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Humboldt County, California
County
County of Humboldt
Aerial view of Humboldt Bay
Aerial view of Humboldt Bay
Official seal of Humboldt County, California
Seal
Motto(s): 
"The Home of the Redwoods"
Location in the state of California
Location in the state of California
Country United States
State California
Region California North Coast
Incorporated May 12, 1853
Named for Humboldt Bay, which was named after Alexander von Humboldt
County seat Eureka
Largest city Eureka
Government
 • Type Council–CAO
Area
 • Total 4,052 sq mi (10,490 km2)
 • Land 3,568 sq mi (9,240 km2)
 • Water 484 sq mi (1,250 km2)
Highest elevation
6,956 ft (2,120 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total 136,463
 • Density 38/sq mi (15/km2)
GDP
 • Total .843 billion (2022)
Time zone UTC−8 (Pacific Time Zone)
 • Summer (DST) UTC−7 (Pacific Daylight Time)
Area codes 707, 530
Congressional district 2nd
Website humboldtgov.org

Humboldt County (Listeni/ˈhʌmboʊlt/) is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 136,463. The county seat is Eureka.

Humboldt County comprises the Eureka–Arcata–Fortuna, California, Micropolitan Statistical Area. It is located on the far North Coast of California, about 270 miles (435 km) north of San Francisco. It has among the most diverse climates of United States counties, with very mild coastal summers and hot interior days. Similar to the greater region, summers are extremely dry and winters have substantial rainfall.

Its primary population centers of Eureka, the site of College of the Redwoods main campus, and the smaller college town of Arcata, site of California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt, are located adjacent to Humboldt Bay, California's second largest natural bay. Area cities and towns are known for hundreds of ornate examples of Victorian architecture.

Humboldt County is a densely forested mountainous and rural county with about 110 miles (177 km) of coastline (more than any other county in the state), situated along the Pacific coast in Northern California's rugged Coast (Mountain) Ranges. With nearly 1,500,000 acres (6,100 km2) of combined public and private forest in production, Humboldt County alone produces twenty percent of the total volume and thirty percent of the total value of all forest products produced in California. The county contains over forty percent of all remaining old growth Coast Redwood forests, the vast majority of which are protected or strictly conserved within dozens of national, state, and local forests and parks, totaling approximately 680,000 acres (1,060 sq mi).

History

The original inhabitants of the area now known as Humboldt County include the Wiyot, Yurok, Hupa, Karuk, Chilula, Whilkut, and the Eel River Athapaskan peoples, including the Wailaki, Mattole and Nongatl. Andrés de Urdaneta found the coast near Cape Mendocino then followed the coast south to Acapulco in 1565. Spanish traders made unintended visits to California with the Manila Galleons on their return trips from the Philippines beginning in 1565. Humboldt County was formed in 1853 from parts of Trinity County. The first recorded entry by people of European origin was a landing by the Spanish in 1775 in Trinidad.

The first recorded entry of Humboldt Bay by non-natives was an 1806 visit from a sea otter hunting party from Sitka employed by the Russian American Company. The hunting party included Captain Jonathan Winship,an American, and some Aleut hunters. The bay was not visited again by people of European origin until 1849 when Josiah Gregg's party visited. In 1850, Douglas Ottinger and Hans Buhne entered the bay, naming it Humboldt in honor of the great naturalist and world explorer, Alexander von Humboldt, and the name was later applied to the county as a whole.

The area around Humboldt Bay was once solely inhabited by the Wiyot Indian tribe. One of the largest Wiyot villages, Tolowot, was located on Indian Island in Humboldt Bay. Founded around 900 BC, it contains a shell midden 6 acres (2.4 ha) in size and 14 feet (4.3 m) deep. It was the site of the February 26, 1860 massacre of the Wiyot people that was recorded by Bret Harte, then living in Union, now called Arcata. Between 60 and 200 Wiyot men, women, and children were murdered that night. Tolowot is now a restricted site and a National Historic Landmark.

State historic landmarks in Humboldt County include Arcata and Mad River Railroad, California's First Drilled Oil Wells in Petrolia, Camp Curtis, Centerville Beach Cross, the City of Eureka, the town of Ferndale, Fort Humboldt, Humboldt Harbor Historical District, the Jacoby Building, The Old Arrow Tree, Old Indian Village of Tsurai, the Town of Trinidad, and Trinidad Head.

