Tulare County, California

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County of Tulare Garden of the Sun
County
Official seal of County of Tulare Seal
Tulare County's location in California
California's location in the United States
Country	United States
State	California
Region	Central California
Metro area	Visalia Metropolitan Area
Incorporated	1852
Named for	Tulare Lake
County seat	Visalia
Incorporated cities	8
Government
• County Administrative Officer	Jean Rousseau
• Board of Supervisors	Supervisors Allen Ishida Peter Vander Poel Phillip Cox Steve Worthley Mike Ennis
Area
• Total	12,533.2 km2 (4,839.09 sq mi)
• Land	12,494.0 km2 (4,823.97 sq mi)
• Water	39.2 km2 (15.12 sq mi)

Tulare County is a county located in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California, south of Fresno. Sequoia National Park is located in the county, as are part of Kings Canyon National Park, in its northeast corner (shared with Fresno County), and part of Mount Whitney, on its eastern border (shared with Inyo County). As of the 2020 census, the population was 473,117, up from 442,179 at the 2010 census. Its county seat is Visalia. The county is named for Tulare Lake, once the largest freshwater lake west of the Great Lakes and now drained. The site is now in Kings County, which was created in 1893 from the western portion of the formerly larger Tulare County.

History

Tulare County was formed from parts of Mariposa County in 1852. Parts of the county's territory were given to Fresno County in 1856, to Kern County in 1866, to Inyo County in 1866 and Kings County in 1893.

Comandante Pedro Fages, while hunting for deserters in 1772, discovered a great lake surrounded by marshes and filled with rushes which he named Los Tules (the tules). It is from this lake that the county derives its name. The root of the name Tulare is found in the Mexican word tullin, designating cattail or similar reeds.

The infectious disease Tularemia caused by the bacterium Francisella tularensis is named after Tulare County.

Economy

Milk brings in the most revenue for the county, typically more than US$ 1 billion a year annually. Oranges, grapes, and other cattle-related commodities also bring in hundreds of millions of dollars annually.

In 2001, Tulare became the most productive county in the U.S. in terms of agricultural revenues at US$ 3.5 billion annually, surpassing Fresno County's US$ 3.2 billion, which held the spot for over two decades.

Due to the importance of agriculture in the county as well as its location in the state, the city of Tulare (in Tulare County) has been the home of the annual World Ag Expo, the world's largest agricultural exposition, since 1968.

An influential contribution to Tulare County are minor league sports like the baseball Visalia Rawhide of the class-A level California League (an affiliate to the Arizona Diamondbacks), two teams of the Minor League Football Association in Tulare and Visalia, and four teams of the Central California Basketball League based in Porterville.

Top employers

According to the County's 2010 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the county are:

#	Employer	# of Employees
1	County of Tulare	4,320
2	Porterville Developmental Center	3,000
3	Kaweah Delta Medical Center	2,000
4	Ruiz Foods	1,800
5	Wal-Mart	1,692
6	College of the Sequoias	1,160
7	Cigna	900
8	Jostens	720
9	Land O'Lakes	600
10	Monrovia Nursery	600

Geography

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 4,839.09 square miles (12,533.2 km²), of which 4,823.97 square miles (12,494.0 km²) (or 99.69%) is land and 15.12 square miles (39.2 km²) (or 0.31%) is water.

Cities, towns, and unincorporated communities

Incorporated cities

• Dinuba
• Exeter
• Farmersville
• Lindsay
• Porterville
• Tulare
• Visalia
• Woodlake

Census-designated places (CDPs)

