Tuolumne County, California

Tuolumne County (/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.^[7] The county seat and only incorporated city is Sonora.^[8]

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
Interactive map of Tuolumne County
Location in the state of California
Country	United States
State	California
Regions	Sierra Nevada, Gold Country
Incorporated	February 15, 1850[1]
County seat	Sonora
Largest city	Sonora
Government
• Type	Council–Administrator
• Body	Board of Supervisors
• Chair	Jaron Brandon
• Vice Chair	Ryan Campbell
• Board of Supervisors[2]	Supervisors Michael Holland Ryan Campbell Daniel Anaiah Kirk Stephen Griefer Jaron Brandon
• County Administrator	Tracie Riggs[3]
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)[4]
• Total	55,620
• Density	24/sq mi (9.4/km2)
GDP [5]
• Total	$2.884 billion (2022)
Time zone	UTC−8 (Pacific Time Zone)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−7 (Pacific Daylight Time)
Congressional district	5th
Website	tuolumnecounty.ca.gov

Very fine old crystalline-gold specimen, most likely from Tuolumne County. Sold in the 1950s for $65; more recently for $12,500. Published twice.^[6]

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.^[9] 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.'"^[10] 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.^[11]

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.^[12] 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^[13]
• Tiltill Valley

Transportation

Major highways

• California State Route 49
• California State Route 108
• California State Route 120
• California State Route 132

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.

Crime

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[14]	55,736
Violent crime[15]	158	2.83
Homicide[15]	1	0.02
Forcible rape[15]	25	0.45
Robbery[15]	19	0.34
Aggravated assault[15]	113	2.03
Property crime[15]	669	12.00
Burglary[15]	354	6.35
Larceny-theft[15][note 1]	846	15.18
Motor vehicle theft[15]	100	1.79
Arson[15]	11	0.20

Cities by population and crime rates

Cities by population and crime rates
City	Population[16]	Violent crimes[16]	Violent crime rate per 1,000 persons	Property crimes[16]	Property crime rate per 1,000 persons
Sonora	4,804	20	4.07	311	63.33

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1850	8,351		—
1860	16,229		94.3%
1870	8,150		−49.8%
1880	7,848		−3.7%
1890	6,082		−22.5%
1900	11,166		83.6%
1910	9,979		−10.6%
1920	7,768		−22.2%
1930	9,271		19.3%
1940	10,887		17.4%
1950	12,584		15.6%
1960	14,404		14.5%
1970	22,169		53.9%
1980	33,928		53.0%
1990	48,456		42.8%
2000	54,501		12.5%
2010	55,365		1.6%
2020	55,620		0.5%
2024 (est.)	53,893	[17]	−3.1%
U.S. Decennial Census[18] 1790–1960[19] 1900–1990[20] 1990–2000[21] 2010[22] 2020[23]

2020 census

Tuolumne 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	Pop 1990	Pop 2000[24]	Pop 2010[22]	Pop 2020[23]	% 1980	% 1990	% 2000	% 2010	% 2020
White alone (NH)	30,945	41,887	46,377	45,325	42,254	91.21%	86.44%	85.09%	81.87%	75.97%
Black or African American alone (NH)	373	1,529	1,135	1,114	989	1.10%	3.16%	2.08%	2.01%	1.78%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	599	876	864	830	784	1.77%	1.81%	1.59%	1.50%	1.41%
Asian alone (NH)	189	362	377	530	770	0.56%	0.75%	0.69%	0.96%	1.38%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)	x [25]	x [26]	81	62	110	x	x	0.15%	0.11%	0.20%
Other race alone (NH)	41	76	47	230	313	0.48%	0.16%	0.09%	0.42%	0.56%
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)	x [27]	x [28]	1,175	1,356	3,276	x	x	2.16%	2.45%	5.89%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	1,781	3,726	4,445	5,918	7,124	5.25%	7.69%	8.16%	10.69%	12.81%
Total	33,928	48,456	54,501	55,365	55,620	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%

2011

Population, race, and income
Total population[14]	55,736
White[14]	48,477	87.0%
Black or African American[14]	1,172	2.1%
American Indian or Alaska Native[14]	1,008	1.8%
Asian[14]	605	1.1%
Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander[14]	82	0.1%
Some other race[14]	2,276	4.1%
Two or more races[14]	2,116	3.8%
Hispanic or Latino (of any race)[29]	5,861	10.5%
Per capita income[30]	$26,084
Median household income[31]	$47,359
Median family income[32]	$59,710

Places by population, race, and income

Places by population and race
Place	Type[33]	Population[14]	White[14]	Other[14] [note 2]	Asian[14]	Black or African American[14]	Native American[14] [note 3]	Hispanic or Latino (of any race)[29]
Cedar Ridge	CDP	1,071	89.8%	6.9%	0.7%	0.3%	2.3%	3.5%
Chinese Camp	CDP	154	90.9%	9.1%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	8.4%
Cold Springs	CDP	293	94.2%	5.8%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	6.5%
Columbia	CDP	2,258	74.1%	20.8%	0.1%	0.0%	5.0%	11.3%
East Sonora	CDP	2,050	89.6%	5.6%	1.0%	0.0%	3.9%	7.9%
Groveland	CDP	612	97.2%	2.8%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Jamestown	CDP	4,031	89.4%	10.4%	0.2%	0.0%	0.0%	19.7%
Long Barn	CDP	353	100.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Mi-Wuk Village	CDP	761	68.3%	11.8%	0.8%	0.0%	19.1%	7.6%
Mono Vista	CDP	2,638	94.2%	3.0%	0.0%	2.4%	0.4%	13.4%
Phoenix Lake	CDP	4,452	98.2%	0.6%	0.4%	0.6%	0.2%	9.5%
Pine Mountain Lake	CDP	2,695	95.5%	2.3%	0.9%	0.0%	1.3%	6.8%
Sierra Village	CDP	209	100.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Sonora	City	4,899	93.2%	3.4%	1.0%	1.4%	0.9%	5.1%
Soulsbyville	CDP	2,008	99.0%	0.0%	0.7%	0.0%	0.3%	1.7%
Strawberry	CDP	168	100.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Tuolumne City	CDP	2,152	88.6%	11.2%	0.1%	0.0%	0.1%	10.2%
Tuttletown	CDP	903	100.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Twain Harte	CDP	2,151	91.7%	5.8%	1.2%	0.0%	1.3%	13.0%

Places by population and income
Place	Type[33]	Population[34]	Per capita income[30]	Median household income[31]	Median family income[32]
Cedar Ridge	CDP	1,071	$35,230	$59,323	$80,833
Chinese Camp	CDP	154	$29,125	$45,313	$106,250
Cold Springs	CDP	293	$34,753	$74,018	$88,269
Columbia	CDP	2,258	$23,152	$34,231	$49,135
East Sonora	CDP	2,050	$30,722	$35,781	$50,292
Groveland	CDP	612	$22,075	$31,587	$51,719
Jamestown	CDP	4,031	$19,279	$27,764	$29,329
Long Barn	CDP	353	$38,008	$24,898	$16,071
Mi-Wuk Village	CDP	761	$32,578	$60,769	$81,786
Mono Vista	CDP	2,638	$19,865	$42,328	$52,835
Phoenix Lake	CDP	4,452	$33,759	$65,292	$85,365
Pine Mountain Lake	CDP	2,695	$31,992	$54,200	$64,973
Sierra Village	CDP	209	$46,769	$71,607	$71,607
Sonora	City	4,899	$28,425	$31,424	$62,396
Soulsbyville	CDP	2,008	$26,181	$56,853	$72,750
Strawberry	CDP	168	$13,504	$22,467	$22,467
Tuolumne City	CDP	2,152	$18,620	$35,291	$38,509
Tuttletown	CDP	903	$20,840	$31,827	$45,750
Twain Harte	CDP	2,151	$31,264	$46,250	$49,911

