Trinity County, California facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Trinity County, California
County
County of Trinity
Images, from top down, left to right: Weaverville Historic District, Hayfork Creek, Trinity Lake, Weaverville Joss House State Historic Park
Seal
Location in the state of California
Country	United States
State	California
Region	North Coast
Incorporated	February 18, 1850
Named for	Trinity River
County seat	Weaverville
Largest community	Weaverville
Area
• Total	3,208 sq mi (8,310 km2)
• Land	3,179 sq mi (8,230 km2)
• Water	28 sq mi (70 km2)
Highest elevation	9,037 ft (2,754 m)
Population  (April 1, 2020)
• Total	16,112
• Density	5.0224/sq mi (1.9392/km2)
Time zone	UTC−8 (Pacific Time Zone)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−7 (Pacific Daylight Time)
Area code	530
FIPS code	06-105
GNIS feature ID	277317

Trinity County is a county in northwestern California. Trinity County is rugged, mountainous, heavily forested, and lies along the Trinity River within the Salmon and Klamath Mountains. It is also one of three counties in California with no incorporated cities.

As of the 2020 census, the population was 16,112, making it the fifth least-populous county in California. The county seat and largest community is Weaverville.

History

The county takes its name from the Trinity River, named in 1845 by Major Pierson B. Reading, who was under the mistaken impression that the river emptied into Trinidad Bay. Trinity is the English translation of Trinidad.

Trinity County was one of the original counties of California, created in 1850 at the time of statehood. Parts of the county were given to Klamath County in 1852 and to Humboldt County in 1853.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 3,208 square miles (8,310 km²), of which 3,179 square miles (8,230 km²) is land and 28 square miles (73 km²) (0.9%) is water. The county contains a significant portion of Shasta-Trinity National Forest, home to the Trinity Alps. The county hosts many visitors, especially during summer months, for camping, backpacking, and fishing. The summers tend to be clear, sunny, warm, and very dry, with little rain from June to September except for some mountain thunderstorms in the highest elevations. The winters tend to have copious precipitation, falling mostly as rain under 1000m/3300 ft in the valley bottoms, and mostly as snow over 1000m/3300 ft on the mountainsides. December, January, and February are the wettest. There is an extensive wild river and stream system, and the terrain is quite rugged and forested, with the highest points at around 9,000 ft (2,700 m). The Klamath Mountains occupy the vast portion of the county.

National protected areas

• Mendocino National Forest (part)
• Shasta-Trinity National Forest (part)
• Six Rivers National Forest (part)
• Whiskeytown National Recreation Area (part)

Transportation

Major highways

• State Route 299
• State Route 3
• State Route 36

Public transportation

Trinity Transit provides weekday intercity bus service on State Routes 3 and 299, with connecting service in Willow Creek and Redding. Service is also provided from Weaverville to Lewiston (MWF) and Hayfork (daily).

Airports

The county owns five general aviation airports: Trinity Center Airport, Weaverville Airport, Hayfork Airport, Hyampom Airport and Ruth Airport.

Demographics

2011

Places by population, race, and income

2010

The 2010 United States Census reported that Trinity County had a population of 13,786. The racial makeup of Trinity County was 12,033 (87.3%) White, 59 (0.4%) African American, 655 (4.8%) Native American, 94 (0.7%) Asian, 16 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 217 (1.6%) from other races, and 712 (5.2%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 959 persons (7.0%).

2000

As of the census of 2000, there were 13,022 people, 5,587 households, and 3,625 families residing in the county. The population density was 4 people per square mile (2/km²). There were 7,980 housing units at an average density of 2 per square mile (1/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 88.9% White, 0.5% Black or African American, 4.9% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 0.9% from other races, and 4.4% from two or more races. 4.0% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 16.1% were of German, 13.4% English, 12.1% Irish and 9.5% American ancestry according to Census 2000. 97.3% spoke English and 1.8% Spanish as their first language.

There were 5,587 households, out of which 25.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.5% were married couples living together, 10.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.1% were non-families. 29.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.80.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 22.8% under the age of 18, 5.1% from 18 to 24, 22.7% from 25 to 44, 32.1% from 45 to 64, and 17.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females there were 104.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.6 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $27,711, and the median income for a family was $34,343. Males had a median income of $31,131 versus $24,271 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,868. About 14.1% of families and 18.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.2% of those under age 18 and 7.2% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Census-designated places

Unincorporated communities

Population ranking

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

† county seat