove
| CDP
| 298
|- style="background:honeyDew;"
| 44
|Yettem
| CDP
| 201
|- style="background:honeyDew;"
| 45
|Monson
| CDP
| 152
|- style="background:honeyDew;"
| 46
|Pine Flat
| CDP
| 206
|- style="background:honeyDew;"
| 47
|Rodriguez Camp
| CDP
|133
|- style="background:honeyDew;"
| 48
|El Rancho
| CDP
| 96
|- style="background:honeyDew;"
| 49
|Waukena
| CDP
| 80
|- style="background:honeyDew;"
| 50
|Camp Nelson
| CDP
| 106
|- style="background:honeyDew;"
| 51
|Pierpoint
| CDP
| 59
|- style="background:honeyDew;"
| 52
|Idlewild
| CDP
|32
|- style="background:honeyDew;"
| 53
|Panorama Heights
| CDP
| 44
|- style="background:honeyDew;"
| 54
|California Hot Springs
| CDP
| 50
|- style="background:honeyDew;"
| 55
|Hartland
| CDP
|69
|- style="background:honeyDew;"
| 56
|Kennedy Meadows
| CDP
| 58
|- style="background:honeyDew;"
| 57
|Sugarloaf Saw Mill
| CDP
| 14
|- style="background:honeyDew;"
| 58
|Ponderosa
| CDP
| 51
|- style="background:honeyDew;"
| t-59
|McClenney Tract
| CDP
| 15
|- style="background:honeyDew;"
| t-59
|Posey
| CDP
| 23
|- style="background:honeyDew;"
| t-59
|Sequoia Crest
| CDP
| 24
|- style="background:honeyDew;"
| t-59
|Sugarloaf Village
| CDP
| 7
|- style="background:honeyDew;"
| 60
|Poso Park
| CDP
| 9
|- style="background:honeyDew;"
| 61
|Wilsonia
| CDP
| 14
|- style="background:honeyDew;"
| t-62
|Cedar Slope
| CDP
| 10
|- style="background:honeyDew;"
| t-62
|Silver City
| CDP
| 0
|- style="background:honeyDew;"
| t-62
|Sugarloaf Mountain Park
| CDP
| 0
|}
Education
Unified (full K-12) school districts include:
- Alpaugh Unified School District
- Corcoran Joint Unified School District
- Cutler-Orosi Joint Unified School District
- Dinuba Unified School District (includes some areas for grades PreK-12 and some for grades 9-12 only)
- Exeter Unified School District (includes some areas for grades PreK-12 and some for grades 9-12 only)
- Farmersville Unified School District
- Kings Canyon Joint Unified School District
- Lindsay Unified School District
- Porterville Unified School District (includes some areas for grades PreK-12 and some for grades 9-12 only)
- Visalia Unified School District
- Woodlake Unified School District (includes some areas for grades PreK-12 and some for grades 9-12 only)
Secondary school districts include: