Fresno County (), officially the County of Fresno, is located in the central portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 1,008,654. The county seat is Fresno, the fifth-most populous city in California. Fresno County comprises the Fresno, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is part of the Fresno–Madera, CA Combined Statistical Area. It is located in the Central Valley, south of Stockton and north of Bakersfield. Since 2010, statewide droughts in California have further strained both Fresno County's and the entire Central Valley's water security.
History The area now known as Fresno County was the traditional homeland of Yokuts and Mono peoples, and was later settled by Spaniards during a search for suitable mission sites. In 1846, this area became part of the United States as a result of the Mexican-American War.
Fresno County was formed in 1856 from parts of Mariposa, Merced and Tulare counties. Fresno is Spanish for "ash tree" and it was in recognition of the abundance of the shrubby local ash, Fraxinus dipetala, growing along the San Joaquin River that it received its name. Parts of Fresno County's territory were given to Mono County in 1861 and to Madera County in 1893. The original county seat was along the San Joaquin River in Millerton, but was moved to the rapidly growing town of Fresno on the newly built Southern Pacific Railroad line. A special election was held on March 23, 1874, to decide if Millerton should remain the County Seat or if the County Seat should be moved to another location. Fresno won the election that day and became the new Fresno County Seat.
The settling of Fresno County was not without its conflicts, land disputes, and other natural disasters. Floods caused immeasurable damage elsewhere and fires also plagued the settlers of Fresno County. In 1882, the greatest of the early day fires wiped out an entire block of the city of Fresno, and was followed by another devastating blaze in 1883.
At the same time residents brought irrigation, electricity, and extensive agriculture to the area. In 1865, William Helm brought his sheep to Fresno county, which was then a vast space of open land. Helm was the largest individual sheep grower in Fresno County. Moses Church developed the first canals, called "Church Ditches", for irrigation. These canals allowed extensive cultivation of wheat. Francis Eisen, leader of the wine industry in Fresno County, also began the raisin industry in 1875, when he accidentally let some of his grapes dry on the vine. Anthony Easterby and Clovis Cole developed extensive grain and cattle ranches. These and other citizens laid the groundwork for the cultivation of Fresno County – now one of the nation's leading agricultural regions. In more recent times cotton became a major crop in Fresno and the southern San Joaquin Valley, but recent drought and lower demand have lessened cotton's importance to the local economy.
The discovery of oil in the western part of the county, near the town of Coalinga at the foot of the Coast Ranges, brought about an economic boom in the 1900s (decade), even though the field itself was known at least as early as the 1860s. By 1910, Coalinga Oil Field, the largest field in Fresno County, was the most richly productive oil field in California; a dramatic oil gusher in 1909, the biggest in California up until that time, was an event of sufficient excitement to cause the Los Angeles Stock Exchange to close for a day so that its members could come by train to view it. The Coalinga field continues to produce oil, and is currently the eighth-largest field in the state.History of the Coalinga area California Department of Conservation, Oil and Gas Statistics, Annual Report, December 31, 2006, p. 66–67 (2–3 in PDF file)
More than thirty structures in Fresno County are on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Fresno Water Tower, which once held over of water for the city of Fresno, the Meux Home, and Kearney Mansion Museum.
Geography According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.9%) is water.
Fresno County consists of about 38 smaller towns including Fresno, Selma, Parlier, Clovis, Reedley, Sanger, Kerman, Kingsburg, Coalinga, Firebaugh, Friant, Mendota, Fowler, Shaver Lake, San Joaquin, Orange Cove, Del Ray, Squaw Valley, Auberry, Huron, Caruthers, Riverdale, Laton, Big Creek, Tranquility, Biola, Raisin City, Easton, Three Rocks, Cantua Creek, Lanare, Minkler, Bowles.
Major watercourses are the San Joaquin River, Kings River, Delta-Mendota Canal, Big Creek, Friant Kern Canal, Helm Canal and Madera Canal. It is bordered on the west by the Coast Range and on the east by the Sierra Nevada. It is the center of a large agricultural area, known as the most agriculturally rich county in the United States. The county withdrew of fresh water per day in 2000, more than any other county in the United States. In recent years, statewide droughts in California have further strained both Fresno's and the entire Central Valley's water security.
Fresno County is part of the Madera AVA wine region. However, Fresno was named after two particular ash trees that grew near the town of Minkler on the Kings River, one of which is still alive and standing.
Adjacent counties Madera County (north) Kings County (south) Mono County (northeast) Merced County (northwest) Tulare County (southeast) Monterey County (southwest) Inyo County (east) San Benito County (west)
National protected areas Giant Sequoia National Monument (part) Kings Canyon National Park (part) Sequoia National Forest (part) Sierra National Forest (part)
Geology A number of minerals have been discovered in the county, including macdonaldite, krauskopfite, walstromite, fresnoite, verplanckite, muirite, traskite, and kampfite.
In October 2019, the Bureau of Land Management ended a five-year moratorium on leasing federal land in California to fossil fuel companies, opening 725,000 acres (1100 sq. miles; 29,000 ha) to drilling in San Benito, Monterey, and Fresno counties.
Demographics
2020 census As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 1,008,654, and the median age was 33.3 years. 27.6% of residents were under the age of 18 and 13.2% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 98.9 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 96.9 males age 18 and over.
