Yolo County (; Wintun: Yo-loy), officially the County of Yolo, is a county located in the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Yolo County was one of the original counties of California, created in 1850 at the time of statehood. As of the 2020 census, its population was 216,403. Its county seat is Woodland. Yolo County is included in the greater Sacramento metropolitan area in the Sacramento Valley.
Etymology In the original act of 1850, the name was spelled "Yola". Yolo is a Patwin Native American name variously believed to be a corruption of a tribal name, Yo-loy, meaning "a place abounding in rushes", the village of Yodoi, believed to be in the vicinity of Knights Landing, California, or the name of the chief of said village, Yodo.
History Yolo County was one of the original counties of California, created in 1850 at the time of statehood.
Government Yolo County is a California Constitution defined general law county and is governed by an elected Board of Supervisors. The Board consists of five members, elected by districts, who serve every four-year staggered terms. The county is governed by a board of five district supervisors as well the governments of its four incorporated cities: Davis, West Sacramento, Winters, and Woodland.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which (0.9%) is covered by water.
Adjacent counties Colusa County - north Sutter County - northeast Sacramento County - east Solano County - south Napa County - west Lake County - northwest
Transportation
Major highways
County roads Addressing in Yolo County is based on a system of numbered county roads. The numbering system works in the following way: North–south roads have numbers from 41 to 117 and increase from west to east. East–west roads have numbers from 1 to 38A, and then from 151 to 161, and increase from north to south.
Each integer road number is generally apart, with letters occasionally designating roads less than apart. County roads entering urban areas generally become named roads once they cross a city boundary. Some examples include County Road 101 in Woodland being renamed Pioneer Avenue, and County Road 102 (also known as County Route E8) in Davis being named Pole Line Road.
Public transportation Yolobus (Yolo County Transportation District) runs buses throughout Yolo County and into Sacramento, and Sacramento International Airport. The University of California, Davis and the city of Davis jointly run Unitrans, a combination local city bus and campus shuttle.
Amtrak has a station in Davis.
Airports Yolo County Airport University Airport Borges–Clarksburg Airport Watts–Woodland Airport
Port The Port of Sacramento, now known as the Port of West Sacramento, is an inland port in West Sacramento, California, in the Sacramento metropolitan area. It is northeast of San Francisco, and is centered in the California Central Valley, one of the richest agricultural regions in the world.
Crime This table includes the number of incidents reported and the rate per 1,000 persons for each type of offense.
Population and crime rates Population 198,889 Violent crimeOffice of the Attorney General, Department of Justice, State of California. Table 11: Crimes – 2009 . Retrieved November 14, 2013. 556 2.80 Homicide 7 0.04 Forcible rape 68 0.34 Robbery 171 0.86 Aggravated assault 310 1.56 Property crime 2,979 14.98 Burglary 1,357 6.82 Larceny-theftOnly larceny-theft cases involving property over $400 in value are reported as property crimes. 3,844 19.33 Motor vehicle theft 559 2.81 Arson 75 0.38
Cities by population and crime rates Cities by population and crime rates City PopulationUnited States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation. Crime in the United States, 2012, Table 8 (California). Retrieved November 14, 2013. Violent crimes Violent crime rateper 1,000 persons Property crimes Property crime rateper 1,000 persons Davis 69,289 107 1.53 2,190 31.39 West Sacramento 53,727 212 3.90 1,603 29.48 Winters 7,286 9 1.22 84 12.49 Woodland 60,531 224 3.66 1,488 24.32
Politics Yolo is a strongly Democratic county in presidential and congressional elections. The last Republican presidential candidate to win a majority in the county was Dwight Eisenhower in 1952, which is the longest Republican drought for any California county. In fact, since 1928, Eisenhower's win in 1952 was the only time the county was carried by the Republican presidential nominee.
Yolo County has been somewhat more likely to elect Republican governors since then (Ronald Reagan carried the county in 1966, George Deukmejian in 1986, and Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2003 and 2006).
In the United States House of Representatives, Yolo County is split between California's 4th and 7th congressional districts, represented by and , respectively.
In the California State Senate, the county is entirely with the 3rd Senate district, represented by .
In the California State Assembly, the county is entirely within the 4th Assembly district, represented by .
In June 1978, Yolo was one of only three counties in the entire state to reject Proposition 13 (the others being San Francisco and Kern).
In November 2008, Yolo was one of just three counties in California's interior in which voters rejected Proposition 8 to ban gay marriage. Yolo voters rejected Proposition 8 by a vote of 58.65 to 41.35%. The other interior counties in which Proposition 8 failed to receive a majority of votes were Alpine County and Mono County. In 2024, all three joined 11 other interior counties which voted in favor of Proposition 3, which repealed Proposition 8 and established an affirmative right to marriage in the constitution, with Yolo supporting Proposition 3 70.4% to 29.6%.
