Yolo County (; Wintun: Yo-loy), officially the County of Yolo, is a county located in the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Yolo County was one of the original counties of California, created in 1850 at the time of statehood. As of the 2020 census, its population was 216,403. Its county seat is Woodland. Yolo County is included in the greater Sacramento metropolitan area in the Sacramento Valley.
Etymology
In the original act of 1850, the name was spelled "Yola". Yolo is a Patwin Native American name variously believed to be a corruption of a tribal name, Yo-loy, meaning "a place abounding in rushes", the village of Yodoi, believed to be in the vicinity of Knights Landing, California, or the name of the chief of said village, Yodo.
History
Yolo County was one of the original counties of California, created in 1850 at the time of statehood.
Government
Yolo County is a California Constitution defined general law county and is governed by an elected Board of Supervisors. The Board consists of five members, elected by districts, who serve every four-year staggered terms.
The county is governed by a board of five district supervisors as well the governments of its four incorporated cities: Davis, West Sacramento, Winters, and Woodland.
Geography
thumb|Aerial view of Watts Woodland Airport and surrounding area
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which (0.9%) is covered by water.
Adjacent counties
- Colusa County - north
- Sutter County - northeast
- Sacramento County - east
- Solano County - south
- Napa County - west
- Lake County - northwest
Transportation
Major highways
County roads
Addressing in Yolo County is based on a system of numbered county roads. The numbering system works in the following way:
- North–south roads have numbers from 41 to 117 and increase from west to east.
- East–west roads have numbers from 1 to 38A, and then from 151 to 161, and increase from north to south.
Each integer road number is generally apart, with letters occasionally designating roads less than apart. County roads entering urban areas generally become named roads once they cross a city boundary. Some examples include County Road 101 in Woodland being renamed Pioneer Avenue, and County Road 102 (also known as County Route E8) in Davis being named Pole Line Road.
Public transportation
- Yolobus (Yolo County Transportation District) runs buses throughout Yolo County and into Sacramento, and Sacramento International Airport.
- The University of California, Davis and the city of Davis jointly run Unitrans, a combination local city bus and campus shuttle.
- SolTrans Route B runs between Davis and Walnut Creek through Solano County.
- Amtrak has a station in Davis.
Airports
- Yolo County Airport
- University Airport
- Borges–Clarksburg Airport
- Watts–Woodland Airport
Port
The Port of Sacramento, now known as the Port of West Sacramento, is an inland port in West Sacramento, California, in the Sacramento metropolitan area. It is northeast of San Francisco, and is centered in the California Central Valley, one of the richest agricultural regions in the world.
Crime
This table includes the number of incidents reported and the rate per 1,000 persons for each type of offense.
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible collapsible collapsed"
|-
! colspan="3" | Population and crime rates
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | Population
| 556 || 2.80
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | Homicide
| 3,844 || 19.33
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | Motor vehicle theft
! data-sort-type="number" | Violent crimes In fact, since 1928, Eisenhower's win in 1952 was the only time the county was carried by the Republican presidential nominee.
<!-- PresRow should be -->
Yolo County has been somewhat more likely to elect Republican governors since then (Ronald Reagan carried the county in 1966, George Deukmejian in 1986, and Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2003 and 2006).
In the United States House of Representatives, Yolo County is split between California's 4th and 7th congressional districts, represented by and , respectively.
In the California State Senate, the county is entirely with the 3rd Senate district, represented by .
In the California State Assembly, the county is entirely within the 4th Assembly district, represented by .
In November 2008, Yolo was one of just three counties in California's interior in which voters rejected Proposition 8 to ban gay marriage. Yolo voters rejected Proposition 8 by a vote of 58.65 to 41.35%. The other interior counties in which Proposition 8 failed to receive a majority of votes were Alpine County and Mono County. In 2024, all three joined 11 other interior counties which voted in favor of Proposition 3, which repealed Proposition 8 and established an affirmative right to marriage in the constitution, with Yolo supporting Proposition 3 70.4% to 29.6%.
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed"
|-
! colspan="3" | Population and registered voters
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | Total population
| colspan="2" | 198,889
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | Registered voters
| 101,849
| 51.2%
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | Democratic
| footnote = U.S. Decennial Census<br />1790-1960 1900–1990<br />1990-2000 2010
The racial makeup of the county was 49.6% White, 2.8% Black or African American, 1.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 14.0% Asian, 0.5% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 15.7% from some other race, and 15.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 33.1% of the population.
92.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 8.0% lived in rural areas.
