Butte County, California

Butte County (/ˈbjuːt/ ^ⓘ) is a county located in the northern central part of the U.S. state of California. In the 2020 census, its population was 211,632.^[6][8] The county seat is Oroville.^[9]

Butte County
County
Lake Oroville and Oroville Dam Chico Feather River Oroville Bald Rock Dome Gridley
Seal Wordmark
Nickname(s):  "The Land of Natural Wealth and Beauty"
Interactive map of Butte County
Location in the state of California
Country	United States
State	California
Incorporated	February 18, 1850[1]
Named after	The nearby Sutter Buttes
County seat	Oroville
Largest city	Chico
Government
• Type	Council–CAO
• Chair[2]	Tod Kimmelshue
• Vice Chair[3]	Bill Connelly
• Board of Supervisors[4]	Supervisors Bill Connelly Peter Durfee Tami Ritter Tod Kimmelshue Doug Teeter
• Chief Administrative Officer	Andy Pickett
Area
• Total	1,677 sq mi (4,340 km2)
• Land	1,636 sq mi (4,240 km2)
• Water	41 sq mi (110 km2)
Highest elevation [5]	7,124 ft (2,171 m)
Population  (2020)[6]
• Total	211,632
• Density	130/sq mi (49/km2)
GDP [7]
• Total	$11.077 billion (2022)
Time zone	UTC−8 (Pacific Time Zone)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−7 (Pacific Daylight Time)
Area code	530
FIPS code	06-007
GNIS feature ID	1675842
Congressional district	1st
Website	www.buttecounty.net

Butte County comprises the Chico, California, metropolitan statistical area. It is in the California Central Valley, north of the state capital of Sacramento.

Butte County is drained by the Feather River and the Sacramento River. Butte Creek and Big Chico Creek are additional perennial streams, both tributary to the Sacramento. The county is home to California State University, Chico and Butte College.

History

Butte County is named for the visually striking +2,000-foot (610 m) Sutter Buttes in neighboring Sutter County.^[10] Butte County was incorporated as one of California's 27 original counties on February 18, 1850. The county went across the present limits of the Tehama, Plumas, Colusa, and Sutter Counties.^[11]

Between November 8 and 25, 2018, a major wildfire, the Camp Fire, destroyed most of the town of Paradise, the adjacent community of Concow, and a large area of rural, hilly country east of Chico. More than 80 people were killed, 50,000 were displaced, over 150,000 acres were burned, and nearly 20,000 buildings were destroyed.^[12][13] The Camp Fire was California's most destructive and deadliest fire.^[14]

On July 24, 2024, the Park Fire ignited four miles south of downtown Chico in Bidwell Park. This was due to an act of arson by Chico resident Ronnie Dean Stout II, as he revved the engines of his mom's 2007 Toyota Yaris because he got stuck in the grass, causing the surrounding area to catch fire.^[15][16] Over the course of the next 64 days, the fire crossed the county line with Tehama County, burned 429,603 acres, killed one person, and destroyed 709 structures.^[17] It became the largest wildfire caused by arson in the state's history, the fourth largest fire in the state's history, the largest fire of the 2024 California Wildfire Season, and the second largest single fire in the state's history (as opposed to a complex fire, with multiple ignition points).

Geography

South Table Mountain Near Oroville

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,677 square miles (4,340 km²), of which 41 square miles (110 km²) (2.4%) are covered by water.^[6]

The county is drained by the Feather River and Butte Creek. Part of the county's western border is formed by the Sacramento River. The county lies along the western slope of the Sierra Nevada, the steep slopes making it prime territory for the siting of hydroelectric power plants. About a half dozen of these plants are located in the county, one of which, serves the Oroville Dam.

National protected areas

• Butte Sink National Wildlife Refuge (part)
• Lassen National Forest (part)
• Plumas National Forest (part)
• Sacramento River National Wildlife Refuge (part)

Adjacent counties

• Sutter County, California – south
• Colusa County, California – southwest
• Glenn County, California – west
• Tehama County, California – northwest
• Plumas County, California – northeast
• Yuba County, California – southeast

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1850	3,574		—
1860	12,106		238.7%
1870	11,403		−5.8%
1880	18,721		64.2%
1890	17,939		−4.2%
1900	17,117		−4.6%
1910	27,301		59.5%
1920	30,030		10.0%
1930	34,093		13.5%
1940	42,840		25.7%
1950	64,930		51.6%
1960	82,030		26.3%
1970	101,969		24.3%
1980	143,851		41.1%
1990	182,120		26.6%
2000	203,171		11.6%
2010	220,000		8.3%
2020	211,632		−3.8%
2024 (est.)	208,334	[18]	−1.6%
U.S. Decennial Census[19] 1790–1960[20] 1900–1990[21] 1990–2000[22] 2010[23] 2020[24]

2020 census

Butte County, California – Racial and ethnic composition
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 may be of any race.

Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)	Pop 1980[25]	Pop 1990[26]	Pop 2000[27]	Pop 2010[23]	Pop 2020[24]	% 1980	% 1990	% 2000	% 2010	% 2020
White alone (NH)	130,522	158,242	162,564	165,416	139,651	90.73%	86.89%	80.01%	75.19%	65.99%
Black or African American alone (NH)	1,686	2,238	2,699	3,133	3,320	1.17%	1.23%	1.33%	1.42%	1.57%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	2,062	2,946	3,295	3,395	3,050	1.43%	1.62%	1.62%	1.54%	1.44%
Asian alone (NH)	1,287	4,961	6,676	8,921	10,333	0.89%	2.72%	3.29%	4.06%	4.88%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)	x	x	273	401	508	x	x	0.13%	0.18%	0.24%
Other race alone (NH)	752	127	435	318	1,184	0.52%	0.07%	0.21%	0.14%	0.56%
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)	x	x	5,890	7,300	13,474	x	x	2.90%	3.32%	6.37%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	7,542	13,606	21,339	31,116	40,112	5.24%	7.47%	10.50%	14.14%	18.95%
Total	143,851	182,120	203,171	220,000	211,632	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%

2011

Population, ethnicity, and income
Total population[28]	220,000
White[28]	165,416	75.2%
Black or African American[28]	3,353	1.5%
American Indian or Alaska Native[28]	3,395	1.5%
Asian[28]	9,000	4.2%
Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander[28]	400	0.2%
Some other race[28]	8,000	3.4%
Two or more races[28]	12,329	5.6%
Hispanic or Latino (of any race)[29]	31,116	14.1%
Per capita income[30]	$23,431
Median household income[31]	$42,971
Median family income[32]	$54,175

Places by population, race, and income

Places by population and race
Place	Type[33]	Population[28]	White[28]	Other[28] [note 1]	Asian[28]	Black or African American[28]	Native American[28] [note 2]	Hispanic or Latino (of any race)[29]
Bangor	CDP	416	88.5%	5.0%	2.2%	0.0%	4.3%	0.0%
Berry Creek	CDP	1,305	85.9%	11.7%	0.2%	0.0%	2.1%	4.1%
Biggs	City	1,707	74.2%	19.8%	3.3%	0.6%	2.1%	35.6%
Butte Creek Canyon	CDP	924	96.6%	2.4%	0.6%	0.0%	0.3%	3.6%
Butte Meadows	CDP	21	100.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Butte Valley	CDP	954	100.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	10.5%
Cherokee	CDP	105	86.7%	0.0%	13.3%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Chico	City	86,187	80.0%	6.3%	4.2%	2.1%	1.4%	15.5%
Clipper Mills	CDP	91	100.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Cohasset	CDP	955	98.4%	1.0%	0.0%	0.5%	0.0%	3.0%
Concow	CDP	581	78.0%	12.4%	2.4%	3.8%	3.4%	1.0%
Durham	CDP	5,800	91.8%	2.6%	3.8%	0.2%	1.5%	11.6%
Forbestown	CDP	291	72.9%	24.7%	0.0%	0.0%	2.4%	10.0%
Forest Ranch	CDP	1,294	93.9%	6.1%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.5%
Gridley	City	6,600	79.8%	18.8%	0.0%	1.0%	0.4%	50.5%
Honcut	CDP	745	54.6%	43.9%	0.0%	1.5%	0.0%	52.5%
Kelly Ridge	CDP	2,246	99.2%	0.0%	0.0%	0.8%	0.0%	0.0%
Magalia	CDP	11,188	90.5%	5.7%	1.8%	0.2%	1.8%	9.2%
Nord	CDP	196	89.6%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	20.4%
Oroville	City	16,000	71.0%	12.8%	11.4%	3.3%	1.4%	11.3%
Oroville East	CDP	9,663	82.1%	9.7%	2.4%	1.2%	4.6%	7.9%
Palermo	CDP	4,775	77.0%	19.7%	0.8%	1.0%	1.4%	23.2%
Paradise	Town	26,348	91.0%	6.0%	1.4%	0.8%	0.7%	7.7%
Rackerby	CDP	254	96.5%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	3.5%
Richvale	CDP	155	83.9%	16.1%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	16.1%
Robinson Mill	CDP	136	84.6%	15.4%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	15.4%
South Oroville	CDP	5,982	63.9%	7.8%	17.3%	8.3%	2.7%	15.2%
Stirling City	CDP	271	100.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Thermalito	CDP	6,295	80.2%	5.9%	10.8%	1.3%	1.7%	12.7%
Yankee Hill	CDP	240	88.8%	11.2%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	2.5%

