San Bernardino County, California

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San Bernardino County, California
Seal of San Bernardino County, California
Map
Map of California highlighting San Bernardino County
Location in the state of California
Map of the USA highlighting California
California's location in the USA
Statistics
Founded 1853
Seat San Bernardino
Largest City San Bernardino
Area
 - Total
 - Land
 - Water
20,105 sq mi (52,072 km²)
20,052 sq mi (51,934 km²)
53 sq mi (137 km²),
Population
 - (2000)
 - Density
1,709,434
85/sq mi (33/km²)
Website: www.sbcounty.gov

San Bernardino County is the largest county in the United States by area, containing more land than each of nine states. The county is larger in area than the states of Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Delaware combined. Any of those states could be replaced in the list by New Jersey, Vermont, or New Hampshire.

However, if other county-equivalents are included, four of Alaska's boroughs are larger, with North Slope Borough the largest at nearly five times San Bernardino County's size. Though not a true county-equivalent, Alaska's Unorganized Borough is seventeen times larger. Alaska's boroughs notwithstanding, San Bernardino County is the largest county or county-equivalent in the 48 contiguous United States. Coconino County, Arizona, is the second largest county in the United States, Nye County, Nevada is third, and Elko County, Nevada is fourth.

Located in the southeast of the state of California, the deserts and mountains of this vast county stretch from the outskirts of the densely populated Riverside-San Bernardino Area to the Nevada border and the Colorado River. The fast growing county had a 2007 population estimate by the California Department of Finance was 2,028,013 (12th in the country but only 4th in the state), largely located in its more populated southwestern portions. The county seat is San Bernardino. The county records are located in downtown San Bernardino. Its southwestern portions (the more urbanized part of San Bernardino County) are considered to be part of the Inland Empire region of Southern California, a bicounty area.

Contents

Father Francisco Dumetz named San Bernardino on May 20, 1810, feast day of St. Bernardino of Siena.

San Bernardino County was formed from parts of Los Angeles County in 1853. Parts of the county's territory were given to Riverside County in 1893.

The Franciscans gave the name San Bernardino to the snowcapped peak in southern California, in honor of the saint and it is from him that the county derives its name.

The Mojave National Preserve covers some of the eastern desert, especially between Interstate 15 and Interstate 40. The desert portion also includes the cities of Needles next to the Colorado River, and Barstow at the junction in Interstate 15 and Interstate 40. Trona is at the northwestern part of the county west of Death Valley. This famous national park, mostly within Inyo County, also has a small portion of land within the county. The largest metropolitan area in the Mojave Desert part of the county is the Victor Valley with the incorporated localities of Apple Valley, Victorville, Adelanto, and Hesperia. Further south, a portion of Joshua Tree National Park overlaps the county near Twentynine Palms. Additional places near and west of Twentynine palms include Yucca Valley, Joshua Tree, and Morongo Valley.

The mountains are home to the San Bernardino National Forest, and include the communities of Crestline, Lake Arrowhead, Running Springs, Big Bear City, Forest Falls, and Big Bear Lake.

The San Bernardino Valley is at the eastern end of the San Gabriel Valley, and is part of the Inland Empire. The San Bernardino Valley includes the cities of Ontario, Chino, Chino Hills, Upland, Fontana, Rialto, Colton, Grand Terrace, Rancho Cucamonga, San Bernardino, Loma Linda, Highland, Redlands, and Yucaipa.

The Inland Empire area of Southern California is made up of the southwestern portion of San Bernardino County and western portion of Riverside county.

San Bernardino County, California, is one of the few counties in the United States to border as many as 8 counties.

  • Omnitrans provides transit service in the urbanized portion of San Bernardino County, serving the City of San Bernardino, as well as the area between Montclair and Yucaipa.
  • Foothill Transit connects the Inland Empire area to the San Gabriel Valley and downtown Los Angeles.
  • OCTA connects Chino to Irvine and Brea.
  • RTA connects Montclair to Riverside County.
  • Victor Valley Transit Authority operates buses in Victorville, Hesperia, Adelanto, Apple Valley and the surrounding county area.
  • Barstow Area Transit serves Barstow and the surrounding county area.
  • Mountain Area Regional Transit Authority (MARTA) covers the Lake Arrowhead and Big Bear regions. Limited service is also provided to Downtown San Bernardino.
  • Morongo Basin Transit Authority provides bus service in Yucca Valley, Joshua Tree and Twentynine Palms (including the Marine base). Limited service is also provided to Palm Springs.
  • San Bernardino County is also served by Greyhound buses and Amtrak trains. Metrolink commuter trains connect the urbanized portion of the county with Los Angeles, Orange, and Riverside Counties.

Presidential election results
Year GOP DEM Others
2004 55.3% 289,306 43.6% 227,789 1.1% 5,682
2000 48.8% 221,757 47.2% 214,749 4.0% 18,387
1996 43.6% 180,135 44.4% 183,372 12.0% 49,848
1992 37.2% 176,563 38.7% 183,634 24.0% 113,873
1988 60.0% 235,167 38.5% 151,118 1.5% 5,723
1984 64.8% 222,071 34.0% 116,454 1.2% 4,180
1980 59.7% 172,957 31.7% 91,790 8.6% 25,065
1976 49.5% 113,265 47.9% 109,636 2.6% 5,984
1972 59.7% 144,689 35.5% 85,986 4.8% 11,581
1968 50.1% 111,974 40.0% 89,418 9.9% 22,224
1964 42.8% 92,145 57.1% 123,012 0.1% 243
1960 52.0% 99,481 47.5% 90,888 0.5% 944

San Bernardino County voter registration and voting patterns lean to the Republican Party, with Lyndon Johnson in 1964 being the last Democrat to win a majority in the county. However, the county is split between poorer, heavily Latino, heavily Democratic areas and wealthy suburbs. For example, the heavily Latino cities of Ontario and San Bernardino went for John Kerry in 2004. However, these cities had abysmal voter turnout; in 2006, San Bernandino's population exceeded 201,000, and in 2004, cast a mere 42,520 votes. In 2006, strongly Republican Rancho Cucamonga had over 145,000 people, and cast 53,054 votes.