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%).^[35]

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)
Tuolumne County	55,365	48,274	1,143	1,039	572	76	2,238	2,023	5,918
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)
Sonora	4,903	4,402	24	95	79	12	84	207	542
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)
Cedar Ridge	1,132	1,066	3	6	5	1	5	46	71
Chinese Camp	126	92	0	7	0	0	16	11	25
Cold Springs	181	175	1	3	1	0	0	1	4
Columbia	2,297	2,064	27	26	29	1	27	123	171
East Sonora	2,266	2,129	7	16	32	1	35	46	152
Groveland	601	542	2	9	9	2	17	20	49
Jamestown	3,433	2,948	20	96	27	4	135	203	511
Long Barn	155	140	1	3	0	0	5	6	13
Mi-Wuk Village	941	871	5	17	3	0	11	34	71
Mono Vista	3,127	2,796	6	58	38	8	61	160	300
Phoenix Lake	4,269	3,991	15	40	50	3	51	119	305
Pine Mountain Lake	2,796	2,596	18	25	24	7	21	105	183
Sierra Village	456	421	3	7	3	1	7	14	36
Soulsbyville	2,215	2,038	3	41	13	2	38	80	206
Strawberry	86	82	0	0	0	0	1	3	7
Tuolumne City	1,779	1,547	13	83	12	1	50	73	206
Tuttletown	668	613	5	14	5	1	12	18	48
Twain Harte	2,226	2,026	5	34	31	4	46	80	171
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)	21,708	17,735	985	459	211	28	1,616	674	2,847

2000

As of the census^[36] 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.

Government and policing

The Government of Tuolumne County is established and defined by the California Constitution and is a five-member elected Board Of Supervisors who serve four year elected terms. The government provides services such as elections and voter registration, law enforcement, jails, vital records, property records, tax collection, public health, and social services. The Board is the government for all unincorporated areas. Sonora is the only incorporated city in Tuolumne County.

Sheriff and Police

The Tuolumne County Sheriff provides court protection, jail administration, and coroner services for the entire county. It provides patrol and detective services for the unincorporated areas of the county.

Within the city limits of Sonora, patrol and detective services are served by the Sonora Police Department.

Politics

Voter registration statistics

Population and registered voters
Total population[14]	55,736
Registered voters[37][note 4]	32,101	57.6%
Democratic[37]	10,306	32.1%
Republican[37]	13,529	42.1%
Democratic–Republican spread[37]	-3,223	-10.0%
Independent[37]	1,313	4.1%
Green[37]	248	0.8%
Libertarian[37]	248	0.8%
Peace and Freedom[37]	100	0.3%
Americans Elect[37]	1	0.0%
Other[37]	68	0.2%
No party preference[37]	6,288	19.6%

Cities by population and voter registration

Cities by population and voter registration
City	Population[14]	Registered voters[37] [note 4]	Democratic[37]	Republican[37]	D–R spread[37]	Other[37]	No party preference[37]
Sonora	4,899	55.0%	38.2%	32.4%	+5.8%	10.7%	22.8%

Overview

Tuolumne county tends to vote Republican in Presidential and congressional elections. The last Democrat to win the county was Bill Clinton in 1992. In the 2008 presidential election, 14,988 votes were counted for John McCain with former president Barack Obama receiving 11,532 votes.^[38]