Places by population and income
Place	Type[33]	Population[34]	Per capita income[30]	Median household income[31]	Median family income[32]
Bangor	CDP	416	$18,172	$45,625	$47,917
Berry Creek	CDP	1,305	$22,277	$36,164	$51,607
Biggs	City	1,927	$17,159	$44,485	$50,714
Butte Creek Canyon	[CDP	924	$37,677	$58,750	$76,786
Butte Meadows	CDP	21	[35]	[35]	[35]
Butte Valley	CDP	954	$28,426	$69,659	$77,500
Cherokee	CDP	105	$20,351	$80,714	$80,714
Chico	City	85,605	$23,611	$41,632	$56,268
Clipper Mills	CDP	91	[35]	[35]	[35]
Cohasset	CDP	955	$21,628	$55,175	$55,425
Concow	CDP	581	$26,821	$24,792	$53,750
Durham	CDP	5,829	$34,886	$64,720	$75,357
Forbestown	CDP	291	$19,434	$58,167	$82,750
Forest Ranch	CDP	1,294	$51,819	$46,901	$47,057
Gridley	City	6,509	$15,525	$36,563	$41,474
Honcut	CDP	745	$8,071	$48,144	$48,277
Kelly Ridge	CDP	2,246	$33,366	$49,444	$60,205
Magalia	CDP	11,188	$19,400	$37,182	$42,277
Nord	CDP	196	$19,182	$69,063	$69,063
Oroville	City	15,445	$18,750	$35,678	$45,430
Oroville East	CDP	9,663	$24,503	$53,167	$65,142
Palermo	CDP	4,775	$19,783	$42,292	$46,458
Paradise	Town	26,348	$25,132	$42,363	$54,267
Rackerby	CDP	254	$17,387	$46,141	$46,184
Richvale	CDP	155	$45,061	$87,150	$87,150
Robinson Mill	CDP	136	$21,793	$54,762	$54,762
South Oroville	CDP	5,982	$11,666	$32,205	$38,750
Stirling City	CDP	271	$14,811	$82,969	[35]
Thermalito	CDP	6,295	$16,301	$37,738	$38,053
Yankee Hill	CDP	240	$21,149	$22,054	$44,286

2010 Census

The 2010 United States Census reported that Butte County had a population of 220,000. The racial makeup of Butte County was 180,096 (81.9%) White, 3,415 (1.6%) African American, 4,395 (2.0%) Native American, 9,057 (4.1%) Asian, 452 (0.2%) Pacific Islander, 12,141 (5.5%) from other races, and 10,444 (4.7%) from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 31,116 persons (14.1%).^[36]

