STANISLAUS County, CA

Stanislaus County is a county in California's San Joaquin Valley. As of the 2020 census, the population was 552,878. The county seat is Modesto.

Stanislaus County makes up the Modesto Metropolitan Statistical Area. The county is located just east of the San Francisco Bay Area and serves as a bedroom community for those who work in the eastern part of the Bay Area.

History

The first European to see the area was Gabriel Moraga in 1806.

The county was named after the Estanislao river, which in turn was named in honor of Estanislao, a mission-educated renegade Native American chief who led a band of Native Americans in a series of battles against Mexican troops until finally being defeated by General Mariano Vallejo in 1826. Estanislao was his baptismal name, the Spanish name version after Saint Stanislaus the Martyr.

Between 1843 and 1846, when California was a province of independent Mexico, five Mexican land grants totaling were granted in Stanislaus County. Rancho Orestimba y Las Garzas, Rancho Pescadero and Rancho Del Puerto were located on the west side of the San Joaquin River, and Rancho Del Rio Estanislao and Rancho Thompson on the north side of the Stanislaus River. Additionally, in 1844 Salomon Pico received a Mexican land grant of in the San Joaquin Valley, somewhere near the Stanislaus River and the San Joaquin River in what is now Stanislaus County. However, the grant was never confirmed by the Land Commission.

Stanislaus County was formed from part of Tuolumne County in 1854. The county seat was first situated at Adamsville, then moved to Empire in November, La Grange in December, and Knights Ferry in 1862, and was ultimately fixed at the present location in Modesto in 1871.

As the price of housing has increased in the San Francisco Bay Area, many people who work in the southern reaches of the Bay Area have opted for the longer commute and moved to Stanislaus County for the relatively affordable housing.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.3%) is water.

Stanislaus County has historically been divided socially and economically by the north-flowing San Joaquin River, which provided a natural barrier to trade and travel for much of the county's history. Isolated from the main rail corridors through the county and the irrigation projects that generated much of the region's economic prosperity, the part of Stanislaus County west of the river (known to locals as the "West Side" of the county) has largely remained rural and economically dependent on agricultural activities. Because of its proximity to Interstate 5 and the California Aqueduct some towns within this area, including Patterson and Newman, have experienced tremendous growth and are being transformed into bedroom communities for commuters from the nearby San Francisco Bay Area, while others (including Westley and Crows Landing) have been almost entirely overlooked by development and remain tiny farming communities.

Flora and fauna

There are a number or rare and endangered species found in Stanislaus County. The Beaked Clarkia, (Clarkia rostrata), is listed as a candidate for the Federal Endangered Species List. It has only been found in blue oak-gray pine associations in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, a habitat which occurs at moderately high elevations. Colusa Grass, (Neostapfsia colusana) is listed as endangered by the State. It is restricted to vernal pools. (Torrey, 1989)

National protected area

Transportation

Major highways

Public transportation

Airports

Modesto City-County Airport has previously had a number of scheduled passenger flights. Currently, its main air traffic is general aviation. Other (general aviation) airports around the county include Oakdale Airport, Patterson Airport, and Turlock Airpark.

Demographics

2020 census

Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.

2011

Places by population, race, and income

2010 Census

The 2010 United States Census reported that Stanislaus County had a population of 514,453. The racial makeup of Stanislaus County was 337,342 (65.6%) White, 14,721 (2.9%) African American, 5,902 (1.1%) Native American, 26,090 (5.1%) Asian (1.5% Indian, 1.1% Filipino, 0.7% Cambodian, 0.5% Chinese, 0.3% Vietnamese, 0.3% Laotian, 0.1% Japanese, 0.1% Korean, 0.1% Cambodian), 3,401 (0.7%) Pacific Islander, 99,210 (19.3%) from other races, and 27,787 (5.4%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 215,658 persons (41.9%); 37.6% of Stanislaus County is Mexican, 0.6% Puerto Rican, 0.5% Salvadoran, 0.2% Nicaraguan, and 0.2% Guatemalan.

(Note - the US Census Bureau says "this system treats race and ethnicity as separate and independent categories. This means that within the federal system everyone is classified as both a member of one of the four race groups and also as either Hispanic or non-Hispanic." Consequently, there are a total of 8 race-ethnicity categories (e.g., White-Hispanic, White-non-Hispanic, Black-Hispanic, Black-non-Hispanic, etc.). That in turn means that the total Hispanic population is made up of each of the four groups, thus the separate distinction for Hispanic and non-Hispanic.)