• Allensworth
• Alpaugh
• California Hot Springs
• Camp Nelson
• Cedar Slope
• Cutler
• Delft Colony
• Ducor
• Earlimart
• East Orosi
• East Porterville
• East Tulare Villa
• El Rancho
• Goshen
• Hartland
• Idlewild
• Ivanhoe
• Kennedy Meadows
• Lemon Cove
• Lindcove
• Linnell Camp
• London
• Matheny
• McClenney Tract
• Monson
• Orosi
• Panorama Heights
• Patterson Tract
• Pierpoint
• Pine Flat
• Pixley
• Plainview
• Ponderosa
• Poplar-Cotton Center
• Posey
• Poso Park
• Richgrove
• Rodriguez Camp
• Sequoia Crest
• Seville
• Silver City
• Springville
• Strathmore
• Sugarloaf Mountain Park
• Sugarloaf Saw Mill
• Sugarloaf Village
• Sultana
• Terra Bella
• Teviston
• Three Rivers
• Tipton
• Tonyville
• Tooleville
• Traver
• Waukena
• West Goshen
• Wilsonia
• Woodville
• Yettem

Other unincorporated communities

• Advance
• Angiola
• Badger
• Balance Rock
• Cairns Corner
• Calgro
• Johnsondale
• Kaweah
• Rocky Hill
• White River
• Yokohl Ranch, California (proposed town)
• Yokohl Valley
• Zante

Indian reservations

• Tule River Indian Reservation

Adjacent counties

Sequoia National Park is located within Tulare County.

• Fresno County - north
• Inyo County - east
• Kern County - south
• Kings County - west

National protected areas

• Blue Ridge National Wildlife Refuge
• Giant Sequoia National Monument (part)
• Inyo National Forest (part)
• Kings Canyon National Park (part)
• Pixley National Wildlife Refuge
• Sequoia National Forest (part)
• Sequoia National Park

Transportation infrastructure

Major highways

• State Route 43
• State Route 63
• State Route 65
• State Route 99
• State Route 198

Public transportation

Tulare County Transit provides a countywide bus service linking the population centers. A connection to Delano in Kern County is also operated.

The cities of Tulare, Porterville, and Visalia have their own local bus services.

Greyhound and Orange Belt Stages provide long-distance, intercity bus service.

Airports

The Visalia Municipal Airport has very limited commercial passenger service. Sequoia Field, just north of Visalia, is a county-owned general aviation airport.

The nearest full operation commercial airports are Bakersfield's Meadows Field Airport to the South, and Fresno's Fresno Yosemite International Airport to the North.

Demographics

2010

The 2010 United States Census reported that Tulare County had a population of 442,179. The racial makeup of Tulare County was 265,618 (60.1%) White, 7,196 (1.6%) African American, 6,993 (1.6%) Native American, 15,176 (3.4%) Asian, 509 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 128,263 (29.0%) from other races, and 18,424 (4.2%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 268,065 persons (60.6%).