Population reported at 2010 United States Census
The County	Total Population	White	African American	Native American	Asian	Pacific Islander	other races	two or more races	Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
Butte County	220,000	180,096	3,415	4,395	9,057	452	12,141	10,444	31,116
Incorporated cities and towns	Total Population	White	African American	Native American	Asian	Pacific Islander	other races	two or more races	Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
Biggs	1,707	1,302	11	54	9	1	252	78	580
Chico	86,187	69,606	1,771	1,167	3,656	210	5,437	4,340	15,000
Gridley	6,584	4,283	55	98	249	3	1,552	344	3,000
Oroville	15,546	11,686	453	573	1,238	56	554	986	1,945
Paradise	26,218	24,129	112	301	330	24	416	906	1,836
Census-designated places	Total Population	White	African American	Native American	Asian	Pacific Islander	other races	two or more races	Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
Bangor	646	543	5	17	4	1	18	58	47
Berry Creek	1,424	1,249	8	48	13	3	13	90	98
Butte Creek Canyon	1,086	1,011	0	20	18	1	8	28	48
Butte Meadows	40	38	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
Butte Valley	899	782	0	19	9	1	42	46	89
Cherokee	69	48	0	2	8	0	0	11	1
Clipper Mills	142	131	0	3	0	0	2	6	5
Cohasset	847	764	8	14	2	1	20	38	43
Concow	710	611	0	24	5	3	10	57	56
Durham	5,518	5,088	19	55	35	9	165	147	614
Forbestown	320	262	4	15	10	0	4	25	23
Forest Ranch	1,184	1,116	8	6	4	1	20	29	52
Honcut	370	248	6	14	4	0	85	13	145
Kelly Ridge	2,544	2,287	20	56	35	7	43	96	204
Magalia	11,310	10,398	40	141	90	17	134	490	765
Nord	320	233	1	6	16	0	48	16	122
Oroville East	8,280	6,830	126	477	294	8	147	398	702
Palermo	5,382	3,901	39	221	246	4	642	329	1,281
Rackerby	204	193	0	1	0	0	3	7	18
Richvale	244	216	0	11	0	0	10	7	27
Robinson Mill	80	74	0	1	0	1	0	4	11
South Oroville	5,742	3,407	406	245	885	9	361	429	851
Stirling City	295	264	1	11	0	0	1	18	17
Thermalito	6,646	4,594	61	257	1,102	37	270	325	713
Yankee Hill	333	305	2	7	4	0	5	10	22
Other unincorporated areas	Total Population	White	African American	Native American	Asian	Pacific Islander	other races	two or more races	Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
All others not CDPs (combined)	29,123	24,497	259	531	791	55	1,879	1,111	4,486

2000

As of the census^[37] of 2000, there were 203,171 people, 79,566 households, and 49,410 families residing in the county. The population density was 124 people per square mile (48 people/km²). There were 85,523 housing units at an average density of 52 per square mile (20/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 84.5% White, 10.5% of the population were Hispanic or Latino, 3.3% Asian, 1.9% Native American, 1.4% Black or African American, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 4.8% from other races, and 3.9% from two or more races. 87.9% spoke English, 7.8% Spanish and 1.4% Hmong as their first language.

There were 79,566 households, out of which 28.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.7% were married couples living together, 11.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.9% were non-families. 27.2% 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 2.48 and the average family size was 3.02.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.0% under the age of 18, 13.6% from 18 to 24, 24.8% from 25 to 44, 21.8% from 45 to 64, and 15.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 96.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.6 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $31,924, and the median income for a family was $41,010. Males had a median income of $34,137 versus $25,393 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,517. About 12.2% of families and 19.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.8% of those under age 18 and 7.3% of those age 65 or over.

Health and crime

There are four major hospitals and the State of California defines Butte County as being inside Health Service Area 1. A special district, the Butte County Air Quality Management District, regulates airborne pollutant emissions in the county. It does this following regional regulations, state, and federal laws. For example, in recent years, the agency changed rules that once allowed residents to burn household trash outdoors.

The following table includes the number of incidents reported and the rate per 1,000 persons for each type of offense.

Population and crime rates
Population[28]	220,000
Violent crime[38]	970	4.25
Homicide[38]	20	0.05
Forcible rape[38]	100	0.40
Robbery[38]	200	0.85
Aggravated assault[38]	650	2.95
Property crime[38]	5,524	16.32
Burglary[38]	1,733	7.90
Larceny-theft[38][note 3]	3,765	17.17
Motor vehicle theft[38]	840	3.83
Arson[38]	81	0.37

Cities by population and crime rates

Cities by population and crime rates
City	Population[39]	Violent crimes[39]	Violent crime rate per 1,000 persons	Property crimes[39]	Property crime rate per 1,000 persons
Biggs	1,707	24	11.02	30	19.72
Chico	90,000	317	3.24	3,634	26.31
Gridley	6,600	113	11.72	196	33.06
Oroville	16,000	108	6.81	1,143	63.09
Paradise	26,492	52	2.49	521	18.08

Government

Law enforcement

Butte County Sheriff's Office
Abbreviation	BCSO
Operational structure
Headquarters	Oroville, California
Sheriff responsible	Kory Honea
Facilities
Jails	1
Website
Official website

