Between 2007 and 2011, large numbers ofLos Angeles-area workers moved to the county to take advantage of more affordable housing.[8] Along with neighboring San Bernardino County, it was one of the fastest-growing regions in the state prior to the recent changes in the regional economy. In addition, smaller, but significant, numbers of people have been moving into southwest Riverside County from theSan Diego metropolitan area.[9][10][11]
When Riverside County was formed in 1893, it was named for the city of Riverside, the county seat. That city, founded in 1870, was so named because of its location near theSanta Ana River.[12][13]
When the initial 27 California counties were established in 1850, the area today known as Riverside County was divided betweenLos Angeles County andSan Diego County. In 1853, the eastern part of Los Angeles County was used to createSan Bernardino County. Between 1891 and 1893, several proposals and legislative attempts were put forth to form new counties inSouthern California. These proposals included one for a Pomona County and one for a San Jacinto County. None of the proposals were adopted until a measure to create Riverside County was signed by GovernorHenry H. Markham on March 11, 1893.[18]
The new county was created from parts ofSan Bernardino County andSan Diego County. On May 2, 1893, seventy percent of voters approved the formation of Riverside County. Voters chose the city of Riverside as the county seat, also by a large margin. Riverside County was officially formed on May 9, 1893, when the Board of Commissioners filed the final canvass of the votes.[18]
Riverside county was a major focal point of theCivil Rights Movements in the US, especially the African-American sections of Riverside and heavily Mexican-American communities of the Coachella Valley visited byCesar Chavez of the farm labor union struggle.
According to theU.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 7,303 square miles (18,910 km2), of which 7,206 square miles (18,660 km2) is land and 97 square miles (250 km2) (1.3%) is water.[20] It is the fourth-largest county in California by area. At roughly 180 miles (290 km) wide in the east–west dimension, the area of the county is massive. Riverside County, California is roughly the size of the State of New Jersey in total area. County government documents frequently cite theColorado River town ofBlythe as being a "three-hour drive" from the county seat,Riverside. Some view the areas west of San Gorgonio Pass as the Inland Empire portion of the county and the eastern part as either theMojave Desert orColorado Desert portion. There are probably at least three geomorphic provinces: theInland Empire western portion, theSanta Rosa Mountains communities such asReinhardt Canyon, and the desert region. Other possible subdivisions include tribal lands, the Colorado River communities, and theSalton Sea.
There is a diversity of flora and fauna within Riverside County. Vegetative plant associations feature many desert flora, but there are also forested areas within the county. The California endemicBlue oak,Quercus douglasii is at the southernmost part of its range in Riverside County.[21]
There are 19 officialwilderness areas in Riverside County that are part of theNational Wilderness Preservation System. Some are integral parts of the above protected areas, most (11 of the 19) are managed solely by theBureau of Land Management, and some share management between the BLM and the relevant other agencies. Some extend into neighboring counties:
Riverside 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.
The2010 United States census reported that Riverside County had a population of 2,189,641. The racial makeup of Riverside County was 1,335,147 (61.0%)White (40.7% Non-Hispanic White), 140,543 (6.4%)African American, 23,710 (1.1%)Native American, 130,468 (6.0%)Asian (2.3% Filipino, 0.8% Chinese, 0.7% Vietnamese, 0.6% Korean, 0.5% Indian, 0.2% Japanese, 0.1% Cambodian, 0.1% Laotian, 0.1% Pakistani), 6,874 (0.3%)Pacific Islander, 448,235 (20.5%) fromother races, and 104,664 (4.8%) from two or more races. There were 995,257 residents ofHispanic orLatino ancestry, of any race (45.5%); 39.5% of Riverside County was of Mexican origin, 0.8% Salvadoran, 0.7% Honduran, 0.6% Puerto Rican, 0.3% Cuban, and 0.2% Nicaraguan descent.[47]
As of thecensus[48] of 2000, there were 1,545,387 people, 506,218 households, and 372,576 families residing in the county. The population density was 214 inhabitants per square mile (83/km2). There were 584,674 housing units at an average density of 81 per square mile (31/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 65.6%White, 6.2%Black orAfrican American, 1.2%Native American, 3.7%Asian, 0.3%Pacific Islander, 18.7% fromother races, and 4.4% from two or more races. 36.2% of the population wereHispanic orLatino of any race. 9.2% were of German, 6.9% English, 6.1% Irish and 5.0% American ancestry according toCensus 2000. 67.2% spoke English and 27.7% Spanish as their first language.