Population and registered voters Total populationU.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B02001. U.S. Census website. Retrieved October 26, 2013. 198,889 Registered votersCalifornia Secretary of State February 10, 2013 - Report of Registration . Retrieved October 31, 2013.Percentage of registered voters with respect to total population. Percentages of party members with respect to registered voters follow. 101,849 51.2% Democratic 48,106 47.2% Republican 24,333 23.9% Democratic–Republican spread +23,773 +23.3% American Independent 2,835 2.8% Green 1,044 1.0% Libertarian 671 0.7% Peace and Freedom 376 0.4% Americans Elect 4 0.0% Other 404 0.4% No party preference 24,076 23.6%
Cities by population and voter registration
Cities by population and voter registration 2013 City Population Registered voters Democratic Republican D–R spread Other No party preference Davis 65,359 57.6% 54.0% 14.7% +39.3% 7.1% 26.3% West Sacramento 47,278 48.9% 44.7% 26.0% +18.7% 9.4% 23.4% Winters 6,616 50.3% 44.8% 27.6% +17.2% 7.8% 22.6% Woodland 55,229 46.9% 43.7% 30.4% +13.3% 8.2% 20.9%
Demographics
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 216,403. The median age was 33.3 years. 20.9% of residents were under the age of 18 and 14.0% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 93.0 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 90.3 males age 18 and over.
The racial makeup of the county was 49.6% White, 2.8% Black or African American, 1.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 14.0% Asian, 0.5% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 15.7% from some other race, and 15.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 33.1% of the population.
92.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 8.0% lived in rural areas.
There were 76,594 households in the county, of which 32.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 28.5% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 23.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 80,188 housing units, of which 4.5% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 53.0% were owner-occupied and 47.0% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.9% and the rental vacancy rate was 3.5%.
Racial and ethnic composition +Yolo County, California – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 1980Pop 1990Pop 2000Pop 2010 Pop 2020% 1980% 1990% 2000% 2010% 2020White alone (NH)85,19496,82597,942100,24093,91175.14%68.63%58.07%49.91%43.40%Black or African American alone (NH)1,8862,9753,1334,7525,7221.66%2.11%1.86%2.37%2.64%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)1,2061,3631,1651,0989481.06%0.97%0.69%0.55%0.44%Asian alone (NH)4,59711,45516,39025,64029,8724.05%8.12%9.72%12.77%13.80%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 Census4438171,079xx0.26%0.41%0.50%Other race alone (NH)1,1492923964431,2781.01%0.21%0.23%0.22%0.59%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)x not an option in the 1980 Censusx not an option in the 1990 Census5,4846,90611,893xx3.25%3.44%5.50%Hispanic or Latino (any race)19,34228,18243,70760,95371,70017.06%19.97%25.91%30.35%33.13%Total113,374141,092168,660200,849216,403 100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%
2010 The 2010 United States census reported that Yolo County had a population of 200,849. The racial makeup of Yolo County was 126,883 (63.2%) White, 5,208 (2.6%) African American, 2,214 (1.1%) Native American, 26,052 (13.0%) Asian, 910 (0.5%) Pacific Islander, 27,882 (13.9%) from other races, and 11,700 (5.8%) from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 60,953 persons (30.3%).
Population reported at 2010 United States census Yolo County200,849126,8835,2082,21426,05291027,88211,70060,953 Davis65,62242,5711,52833914,3551363,1213,5728,172 West Sacramento48,74429,5212,3447985,1065346,7093,73215,282Winters6,6244,63543566371,4883323,469Woodland55,46834,9048557263,45816912,4882,86826,289 Clarksburg418339221613721109Dunnigan1,4168361072519133989583Esparto3,1081,855455012969041191,538Guinda2541752601143868Knights Landing9955604107033876644Madison503224183323529384Monument Hills1,5421,1632032771715380403University of California, Davis5,7862,443144222,4437364363728 All others not CDPs (combined)10,3697,65789146375281,6634113,284
2000 census As of the census of 2000, 168,660 people, 59,375 households, and 37,465 families were residing in the county. The population density was . The 61,587 housing units had an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 67.7% White, 2.0% Black or African American, 1.2% Native American, 9.9% Asian, 0.3% Pacific Islander, 13.8% from other races, and 5.2% from two or more races. About 25.9% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos of any race. By ancestry, 10.0% were of German, 6.6% English and 6.4% Irish descent according to Census 2000. About 68.5% spoke English, 19.5% Spanish, 2.1% Chinese or Mandarin, and 1.8% Russian as their first language.
Of the 59,375 households, 33.6% had children under 18 living with them, 47.6% were married couples living together, 11.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.9% were not families. About 23.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.3% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.71 and the average family size was 3.25.
In the county, the age distribution was 25.2% under 18, 18.3% from 18 to 24, 28.2% from 25 to 44, 18.9% from 45 to 64, and 9.4% who were 65 or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.6 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 92.2 males.