Solano County, California

Solano County is a place in the U.S. state of California. It had a population of 453,491 people as of the 2020 census. The main city, called the county seat, is Fairfield.

Solano County is part of the Vallejo–Fairfield metropolitan statistical area. This area is also part of the bigger San Jose–San Francisco–Oakland, combined statistical area. Solano County is located in the northeastern part of the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area region.

History

Solano County was one of the original counties of California, created in 1850 when California became a state.

The county was named for Chief Solano of the Suisun people, a Native American tribe. Chief Solano led his people between the Petaluma River and the Sacramento River. He was also called Sem-Yeto, meaning "brave or fierce hand". The chief was given the Spanish name Francisco Solano during baptism.

Travis Air Force Base is located east of Fairfield. Between 2017 and 2023, California Forever bought over 50,000 acres of land in the county to build a new city.

Region

Solano County is the easternmost county of the North Bay. Because of this, some news reports say it is part of the East Bay. Part of the county also reaches into the Sacramento Valley.

Geography

Solano County is located in California. It covers a total area of 906 square miles (2,350 km²), with 84 square miles (220 km²) of that being water.

The county had mines in the early 1900s, such as the Hastings Mine and St. John's Mine.

The county borders Contra Costa County, California to the south, Sonoma County, California and Napa County, California to the west, Yolo County, California to the north, and Sacramento County, California to the east.

A part of the San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge is also in Solano County.

Solano County is home to several rare and endangered plants and animals, such as the delta green ground beetle and a special wildflower called Contra Costa goldfields.

Transportation

See also: Rail transportation in Solano County, California

Major highways

• I-80
• I-505
• I-680
• I-780
• SR 12
• SR 29
• SR 37
• SR 84
• SR 113

Public transportation

Solano County has many bus services to help people travel around. Some of these services include SolTrans, which combines Vallejo Transit and Benicia Breeze. There is also a ferry service from Vallejo to San Francisco, and other local bus services like Fairfield and Suisun Transit, Vacaville City Coach, and Rio Vista Delta Breeze. These services connect with each other and with train stations in nearby areas.

Greyhound and Amtrak offer longer trips to other cities.

Airports

Solano County has airports for small planes, such as Nut Tree Airport and Rio Vista Municipal Airport.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Solano County had a population of 453,491 people. The median age was 39 years. About 22% of the residents were under 18 years old, and 17% were 65 or older. For every 100 females, there were about 98 males.

The racial makeup included 39% White, 14% Black or African American, 1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 16% Asian, less than 1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, about 15% from some other race, and 15% from two or more races. About 28% of the population identified as Hispanic or Latino.

Most people, around 95%, lived in urban areas, with only 5% in rural areas.

There were about 156,000 households, with 34% having children under 18. About 27% had a female householder without a spouse or partner. Roughly 22% of households were made up of individuals, and 10% had someone living alone who was 65 or older.

There were around 162,000 housing units, with about 4% vacant. Of the occupied units, 62% were owned by the residents, and 38% were rented. The vacancy rate for homes was 1%, and for rentals, it was 4%.

2014

In 2014, Solano County was found to be the 5th most racially diverse county in the United States.

2010

The 2010 United States census reported Solano County had a population of 413,344. The racial makeup was about 51% White, 15% African American, less than 1% Native American, 15% Asian, less than 1% Pacific Islander, 10% from other races, and 8% from two or more races. About 24% were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Solano County had the largest percentage of Filipino residents of any county in the United States.

2000

At the 2000 census, there were 394,542 people in Solano County. The racial makeup was 56% White, 15% Black or African American, less than 1% Native American, 13% Asian, less than 1% Pacific Islander, 8% from other races, and 6% from two or more races. About 18% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Many residents spoke English, Spanish, or Tagalog at home.

Most households, about 40%, had children under 18. More than half, 56%, were married couples living together. About 14% had a female householder without a husband present, and 25% were non-families. Nearly 20% of households were one person, and 7% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was almost 3, and the average family size was a little more than 3.

The median household income was $54,099, and the median family income was $60,597. Males earned about $41,787, while females earned about $31,916. The average income per person was $21,731. About 6% of families and 8% of the population lived below the poverty line, including 10% of those under age 18 and 6% of those age 65 or over.

Crime

The following table shows the number of reported incidents and the rate per 1,000 people for each type of offense in 2011.

Cities by population and crime rates

Government and politics

Government

Main article: Government of Solano County, California

Solano County's government is set up to serve the whole county under California's rules. It offers important services like voting help, safety, health, and taxes. The county is run by a group of five elected leaders called the Board of Supervisors, along with other important jobs like the Sheriff and Treasurer. These leaders work together to manage the county.

Politics

Solano County usually votes for Democratic leaders in big elections. The only times it voted for Republican leaders were long ago. The county is split into different areas that choose their own leaders for state and national jobs. In some parts of the county, more people choose Republican leaders, but overall, Democratic leaders are chosen more often.

Communities

Solano County has several cities where many people live. Some of these cities include Benicia, Dixon, Fairfield (which is the county seat), Rio Vista, Suisun City, Vacaville, and Vallejo. There are also smaller places that are not officially cities, called census-designated places. These include Allendale, Elmira, Green Valley, and Hartley.

Other areas in the county that are not cities or census-designated places include places like Bahia, Batavia, Birds Landing, Bucktown, Collinsville, Cordelia, Denverton, Maine Prairie, Mankas Corner, Rockville, and Scandia. The list of these places is based on information from the 2020 census of Solano County.

Education

Solano County is home to a part of the University of California, Davis. Several school districts serve the area, including:

• Benicia Unified School District
• Davis Joint Unified School District
• Dixon Unified School District
• Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District
• River Delta Joint Unified School District
• Travis Unified School District
• Vacaville Unified School District
• Vallejo City Unified School District
• Winters Joint Unified School District

Miscellania

In 1985, a whale named Humphrey went off his usual path and ended up in a place called Shag Slough, north of Rio Vista. Helpers from the Marine Mammal Center and others worked hard to help Humphrey by taking apart a bridge so they could guide him back the right way.