In 2006 the county had a population of 2,026,803, up 31.2% since 2000. In 2005 45.8% of the population was non-Hispanic whites. The percentages of African Americans, Asians and Native Americans remained relatively similar to their 2000 figures. The percentage of Pacific Islanders had majorly risen to 0.4. Hispanics now constituted 41% of the population.
There were 506,218 households, out of which 38.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.5% were married couples living together, 12.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.4% were non-families. 20.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.0 and the average family size was 3.5.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 30.3% under the age of 18, 9.2% from 18 to 24, 28.9% from 25 to 44, 18.9% from 45 to 64, and 12.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.8 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $42,887, and the median income for a family was $48,409. Males had a median income of $38,639 versus $28,032 for females. Theper capita income for the county was $18,689. About 10.7% of families and 14.2% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 18.5% of those under age 18 and 7.6% of those age 65 or over.
Riverside County is organized as a General Law County under the provision of the California Government Code. The county has five supervisorial districts, and one supervisor is elected from each district every four years.[49]
In 1999, the County Board of Supervisors approved a multimillion-dollar planning effort to create the Riverside County Integrated Plan (RCIP) which was to encompass a completely new General Plan, regional transportation plan (CETAP) and Habitat Conservation Plan. The resultant General Plan adopted in 2003 was considered groundbreaking for its multidisciplinary approach to land use and conservation planning.[50][51]
TheRiverside Superior Court is the statetrial court for Riverside County with 14courthouses:Riverside Historic Courthouse, Riverside Hall of Justice, Riverside Family Law Court, Riverside Juvenile Court, Southwest Justice Center – Murrieta, Moreno Valley Court, Banning Court, Hemet Court, Corona Court, Temecula Court, Larson Justice Center – Indio, Indio Juvenile Court, Palm Springs Court and Blythe Court.[52]
The main courthouse is the Riverside Historic Courthouse. This landmark, erected in 1903, was modeled after theGrand andPetit Palais inParis, France. The courthouse, designed by Los Angeles architects Burnham and Bliesner, has a classical design – including a great hall that connects all the departments (courtrooms).[53] In 1994, the courthouse was closed for seismic retrofits due to the1992 Landers and1994 Northridge earthquakes. The courthouse was reopened and rededicated in September 1998.[54]
Riverside County hands down 1 in 6 death sentences in the US, in spite of it having less than 1% of the population.[55]
TheRiverside County Sheriff provides court protection, jail administration, and coroner services for all of Riverside County. It provides patrol, detective, and other police services for the unincorporated areas of the county plus by contract to the cities and towns of Coachella, Eastvale, Indian Wells, Jurupa Valley, La Quinta, Lake Elsinore, Moreno Valley, Norco, Palm Desert, Perris, Rancho Mirage, San Jacinto, Temecula and Wildomar. The Morongo Indian Reservation also contracts with the Sheriff's Office to provide police services to the reservation.[56]
Prior to 2008, Riverside County was aRepublican stronghold inpresidential andcongressional elections. Between its creation in 1893[61] and2004, it voted for the Democratic presidential nominee only three times:[62]Franklin D. Roosevelt in1936 (by a margin of 337 votes, or 0.99%),Lyndon B. Johnson in1964 (by a margin of 19,363 votes, or 13.65%), andBill Clinton in1992 (by a margin of 6,784 votes, or 1.58%). In1932, it was one of only two counties in the entireWest Coast to vote for Republican presidentHerbert Hoover over Roosevelt during the latter's landslide victory.[63] In 2024, it was one of ten counties that flipped forDonald Trump after voting forBiden in2020, and was one of six that voted for theRepublican presidential candidate for the first time in 20 years sinceGeorge W. Bush in2004. At the state level, Riverside remains one of the most conservative counties in Southern California and is frequently the only county in the region to not vote for Democratic candidates, having not voted for a Democrat for governor since 1998 (and having only voted three times for Democrats in the past century).