On February 5 and 6, 1885, Eureka's entire Chinese population of 300 men and 20 women were expelled after a gunfight between rival Chinese gangs (tongs) resulted in the wounding of a 12-year-old boy and the death of 56-year-old David Kendall, a Eureka City Councilman. After the shooting, an angry mob of 600 Eureka residents met and informed the Chinese that they were no longer wanted in Eureka and would be hanged if they were to stay in town longer than 3 p.m. the next day. They were put on two steamships and shipped to San Francisco. No-one was killed in the expulsion. Another Chinese expulsion occurred during 1906 in a cannery on the Eel River, in which 23 Chinese cannery workers were expelled after objections to their presence. However, some Chinese remained in the Orleans area, where some white landowners sheltered and purchased food for the Chinese mineworkers until after racial tension passed. Chinese did not return to the coastal cities until the 1950s.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 4,052 square miles (10,490 km2), of which 3,568 square miles (9,240 km2) is land and 484 square miles (1,250 km2) (12.0%) is water.

Located inside Humboldt County is Cape Mendocino, the westernmost point in California (longitude 124 degrees, 24 minutes, 30 seconds).

Humboldt County contains a diversity of plant and animal species, with significant forest and coastal habitats. In coastal areas there are extensive amounts of redwood forests. A prominent understory shrub is the toyon, whose northern range limit is in Humboldt County.

Bay

Humboldt Bay, the only deep water port between San Francisco and Coos Bay, Oregon, is located on the coast at the midpoint of the county.

Rivers

Arcata CA
Mouth of Humboldt County's Little River on the Pacific Coast.
Humboldtrockefellerforest
Rockefeller Forest, the largest remaining old growth Redwood forest on earth, is located within Humboldt Redwoods State Park.

Humboldt County's major rivers include (in order of flow-cubic meters per second-from largest to smallest):

The smaller rivers include: Redwood Creek, significant due to amount of its flow; the Van Duzen; the Eel River syncline group composed of the South Fork, the North Fork, and the Salt River; the Mattole, Salmon, Elk, Bear, and Little rivers.

National protected areas

National Park

Conservation Area

Recreation Area

  • Samoa Dunes Recreation Area – Bureau of Land Management

Forest

  • Headwaters Forest Reserve – Bureau of Land Management
  • Six Rivers National Forest – U.S. Forest Service
  • Trinity National Forest – U.S. Forest Service

Wildlife Refuge

State protected areas

Beaches

Parks

Tide Pools

Recreation Areas

Reserves

County parks

  • A. W. Way
  • Big Lagoon County Park
  • Centerville Beach
  • Clam Beach
  • Crab Park
  • Freshwater County Park
  • Hammond Trail
  • Luffenholtz Beach
  • Mad River, California
  • Margarite Lockwood
  • Moonstone Beach
  • Van Duzen Pamplin Grove

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop. %±
1860 2,694 —
1870 6,140 127.9%
1880 15,512 152.6%
1890 23,469 51.3%
1900 27,104 15.5%
1910 33,857 24.9%
1920 37,413 10.5%
1930 43,233 15.6%
1940 45,812 6.0%
1950 69,241 51.1%
1960 104,892 51.5%
1970 99,692 −5.0%
1980 108,514 8.8%
1990 119,118 9.8%
2000 126,518 6.2%
2010 134,623 6.4%
2020 136,463 1.4%
2023 (est.) 133,985 −0.5%
U.S. Decennial Census
1790–1960 1900–1990
1990–2000 2010–2015

2020 census

Humboldt County, California – Racial and ethnic composition
Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic) Pop 2000 Pop 2010 Pop 2020 % 2000 % 2010 % 2020
White alone (NH) 103,230 103,958 93,316 81.59% 77.22% 68.38%
Black or African American alone (NH) 1,035 1,393 1,729 0.82% 1.03% 1.27%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) 6,722 6,961 7,454 5.31% 5.17% 5.46%
Asian alone (NH) 2,022 2,854 3,495 1.60% 2.12% 2.56%
Pacific Islander alone (NH) 219 332 436 0.17% 0.25% 0.32%
Other Race alone (NH) 448 368 1,091 0.35% 0.27% 0.80%
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH) 4,632 5,546 10,407 3.66% 4.12% 7.63%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 8,210 13,211 18,535 6.49% 9.81% 13.58%
Total 126,518 134,623 136,463 100.00% 100.00% 100.00%

2010 census

The 2010 United States Census reported that Humboldt County had a population of 134,623. The racial makeup of Humboldt County was 109,920 (81.7%) White, 1,505 (1.1%) African American, 7,726 (5.7%) Native American, 2,944 (2.2%) Asian, 352 (0.3%) Pacific Islander, 5,003 (3.7%) from other races, and 7,173 (5.3%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 13,211 persons (9.8%).

