Tuolumne County, California facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Tuolumne County, California
County
County of Tuolumne
Images, from top down, left to right: the Old Tuolumne County Courthouse in Sonora, a shop in Columbia State Historic Park, Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite National Park
Flag Seal
Location in the state of California
Country	United States
State	California
Regions	Sierra Nevada, Gold Country
Incorporated	February 15, 1850
County seat	Sonora
Largest city	Sonora
Government
• Type	Council–Administrator
• Body	Board of Supervisors
Area
• Total	2,274 sq mi (5,890 km2)
• Land	2,221 sq mi (5,750 km2)
• Water	54 sq mi (140 km2)
Highest elevation	13,114 ft (3,997 m)
Population  (April 1, 2020)
• Total	55,620
• Density	24.459/sq mi (9.4437/km2)
GDP
• Total	$2.884 billion (2022)
Time zone	UTC−8 (Pacific Time Zone)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−7 (Pacific Daylight Time)
Congressional district	5th

Very fine old crystalline-gold specimen, most likely from Tuolumne County. Sold in the 1950s for $65; more recently for $12,500. Published twice.

Tuolumne County (ⁱ/tuˈɒləmi/), officially the County of Tuolumne, is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 55,620. The county seat and only incorporated city is Sonora.

Tuolumne County comprises the Sonora, CA Micropolitan Statistical Area. The county is in the Sierra Nevada region.

City of Sonora in Tuolumne County California

The northern half of Yosemite National Park is located in the eastern part of the county.

Etymology

The name Tuolumne is of Native American origin and has been given different meanings, such as Many Stone Houses, The Land of Mountain Lions, and Straight Up Steep, the latter an interpretation of William Fuller, a native Chief. Mariano Vallejo, in his report to the first California State Legislature, said that the word is "a corruption of the Native American word talmalamne which signifies 'cluster of stone wigwams.'" The name may mean "people who dwell in stone houses," i.e., in caves.

History

Tuolumne County Boundaries

One of California's original 27 counties, Tuolumne was organized in 1850.

Prior to the official naming of counties by the state, Tuolumne was sometimes referred to as Oro County.

The original lines of Tuolumne County were not long established. In 1854 and 1855 the portion of Tuolumne County that extended west into the San Joaquin Valley was reorganized as Stanislaus County. In 1864 a number of the original counties including Tuolumne contributed lands that would lead to the establishment of Alpine County to the northeast. With the State's Adoption of the Political Code in 1872 the current boundaries of Tuolumne County were largely established as shown in the maps below.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,274 square miles (5,890 km²), of which 2,221 square miles (5,750 km²) is land and 54 square miles (140 km²) (2.4%) is water. A California Department of Forestry document reports Tuolumne County's 1,030,812 acres (4,171.55 km²) include federal lands such as Yosemite National Park, Stanislaus National Forest, Bureau of Land Management lands, and Indian reservations. Notable landforms in the county include Table Mountain.

Special Districts

Special districts in Tuolumne County include:

• Belleview Elementary School District
• Big Oak Flat-Groveland Unified School District
• Chinese Camp Elementary School District
• Columbia Fire District
• Columbia Union Elementary School District
• Curtis Creek Elementary School District
• Groveland Community Services District
• Jamestown Elementary School District
• Jamestown Fire District
• Mi-Wuk Sugar Pine Fire Protection District
• Sonora Elementary School District
• Sonora Union High School District
• Soulsbyville Elementary School District
• Strawberry Fire District
• Summerville Elementary School District
• Summerville Union High School District
• Tuolumne County Air Pollution Control District
• Tuolumne County Water District No. 1
• Tuolumne Fire District
• Tuolumne Regional Water District
• Tuolumne Utilities District
• Twain Harte Fire District
• Twain Harte-Long Barn Union Elementary School District
• Yosemite Community College District

Adjacent counties

• Alpine County, California - north
• Calaveras County, California - northwest
• Stanislaus County, California - southwest
• Mariposa County, California - south
• Madera County, California - southeast
• Mono County, California - east
• Merced County, California - southwest

Geographical features

Environmental

• Red Hills (Tuolumne County) (Area of Critical Environmental Concern)
• Stanislaus National Forest (National protected area, part)
• Yosemite National Park (NPA, part)

Valleys

• Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne
• Lone Gulch
• Tiltill Valley

Transportation

Major highways

• California State Route 49
• California State Route 108
• California State Route 120

Public transportation

Tuolumne County Transit bus routes radiate from Sonora to serve most of the county. In Columbia, a connection can be made to Calaveras County Transit. There is no public transportation into or out of Tuolumne County that connects to any of the closest metropolitan areas.

Yosemite Area Regional Transportation System (YARTS) makes a single daily round trip from Sonora into Yosemite Valley during the summer months.

Airports

Columbia Airport and Pine Mountain Lake Airport are both general aviation airports located in the Southwest and Northeast corners of the county respectively.

Demographics

2020 census

2011

Places by population, race, and income

2010 census

The 2010 United States Census reported that Tuolumne County had a population of 55,365. The racial makeup of Tuolumne County was 48,274 (87.2%) White, 1,143 (2.1%) African American, 1,039 (1.9%) Native American, 572 (1.0%) Asian, 76 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 2,238 (4.0%) from other races, and 2,023 (3.7%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5,918 persons (10.7%).

2000

As of the census of 2000, there were 54,501 people, 21,004 households, and 14,240 families residing in the county. The population density was 9/km² (23/sq mi). There were 28,336 housing units at an average density of 5/km² (13/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 89.5% White, 2.1% Black or African American, 1.8% Native American, 0.7% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 2.9% from other races, and 2.8% from two or more races. 8.2% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 94.7% spoke English and 3.5% Spanish as their first language.

There were 21,004 households, out of which 26.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.4% were married couples living together, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.2% were non-families. 26.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.82.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 20.7% under the age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24, 25.3% from 25 to 44, 27.9% from 45 to 64, and 18.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 111.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 112.20 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $38,725, and the median income for a family was $44,327. Males had a median income of $35,373 versus $25,805 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,015. About 8.1% of families and 11.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.2% of those under age 18 and 4.0% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

City

• Sonora (county seat)

Census-designated places

Unincorporated communities

Population ranking

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

† county seat

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Tuolumne para niños