At the local level, Democrats are strongest in Riverside County in large cities such as Riverside, Perris, and Moreno Valley, performing especially well in majority Black and Hispanic areas, although those have been shifting heavily to the right. Democrats are also strongest in progressive-leaning White areas and college campuses such as Downtown Riverside, the area surroundingUC Riverside, the LGBT enclave ofPalm Springs and most of the Hispanic-majorityCoachella Valley.[64]
Republicans perform especially well in the wealthy San Diegan exurbs in theTemecula Valley as well as more middle-class white cities such asLake Elsinore,Wildomar, andMenifee. Republicans are also usually more successful in the rural areas of the county as well as wealthy retirement enclaves such asCanyon Lake andBermuda Dunes.[64] Republicans have been consistently gaining in almost all areas of the county, however, and in 2024 put up massive gains in both affluent suburbs and blue-collar majority Hispanic areas, even flipping the city ofJurupa Valley, the most Hispanic city in Riverside County.[65]
United States presidential election results for Riverside County, California[66]
Riverside County voted 64.8% in favor ofProposition 8 which amended the California Constitution to ban same-sex marriages. Only the city ofPalm Springs voted against the measure.[citation needed]
Riverside County has 12 federally recognizedIndian reservations, which ties it withSandoval County, New Mexico, for second most of any county in the United States. (Sandoval County, however, has two additional joint-use areas, shared between reservations.San Diego County, California has the most, with 18 reservations.)
^Trafzer, Clifford E. (2006).Native Americans of Riverside County. Jeffrey A. Smith. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Pub. p. 7.ISBN978-0-7385-4685-8.OCLC80766874.
^Gunther, Jane Davies (1984).Riverside County, California, Place Names; Their Origins and Their Stories. Riverside, California. pp. 456–461.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^Gudde, Erwin G. (1949).California Place Names (1st ed.). Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. p. 305.
^"Lake Cahuilla Brochure"(PDF).Riverside County Regional Park and Open-Space District. September 2013. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on May 17, 2017. RetrievedJanuary 11, 2019.
^abcdefghijklmnopU.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B02001.U.S. Census website. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
^abU.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B03003.U.S. Census website. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
^abU.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B19301.U.S. Census website. Retrieved October 21, 2013.
^abU.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B19013.U.S. Census website. Retrieved October 21, 2013.
^abU.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B19113.U.S. Census website. Retrieved October 21, 2013.
^abU.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates.U.S. Census website. Retrieved October 21, 2013.
^U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B01003.U.S. Census website. Retrieved October 21, 2013.
^Riverside County RCIP General Plan (2003), The Planning Center
^Riverside County Integrated Project: An innovative model for integrating land use, transportation and conservation planning (2007), Edward J. Blakely Center for Sustainable Suburban Development
Fitch, Robert J. (1993).Profile of a Century: Riverside County, California, 1893–1993. Riverside County Historical Commission Press. pp. 300.OCLC28661359
Gunther, Jane Davies.Riverside County, California, Place Names; Their Origins and Their Stories, Riverside, CA, 1984.LCCN84-72920
Lech, Steve (2004).Along the Old Roads: A History of the Portion of Southern California that became Riverside County: 1772–1893. Steve Lech. p. 902.OCLC56035822.
Lech, Steve (2012).Pioneers of Riverside County: The Spanish, Mexican and Early American Periods. Charleston, SC: The History Press. p. 173.ISBN978-1609498313.OCLC814373331. (a reprint of the first three chapters ofAlong the Old Roads.)
Brown, James B. (1985).Harvest of the Sun: An Illustrated History of Riverside County. Northridge, CA: Windsor Publications. p. 244.ISBN0-89781-145-3.OCLC11916170.
Gunther, Jane Davies (1984).Riverside County, California, Place Names. Their Origins and Their Stories: Rubidoux Printing Co. 1984. LCCN 84-72920
Justitia Rei Publicae Fundamentum: Justice is the Foundation of the Republic. Riverside, CA: Riverside Museum Press. 1998. p. 34.ISBN0-935661-28-X.OCLC40695255.
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