List of counties in California

The U.S. state of California is split into 58 counties. These counties help organize the state's government and services. California started with 27 counties in 1850, and over time, more were added until there were 58. The last county to be created was Imperial County in 1907.

Some counties in California are very big or have many people. For example, San Bernardino County is the largest county in the United States that is connected to other states, and Los Angeles County has the most people living in it of any county in the United States.

Counties in California work for the State of California. They carry out tasks given to them by the state and manage land and resources for everyone in California. Some counties, called charter counties, have a little more freedom to make their own rules. Fifteen counties in California have this special status.

Nine counties in California are named after saints, which ties them with Louisiana for having the most such names. Some other counties have names that come from saints too, like Merced County and Los Angeles County, but they are not counted in the nine.

List

California is divided into 58 counties. On February 18, 1850, the state was first split into 27 counties. By 1860, these counties were divided further to create 16 more.

Defunct counties

Some places in California used to be called counties, but they no longer exist today.

For example, Branciforte County was the first name of what is now Santa Cruz County.

Klamath County started in 1851 but later split up, with parts becoming other counties.

Pautah County was created in 1852 but was abolished in 1859 because the land was not officially transferred from the United States.

Buena Vista County and Coso County were also created but never officially organized before becoming part of other counties.

Finally, Roop County was originally part of Nevada but later became part of Lassen County in California.

Proposed counties

Some people have suggested creating new counties in California by splitting parts of existing ones.

For example, in 1988, there was a plan to create Mojave County from parts of San Bernardino County. In the 1980s, residents in eastern Riverside County wanted to form Cahuilla County. In 2002, people in and around Corona in Riverside County proposed Corona County. Over several decades, ideas for High Desert County appeared, aiming to split areas from Los Angeles County, Kern County, and San Bernardino County. In 1978 and 2006, proposals for Los Padres County and Mission County came from the northern part of Santa Barbara County. Also, in the 1990s, there was a suggestion for Sequoia County from southern Humboldt County and northern Mendocino County.