El Dorado County, California
Encyclopedia : E : EL : ELD : El Dorado County, California
El Dorado County is a county located in the Gold Country of the U.S. state of California, in the Sierra Nevada. Its 2004 population was estimated to be 172,889, its 2000 population was 156,299. The county seat is Placerville.
Much of the population of El Dorado County has become suburbanized, as the metropolitan Sacramento area has expanded. In addition, the population of the Lake Tahoe area has also boomed recently.
History
El Dorado County was one of the original counties of California, created in 1850 at the time of statehood. Parts of the county's territory were given to Amador County in 1854 and to Alpine County in 1864. Prior to statehood, it had been refered to as Coloma County.The county derives its name from "El Dorado" -- the far-famed fabulous region of genial clime and never-fading verdure, where gold and precious stones are as common as rocks and pebbles, where wines gently flow from fountains. The name, meaning "the gilded one" in Spanish, appears at the beginning of the 16th century as that of a mythical Native American chief who was said to have been covered with gold dust during the performance of religious rites. When the discovery of gold by James W. Marshall at Coloma in January 1848 became known to the world, California, and particularly that section where gold was discovered, was called "El Dorado."
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 4,631 km² (1,788 mi²). 4,431 km² (1,711 mi²) of it is land and 200 km² (77 mi²) of it (4.32%) is water.
Adjacent Counties
- Alpine County, California - southeast
- Amador County, California - south
- Sacramento County, California - west
- Placer County, California - north
- Douglas County, Nevada - northeast
Demographics
As of the census² of 2000, there were 156,299 people, 58,939 households, and 43,025 families residing in the county. The population density was 35/km² (91/mi²). There were 71,278 housing units at an average density of 16/km² (42/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 89.71% White, 0.52% Black or African American, 1.00% Native American, 2.13% Asian, 0.13% Pacific Islander, 3.55% from other races, and 2.96% from two or more races. 9.32% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.There were 58,939 households out of which 34.20% had kids under the age of 18 living with them, 60.10% were married couples living together, 8.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.00% were non-families. 20.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.04.
In the county the population was spread out with 26.10% under the age of 18, 6.80% from 18 to 24, 27.80% from 25 to 44, 26.90% from 45 to 64, and 12.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 99.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.30 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $51,484, and the median income for a family was $60,250. Males had a median income of $46,373 versus $31,537 for females. The per capita income for the county was $25,560. About 5.00% of families and 7.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.60% of those under age 18 and 5.00% of those age 65 or over.
Cities and towns
- Cameron Park
- Diamond Springs
- El Dorado
- El Dorado Hills
- Georgetown
- Placerville
- Pollock Pines
- Shingle Springs
- South Lake Tahoe
External links
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