Sutter County, California facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Sutter County, California
County
County of Sutter
Images, from top down, left to right: Sutter Buttes terrain, Live Oak Blvd near Pennington Road in the City of Live Oak, downtown of Yuba City
Seal
Location in the state of California
Country	United States
State	California
Region	Sacramento Valley
Metro area	Sacramento metropolitan area
Incorporated	February 18, 1850
Named for	John Augustus Sutter
County seat	Yuba City
Largest city	Yuba City
Government
• Type	Council–CAO
• Body	Board of Supervisors
Area
• Total	608 sq mi (1,570 km2)
• Land	602 sq mi (1,560 km2)
• Water	6.1 sq mi (16 km2)
Highest elevation	2,120 ft (650 m)
Population  (April 1, 2020)
• Total	99,633
• Density	163.87/sq mi (63.27/km2)
GDP
• Total	$4.840 billion (2022)
Time zone	UTC-8 (Pacific Time Zone)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-7 (Pacific Daylight Time)
Congressional district	1st
Website	www.co.sutter.ca.us

Sutter County is a county in California. As of 2020, about 99,633 people live there. The main city and county seat is Yuba City. Sutter County is part of the larger Sacramento metropolitan area. It sits along the Sacramento River in the Sacramento Valley.

History of Sutter County

Early People and Founding

The Maidu people lived in the Sutter County area first. They were here before European settlers arrived.

Sutter County was one of the first counties in California. It was created in 1850 when California became a state. A small part of the county was later given to Placer County in 1852.

Named for John Sutter

The county is named after John Augustus Sutter. He was born in Germany to Swiss parents. Sutter was one of the first Europeans to see how good the Sacramento Valley was for farming.

In 1841, he started Hock Farm near what is now Yuba City. This was the first big farm in the Central Valley. He used the labor of Native people to run his farm.

Sutter also received a large land grant called Rancho New Helvetia. His first settlement, New Helvetia, is now the city of Sacramento. After the Gold Rush, Sutter lost his lands in Sacramento. He then moved to Hock Farm in 1850.

Important Inventions and Laws

John Joseph Montgomery was born in Yuba City in 1858. He was the first American to successfully fly a machine heavier than air. This happened 20 years before the Wright Brothers. He even held the first patent for an "aeroplane."

In the 1890s, Sutter County was one of only two counties in California that banned alcohol. This meant saloons and public alcohol sales were not allowed.

Geography and Nature

Sutter County covers about 608 square miles. Most of this area, about 602 square miles, is land. Only a small part, about 6.1 square miles, is water. It is the fourth-smallest county in California by total area. About 88% of the county is excellent farmland and grazing land.

Sutter Buttes: Smallest Mountains

Sutter County is home to the Sutter Buttes. These are known as the "World's Smallest Mountain Range." They are a group of volcanic hills that stand out in the mostly flat Sacramento Valley.

Rivers and Waterways

The Sacramento River forms the western border of Sutter County. The Feather River is on the eastern side. The county has about 240 miles of levees, which are walls built to prevent floods.

The Sutter Bypass is a special channel that helps move floodwaters from the Sacramento River. It runs right through the middle of Sutter County.

Neighboring Counties

Sutter County shares borders with these other counties:

• Butte County to the north
• Yuba County to the east
• Placer County to the southeast
• Sacramento County to the south
• Yolo County to the southwest
• Colusa County to the west

Protected Natural Areas

Sutter County has several protected natural areas:

• Butte Sink National Wildlife Refuge (part of it)
• Sutter National Wildlife Refuge

There is also the State Feather River Wildlife Area. This area includes several units like Nelson Slough and O'Connor Lakes. A 1,795-acre State Park is located in the Sutter Buttes. Plus, there are public lands along the Feather, Bear, and Sacramento rivers. Smaller streams like Butte Creek are also found here.

Transportation Options

Main Roads

Several important state highways pass through Sutter County:

• State Route 20
• State Route 70
• State Route 99
• State Route 113

Buses and Public Transit

Yuba Sutter Transit provides local bus services. They also have buses that go to Downtown Sacramento for commuters. The Amtrak Thruway 3 bus offers daily trips to and from Sacramento.

Air Travel

The Sutter County Airport is a small airport for general aviation. It is located just south of Yuba City. For bigger flights, the closest major airport is Sacramento International Airport.

Population and People

Population in 2020

In 2020, Sutter County had a population of 99,633 people. The county is quite diverse. Many different racial and ethnic groups live here.

About 41.5% of the people were White (not Hispanic or Latino). About 18.1% were Asian. Hispanic or Latino people made up about 31.7% of the population. People of other races or mixed races also live in Sutter County.

Languages Spoken

In 2000, most people (70.3%) in Sutter County spoke English. About 17.9% spoke Spanish. And 9.3% spoke Punjabi as their first language.

Communities in Sutter County

Cities

• Live Oak
• Yuba City (This is the county seat, meaning it's the main city for county government.)

Census-Designated Places (CDPs)

These are areas that are like towns but are not officially cities.

Unincorporated Communities

These are smaller areas that are not part of any city or CDP.

Future Development

• Sutter Pointe is a proposed new town.

Largest Communities by Population (2010)

This table shows the largest communities in Sutter County based on the 2010 census. † county seat

Images for kids

• 

  California State Route 20

• 

  California State Route 70

• 

  California State Route 99

• 

  California State Route 113

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Sutter para niños