In the House of Representatives, all of California's 43rd congressional district and parts of the 25th, 26th, 41st, and 42nd districts are in the county. Except for the 43rd, which is held by Democrat Joe Baca, every district is held by Republicans: Buck McKeon, David Dreier, Jerry Lewis, and Gary Miller respectively.

In the State Assembly, tiny parts of the 32nd and 34th districts, parts of the 36th, 59th, 60th, 61st, 63rd, and 65th districts, and all of the 62nd district are in the county. Except for the 61st and 62nd districts, which are represented by Democrats Nell Soto and Wilmer Carter respectively, every district is represented by a Republican: Jean Fuller (AD-32), Bill Maze (AD-34), Sharon Runner (AD-36), Anthony Adams (AD-59), Bob Huff (AD-60), Bill Emmerson (AD-63), and Paul Cook (AD-65).

In the State Senate, parts of the 18th and 32nd districts, which are held by Roy Ashburn and Gloria Negrete McLeod respectively, are in the county.






As of the census² of 2000, there were 1,709,434 people, 528,594 households, and 404,374 families residing in the county. The population density was 33/km² (85/sq mi). There were 601,369 housing units at an average density of 12/km² (30/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 58.91% White, 9.09% African American, 1.17% Native American, 4.69% Asian, 0.30% Pacific Islander, 20.82% from other races, and 5.03% from two or more races. 39.16% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 66.1% spoke English, 27.7% Spanish and 1.1% Tagalog as their first language.

There were 528,594 households out of which 43.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.80% were married couples living together, 14.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.50% were non-families. 18.40% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.15 and the average family size was 3.58.

The number of homeless in San Bernardino County grew from 5,270 in 2002 to 7,331 in 2007, a 39% increase.[1]

In the county the population was spread out with 32.30% under the age of 18, 10.30% from 18 to 24, 30.20% from 25 to 44, 18.70% from 45 to 64, and 8.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 99.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.20 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $42,066, and the median income for a family was $46,574. Males had a median income of $37,025 versus $27,993 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,856. About 12.60% of families and 15.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.60% of those under age 18 and 8.40% of those age 65 or over.

 This article does not cite any references or sources. (October 2006)
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.


SBC Sheriff's department operates a sizeable fleet of helicopters. Shown here are a Bell 212 (foreground) and a Sikorsky S-61 at the air unit's Rialto headquarters.
SBC Sheriff's department operates a sizeable fleet of helicopters. Shown here are a Bell 212 (foreground) and a Sikorsky S-61 at the air unit's Rialto headquarters.

The Inland Empire is well known for its Chicano gangs. The most well-known gangs are the Onterio Varrio Sur Black Angels gang and the West Side Verdugo gang, as well as the South Side Verdugo Flats gang, in various parts of south San Bernardino, particularly around Mount Vernon Avenue. Fuelled by drug money and the ease of communication brought on by affordable cell phones, the street gangs have flourished and spread across and beyond the Inland Empire in the face of sporadic and ineffective law enforcement efforts and inadequate intervention strategies. Incidents of gang violence in San Bernardino County have increased since the 1960s, while at the same time growing more brutal. There are now an estimated 68,600 gang members in 287 gangs in the Inland Empire.[citation needed]

Sergeant Phil Brown of the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department said the gangs are growing more violent in the farthest reaches of the county, including the High Desert. Racial tensions among the Chicano gangs and the Afro-American gangs have heightened dramatically in the Inland Empire, causing even the most rural areas to be affected. "It's getting out in more remote areas," Brown said. "They go gang against gang. There's more gang violence to the general public and it's becoming more random.." [1]

California Attorney General Jerry Brown sued the county in April 2007 under the state's environmental quality act for failing to account for the impact of global warming in the county's 25-year growth plan, approved in March. The Center for Biological Diversity, Sierra Club and the Audubon Society also sued in a separate case. According to Brendan Cummings, a senior attorney for the plaintiffs: "San Bernardino has never seen a project it didn't like. They rubber-stamp development. It's very much of a frontier mentality." The plaintiffs want the county to rewrite its growth plan's environmental impact section to include methods to measure greenhouse gases and take steps to reduce them.[2]

According to county spokesman David Wert, only 15% of the county is actually controlled by the county; the rest is cities and federal and state land. However, the county says it will make sure employment centers and housing are near transportation corridors to reduce traffic and do more to promote compact development and mass transit. The county has budgeted $325,000 to fight the lawsuit.[2]

  • San Bernardino County is the only California County bordered by both Nevada and Arizona.

Including current residents, as well as former residents who have made their mark in history.

  1. ^ Quan, Douglas. "S.B. County steps up fight against homelessness", Press Enterprise, 2007-09-25. Retrieved on 2007-12-24. 
  2. ^ a b Ritter, John. "Inland Empire's 25-year growth targeted", USA Today, June 5, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-11-10. 

v • d • e
Municipalities and communities of
San Bernardino County, California
County seat: San Bernardino
Cities
San Bernardino County map
Incorporated towns
CDPs
Unincorporated communities
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Coordinates: 34°50′N 116°11′W / 34.83, -116.19

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Bernardino_County%2C_California"
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