2011

Places by population, race, and income

Lanphere Dunes
The Lanphere Dunes, a protected coastal environment

2000

As of the 2000 census, the population of Humboldt County was 126,518. As of that census, there were 51,238 households in Humboldt County, and the population density was 35 people per square mile (14/km2). By 2006, the population was projected to have increased to 131,361 by the California Department of Finance. There were 55,912 housing units at an average density of 16 per square mile (6/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 84.7% White, 0.9% Black or African American, 5.7% Native American, 1.7% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 2.5% from other races, and 4.4% from two or more races. In 2017, 11.7% of the population were Hispanic or Latino according to the United States Census Bureau. 13.3% were of German, 10.7% Irish, 10.3% English, 7.4% American and 5.7% Italian ancestry according to Census 2000. 92.1% spoke English and 4.6% spoke Spanish as their first language.

There were 51,238 households, out of which 28.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.1% were married couples living together, 11.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.2% were non-families. 28.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.95.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.2% under the age of 18, 12.4% from 18 to 24, 27.4% from 25 to 44, 24.5% from 45 to 64, and 12.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 97.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.6 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $31,226, and the median income for a family was $39,370. Males had a median income of $32,210 versus $23,942 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,203. About 12.9% of families and 19.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.5% of those under age 18 and 7.2% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Humboldt County is known for its impressive redwood trees, and many acres of private redwood timberland make Humboldt the top timber producer in California. The lush river bottoms adjacent to the ocean produce rich, high-quality dairy products. Somewhat further inland, the warmer valleys have historically produced abundant apples and other fruit. More recently vineyards have been planted in the Trinity, Klamath, Mattole and upper Eel river areas.

Notable local companies include:

  • Cypress Grove Chevre
  • Humboldt Creamery
  • Lost Coast Brewery
  • C. Crane Company
  • Holly Yashi
  • Eel River Brewing Company
  • Six Rivers Brewery
  • Restoration Hardware
  • Pacific Lumber Company

Dairy

Humboldt County is known for its family-operated dairy farms. The Humboldt Creamery, a significant producer of high-grade ice cream and other dairy products, operates from the original headquarters located at Fernbridge adjacent to the Eel River.

Lead poisoning (2017–2018)

Humboldt County children are at greater risk of dangerously elevated blood lead levels than Flint, Michigan's – and almost double that of any other California county measured. The cases are concentrated in Eureka's Old Town and downtown areas.

Parks and recreation

National protected areas

National Park
Conservation area
Recreation area
  • Samoa Dunes Recreation Area – Bureau of Land Management
Forests
  • Headwaters Forest Reserve – Bureau of Land Management
  • Six Rivers National Forest – U.S. Forest Service
  • Trinity National Forest – U.S. Forest Service
Wildlife refuge

State protected areas

Beaches
Parks
Tide pools
  • Sue-meg State Park
  • Moonstone Beach
  • Indian Beach (also known as Old Home Beach)
Recreation areas
  • Benbow State Recreation Area
  • Harry A. Merlo State Recreation Area
Reserves
  • Azalea State Reserve
  • John B. Dewitt Redwoods State Reserve

County parks

  • A. W. Way
  • Big Lagoon County Park
  • Centerville Beach
  • Clam Beach
  • Crab Park
  • Freshwater County Park
  • Hammond Trail
  • Luffenholtz Beach
  • Mad River, California
  • Margarite Lockwood
  • Moonstone Beach
  • Van Duzen Pamplin Grove

Arts and culture

  • The Sequoia Park Zoo is the oldest zoo in California operating on a 7 acres (2.8 ha) facility operated by the City of Eureka in 60 acres (24 ha) Sequoia Park.
  • The Clarke Historical Museum in Eureka, displays North Coast regional and cultural history in the repurposed Historic Register Bank of Eureka building.
  • The Ferndale Museum, in Ferndale, houses and exhibits artifacts, documents and papers from settlement during the California Gold Rush to the 1950s covering the lower Eel River Valley.
  • The Morris Graves Museum of Art conserves and displays the works of local artists in a restored Carnegie Library building.
  • The Ferndale Repertory Theatre is the county's oldest theater company; it has been in operation since 1972 at the Hart Theater building in Ferndale.
  • The Humboldt Crabs, founded in 1945, are the oldest continuously operated summer collegiate, wood-bat baseball team in the country.
  • See also the List of museums in the North Coast (California).

