Madera County, California


Madera County, officially the County of Madera, is a county at the geographic center of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, the population was 150,865. The county seat is Madera.
Madera County comprises the Madera, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Fresno-Madera, CA Combined Statistical Area. It is located in the eastern San Joaquin Valley and the central Sierra Nevada.
The southeasternmost part of Yosemite National Park is located in the county's northeast.

History and etymology

Madera County was formed in 1893 from Fresno County during a special election held in Fresno on May 16, 1893. Citizens residing in the area that was to become Madera County voted 1,179 to 358 for separation from Fresno County and the establishment of Madera County.
Madera is the Spanish term for wood. The county derives its name from the town of Madera, named when the California Lumber Company built a log flume to carry lumber to the Central Pacific Railroad there in 1876.
The Madera County Sheriff's Department employed the first woman in California to die in the line of duty as a sworn law enforcement officer—Tulare native Lucille Helm. For 15 years, the Madera housewife and mother of four worked on call as a "matron" assisting with female transfers.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and is water.
Madera County is part of the Madera AVA wine region.

National protected areas

2011

Places by population, race, and income

2010

The 2010 United States Census reported that Madera County had a population of 150,865. The racial makeup of Madera County was 94,456 White, 5,629 African American, 4,136 Native American, 2,802 Asian, 162 Pacific Islander, 37,380 from other races, and 6,300 from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 80,992 persons.

2000

As of the census of 2000, there were 123,109 people in the county, organized into 36,155 households, and 28,598 families. The population density was 58 people per square mile. There were 40,387 housing units at an average density of 19 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 62.2% White, 4.1% Black or African American, 2.6% Native American, 1.3% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 24.4% from other races, and 5.2% from two or more races. 44.3% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 8.0% were of German, 5.9% English, 5.4% American and 5.3% Irish ancestry according to Census 2000. 63.6% spoke English and 33.7% Spanish as their first language.
There were 36,155 households, out of which 40.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.9% were married couples living together, 12.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.9% were non-families. 16.5% 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 3.18 and the average family size was 3.52.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 29.6% under the age of 18, 9.9% from 18 to 24, 29.1% from 25 to 44, 20.4% from 45 to 64, and 11.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 91.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.0 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $36,286, and the median income for a family was $39,226. Males had a median income of $33,658 versus $24,415 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,682. 21.4% of the population and 15.9% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 28.6% of those under the age of 18 and 9.0% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

Economy

Education

Madera County is mostly covered by the State Center Community College District centered on Fresno City College in Fresno. Other districts with territory within Madera County also include the West Hills Community College District and the Merced Community College District.

Government, policing, and politics

Government

The Government of Madera County is mandated by the California Constitution to have a five-member Board of Supervisors with elected four year staggered terms. The Board of Supervisors and County Administrator and staff provide for voter registration and elections, law enforcement, jails, vital records, property records, tax collection, public health, roads, and social services for the entire county.. It is the local government for all unincorporated areas. Other elected offices include the Sheriff, District Attorney, Assessor-Recorder, Auditor-Controller/Treasurer-Tax Collector, and Clerk/Registrar of Voters.

Policing

Madera County Sheriff

The sheriff's department and staff provide court protection, jail administration, and coroner service for all of Madera County with its total population of approximately 156,000 residents. The sheriff provides police patrol and detective services to the unincorporated areas of the county which contains approximately 70,000 residents, or 45% of Madera County's total population. The Sheriff's main station and offices are at Madera. There are two sheriff's substations: Oakhurst, population 3,000, and Coarsegold, population 2,000, both on highway 41 to Yosemite National Park in the Sierras.

Municipal police departments

The municipal police departments within Madera County are Madera, the county seat, population 62,000, and Chowchilla, population 19,600.