The Butte County Sheriff's Office provides general-service law enforcement to unincorporated areas of Butte County, serving as the equivalent of the county police for unincorporated areas of the county as well as incorporated cities within the county who have contracted with the agency for law-enforcement services (known as "contract cities" in local jargon). It also holds primary jurisdiction over facilities operated by Butte County, such as local parks, marinas and government buildings; provides marshal service for the Butte County Superior Court; operates the county jail system; and provides services such as laboratories and academy training to smaller law enforcement agencies within the county. The first sheriff of Butte County was Joseph Q. Wilbur. Kory Honea has been the sheriff since 2014.^[40]

Voter registration statistics

Population and registered voters
Total eligible population[41]	164,755
Registered voters[41][note 4]	123,935	75.2%
Democratic[41]	43,407	26.3%
Republican[41]	44,362	26.9%
Democratic–Republican spread[41]	-955	-0.6%
American Independent[41]	5,920	3.5%
Libertarian[41]	2,037	1.2%
Green[41]	759	0.4%
Peace and Freedom[41]	633	0.3%
Unknown[41]	896	0.5%
Other[41]	1,051	0.6%
No party preference[41]	24,870	15.0%

Cities by population and voter registration

Cities by population and voter registration
City	Population[28]	Registered voters[42] [note 4]	Democratic[42]	Republican[42]	D–R spread[42]	Other[42]	No party preference[42]
Biggs	1,927	38.7%	36.7%	37.9%	-1.2%	8.8%	19.8%
Chico	85,605	55.0%	40.1%	30.3%	+9.8%	9.8%	22.7%
Gridley	6,509	40.6%	37.6%	34.8%	+2.8%	9.7%	21.3%
Oroville	15,445	40.8%	32.1%	36.2%	-4.1%	11.7%	24.2%
Paradise	26,348	62.1%	31.1%	40.8%	-9.7%	11.5%	20.5%

Local

Tod Kimmelshue, chair of the Butte County Board of Supervisors, in April 2025

The citizens of the county of Butte are represented by the five member Butte County Board of Supervisors.

Tribal

The Berry Creek Rancheria of Tyme Maidu Indians of California is headquartered in Oroville. The Berry Creek Rancheria operates Gold Country Casino.

The Mooretown Rancheria of Maidu Indians of California is also headquartered in Oroville. The Mooretown Rancheria operates Feather Falls Casino.

The governmental headquarters of the Mechoopda Indian Tribe of Chico Rancheria is located in Chico.

State

Butte County is split between the 1st and 3rd Assembly districts, represented by Republican Heather Hadwick and Republican James Gallagher, respectively.^[43] The county is in the 4th senatorial district, represented by Republican Marie Alvarado-Gil.^[44]

According to the California Secretary of State, as of February 10, 2019, Butte County has 172,054 registered voters. Of those, 42,093 (34.4%) are registered Democrats, 41,330 (33.8%) are registered Republicans and 30,377 (24.8%) have declined to state a political party.^[45]

On November 4, 2008, Butte County voted 56.7% for Proposition 8 which amended the California Constitution to ban same-sex marriages.^[46]

Federal

Butte County is in California's 1st congressional district, represented by Republican Doug LaMalfa.^[47]

Butte is a bellwether county in presidential elections, and one of only thirteen to have voted for Barack Obama in 2008, Mitt Romney in 2012, Donald Trump in 2016, and Joe Biden in 2020.^[a]

United States presidential election results for Butte County, California^{[48][note 5]}