Education

Salmon Creek Community School, Humboldt County, CA
Salmon Creek Community School, Humboldt County, California

The List of schools in Humboldt County, California shows the many school districts, including charter and private schools, at the elementary and high school level. Post-secondary education is offered locally at the College of the Redwoods and California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt (Cal Poly Humboldt). Blue Lake's Dell'Arte International School of Physical Theatre offers accredited three-year Masters of Fine Arts degrees in Ensemble Based Physical Theatre. Humboldt County has the lowest starting teacher pay scale in the whole state of California.

Media

Print

The Times-Standard is the only daily newspaper in the region; in continuous publication since 1854, and owned by Media News Group since 1996, They also print three weeklies: the Redwood Times, the Tri-City Weekly, and Northcoast 101. Other local publications include The Independent, the North Coast Journal, the Ferndale Enterprise, the Two Rivers Tribune, the Isis Scrolls, and The Lumberjack. The Arcata Eye and the McKinleyville Press merged in August 2013 to form the Mad River Union.

Television

Humboldt County's locally produced television stations, NBC station KIEM and PBS station KEET, are based in Eureka. KIEM produces the only local TV newscast and KEET is the only PBS station in the region. Since 2017, CBS affiliate KVIQ has been a low-powered station operated as part of a duopoly with KIEM, sharing the same studios.

Fox affiliate KBVU, a semi-satellite of KCVU, is based in Chico and ABC affiliate KAEF, a semi-satellite of KRCR-TV, is based in Redding. In previous decades all major networks had production capacity in Eureka.

Radio

For-profit

  • KATA
  • KEKA,
  • KFMI
  • KEJB
  • KHUM
  • KINS-FM
  • KISS
  • KKHB
  • KLGE
  • KRED
  • KSLG-FM
  • KWPT
  • KWSW

Non-profit

  • KIDE
  • KHSU
  • KKDS-LP
  • KMUD
  • KMUE
  • KNHM
  • KNHT
  • KRFH-LP

Community media

Community broadband networks and public, educational, and government access (PEG) cable TV channels provide air time for local voices on Access Humboldt. Cable TV channels are carried by Suddenlink Communications and local programs are provided online through the Community Media Archive. The Digital Redwoods initiative of Access Humboldt is developing local networks to meet comprehensive community needs, including public, education and government purposes.

Transportation

Fernbridge
Historic Fernbridge (1911) on the road to Ferndale – California State Route 211

Major highways

  • US 101 (1961 cutout).svg U.S. Route 101
  • California 36.svg State Route 36
  • California 96.svg State Route 96
  • California 169.svg State Route 169
  • California 200.svg State Route 200
  • California 211.svg State Route 211
  • California 254.svg State Route 254 – Avenue of the Giants
  • California 255.svg State Route 255
  • California 271.svg State Route 271
  • California 283.svg State Route 283
  • California 299.svg State Route 299

Public transportation

  • Humboldt Transit Authority operates two fixed route transit bus systems:
    • Redwood Transit System provides intercity service to and within communities between Trinidad and Garberville, including Manila, King Salmon, Field's Landing, Loleta, Fernbridge and Fortuna. HTA also offers service between McKinleyville or Arcata and Willow Creek and an express bus between Arcata and College of the Redwoods when classes are in session.
    • Eureka Transit Service, operated in the City of Eureka, provides local service on four scheduled routes (one hour headway) in Eureka and its adjacent unincorporated communities. Connections can be made to the Redwood Transit System at several places in Eureka.
  • Arcata and Mad River Transit System, operated by the City of Arcata with funding from Cal Poly Humboldt. A&MRTS provides fixed route local bus service on two scheduled routes (one hour headway) in Arcata and an additional route between the Valley West Neighborhood and the university when classes are in session.
  • The city of Blue Lake and the Blue Lake Rancheria operates the Blue Lake Rancheria Transit Authority. This provides fixed route intercity transit bus service (one hour headway) between Arcata and the Blue Lake Rancheria Indian Reservation and casino and local service within the city of Blue Lake.
  • Del Norte County's Redwood Coast Transit operates fixed route intercity transit bus service between Arcata and Crescent City or Smith River.
  • Amtrak Thruway bus has stops in many towns in the region, including Eureka, Arcata, and Fortuna. These stops are not managed by Amtrak and therefore have no services beyond serving passengers. Full service is only provided at the train station in Martinez, near San Francisco.

Airports

Arcata-Eureka Airport is located in McKinleyville (north of Arcata). Commercial flights are available. Other general aviation airports are located at Dinsmore, Garberville, Kneeland, Murray Field (Eureka), Samoa Field and Rohnerville (Fortuna).

Seaport

The Port of Humboldt Bay is on Humboldt Bay, California's second largest natural bay.

