Stanislaus County, California facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Stanislaus County, California
County
County of Stanislaus Spanish: Condado de Estanislao
Images, from top down, left to right: Modesto Arch, Knights Ferry's General Store, a view of the Tuolumne River from Waterford
Seal
Motto(s):  "Striving to be the best!"
Location in California
Country	United States
State	California
Region	San Joaquin Valley
Incorporated	April 1, 1854
Named for	Estanislao
County seat (and largest city)	Modesto
Government
• Type	Council–CEO
• Body	Board of Supervisors
Area
• Total	1,515 sq mi (3,920 km2)
• Land	1,495 sq mi (3,870 km2)
• Water	20 sq mi (50 km2)
Highest elevation	3,807 ft (1,160 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	552,878
• Density	364.94/sq mi (140.90/km2)
Time zone	UTC−8 (Pacific Time Zone)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−7 (Pacific Daylight Time)
Area code	209
FIPS code	06-099
GNIS feature ID	277314
Congressional districts	5th, 9th, 13th

Stanislaus County (ⁱ/ˈstænɪslɔː(s)/; Spanish: Condado de Estanislao) is a county located in the San Joaquin Valley of the U.S. state of California. As of 2023, its estimated population is 564,404. 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 113,135 acres (458 km²; 177 sq mi) 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 were on the north side of the Stanislaus River. Additionally in 1844, Salomon Pico received a Mexican land grant of 58,000 acres (235 km²; 91 sq mi) 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 1,515 square miles (3,920 km²), of which 20 square miles (52 km²) (1.3%) are covered by 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

A number or rare and endangered species are 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 that occurs at moderately high elevations. Colusa grass, (Neostapfsia colusana) is listed as endangered by the state. It is restricted to vernal pools.

National protected area

• San Joaquin River National Wildlife Refuge (part)

Transportation

Major highways

• Interstate 5
• State Route 4
• State Route 33
• State Route 99
• State Route 108
• State Route 120
• State Route 132
• State Route 165
• State Route 219

Public transportation

• Stanislaus Regional Transit Authority operates local bus service and paratransit in Modesto, regional service in Stanislaus County, and commuter service connecting to Bay Area Rapid Transit and Altamont Corridor Express.
• The cities of Ceres, Oakdale, Riverbank, and Turlock run small local bus systems.
• Both Greyhound and Amtrak have stops in Modesto and Turlock. Amtrak for Turlock actually stops in Denair.

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. Hispanics or Latinos 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, 446,997 people, 145,146 households, and 109,585 families were residing in the county. The population density was 299 people per square mile (115 people/km²). The 150,807 housing units had an average density of 101 units per square mile (39 units/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. About 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. About 67.8% spoke English, 23.7% Spanish, 1.5% Syriac, and 1.3% Portuguese as their first languages.

Of the 145,146 households, 41.2% had children under 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 not families. About 19.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.9% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 3.03, and the average family size was 3.47.

In the county, the age distribution was 31.1% under 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 or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.8 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 93.4 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $40,101, and 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 18 and 8.8% of those 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 (MSA). The United States Census Bureau ranked the Modesto MSA as the 103rd-most populous MSA of the United States as of July 1, 2012.

The Office of Management and Budget has further designated the Modesto MSA 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.

Economy

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

Education

Tertiary

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-sq-mi area and serves a population over 550,000, encompassing all of two counties (Stanislaus and Tuolumne) and parts of four others (Calaveras, Merced, San Joaquin, and Santa Clara). It is composed of two colleges: Modesto Junior College in Modesto and Columbia College in Sonora in Tuolumne County to the northeast.

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

K-12 education

School districts include:

Unified:

Secondary:

• Modesto City High School District

Elementary:

Media

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

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

• The Modesto Press is the local online news site for Modesto and the surrounding areas of the Central Valley.
• The Modesto Bee is a Modesto-based daily newspaper.

Communities

Incorporated cities

Census-designated places

Other unincorporated communities

• Eugene

Population ranking

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

† county seat

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Stanislaus para niños