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	47,179	49.90%	44,228	46.77%	3,149	3.33%
2020	48,819	47.60%	50,815	49.54%	2,931	2.86%
2016	45,144	46.54%	41,567	42.85%	10,291	10.61%
2012	44,479	48.87%	42,669	46.88%	3,873	4.26%
2008	46,706	47.32%	49,013	49.66%	2,988	3.03%
2004	51,662	53.73%	42,448	44.14%	2,047	2.13%
2000	45,584	54.45%	31,338	37.43%	6,799	8.12%
1996	38,961	48.98%	30,651	38.53%	9,938	12.49%
1992	31,608	37.18%	32,489	38.22%	20,917	24.60%
1988	40,143	56.04%	30,406	42.45%	1,082	1.51%
1984	45,381	63.06%	25,421	35.32%	1,162	1.61%
1980	38,188	57.85%	19,520	29.57%	8,304	12.58%
1976	28,400	51.77%	24,203	44.12%	2,251	4.10%
1972	28,819	57.61%	18,401	36.78%	2,808	5.61%
1968	22,225	56.68%	12,887	32.87%	4,099	10.45%
1964	19,574	48.43%	20,831	51.54%	14	0.03%
1960	20,838	57.60%	15,163	41.92%	174	0.48%
1956	18,382	58.43%	12,933	41.11%	147	0.47%
1952	19,248	63.27%	10,913	35.87%	263	0.86%
1948	10,948	49.36%	10,133	45.68%	1,100	4.96%
1944	7,852	46.83%	8,811	52.55%	105	0.63%
1940	7,433	40.46%	10,684	58.15%	255	1.39%
1936	5,103	32.04%	10,490	65.86%	335	2.10%
1932	4,322	29.14%	9,645	65.03%	865	5.83%
1928	6,306	60.45%	3,946	37.83%	180	1.73%
1924	4,382	42.25%	1,299	12.52%	4,691	45.23%
1920	5,409	65.69%	2,262	27.47%	563	6.84%
1916	3,956	40.91%	4,888	50.55%	825	8.53%
1912	10	0.11%	4,028	45.66%	4,784	54.23%
1908	3,094	52.74%	2,146	36.58%	626	10.67%
1904	2,799	58.84%	1,574	33.09%	384	8.07%
1900	2,322	52.55%	2,011	45.51%	86	1.95%
1896	2,075	48.31%	2,120	49.36%	100	2.33%
1892	2,180	46.73%	2,141	45.89%	344	7.37%
1888	2,191	48.25%	2,215	48.78%	135	2.97%
1884	2,172	49.06%	2,118	47.84%	137	3.09%
1880	1,814	49.75%	1,832	50.25%	0	0.00%

Education

California State University, Chico was founded in 1887

Public schools

There are roughly 90 public schools in the county according to the National Center for Educational Statistics.^{[citation needed]}

The following school districts cover portions of the county:

K-12:^[49]

• Biggs Unified School District
• Chico Unified School District
• Durham Unified School District
• Gridley Unified School District
• Marysville Joint Unified School District
• Paradise Unified School District

Secondary:^[49]

• Oroville Union High School District

Elementary:^[49]

• Bangor Union Elementary School District
• Feather Falls Union Elementary School District
• Golden Feather Union Elementary School District
• Manzanita Elementary School District
• Oroville City Elementary School District
• Palermo Union School District
• Pioneer Union Elementary School District
• Thermalito Union School District

Colleges and universities

• Butte College
• Butte–Glenn Community College District
• California State University, Chico

Public libraries

Butte County Library provides library services to residents of the County through six branches in Biggs, Chico, Durham, Gridley, Oroville and Paradise. The mission of the Butte County Library is to provide all individuals, regardless of age, ethnic background, educational or economic level, with free access to ideas, information, and technology.

For many years, the library served rural and mountain communities through regularly scheduled bookmobile visits; however, due to budget cuts, this service was discontinued in 2009 and the bookmobile was sold. The library serves low-literacy adults through several programs of the Butte County Library Literacy Services division, including the Adult Reading Program, Families for Literacy and the Literacy Coach, a 36-foot (11 m) vehicle that provides mobile programming like story times, parent meetings, workshops, and computer and teacher trainings.

The library operates as a department of the County of Butte, governed by the Butte County Board of Supervisors.

Transportation

Butte County is home to Bidwell Park in Chico, one of the largest municipal parks in the United States

Major highways

• State Route 32
• State Route 70
• State Route 99
• State Route 149
• State Route 162
• State Route 191

Public transportation

Butte Regional Transit or the B-Line, provides service in and between Chico, Oroville, Paradise, Gridley and Biggs. Chico is also a connection point for Glenn Ride buses to Glenn County and Plumas Transit Systems buses to Plumas County.

Greyhound and FlixBus buses stop in Chico.

Amtrak's Coast Starlight (Los Angeles-Seattle) passenger train makes a stop daily in each direction in Chico's Chico station.

