The discovery of gold in 1848 brought tens of thousands of miners from around the world during theCalifornia gold rush. In addition, many more thousands came to provide goods and services to the miners. On April 25, 1851, the fast-growing county was formed from parts of Sutter and Yuba Counties with Auburn as the county seat. Placer County took its name from the Spanish word for sand or gravel deposits containing gold.[6] Miners washed away the gravel, leaving the heavier gold, in a process known as "placer mining".
Gold mining was a major industry through the 1880s, but gradually the new residents turned to farming the fertile foothill soil, harvesting timber and working for theSouthern Pacific Railroad. Auburn was settled when Claude Chana discovered gold in Auburn Ravine in May 1848, and it later became a shipping and supply center for the surrounding gold camps. The cornerstone of Placer's courthouse, which is clearly visible fromInterstate 80 through Auburn, was laid on July 4, 1894. The building was renovated during the late 1980s and continues to serve the public with courtrooms, a sheriff's office and the Placer County Museum.Roseville, once a small agricultural center, became a major railroad center and grew to the county's most populous city after theSouthern Pacific Railroad moved its railroad switching yards there in 1908.
Loomis andNewcastle began as mining towns, but soon became centers of a booming fruit-growing industry, supporting many local packing houses.Penryn was founded by a Welsh miner, Griffith Griffith, who established a large granite quarry.Rocklin began as a railroad town and became home to a number of granite quarries.Lincoln andSheridan continue to support ranching and farming. Lincoln also is the home of one of the county's oldest businesses, theGladding, McBean terra cotta clay manufacturing plant, established in 1875.
According to theU.S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 1,502 square miles (3,890 km2), of which 1,407 square miles (3,640 km2) is land and 95 square miles (250 km2) (6.4%) is water.[7] Watercourses in Placer County include theAmerican River andBunch Creek. 40.96% of Lake Tahoe's surface area is in Placer County, more than in any of the four other counties in which it lies.[8]
The county is typically divided into three regions; "South Placer" in theCentral Valley and the Sierra Nevada foothills south of Auburn, "Gold Country" which consists of the Sierra Foothills around Auburn,Colfax, andForesthill, and the Sierra Nevada which consists of all areas east of Foresthill and northeast of Colfax (including theLake Tahoe region). Roughly 3/4ths of the population lives in South Placer, Roseville being the primary job and retail center of the county. Auburn and Lincoln are the main secondary commercial centers.
As of the2020 census, the county had a population of 404,739. The median age was 42.4 years; 22.6% of residents were under the age of 18 and 20.5% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 94.8 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 92.0 males age 18 and over.[16]
85.4% of residents lived in urban areas, while 14.6% lived in rural areas.[18]
There were 152,101 households in the county, of which 32.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 23.5% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 23.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.[16]
There were 172,356 housing units, of which 11.8% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 71.7% were owner-occupied and 28.3% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.0% and the rental vacancy rate was 4.9%.[16]
Placer 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.
As of thecensus[27] of 2000, there were 248,399 people, 93,382 households, and 67,701 families residing in the county. The population density was 177 inhabitants per square mile (68/km2). There were 107,302 housing units at an average density of 76 per square mile (29/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 88.6%White, 0.8%Black orAfrican American, 0.9%Native American, 3.0%Asian, 0.2%Pacific Islander, 3.4% fromother races, and 3.2% from two or more races. 9.7% of the population wereHispanic orLatino of any race. 15.5% were ofGerman, 12.3%English, 10.6%Irish, 7.1%Italian and 7.0%American ancestry according toCensus 2000. 89.7% spoke onlyEnglish at home; 6.0% spokeSpanish.
There were 93,382 households, out of which 35.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.4% weremarried couples living together, 9.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.5% were non-families. 21.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.06.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 26.5% under the age of 18, 6.9% from 18 to 24, 29.00% from 25 to 44, 24.5% from 45 to 64, and 13.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.9 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $57,535, and the median income for a family was $65,858 (these figures had risen to $68,463 and $80,987 respectively as of a 2007 estimate[28]). Males had a median income of $50,410 versus $33,763 for females. Theper capita income for the county was $27,963. About 3.9% of families and 5.8% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 6.3% of those under age 18 and 3.8% of those age 65 or over. Unemployment in the county is just under 7% which is considerably lower than the state's average.
County government is by a five-person four-year term elected board of supervisors from five single member districts with a board-appointed county manager and his/her department administrators.
The Placer County Sheriff's Office provides court protection, jail administration, and coroner services for all of Placer County. It provides patrol, detective, and other police services for the unincorporated areas of the county plus by contract to the city of Colfax and the town of Loomis.
In its early history Placer County was solidly Republican: it voted Republican in every election between 1860 and 1912, when Bull Moose nomineeTheodore Roosevelt was California's official Republican nominee.[30] Between 1916 and 1976, however, the county voted Republican only in three landslide elections of1920,1952 and1972 – in all of which its GOP margins were much smaller than for the state or nation. Since the "Reagan Revolution" Placer County has become and remained a stronghold of theRepublican Party; it consistently elects Republican public officials and has voted for presidential candidates from the party in every election since 1980.
United States presidential election results for Placer County, California[31]
mPOWER Placer is Placer County'sProperty Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) program. It provides financing to commercial, industrial, agricultural and multifamily property owners to install energy efficiency, water conservation and renewable energy retrofits. The program, administered by thePlacer County Treasurer-Tax Collector’s Office, was approved by the Board of Supervisors on February 9, 2010, and launched on March 22, 2010, and is open to eligible Placer County property owners.
Placer County Transit provides basic bus service primarily along the I-80 corridor between Alta and the Watt Ave.Sacramento Regional Transit light rail station. PCT also runs commuter service to Downtown Sacramento.
^"Final Maps". California Citizens Redistricting Commission.
^U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B02001.U.S. Census website. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
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