2000

As of the census of 2000, there were 446,997 people, 145,146 households, and 109,585 families residing in the county. The population density was 299 people per square mile (116/km²). There were 150,807 housing units at an average density of 101 per square mile (39/km²). The racial/ethnic makeup of the county was 69.3% White, 2.6% Black, 4.2% Asian, 1.3% Native American, 0.3% Pacific Islander, 16.8% from other races, and 5.4% from two or more races. 31.7% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 8.4% were of German, 6.3% English, 6.0% American, 5.5% Irish, and 5.1% Portuguese ancestry according to Census 2000. 67.8% spoke English, 23.7% Spanish, 1.5% Syriac, and 1.3% Portuguese as their first language.

There were 145,146 households, out of which 41.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.0% were married couples living together, 13.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.5% were non-families. 19.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.03 and the average family size was 3.47.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 31.1% under the age of 18, 9.8% from 18 to 24, 29.0% from 25 to 44, 19.5% from 45 to 64, and 10.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 96.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.4 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $40,101, and the median income for a family was $44,703. Males had a median income of $36,969 versus $26,595 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,913. About 12.3% of families and 16.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.5% of those under age 18 and 8.8% of those age 65 or over.

Metropolitan Statistical Area

The United States Office of Management and Budget has designated Stanislaus County as the Modesto, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area. The United States Census Bureau ranked the Modesto, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area as the 103rd most populous metropolitan statistical area of the United States as of July 1, 2012.

The Office of Management and Budget has further designated the Modesto, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area as a component of the more extensive San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, CA Combined Statistical Area, the 5th most populous combined statistical area in the United States.

Crime

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

Cities by population and crime rates

Government, politics, and policing

Government

The Government of Stanislaus County is defined and authorized under the California Constitution and law as a general law county. The County government provides countywide services such as elections and voter registration, law enforcement, jails, vital records, property records, tax collection, public health, and social services. In addition the County serves as the local government for all unincorporated areas.

The County government is composed of the elected five-member Board of Supervisors, several other elected offices including the Sheriff-Coroner, District Attorney, Assessor, Auditor-Controller, Treasurer-Tax Collector, and Clerk-Recorder, and numerous county departments and entities under the supervision of the Chief Executive Officer. As of January 2021 the members of the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors were:

Policing

Sheriff

The Stanislaus County Sheriff provides court protection, jail administration, and coroner services for the entire county of 540,000 in population. It provides patrol and detective services for the unincorporated areas of the county. The Sheriff also provides law enforcement services by contract to the municipalities of Riverbank, Patterson, Waterford, Salida, and Hughson. These municipalities fund police coverage as specified in the respective sheriff's contract with each city.

Municipal police

Municipal police departments in the county are: Modesto, population 213,000; Turlock, 73,000; Ceres, 46,000; Oakdale, 23,000; Acton, 8,000; Newman 11,000.

Politics

Voter registration statistics

= Cities by population and voter registration =

Overview

Just like neighboring Merced County, Stanislaus is considered a bellwether county in presidential elections. The last major-party nominee to gain over 60% of the vote was Lyndon Johnson in 1964. Furthermore, in 1960, Stanislaus County was one of the most bellwether counties in terms of the popular vote, voting 0.02% more Democratic than the national average. It has voted for the winning candidate for president in every election since 1972 except in 2016 when it voted for Hillary Clinton instead of Donald Trump. In 2020, Joe Biden won the county in a slim victory returning the county to its status as bellwether county. The last Democrat to win a majority in the county was Jimmy Carter in 1976, although Barack Obama won a plurality in 2008 and 2012, as did Bill Clinton in both 1992 and 1996, and as Joe Biden did in 2020.

In the United States House of Representatives, Stanislaus County is in .

In the California State Senate, Stanislaus is split between 3 legislative districts:

In the California State Assembly, Stanislaus is split between , and .

Economy

Agriculture is Stanislaus County's number one industry, with almonds being the primary agricultural product.

Education

The California State University, Stanislaus is a campus of the California State University located in Turlock.

The Yosemite Community College District covers a 4,500 square mile area and serves a population over 550,000 encompassing all of two counties (Stanislaus and Tuolumne) and parts of 4 others (Calaveras, Merced, San Joaquin and Santa Clara). It is composed of 2 colleges: Modesto Junior College in Modesto and Columbia College in Sonora in Tuolumne County to the northeast.

There is also a Kaplan College campus in Modesto, an ITT Technical Institute campus in Lathrop in San Joaquin County to the northeast, and a San Joaquin Valley College campus in Modesto.

Media

Stanislaus County is in the Sacramento television market, and thus receives Sacramento media.

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

Communities

Incorporated cities

Census-designated places

Other unincorporated communities

Population ranking

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

† county seat