United States presidential election results for Tuolumne County, California^[39]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	17,210	59.72%	10,909	37.86%	697	2.42%
2020	17,689	58.17%	11,978	39.39%	741	2.44%
2016	14,551	56.20%	9,123	35.23%	2,219	8.57%
2012	13,880	56.06%	9,998	40.38%	880	3.55%
2008	14,988	54.90%	11,532	42.24%	783	2.87%
2004	15,745	60.02%	10,104	38.51%	386	1.47%
2000	13,172	55.51%	9,359	39.44%	1,196	5.04%
1996	10,386	47.27%	8,950	40.73%	2,636	12.00%
1992	8,525	35.26%	9,216	38.12%	6,437	26.62%
1988	10,646	54.00%	8,717	44.22%	352	1.79%
1984	10,485	58.09%	7,283	40.35%	283	1.57%
1980	8,810	54.85%	5,449	33.92%	1,804	11.23%
1976	6,104	46.94%	6,492	49.93%	407	3.13%
1972	5,894	54.29%	4,596	42.34%	366	3.37%
1968	4,330	47.48%	3,913	42.91%	876	9.61%
1964	2,861	36.59%	4,939	63.16%	20	0.26%
1960	3,691	49.11%	3,781	50.31%	44	0.59%
1956	3,619	52.12%	3,310	47.67%	14	0.20%
1952	4,050	59.18%	2,735	39.96%	59	0.86%
1948	2,639	48.21%	2,561	46.78%	274	5.01%
1944	1,864	41.77%	2,566	57.51%	32	0.72%
1940	2,004	35.63%	3,541	62.96%	79	1.40%
1936	1,199	26.40%	3,303	72.72%	40	0.88%
1932	1,145	30.18%	2,521	66.45%	128	3.37%
1928	1,731	54.80%	1,360	43.05%	68	2.15%
1924	1,287	43.03%	357	11.94%	1,347	45.04%
1920	1,285	59.38%	659	30.45%	220	10.17%
1916	1,057	36.17%	1,584	54.21%	281	9.62%
1912	8	0.30%	1,459	55.58%	1,158	44.11%
1908	943	44.40%	878	41.34%	303	14.27%
1904	1,280	48.76%	1,006	38.32%	339	12.91%
1900	1,309	45.09%	1,530	52.70%	64	2.20%
1896	834	38.06%	1,308	59.70%	49	2.24%
1892	739	40.56%	916	50.27%	167	9.17%

Tuolumne County is in California's 5th congressional district, represented by Republican Tom McClintock.^[40] In the state legislature Tuolumne is in the 8th Assembly district, which is held by Republican David Tangipa and the 4th Senate district, which is held by Republican Marie Alvarado-Gil.

Communities

City

• Sonora (county seat)

Census-designated places

• Cedar Ridge
• Chinese Camp
• Cold Springs
• Columbia
• East Sonora
• Groveland
• Jamestown
• Long Barn
• Mi-Wuk Village
• Mono Vista
• Phoenix Lake
• Pine Mountain Lake
• Sierra Village
• Soulsbyville
• Strawberry
• Tuolumne
• Tuttletown
• Twain Harte

Unincorporated communities

• Bumblebee
• Confidence
• Dardanelle
• Deadwood
• Mather
• Moccasin
• Pinecrest
• Priest
• Standard

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2010 census of Tuolumne County.^[41]

† county seat

Rank	City/Town/etc.	Municipal type	Population (2010 Census)
1	† Sonora	City	4,610
2	Phoenix Lake	CDP	4,269
3	Jamestown	CDP	3,433
4	Mono Vista	CDP	3,127
5	Pine Mountain Lake	CDP	2,796
6	Columbia	CDP	2,297
7	East Sonora	CDP	2,266
8	Twain Harte	CDP	2,226
9	Soulsbyville	CDP	2,215
10	Tuolumne City	CDP	1,779
11	Cedar Ridge	CDP	1,132
12	Mi-Wuk Village	CDP	941
13	Tuttletown	CDP	668
14	Groveland	CDP	601
15	Sierra Village	CDP	456
16	Tuolumne Rancheria[42]	AIAN	185
17	Cold Springs	CDP	181
18	Long Barn	CDP	155
19	Chinese Camp	CDP	126
20	Strawberry	CDP	126
21	Chicken Ranch Rancheria[43]	AIAN	91

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Tuolumne County, California

Explanatory notes

1. Only larceny-theft cases involving property over $400 in value are reported as property crimes.
2. Other = Some other race + Two or more races
3. Native American = Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander + American Indian or Alaska Native
4. Percentage of registered voters with respect to total population. Percentages of party members with respect to registered voters follow.