The racial makeup of the county was 37.1% White, 4.8% Black or African American, 2.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 11.2% Asian, 0.2% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 28.2% from some other race, and 16.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 53.6% of the population.
88.7% of residents lived in urban areas, while 11.3% lived in rural areas.
There were 319,296 households in the county, of which 40.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 27.7% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 20.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 338,441 housing units, of which 5.7% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 54.3% were owner-occupied and 45.7% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.0% and the rental vacancy rate was 4.2%.
Racial and ethnic composition +Fresno County, California – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 1980Pop 1990Pop 2000Pop 2010 Pop 2020% 1980% 1990% 2000% 2010% 2020White alone (NH)316,895338,595317,522304,522271,88961.58%50.73%39.72%32.73%26.96%Black or African American alone (NH)24,55731,31140,29145,00544,2954.77%4.69%5.04%4.84%4.39%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)4,7475,0706,2235,9796,0740.92%0.76%0.78%0.64%0.60%Asian alone (NH)14,77754,11063,02986,856109,6652.87%8.11%7.88%9.33%10.87%Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)x included in the Asian category in the 1980 Censusx included in the Asian category in the 1990 Census6821,0661,2330.09%0.11%0.09%0.11%0.12%Other race alone (NH)2,8551,7701,4511,7445,2090.55%0.27%0.18%0.19%0.52%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)x not an option in the 1980 Censusx not an option in the 1990 Census18,57317,20829,546xx2.32%1.85%2.93%Hispanic or Latino (any race)150,790236,634351,636468,070540,74329.30%35.45%43.99%50.31%53.61%Total514,621667,490799,407930,4501,008,654 100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%
2010 census The 2010 United States census reported that Fresno County had a population of 930,450. The racial makeup of Fresno County was 515,145 (55.4%) White, 49,523 (5.3%) African American, 15,649 (1.7%) Native American, 89,357 (9.6%) Asian (3.3% Hmong, 1.7% Asian Indian, 1.0% Filipino, 0.8% Laotian, 0.6% Chinese, 0.5% Japanese, 0.5% Cambodian, 0.3% Vietnamese, 0.2% Korean, 0.1% Pakistani, 0.1% Thai), 1,405 (0.2%) Pacific Islander, 217,085 (23.3%) from other races, and 42,286 (4.5%) from two or more races. There were 468,070 Hispanic or Latino residents of any race (50.3%). 46.0% of Fresno County's population was of Mexican descent; 0.7% Salvadoran, and 0.3% of Puerto Rican origin.
Population reported at 2010 United States census Fresno County930,450515,14549,52315,64989,3571,405217,08542,286468,070 Clovis95,63167,7582,6181,32010,2332188,8574,62724,514Coalinga13,3807,734549171407363,9375467,161Firebaugh7,5494,715701164002,3712376,887Fowler5,5702,63410413661081,8002783,687Fresno494,665245,30640,9608,52562,528849111,98424,513232,055Huron6,7542,30066773963,9643026,527Kerman13,5446,860681731,091144,6756639,711Kingsburg11,3828,57662146383211,7064884,883Mendota11,0145,8231071538254,46537910,643Orange Cove9,0783,9407213110134,4813508,413Parlier14,4947,251851807796,38750514,137Reedley24,19414,10516926779787,85099818,455San Joaquin4,0011,96631543701,7661473,825Sanger24,27014,454219311758397,64584419,537Selma23,21912,8692844791,05797,63089118,014 Auberry2,3692,0481010524268112309Big Creek17515811503727Biola1,6235106433162692541,196Bowles166108611043771Calwa2,0529952467439846681,848Cantua Creek466244531019914461Caruthers2,4971,22414382210904961,591Centerville3923211920033899Del Rey1,639740711340814331,534Easton2,0831,24813586805931031,308Fort Washington233209417011126Friant50943341470114063Lanare5891815752030044519Laton1,8241,001413100744521,393Malaga947418121511246425891Mayfair4,5892,03016999310141,7382293,010Minkler1,00381842023010830302Monmouth1528261504711107Old Fig Garden5,3654,00010554209107332541,532Raisin City3801235316020312308Riverdale3,1531,82633592751,0511522,106Shaver Lake63461105308744Squaw Valley3,1622,7003077472159147525Sunnyside4,2352,6871765846766402011,525Tarpey Village3,8882,868775926134521681,219Three Rocks246129010010214235Tranquillity7995049132025120637West Park1,157602323254137066879 All others not CDPs (combined)125,37880,0363,2452,5178,93312425,9904,53355,856
2000 census As of the census of 2000, there were 799,407 people, 252,940 households, and 186,669 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 270,767 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 54.3% White, 5.3% Black or African American, 1.6% Native American, 8.1% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 25.9% from other races, and 4.7% from two or more races. 44.0% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. In terms of ancestry, the county was 7.5% German, 6.6% Irish, 6.3% English ancestry according to Census 2000. 59.3% spoke English, 31.5% Spanish and 3.1% Hmong as their first language.
There were 252,940 households, out of which 41.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.5% were married couples living together, 15.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.2% were non-families. 20.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.09 and the average family size was 3.59.