Sonoma County, California
The Sonoma County is a county located in the state of California, United States. The administrative headquarters ( County Seat) is in Santa Rosa.
Geography
The Sonoma County is bounded on the west by the Pacific Ocean. In the south, it borders on the Marin County. In the east it borders the northern third of the Lake County and the southern two- thirds of the Napa County. Its northern border divides the Sonoma County with the Mendocino County. The area is 4,580 square kilometers. The largest towns are the county seat of Santa Rosa and Petaluma.
History
The county was founded in 1850 and is one of the oldest in California. Sonoma is a term from the language of Miwok Indians and is translated as " Valley of the Moon " or even as "the land or tribe of the chief nose ".
Economy
The County is known for its wine production, total are in this industry over 200 companies operate. It is one of the 13 officially recognized wine regions ( American Viticultural Areas) in the USA. In the year 2004 150.396 tons of grapes were harvested on a cultivated area of 242.7 square kilometers. The most common varieties are Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir, but it will also Merlot and Zinfandel produced.
Since 1960 is obtained on the geothermal field The Geysers commercial scale stream of dry steam. The current production capacity is 900 MW.
An important economic factor in the region is tourism. As one of the most beautiful stretches of beach of California's 17 miles long Sonoma Coast State Beach is off Highway 1 between Jenner and Bodega Bay, which is also very popular with surfers.
Education
The Sonoma State University, a branch of the California State University, and founded in 1918, Santa Rosa Junior College in Sonoma County is relocating the Santa Rosa Junior College is one of the ten oldest colleges in California and is widely considered one of the best in the State referred.
Demographic data
1900-1990 2000 2010
According to the census of 2000, there were 458 614 people in Sonoma County. There were 172 403 households and 112 406 families. The population density was 112 people per square kilometer. The racial the population was composed of 81.60 % White, 1.42 % African American, 1.18 % Native American, 3.07 % Asian, 0.20 % Pacific Islander residents from the and 8.44% from other races groups; 4.09% were descended from two or more races. 17.34 % of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
Of the 172 403 households out of which 31.90 % have children under the age of 18 living with them. 50.30 % were married couples living together, 10.40 % had a female householder with no husband. 34.80 % were non-families. 25.70% of all households and 10.00 % had someone living alone at the age of 65 years or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.12.
Based on the county the population was spread from 24.50 % under the age of 18, 8.80 % from 18 to 24, 29.20 % from 25 to 44 years, 24.90% between 45 and 64 years and 12.60% were 65 years old or older. The average age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 97.00 males, 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.00 males.
The median income for a household was $ 53,076, and the median income for a family was $ 61,921. Males had a median income of $ 42,035, women $ 32,022. The per capita income was $ 25,724. 8.10% percent of the population and 4.70% of families are below the poverty line. 8.40 % of those under age 18 and 5.70% were 65 years or older.