Politics

Voter registration

Cities by population and voter registration

Overview

Madera is a strongly Republican county in Presidential and congressional elections. The last Democrat to win a majority in the county was Jimmy Carter in 1976.
YearGOPDEMOthers
201653.69% 23,35739.14% 17,0297.17% 3,121
201257.23% 22,85240.11% 16,0182.66% 1,063
200855.52% 23,58342.27% 17,9522.21% 939
200464.02% 24,87134.70% 13,4811.28% 498
200060.74% 20,28334.89% 11,6504.37% 1,462
199653.85% 16,51036.70% 11,2549.45% 2,898
199243.20% 13,06635.92% 10,86320.88% 6,316
198854.59% 13,25543.83% 10,6421.58% 384
198460.04% 13,95438.70% 8,9941.26% 293
198053.58% 10,59939.35% 7,7837.07% 1,398
197645.96% 6,84451.20% 7,6252.84% 423
197252.61% 7,83544.18% 6,5803.20% 477
196843.55% 6,22948.47% 6,9327.98% 1,142
196432.18% 4,46167.75% 9,3910.07% 10
196041.75% 5,86957.81% 8,1260.44% 62
195642.12% 5,23957.58% 7,1620.31% 38
195249.67% 6,27849.40% 6,2440.93% 118
194838.03% 3,41658.18% 5,2263.79% 340
194439.85% 2,86559.47% 4,2760.68% 49
194031.20% 2,65367.61% 5,7491.19% 101
193622.61% 1,38775.74% 4,6461.65% 101
193225.22% 1,24370.15% 3,4574.63% 228
192854.88% 2,35444.21% 1,8960.91% 39
192442.66% 1,51812.65% 45044.69% 1,590
192055.46% 1,77935.69% 1,1458.85% 284
191638.01% 1,32354.01% 1,8807.99% 278
19120.04% 147.71% 1,15452.25% 1,264
190844.85% 59643.19% 57411.96% 159
190451.85% 78440.34% 6107.80% 118
190049.58% 76447.83% 7372.60% 40
189637.32% 45261.02% 7391.65% 20

Madera is split between the 4th and 16th congressional districts, represented by and, respectively.
With respect to the California State Assembly, the county is in.
In the California State Senate, Madera is split between, and.
On November 4, 2008, Madera County voted 73.4% for Proposition 8, which amended the California Constitution to define marriage as a union between one man and one woman.
The county is one of three counties in California to establish a separate department to deal with corrections, pursuant to California Government Code §23013, the Madera County Department of Corrections, along with Napa County and Santa Clara County. The officers receive their powers under 831 and 831.5 of the California Penal Code.

Crime

The following table includes the number of incidents reported and the rate per 1,000 persons for each type of offense.

Cities by population and crime rates

Attractions

The Chowchilla/Madera County Fairgrounds hosts the Chowchilla Junior Fair, founded in 1946, and the Chowchilla Western Stampede. It also houses the Chowchilla Speedway, a 1/3 mile dirt track, and the Associated Feed Pavilion, a covered arena. The venue hosts numerous horse events and auctions, a Spring Festival barbecue, and other public and private events.

Transportation

Major highways

The eastern side of Madera County, which includes Devil's Postpile National Monument and part of Minaret Summit, is unconnected to the rest of Madera County by road. This only road into this area is Minaret Summit Road which becomes State Route 203 at the Mono County border, connecting this area to Mammoth Lakes. Red's Meadow Road is a further extension of this route.
The gap between Minaret Road, which runs northeast into the Sierras from North Fork, and the end of the Red's Meadow Road is less than 10 miles, and plans for a highway connecting the Eastern Sierra and the San Joaquin Valley via Minaret Summit had often been discussed. An area southwest of Minaret Summit was not included in the Wilderness Act of 1964 in order to leave a corridor for this possibility. During his time as Governor of California, Ronald Reagan made a horse packing trip into the area. Afterward he supported conservationists' efforts to prevent this highway. Reagan continued his efforts after being elected President in 1980, and the area was eventually designated wilderness by the California Wilderness Act of 1984.

Public transportation

Cities

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2010 census of Madera County.
† county seat
RankCity/Town/etc.Municipal typePopulation
1† MaderaCity61,416
2ChowchillaCity18,720
3Madera AcresCDP9,163
4Bonadelle Ranchos-Madera RanchosCDP8,569
5Yosemite LakesCDP4,952
6OakhurstCDP2,829
7ParksdaleCDP2,621
8ParkwoodCDP2,268
9AhwahneeCDP2,246
10CoarsegoldCDP1,840
11FairmeadCDP1,447
12Rolling HillsCDP742
13Bass LakeCDP527
14NipinnawaseeCDP475
15La VinaCDP279
16Picayune Rancheria AIAN69
17Northfork Rancheria AIAN60