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San Benito County, California facts for kids

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San Benito County
County of San Benito
San Benito County Courthouse 1-May-2015.jpg
Sanjuanbautistamission.jpg
New Idria grounds.jpg
Images, from top down, left to right: San Benito County Courthouse, Mission San Juan Bautista, New Idria grounds
Flag of San Benito County
Flag
Official seal of San Benito County
Seal
Location in the state of California
Location in the state of California
Country United States
State California
Region Central Coast
CSA San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland
Metro San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara
Incorporated February 12, 1874
Named for San Benito River
County seat Hollister
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

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

Places by population, race, and income

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%).

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

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 photo D Ramey Logan
Hollister Municipal Airport

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

Communities

Cities

Census-designated places

Unincorporated communities

Ghost town

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

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Condado de San Benito para niños

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