San Benito County, California facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids

San Benito County

County

County of San Benito

Images, from top down, left to right: San Benito County Courthouse, Mission San Juan Bautista, New Idria grounds

Flag

Seal

Location in the state of California

United States

Region

CSA

San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland

Metro

San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara

February 12, 1874

Largest city

Hollister

Area

• Total

1,390 sq mi (3,600 km²)

• Land

1,389 sq mi (3,600 km²)

• Water

1.8 sq mi (5 km²)

Highest elevation

5,245 ft (1,599 m)

Population

(2020)

• Total

64,209

• Density

46.19/sq mi (17.84/km²)

Time zone

UTC−8 (Pacific Time Zone)

• Summer (DST)

UTC−7 (Pacific Daylight Time)

Area code

831

FIPS code

06-069

GNIS feature ID

277299

San Benito County ( San Benito, Spanish for "St. Benedict"), officially the County of San Benito, is a county located in the Coast Range Mountains of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 64,209. The county seat is Hollister.

San Benito County is included in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA Combined Statistical Area.

El Camino Real passes through the county and includes one mission in San Juan Bautista.

History

San Benito County was formed from parts of Monterey County in 1874.

The county is named after the San Benito Valley. Father Juan Crespí, in his expedition in 1772, named a small river in honor of San Benedicto (Saint Benedict), the patron saint of the married, and it is from the contraction of this name that the county took its name.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,390 square miles (3,600 km²), of which 1,389 square miles (3,600 km²) is land and 1.8 square miles (4.7 km²) (0.1%) is water.

Sharing a border with Santa Clara County, San Benito County lies adjacent to the San Francisco Bay Area and is sometimes considered a part of that region. Frequently, the county is associated with the Monterey Bay Area through governmental organizations such as the Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments as well as the Pajaro River, which flows from northern San Benito County into the Monterey Bay. However, the United States Census Bureau includes the county in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA and the San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland CSA, which the Census uses as a statistical definition of the San Francisco Bay Area.

The county also borders Merced County and Fresno County in the east, which lead onto California's San Joaquin Valley.

The county is also the location of the Mount Harlan and San Benito American Viticultural Areas. The latter contains the Cienega Valley, Lime Kiln Valley, and Paicines AVAs.

Fauna and flora

There are a number of plant communities that occur in San Benito County including grasslands and chaparral; however, one of the more unusual is the Sargent cypress forest. Benitoite, the official gem of the State of California, was discovered in San Benito County. The county is also home to the San Benito evening primrose (Camissonia benitensis); and Illacme plenipes, a millipede having more legs than any other millipede species, discovered in the county in 1926. The plant genus Benitoa was named for San Benito County.

National protected area

Pinnacles National Park

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1880	5,584	—
1890	6,412	14.8%
1900	6,633	3.4%
1910	8,041	21.2%
1920	8,995	11.9%
1930	11,311	25.7%
1940	11,392	0.7%
1950	14,370	26.1%
1960	15,396	7.1%
1970	18,226	18.4%
1980	25,005	37.2%
1990	36,697	46.8%
2000	53,234	45.1%
2010	55,269	3.8%
2020	64,209	16.2%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790–1960 1900–1990 1990–2000 2010 2020

2020 census

**San Benito County, California - Demographic Profile**
(*NH = Non-Hispanic*)
Race / Ethnicity	Pop 2010	Pop 2020	% 2010	% 2020
White alone (NH)	21,154	19,785	38.27%	30.81%
Black or African American alone (NH)	355	479	0.64%	0.75%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	231	221	0.42%	0.34%
Asian alone (NH)	1,298	2,189	2.35%	3.41%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)	65	127	0.12%	0.20%
Some Other Race alone (NH)	67	332	0.12%	0.52%
Mixed Race/Multi-Racial (NH)	913	1,835	1.65%	2.86%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	31,186	39,241	56.43%	61.11%
Total	55,269	64,209	100.00%	100.00%

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

Population, race, and income
Total population	54,873
White	41,820	76.2%
Black or African American	728	1.3%
American Indian or Alaska Native	693	1.3%
Asian	1,336	2.4%
Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander	0	0.0%
Some other race	7,903	14.4%
Two or more races	2,393	4.4%
Hispanic or Latino (of any race)	30,497	55.6%
Per capita income	$26,300
Median household income	$65,570
Median family income	$73,150

Places by population, race, and income

Places by population and race
Place	Type	Population	White	Other	Asian	Black or African American	Native American	Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
Aromas ‡	CDP	1,175	77.9%	19.1%	0.0%	0.0%	3.0%	18.6%
Hollister	City	34,733	71.2%	23.2%	2.7%	1.6%	1.4%	65.7%
Ridgemark	CDP	3,370	86.3%	7.9%	2.8%	2.2%	0.8%	21.5%
San Juan Bautista	City	1,619	83.8%	6.4%	4.1%	4.4%	1.4%	37.6%
Tres Pinos	CDP	313	97.8%	2.2%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	32.6%
‡ Data for San Benito County area of this CDP

Places by population and income
Place	Type	Population	Per capita income	Median household income	Median family income
Aromas ‡	CDP	1,175	$49,556	$121,964	$163,906
Hollister	City	34,733	$22,433	$62,570	$64,123
Ridgemark	CDP	3,370	$38,800	$90,833	$101,776
San Juan Bautista	City	1,619	$24,527	$56,897	$65,526
Tres Pinos	CDP	313	$41,294	$83,500	$88,929
‡ Data for San Benito County area of this CDP

2010

The 2010 United States Census reported that San Benito County had a population of 55,269. The racial makeup of San Benito County was 35,181 (63.7%) White, 483 (0.9%) African American, 895 (1.6%) Native American, 1,443 (2.6%) Asian, 94 (0.2%) Pacific Islander, 14,471 (26.2%) from other races, and 2,702 (4.9%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 31,186 persons (56.4%).