Airports

General Aviation airports in Butte County include:

• Chico Municipal Airport
• Oroville Municipal Airport
• Paradise Airport
• Ranchaero Airport
• Richvale Airport

Communities

Bidwell Mansion in Chico

Kendall Hall, the administration building at California State University, Chico in Chico

Cities

• Biggs
• Chico
• Gridley
• Oroville (county seat)

Towns

• Paradise

Census-designated places

• Bangor
• Berry Creek
• Butte Creek Canyon
• Butte Meadows
• Butte Valley
• Cherokee
• Clipper Mills
• Cohasset
• Concow
• Durham
• Forbestown
• Forest Ranch
• Honcut
• Kelly Ridge
• Magalia
• Nord
• Oroville East
• Palermo
• Rackerby
• Richvale
• Robinson Mill
• South Oroville
• Stirling City
• Thermalito
• Yankee Hill

Unincorporated communities

• Centerville
• DeSabla
• Helltown
• Inskip
• Lomo
• Lovelock
• Powellton

Former townships

The 10 civil townships, 1877

In August 1851, the county was divided into six judicial (civil) townships, the four marked by asterisks below, plus Quartz and Mineral, which were separated from Butte County with the formation of Plumas County in 1854.

Between 1851 and 1861, there were several additions and other realignments of the township boundaries; from 1861, the townships were:

• Bidwell
• Chico
• Concow
• Hamilton*
• Kimshew
• Mountain Spring
• Ophir*
• Oregon*
• Oro*
• Wyandotte

Townships created and dissolved between 1851 and 1861 were Benton, Eureka, and Cascade.^[50]

Ghost towns

• Bidwell's Bar – now located under Lake Oroville
• Butte Creek
• Coutolenc
• Diamondville
• Forks of Butte – a former gold mining settlement^[51]
• Hamilton - Butte County's first permanent county seat, John Bidwell discovered gold at Hamilton in 1848, and the settlement arose. It was located on the west side of the Feather River, 15 mi (24 km) downstream from Oroville.
• Lynchburg

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2010 census of Butte County.^[52]

† county seat

Rank	City/Town/etc.	Municipal type	Population (2010 Census)
1	Chico	City	86,187
2	Paradise	Town	26,218
3	† Oroville	City	15,546
4	Magalia	CDP	11,310
5	Oroville East	CDP	8,280
6	Thermalito	CDP	6,646
7	Gridley	City	6,584
8	South Oroville	CDP	5,742
9	Durham	CDP	5,518
10	Palermo	CDP	5,382
11	Kelly Ridge	CDP	2,544
12	Biggs	City	1,707
13	Berry Creek	CDP	1,424
14	Forest Ranch	CDP	1,184
15	Butte Creek Canyon	CDP	1,086
16	Butte Valley	CDP	899
17	Cohasset	CDP	847
18	Concow	CDP	710
19	Bangor	CDP	646
20	Honcut	CDP	370
21	Yankee Hill	CDP	333
t-22	Forbestown	CDP	320
t-22	Nord	CDP	320
23	Stirling City	CDP	295
24	Richvale	CDP	244
25	Rackerby	CDP	204
26	Berry Creek Rancheria	AIAN	152
27	Clipper Mills	CDP	142
28	Robinson Mill	CDP	80
29	Cherokee	CDP	69
30	Butte Meadows	CDP	40
31	Enterprise Rancheria[53]	AIAN	1

In popular culture

Several movies have been filmed in Butte County, including Gone with the Wind,^[54] The Outlaw Josey Wales,^[55] Friendly Persuasion,^[56] Magic Town,^[57] The Klansman,^[56] Ruby Ridge: An American Tragedy,^[56] The Adventures of Robin Hood,^[56] and Under Wraps.^[56] A 2013 episode of the television series Sons of Anarchy involves the sons coming into contact with corrupt police in the fictional town of Eden, located in Butte County.^[58]

See also

• List of California counties
• List of school districts in Butte County, California
• List of museums in the Shasta Cascade (California)
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Butte County, California

Notes

Notes

1. The other twelve are Teton County, Idaho; Kendall County, Illinois; Kent County, Maryland; McLean County, Illinois; Tippecanoe County, Indiana; Kent County, Michigan; Leelanau County, Michigan; Carroll County, New Hampshire; Rockingham County, New Hampshire; Marion County, Oregon; Grand County, Utah; and Albany County, Wyoming.

References

1. Other = Some other race + Two or more races
2. Native American = Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander + American Indian or Alaska Native
3. Only larceny-theft cases involving property over $400 in value are reported as property crimes.
4. Percentage of registered voters with respect to total population. Percentages of party members with respect to registered voters follow.
5. This total comprised 3,365 votes for Progressive Theodore Roosevelt (who was official Republican nominee in California), 930 votes for Socialist Eugene V. Debs and 489 votes for Prohibition Party nominee Eugene W. Chafin.