SIERRA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA

'Sierra County' is a county located in the Sierra Nevada of the U.S. state of California, northeast of Sacramento on the border with Nevada. As of 2000 the population was 3,555. The county seat is Downieville.
The only incorporated city in the county is Loyalton.

Contents

History

Geography

Cities and towns

Adjacent Counties

Transportation Infrastructure

Major Highways

Public Transportation

Airports

Demographics

Trivia

See also

External links

References

History

Sierra County was formed from parts of Yuba County in 1852.
The county derives its name from the Sierra Nevada. (Note: Sierra Nevada is Spanish for "Snowy Range." Therefore, it should not be referred to as The Sierra Nevada Mountains.)

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,491 km² (962 mi²). 2,469 km² (953 mi²) of it is land and 22 km² (9 mi²) of it (0.89%) is water.

Cities and towns

Alleghany,
Calpine, Downieville, Forest, Goodyears Bar, Loyalton,
Pike, Sattley, Sierra City, Sierraville

Adjacent Counties

★ Nevada County, California - south

★ Yuba County, California - west

★ Plumas County, California - north

★ Lassen County, California - northeast

★ Washoe County, Nevada - east

Transportation Infrastructure

Major Highways

★ California State Route 49

★ California State Route 89

Public Transportation

Public transportation in Sierra County is limited to vans run by senior citizen agencies in Downieville and Loyalton. (The general public may ride on a space-available basis) ^[1]

Airports

Sierraville-Dearwater Field Airport is a general aviation airport located near Sierraville.

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 3,555 people, 1,520 households, and 986 families residing in the county. The population density was 1/km² (4/mi²). There were 2,202 housing units at an average density of 1/km² (2/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 94.18% White, 0.20% Black or African American, 1.88% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 1.04% from other races, and 2.45% from two or more races. 5.99% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 95.3% spoke English and 3.4% Spanish as their first language.
There were 1,520 households out of which 27.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.10% were married couples living together, 7.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.10% were non-families. 29.00% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.83.
In the county the population was spread out with 23.30% under the age of 18, 4.80% from 18 to 24, 24.00% from 25 to 44, 30.20% from 45 to 64, and 17.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females there were 102.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.90 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $35,827, and the median income for a family was $42,756. Males had a median income of $36,121 versus $30,000 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,815. About 9.00% of families and 11.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.30% of those under age 18 and 2.20% of those age 65 or over.

Trivia

★ Because Loyalton is Sierra County's most populous municipality and its only incorporated city, generally half of the meetings of the county's board of supervisors are held in Downieville and the other half are held in Loyalton. [1]

★ There is only one traffic signal in Sierra County.

See also

★ List of school districts in Sierra County, California

External links

★ Sierra County official website

★ Sierra County Chamber of Commerce

References

1. Sierra County 2005 Regional Transportation Plan