Facts and Statistical Data

Plumas County, California

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Plumas County is one of 58 counties within the State of California.

The Feather River was originally named “El Rio de las Plumas” in 1821 by Spanish explorer Luis Antonio Argüelo for the multitude of waterfowl seen upon its waters. In about 1850, the name was anglicized to “Feather River.” It was only natural, when the county was formed from parts of Butte County in 1854, that it be named for the river that flows through it: Plumas County. Parts of Plumas County’s territory were given to Lassen County in 1864.

Estimated Population (2004): 21,359.

County Seat: Quincy.

The only incorporated city in the county is Portola.

Area: 2,618 square miles.

Population Density: approximately 8 people for every square mile.

Racial Makeup (2000 figures):

92% Caucasian

3% Native American

0.6% African American

0.5% Asian

0.1% Pacific Islander

4% other race or two or more races.

Population by Gender (2000 figures): 10,403 males (50%), 10, 421 females (50%)

Population by Age (2000 figures):

15 or younger: 3,738 (18%)

16-24: 2,236 (10.7%)

25-44: 4,707 (22.6%)

45-64: 6,418 (30.8%)

65 and older: 3,725 (17.9%)

Average age (years): 41.91

Population Growth:

2000 Population: 20,824

2003 Population: 21, 148

Change: 1.6%

State Rank: 43 of 58

Housing (2000 figures):

Median price asked for vacant housing: $181,700

Compared to median price in California: $151,900

Compared to median price in U.S.: $89,600

Owner-Occupied housing: 47.1%

Renter-Occupied housing: 20.1%

Income: In 2002, the per capita personal income in Plumas County was $27,869. This was an increase of 23.0% from 1997. The 2002 figure was 90% of the national per capita income, which was $30,906.

Religion (ARDA 2000 figures):

Name of Church	Congregation Total	Adherent* Total
Assembly of God	4	312
Baptist, Regular or Other	1	42
Baptist, Southern	4	560
Catholic	4	2,998
Church of Jesus Christ of LDS	4	747
Church of Christ	2	115
Episcopal	2	55
Evangelical Lutheran	1	113
Lutheran – Missouri Synod	3	117
Mennonite Brethren	1	Unknown
Seventh-day Adventist	1	45
United Methodist	5	861
Vineyard	1	120
Wesleyan	1	56
Unclaimed or Unknown		14,677

*Adherents include adults and children.

Airports (3) – Nervino Field (Beckwourth), Gansner Field (Quincy), Rogers Field (Chester)

Colleges (1) – Feather River College, Quincy

Libraries (5) – Chester Branch, Greenville Branch, LaPorte Station, Plumas County (Quincy), Portola Branch

Museums (3) – Indian Valley (Taylorsville), Plumas County (Quincy), Portola Railroad (Portola)

School Districts (1) – Plumas Unified

Schools, Continuation/Other (7) –

Almanor High (Chester)

Greenville Opportunity (Greenville)

Indian Valley High (Greenville)

Jim Beckwourth High (Portola)

Plumas Charter (Quincy)

Plumas County Community (Quincy)

Sierra High (Quincy)

Schools, Elementary (6) –

C. Roy Carmichael (Portola)

Chester (Chester)

Greenville (Greenville)

Pioneer (Quincy)

Quincy (Quincy)

Taylorsville (Taylorsville)

Schools, Junior and Senior High (5) –

Chester Junior-Senior (Chester)

Feather River Middle (Portola)

Greenville Junior-Senior (Greenville)

Portola High (Portola)

Quincy Junior-Senior (Quincy)

Schools, Private (2) –

Plumas Christian (Quincy)

Sierra Valley Christian – Mennonite (Beckwourth)

Crime Statistics (FedStats 2000 figures):

*note: Crime Statistics are crimes reported to police. For actual arrests, see below.

Murder: 1

Rape: 12

Robbery: 4

Aggravated Assault: 46

Burglary: 172

Larceny – Theft: 347

Motor Vehicle Theft: 29

Arrest Statistics (FedStats 2000 figures):

Murder: 0

Rape: 2

Robbery: 0

Aggravated Assault: 123

Burglary: 44

Larceny – Theft: 37

Motor Vehicle Theft: 12

Arson: 5

Other Assaults: 51

Forgery & Counterfeiting: 4

Fraud: 5

Embezzlement: 2

Receiving Stolen Property: 30

Vandalism: 54

Weapons Violations: 8

Prostitution & Commercial Vice: 1

Sex Offenses: 10

Total Drug Violations: 90

Gambling: 0

Domestic Violence: 1

Driving Under Influence: 299

Liquor Law Violations: 216

Public Drunkenness: 152

Disorderly Conduct: 8

Vagrancy: 1

All Other Offenses, Except Traffic: 609

Clean Air Statistics:

Plumas County does not make the Scorecard list of California counties with Health Risks from Criteria Air Pollutants.

Plumas County does not make the Scorecard list of California counties with Exposures to Criteria Air Pollutants.

Plumas County does not make the Scorecard list of California counties with Emissions of Criteria Air Pollutants.

Plumas County has no exceedances of Clean Air Act Standards.

Politics:

Plumas County is a “red” (primarily conservative republican) county. Plumas County supported George W. Bush in the last two presidential elections. In the November 2000 race, (countywide) 6,343 people voted for Bush and 3,458 voted for Gore. Nader received 456 votes.

Voters: Measured by the count of citizens age 18 and older at the time of the 2000 census, Plumas County has 15,883 potential voters (7,863 or 49.5% male and 8,020 or 50.5% female).

Elizabeth E. Bullard-Watson

Plumas County, California GenWeb Project Coordinator

Contact:

In order to prevent spamming enabled by eMail harvesting bots, eMail links are not displayed on this site. If you cannot see the eMail address images on this page, please mail correspondence to:

Elizabeth E. Bullard-Watson

PO Box 114

Taylorsville, CA 95983-0114.

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This page was last modified on July 13, 2006.