Population reported at 2010 United States Census
The County	Total Population	White	African American	Native American	Asian	Pacific Islander	other races	two or more races	Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
Tulare County	442,179	265,618	7,196	6,993	15,176	509	128,263	18,424	268,065
Incorporated cities	Total Population	White	African American	Native American	Asian	Pacific Islander	other races	two or more races	Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
Dinuba	21,453	11,166	141	193	454	17	8,630	852	18,114
Exeter	10,334	7,150	67	171	138	8	2,416	384	4,703
Farmersville	10,588	5,295	60	213	72	5	4,494	449	8,876
Lindsay	11,768	6,480	85	128	267	4	4,367	437	10,056
Porterville	54,165	31,847	673	1,007	2,521	64	15,482	2,571	33,549
Tulare	59,278	36,347	2,328	694	1,276	80	15,713	2,840	34,062
Visalia	124,442	80,203	2,627	1,730	6,768	164	27,249	5,701	57,262
Woodlake	7,279	3,691	37	108	52	9	3,072	310	6,381
Census-designated places	Total Population	White	African American	Native American	Asian	Pacific Islander	other races	two or more races	Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
Allensworth	471	158	22	0	8	0	279	4	436
Alpaugh	1,026	381	4	11	4	0	597	29	867
California Hot Springs	37	34	0	0	1	0	0	2	3
Camp Nelson	97	94	0	0	0	0	2	1	6
Cedar Slope	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Cutler	5,000	2,421	50	53	64	1	2,241	170	4,829
Delft Colony	454	213	13	0	0	0	224	4	428
Ducor	612	251	0	15	20	0	302	24	502
Earlimart	8,537	3,193	67	45	536	0	4,303	393	7,805
East Orosi	495	209	0	5	2	1	261	17	466
East Porterville	6,767	3,660	65	153	102	58	2,431	298	4,930
East Tulare Villa	778	491	9	6	10	0	226	36	428
El Rancho	124	71	1	1	0	0	49	2	117
Goshen	3,006	1,186	76	90	11	1	1,496	146	2,482
Hartland	30	27	3	0	0	0	0	0	0
Idlewild	43	43	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Ivanhoe	4,495	2,002	19	80	29	1	2,221	143	3,752
Kennedy Meadows	28	25	0	1	0	0	2	0	3
Lemon Cove	308	261	0	5	3	2	12	25	76
Lindcove	406	284	2	15	0	0	96	9	197
Linnell Camp	849	397	3	18	8	0	393	30	832
London	1,869	761	6	46	0	0	976	80	1,737
Matheny	1,212	651	44	24	4	0	436	53	890
McClenney Tract	10	9	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Monson	188	121	1	5	4	0	57	0	147
Orosi	8,770	3,861	65	57	803	1	3,638	345	7,606
Panorama Heights	41	35	1	1	0	0	4	0	4
Patterson Tract	1,752	999	0	33	73	0	577	70	1,133
Pierpoint	52	51	0	0	0	0	1	0	1
Pine Flat	166	158	0	3	3	0	0	2	11
Pixley	3,310	1,473	90	28	16	0	1,587	116	2,675
Plainview	945	358	8	20	2	0	517	40	865
Ponderosa	16	13	0	0	0	0	1	2	4
Poplar-Cotton Center	2,470	1,729	1	15	356	0	327	42	1,809
Posey	10	6	0	3	0	0	0	1	3
Poso Park	9	9	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Richgrove	2,882	1,068	20	38	140	7	1,521	88	2,705
Rodriguez Camp	156	51	0	0	0	0	98	7	151
Sequoia Crest	10	10	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Seville	480	200	0	5	0	0	259	16	458
Silver City	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Springville	934	836	5	20	7	0	25	41	109
Strathmore	2,819	1,490	12	41	7	1	1,162	106	2,238
Sugarloaf Mountain Park	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Sugarloaf Saw Mill	18	14	0	0	0	0	1	3	4
Sugarloaf Village	10	9	0	0	0	0	0	1	2
Sultana	775	315	0	3	6	0	424	27	695
Terra Bella	3,310	1,426	5	20	75	2	1,733	49	2,894
Teviston	1,214	449	50	9	10	0	640	56	1,039
Three Rivers	2,182	1,976	7	27	31	1	75	65	212
Tipton	2,543	1,535	3	15	9	0	924	57	2,147
Tonyville	316	178	0	0	12	0	115	11	286
Tooleville	339	145	5	19	8	2	148	12	279
Traver	713	302	1	22	6	2	357	23	551
Waukena	108	86	0	3	0	0	19	0	45
West Goshen	511	276	2	10	7	0	195	21	358
Wilsonia	5	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Woodville	1,740	1,345	1	31	6	0	324	33	1,545
Yettem	211	48	5	0	0	0	148	10	199
Unincorporated communities	Total Population	White	African American	Native American	Asian	Pacific Islander	other races	two or more races	Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
All others not CDPs (combined)	67,213	46,040	512	1,753	1,245	78	15,416	2,169	34,101

2000

As of the census of 2000, there were 368,021 people, 110,385 households, and 87,093 families residing in the county. The population density was 76 people per square mile (29/km²). There were 119,639 housing units at an average density of 25 per square mile (10/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 58.08% White, 1.59% Black or African American, 1.56% Native American, 3.27% Asian, 0.11% Pacific Islander, 30.79% from other races, and 4.60% from two or more races. 50.77% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 6.2% were of American, 5.7% German and 5.0% English ancestry according to Census 2000. 56.3% spoke English, 38.9% Spanish and 1.1% Portuguese as their first language.