Events

Name Month Location Citation
Apple Harvest Festival October Fortuna
Arcata Oyster Festival June Arcata Plaza
Azalea Festival June McKinleyville
Avenue of the Giants Marathon May Humboldt Redwood State Park
Blackberry Festival July Westhaven
Blues by the Bay July Eureka
Brew at the Zoo May Eureka
Chicken Wingfest September Eureka
Craftsman's Days November Eureka
College of the Redwoods Wood Fair June Eureka
Ferndale Concours on Main Car Show September Ferndale
Ferndale Pet Parade June Ferndale
Foggy Bottom Milk Run March Ferndale
Fortuna Rodeo July Fortuna
Fourth of July Festival July 4 Old Town Eureka
Humboldt Pride September Arcata
Godwit Days (Birding festival) April Arcata
Humboldt Arts Festival May Arcata/Blue Lake
Humboldt County Cup November Eureka
Humboldt County Fair August Ferndale
Humboldt Film Festival March & April Arcata
Humboldt Juggling Festival April/May Arcata (HSU)
Humboldt Redwoods Marathon October Southern Humboldt
Kinetic Grand Championship May Arcata to Ferndale
Lighted Tractor Parade December Ferndale
Lighting of America's Tallest Living Christmas Tree December Ferndale
Lost Coast Kennel Club's Annual All Breed Show, Obedience, Rally, Agility Trails, Barn Hunt, FCATs July Ferndale
Mushroom Fair November Arcata
North Country Fair September Arcata
Organic Planet Festival September Eureka
Reggae on the River August French's Camp
Redwood Acres Fair June Eureka
Redwood AutoXpo July Fortuna
Redwood Coast Jazz Festival March Eureka
Redwood Run June Southern Humboldt
Rhododendron Festival and Parade April Eureka
Roll on the Mattole Summer Mattole Grange
Summer Arts and Music Festival June Benbow
Swauger's Station Day July Loleta
Tour of Loleta (by Bicycle) July Loleta
Tour of the Unknown Coast (by Bicycle) May Southern Humboldt
Trinidad Fish Festival June Trinidad
Trinidad to Clam Beach Run February Trinidad
Truckers Christmas Parade December Eureka
Two Rivers Harvest Festival October Willow Creek
Zootini August Eureka
Redwood Coast Up in Smoke BBQ Competition June Blue Lake

Communities

Carson Mansion Eureka California
The Carson Mansion of Eureka

Cities

Census-designated places

Other unincorporated communities

Indian reservations

Humboldt County has eight Indian reservations lying within its borders. Only four other counties in the United States have more: San Diego County, California; Sandoval County, New Mexico; Riverside County, California; and Mendocino County, California. The Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation is the largest in the state of California, a state that generally has very small reservations (although very numerous) relative to those in other states.

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2010 census of Humboldt County.

† county seat

Rank City/Town/etc. Municipal type Population (2010 Census)
1 † Eureka City 27,191
2 Arcata City 17,231
3 McKinleyville CDP 15,177
4 Fortuna City 11,926
5 Myrtletown CDP 4,675
6 Humboldt Hill CDP 3,414
7 Rio Dell City 3,368
8 Pine Hills CDP 3,131
9 Cutten CDP 3,108
10 Hoopa Valley Reservation AIAN 3,041
11 Bayview CDP 2,510
12 Willow Creek CDP 1,710
13 Ferndale City 1,371
14 Blue Lake City 1,253
15 Yurok Reservation (partially in Del Norte County) AIAN 1,238
16 Hydesville CDP 1,237
17 Redway CDP 1,225
18 Westhaven-Moonstone CDP 1,205
19 Garberville CDP 913
20 Fieldbrook CDP 859
21 Scotia CDP 850
22 Indianola CDP 823
23 Manila CDP 784
24 Loleta CDP 783
25 Shelter Cove CDP 693
26 Miranda CDP 520
27 Karuk Reservation AIAN 506
28 Trinidad City 367
29 Orick CDP 357
30 Benbow CDP 321
31 Weott CDP 288
32 Fields Landing CDP 276
33 Samoa CDP 258
34 Alderpoint CDP 186
35 Myers Flat CDP 146
36 Phillipsville CDP 140
37 Trinidad Rancheria AIAN 132
38 Table Bluff Reservation AIAN 103
39 Big Lagoon CDP 93
40 Redcrest CDP 89
41 Blue Lake Rancheria AIAN 58
42 Rohnerville Rancheria AIAN 38
43 Big Lagoon Rancheria AIAN 17

Notable people

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Condado de Humboldt (California) para niños

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