There were 76,594 households in the county, of which 32.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 28.5% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 23.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
!Pop 1990
!Pop 2000
!Pop 2010
!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" | Pop 2020
!% 1980
!% 1990
!% 2000
!% 2010
!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |% 2020
|-
|White alone (NH)
|85,194
|96,825
|97,942
|100,240
|style='background: #ffffe6; |93,911
|75.14%
|68.63%
|58.07%
|49.91%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |43.40%
|-
|Black or African American alone (NH)
|1,886
|2,975
|3,133
|4,752
|style='background: #ffffe6; |5,722
|1.66%
|2.11%
|1.86%
|2.37%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |2.64%
|-
|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)
|1,206
|1,363
|1,165
|1,098
|style='background: #ffffe6; |948
|1.06%
|0.97%
|0.69%
|0.55%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.44%
|-
|Asian alone (NH)
|4,597
|11,455
|16,390
|25,640
|style='background: #ffffe6; |29,872
|4.05%
|8.12%
|9.72%
|12.77%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |13.80%
|-
|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)
|x
|x
|443
|817
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,079
|x
|x
|0.26%
|0.41%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.50%
|-
|Other race alone (NH)
|1,149
|292
|396
|443
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,278
|1.01%
|0.21%
|0.23%
|0.22%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.59%
|-
|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)
|x
|x
|5,484
|6,906
|style='background: #ffffe6; |11,893
|x
|x
|3.25%
|3.44%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |5.50%
|-
|Hispanic or Latino (any race)
|19,342
|28,182
|43,707
|60,953
|style='background: #ffffe6; |71,700
|17.06%
|19.97%
|25.91%
|30.35%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |33.13%
|-
|Total
|113,374
|141,092
|168,660
|200,849
|style='background: #ffffe6; |216,403
|100.00%
|100.00%
|100.00%
|100.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%
|}
2010
The 2010 United States census reported that Yolo County had a population of 200,849. The racial makeup of Yolo County was 126,883 (63.2%) White, 5,208 (2.6%) African American, 2,214 (1.1%) Native American, 26,052 (13.0%) Asian, 910 (0.5%) Pacific Islander, 27,882 (13.9%) from other races, and 11,700 (5.8%) from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 60,953 persons (30.3%).
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed"
|-
!colspan=10|Population reported at 2010 United States census
|-
| |||| || || || || || || ||
|-
| Yolo County
|align="right"|200,849||align="right"|126,883||align="right"|5,208||align="right"|2,214||align="right"|26,052||align="right"|910||align="right"|27,882||align="right"|11,700||align="right"|60,953
|-
| |||| || || || || || || ||
|-
| Davis
|align="right"|65,622||align="right"|42,571||align="right"|1,528||align="right"|339||align="right"|14,355||align="right"|136||align="right"|3,121||align="right"|3,572||align="right"|8,172
|-
| West Sacramento
|align="right"|48,744||align="right"|29,521||align="right"|2,344||align="right"|798||align="right"|5,106||align="right"|534||align="right"|6,709||align="right"|3,732||align="right"|15,282
|-
|Winters
|align="right"|6,624||align="right"|4,635||align="right"|43||align="right"|56||align="right"|63||align="right"|7||align="right"|1,488||align="right"|332||align="right"|3,469
|-
|Woodland
|align="right"|55,468||align="right"|34,904||align="right"|855||align="right"|726||align="right"|3,458||align="right"|169||align="right"|12,488||align="right"|2,868||align="right"|26,289
|-
| |||| || || || || || || ||
|-
|Clarksburg
|align="right"|418||align="right"|339||align="right"|2||align="right"|2||align="right"|16||align="right"|1||align="right"|37||align="right"|21||align="right"|109
|-
|Dunnigan
|align="right"|1,416||align="right"|836||align="right"|107||align="right"|25||align="right"|19||align="right"|1||align="right"|339||align="right"|89||align="right"|583
|-
|Esparto
|align="right"|3,108||align="right"|1,855||align="right"|45||align="right"|50||align="right"|129||align="right"|6||align="right"|904||align="right"|119||align="right"|1,538
|-
|Guinda
|align="right"|254||align="right"|175||align="right"|26||align="right"|0||align="right"|1||align="right"|1||align="right"|43||align="right"|8||align="right"|68
|-
|Knights Landing
|align="right"|995||align="right"|560||align="right"|4||align="right"|10||align="right"|7||align="right"|0||align="right"|338||align="right"|76||align="right"|644
|-
|Madison
|align="right"|503||align="right"|224||align="right"|1||align="right"|8||align="right"|3||align="right"|3||align="right"|235||align="right"|29||align="right"|384
|-
|Monument Hills
|align="right"|1,542||align="right"|1,163||align="right"|20||align="right"|32||align="right"|77||align="right"|17||align="right"|153||align="right"|80||align="right"|403