There were 110,385 households out of which 44.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.1% were married couples living together, 14.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.1% were non-families. 17.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.28 and the average family size was 3.67.

In the county the population was spread out with 33.8% under the age of 18, 10.6% from 18 to 24, 27.6% from 25 to 44, 18.2% from 45 to 64, and 9.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females there were 100.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.7 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $33,983, and the median income for a family was $36,297. Males had a median income of $30,892 versus $24,589 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,006. About 18.8% of families and 23.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 32.6% of those under age 18 and 10.5% of those age 65 or over.

Crime statistics

(reported by the sheriff's office or county police)

• Murders: 3
• Rapes: 40
• Robberies: 87
• Assaults: 411
• Burglaries: 1328
• Thefts: 2117
• Auto thefts: 11

Politics

Voter registration statistics

Population and registered voters
Total population	436,234
Registered voters	144,863	33.2%
Democratic	49,183	34.0%
Republican	63,336	43.7%
Democratic–Republican spread	-14,153	-9.7%
Independent	4,826	3.3%
Green	474	0.3%
Libertarian	737	0.5%
Peace and Freedom	454	0.3%
Americans Elect	13	0.0%
Other	265	0.2%
No party preference	25,575	17.7%

Cities by population and voter registration

Cities by population and voter registration
City	Population	Registered voters	Democratic	Republican	D–R spread	Other	No party preference
Dinuba	21,163	30.0%	44.4%	35.4%	+9.0%	5.5%	16.9%
Exeter	10,255	40.2%	26.9%	50.6%	-23.7%	9.9%	16.8%
Farmersville	10,445	22.4%	46.9%	24.3%	+22.6%	8.9%	23.9%
Lindsay	11,664	20.8%	47.4%	23.8%	+23.6%	7.7%	24.0%
Porterville	53,531	29.3%	36.3%	39.3%	-3.0%	8.7%	19.3%
Tulare	58,150	34.9%	35.6%	42.1%	-6.5%	7.8%	17.8%
Visalia	121,882	42.4%	31.1%	46.4%	-15.3%	8.5%	17.4%
Woodlake	7,252	22.4%	52.7%	21.0%	+31.7%	7.6%	21.6%

Overview

Tulare is a strongly Republican county in Presidential and congressional elections. The last Democratic candidate for president to win a majority in the county was Lyndon Johnson in 1964. In the 2016 presidential election, Republican candidate and overall winner, Donald Trump, won Tulare by a 9.39% margin of victory, the closest margin of victory for a Republican in the county since Richard Nixon's 8.37% margin in 1960. The Republican advantage narrowed further in the 2020 presidential election when Donald Trump won the county by a 7.82% margin despite losing nationally to Joe Biden, the closest margin of victory for a Republican in the county since Dwight D. Eisenhower's 5.33% margin in 1956.