Population reported at 2010 United States Census
The County	Total Population	White	African American	Native American	Asian	Pacific Islander	other races	two or more races	Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
San Benito County	55,269	35,181	483	895	1443	94	14,471	2,702	31,186
Incorporated cities	Total Population	White	African American	Native American	Asian	Pacific Islander	other races	two or more races	Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
Hollister	34,928	20,761	341	617	929	63	10,437	1,780	22,965
San Juan Bautista	1,862	1,125	12	58	52	2	494	119	907
Census-designated places	Total Population	White	African American	Native American	Asian	Pacific Islander	other races	two or more races	Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
Aromas ‡	1,292	961	9	13	14	3	207	85	413
Ridgemark	3,016	2,520	23	14	105	3	248	103	623
Tres Pinos	476	390	3	8	6	0	57	12	112
Other unincorporated areas	Total Population	White	African American	Native American	Asian	Pacific Islander	other races	two or more races	Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
All others not CDPs (combined)	13,695	9,424	95	185	337	23	3,028	603	6,166
‡ Note: these numbers reflect only the portion of this CDP in San Benito County

2000

As of the census of 2000, there were 53,234 people, 15,885 households, and 12,898 families residing in the county. The population density was 38 people per square mile (15/km²). There were 16,499 housing units at an average density of 12 per square mile (5/km²). The racial makeup of the county in 2010 was 38.3% non-Hispanic White, 0.6% non-Hispanic Black or African American, 0.4% Native American, 2.3% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 0.1% from other races, and 1.7% from two or more races. 56.4% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 7.6% were of German, 6.3% Irish and 5.4% Italian ancestry according to Census 2000. 62.8% spoke English and 35.3% Spanish as their first language. As of the 2010 United States Census, San Benito County was the only county in the greater San Francisco Bay Area with a Hispanic majority and where a minority race formed the largest race composition.

There were 15,885 households, out of which 46.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.7% were married couples living together, 10.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.8% were non-families. 14.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.32 and the average family size was 3.64.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 32.2% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 31.5% from 25 to 44, 19.3% from 45 to 64, and 8.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 102.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.6 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $57,469, and the median income for a family was $60,665. Males had a median income of $44,158 versus $29,524 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,932. About 6.7% of families and 10.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.4% of those under age 18 and 8.5% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

Major highways

U.S. Route 101 to San Francisco
State Route 25
State Route 129 to Santa Cruz
State Route 146
State Route 156

Public transportation

San Benito County Express provides fixed route service in the city of Hollister, and intercity service in the northern portion of the county. Service operates as far north as Gilroy, in Santa Clara County.

Airports

Hollister Municipal Airport

Hollister Municipal Airport is a general aviation airport located just north of Hollister.

Communities

Cities

Hollister (county seat)
San Juan Bautista

Census-designated places

Unincorporated communities

Ghost town

New Idria

Population ranking

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

† county seat

Rank	City/Town/etc.	Municipal type	Population (2010 Census)
1	† Hollister	City	34,928
2	Ridgemark	CDP	3,016
3	Aromas (partially in Monterey County)	CDP	2,650
4	San Juan Bautista	City	1,862
5	Tres Pinos	CDP	476

Economy

The economy is statistically included in metro San Jose, though the dominant activity is agriculture. Agritourism is growing as the county has destination wineries, organic farms and quaint inns with views of cattle grazing. With concerns about how oil and gas operations could impact this sector of the economy and agriculture in general, the county voters approved a measure in 2014 that bans well stimulation techniques such as fracking, acidizing and steam injection, along with conventional drilling in some areas. In the 1950s, the oil drilling industry had many wells and the county is over the Monterey Shale formation but there is very little activity now.

Top employers

According to the San Benito County Chamber of Commerce, the top employers in the county are:

#	Employer	# of Employees
1	Earthbound Farm	1,000+
2	Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital	250–499
3	Milgard	250–499
4	Pacific Scientific	250–499
5	San Benito High School	250–499
6	True Leaf Farms	250–499
7	Nob Hill Foods	100–249
8	Target	100–249
9	Trical	100–249
10	Corbin	100–249
11	West Marine	100–249
12	Ridgemark	100–249
13	Casa de Fruta	100–249
14	Cedar Valley Shingle Systems	100–249
15	Tanimura & Antle	100–249
16	~~El Modeno Gardens~~	100–249
17	LifeSparc	100–249
18	MC Electronics	100–249
19	San Benito Foods	100–249

Images for kids

Tumey Hills BLM recreation area, near Interstate 5

All content from Kiddle encyclopedia articles (including the article images and facts) can be freely used under Attribution-ShareAlike license, unless stated otherwise. Cite this article:

San Benito County, California Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.