|-
|University of California, Davis
|align="right"|5,786||align="right"|2,443||align="right"|144||align="right"|22||align="right"|2,443||align="right"|7||align="right"|364||align="right"|363||align="right"|728
|-
| |||| || || || || || || ||
|-
|All others not CDPs (combined)
|align="right"|10,369||align="right"|7,657||align="right"|89||align="right"|146||align="right"|375||align="right"|28||align="right"|1,663||align="right"|411||align="right"|3,284
|}
2000 census
As of the census of 2000, 168,660 people, 59,375 households, and 37,465 families were residing in the county. The population density was . The 61,587 housing units had an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 67.7% White, 2.0% Black or African American, 1.2% Native American, 9.9% Asian, 0.3% Pacific Islander, 13.8% from other races, and 5.2% from two or more races. About 25.9% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos of any race. By ancestry, 10.0% were of German, 6.6% English and 6.4% Irish descent according to Census 2000. About 68.5% spoke English, 19.5% Spanish, 2.1% Chinese or Mandarin, and 1.8% Russian as their first language.
Of the 59,375 households, 33.6% had children under 18 living with them, 47.6% were married couples living together, 11.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.9% were not families. About 23.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.3% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.71 and the average family size was 3.25.
In the county, the age distribution was 25.2% under 18, 18.3% from 18 to 24, 28.2% from 25 to 44, 18.9% from 45 to 64, and 9.4% who were 65 or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.6 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 92.2 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $40,769, and for a family was $51,623. Males had a median income of $38,022 versus $30,687 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,365. About 9.5% of families and 18.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.0% of those under 18 and 7.4% of those 65 or over.
Education
Public schools
The Yolo County Office of Education has supervision over public schools.
School districts covering portions of the county include:
- Davis Joint Unified School District
- Esparto Unified School District
- Pierce Joint Unified School District
- River Delta Joint Unified School District
- Washington Unified School District
- Winters Joint Unified School District
- Woodland Joint Unified School District
Colleges and universities
- University of California, Davis
- Woodland Community College
Communities
thumb|150px|right|Water tower at University of California, Davis
Cities
- Davis
- West Sacramento
- Winters
- Woodland (county seat)
Census-designated places
- Brooks
- Clarksburg
- Dunnigan
- El Macero
- Esparto
- Guinda
- Knights Landing
- Madison
- Monument Hills
- Rumsey
- Tancred
- University of California-Davis
- Yolo
Other unincorporated communities
- Capay
- Plainfield
- Zamora
- Ronda is a former settlement that was located on the Southern Pacific Railroad southeast of Dunnigan, at an elevation of 59 feet (18 m). It still appeared on maps as of 1915. <!---->
Population ranking
The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2010 census of Yolo County.
† county seat
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Rank
!City/town/etc.
!Municipal type
!Population (2010 Census)
|- style="background-color:#FFFACD;"
| 1
|Davis
| City
| 65,622
|- style="background-color:#FFFACD;"
| 2
|† Woodland
| City
| 55,468
|- style="background-color:#FFFACD;"
| 3
|West Sacramento
| City
| 48,744
|- style="background-color:#FFFACD;"
| 4
|Winters
| City
| 6,624
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 5
|University of California Davis
| CDP
| 5,786
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;
| 6
|Esparto
| CDP
| 3,108
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 7
|Monument Hills
| CDP
| 1,542
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 8
|Dunnigan
| CDP
| 1,416
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 9
|Knights Landing
| CDP
| 995
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 10
|Madison
| CDP
| 721
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 11
|Yolo
| CDP
| 450
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 12
|Clarksburg
| CDP
| 418
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 13
|Guinda
| CDP
| 254
|- style="background-color:#FFFF99;"
| 14
|Rumsey Indian Rancheria
| AIAN
| 77
|}
See also
- 1892 Vacaville–Winters earthquakes
- List of school districts in Yolo County, California
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Yolo County, California
Notes
References
External links
- Yolo County, California USENET FAQ
- Yolo County Visitors Bureau website
- Yolo County District Attorney
- Yolo County Community website
- Yolo County CAGenWeb Project (history & genealogy)
- Yolo County, Calif., map 185-? at The Bancroft Library