United States presidential election results for Tulare County, California

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	77,579	52.82%	66,105	45.00%	3,201	2.18%
2016	58,299	51.09%	47,585	41.70%	8,218	7.20%
2012	56,956	56.24%	41,752	41.22%	2,571	2.54%
2008	59,765	56.64%	43,634	41.35%	2,126	2.01%
2004	65,399	66.15%	32,494	32.87%	967	0.98%
2000	54,070	60.20%	33,006	36.75%	2,742	3.05%
1996	46,272	53.90%	32,669	38.06%	6,905	8.04%
1992	40,482	45.71%	31,188	35.22%	16,883	19.07%
1988	46,891	59.61%	30,711	39.04%	1,067	1.36%
1984	51,066	63.88%	28,065	35.11%	812	1.02%
1980	41,317	58.32%	25,155	35.51%	4,374	6.17%
1976	31,864	54.52%	25,551	43.72%	1,027	1.76%
1972	36,048	59.93%	21,775	36.20%	2,327	3.87%
1968	29,314	52.17%	22,180	39.47%	4,695	8.36%
1964	22,527	39.83%	33,974	60.08%	51	0.09%
1960	29,456	53.97%	24,887	45.60%	239	0.44%
1956	26,051	52.50%	23,407	47.17%	160	0.32%
1952	30,108	57.07%	22,208	42.10%	437	0.83%
1948	18,414	46.98%	19,681	50.22%	1,097	2.80%
1944	16,005	49.30%	16,221	49.97%	238	0.73%
1940	15,414	42.85%	20,129	55.96%	428	1.19%
1936	8,624	30.78%	18,956	67.66%	435	1.55%
1932	8,066	32.27%	15,631	62.53%	1,302	5.21%
1928	12,057	63.76%	6,635	35.09%	218	1.15%
1924	9,484	50.79%	3,425	18.34%	5,765	30.87%
1920	9,136	61.26%	4,837	32.43%	941	6.31%
1916	6,845	43.96%	7,299	46.87%	1,428	9.17%
1912	73	0.72%	4,293	42.31%	5,781	56.97%
1908	2,742	47.95%	2,329	40.73%	647	11.32%
1904	2,221	48.61%	1,643	35.96%	705	15.43%
1900	1,755	41.41%	2,246	53.00%	237	5.59%
1896	1,410	33.80%	2,673	64.07%	89	2.13%
1892	1,984	31.96%	2,613	42.09%	1,611	25.95%
1888	2,275	43.82%	2,637	50.79%	280	5.39%
1884	1,268	40.15%	1,691	53.55%	199	6.30%
1880	917	38.71%	1,306	55.13%	146	6.16%

In the United States House of Representatives, Tulare County is split between 3 congressional districts:

• California's 21st congressional district, represented by Republican   David Valadao
• California's 22nd congressional district, represented by Republican   Devin Nunes and
• California's 23rd congressional district, represented by Republican   Kevin McCarthy.

In the California State Senate, it is split between 3 legislative districts:

• the 8th Senate District, represented by Republican   Tom Berryhill,
• the 14th Senate District, represented by Republican   Andy Vidak, and
• the 16th Senate District, represented by Republican   Jean Fuller.

In the California State Assembly, the county is split between the 23rd Assembly District, represented by Republican   Jim Patterson, and the 26th Assembly District, represented by Republican   Devon Mathis.

Lakes

Columbine Lake Crescent Lake Franklin Lakes Rockslide Lake Lake Kaweah

Weaver Lake Arctic Lake Bullfrog Lakes Rocky Basin Lakes Lake Success

Rivers

Angora River St. John's River Yokohl River Yucca River Alpine River

Needlerock River Monarch River Monache River Negro River Tule River

Parks

Pixley National Wildlife Refuge Lake Kaweah Recreation Area Allensworth Historic District Balch Park Cutler Park Woodville Park West Main Street Park Mooney Grove Park / Ancient Oak Forest Preserve

Sequoia National Park Horse Creek Recreation Area Lackeys Cabin Mineral King Game Refuge Alpaugh Park Kings River Nature Preserve Bartlett Park

Sequoia National Park

Main article: Sequoia National Park

Sequoia National Park is a national park in the southern Sierra Nevada, east of Visalia, California, in the United States of America. It was established in 1890 as the second U.S. national park, after Yellowstone National Park. The park spans 404,051 acres (1,635.136 km²). Encompassing a vertical relief of nearly 13,000 feet (3,962 m), the park contains among its natural resources the highest point in the contiguous 48 United States, Mount Whitney, at 14,505 feet (4,421 m) above sea level. The park is south of and contiguous with Kings Canyon National Park; the two are administered by the National Park Service as one unit, called Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks.

Clemmie Gill School Of Science And Conservation

Clemmie Gill School Of Science And Conservation is an outdoor school (first in California,) that all 5th and 6th graders are sent for either a week or a day, depending on the age.

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Tulare County, California
• Tulare Lake
• Tule

External links

• Tulare County official website
• Tulare County Agricultural Commissioner/Sealer official website (with Annual Crop and Livestock Reports)