• county
  • FIPS 06007
  • Largest town: Chico

Butte County, California

Butte County had 208,334 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 1,636.5 square miles of land. It ranks 28th of 58 in California by population and 28th by land area.

Population
208,334
#28 of 58 in California · #343 in US
Area
1,636.5 sq mi
#28 of 58 in California · #370 in US
Density
127 / sq mi
#27 of 58 in California · #764 in US
Median household income
$63,084
#50 of 58 in California · #1,553 in US

Census Vintage 2024 estimates · SAIPE 2023 income · 2024 Gazetteer land area

Butte County within California. Pin: Sacramento.

Measure from here

Tools and pages that start from Butte County

Butte County population, land area and income

Butte County had 208,334 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 1,636.5 square miles of land. It ranks 28th of 58 in California by population and 28th by land area. That works out to 127.3 people per square mile, 1.3 times the US average of 96.3, and in the top quarter nationally.

The median county-equivalent in California has 187,274 residents; Butte County is somewhat larger.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $63,084 is above the national county median among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

National rank among 3,144

Population

208,334

3144th1st

343rd of 3,144 (US)

Land area

1,637 sq mi

3144th1st

370th of 3,144 (US)

Density

127.3 / sq mi

3144th1st

764th of 3,144 (US)

Median household income

$63,084

3143rd1st

1553rd of 3,143 (US)

Rank within California (58)

Population

208,334

58th1st

28th of 58 (CA)

Land area

1,637 sq mi

58th1st

28th of 58 (CA)

Density

127.3 / sq mi

58th1st

27th of 58 (CA)

Median household income

$63,084

58th1st

50th of 58 (CA)

How Butte County's population changed since 2020

Butte County lost 1,888 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a drop of 0.9%. That ranks 33rd of 58 in California for growth. The median California county changed by -0.6%, and the state as a whole by -0.2%.

Since the April 2020 estimates base, Butte County recorded 8,256 births and 10,284 deaths, a natural change of -2,028. Net international migration added +1,404 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to -2,396. The largest single component was domestic migration, which removed 2,396 people.

210.2k2020206.4k2021207.4k2022207.4k2023208.3k2024
Census Vintage 2024 county estimates for July 1 of each year. The axis starts above zero so year-to-year changes are visible.

Components of change, April 2020 to July 2024

Births
8,256
Deaths
10,284
Net international migration
+1,404
Net domestic migration
-2,396
Change, July 2023 to July 2024
+980

Where Butte County is

The Census internal point of Butte County is at 39.665300, -121.603200. It sits in UTM zone 10N. The map shades California's 58 county-equivalents by population change from 2020 to 2024, darker for faster growth, with Butte County outlined. Dots are towns of 1,000+ people with residents in it.

Los Angeles County: -2.4%Kings County: +1.4%Sierra County: -3.6%Riverside County: +4.3%Santa Barbara County: -0.8%San Bernardino County: +1.4%Nevada County: -0.1%Santa Clara County: +0.1%Yuba County: +6.7%Fresno County: +1.4%Plumas County: -4.7%Monterey County: -1.0%Amador County: +3.6%Alameda County: -1.9%Tulare County: +2.0%San Joaquin County: +4.5%Alpine County: -6.8%Siskiyou County: -3.4%Butte County: -0.9%Kern County: +1.8%San Diego County: -0.1%Sacramento County: +1.5%Ventura County: -1.0%Yolo County: +3.4%Lake County: -0.6%Napa County: -3.4%Tehama County: -1.9%San Francisco County: -5.4%El Dorado County: +0.8%Calaveras County: +2.5%Inyo County: -2.7%Shasta County: -0.6%Lassen County: -12.3%San Luis Obispo County: -0.0%Mariposa County: -0.5%Trinity County: -2.8%Contra Costa County: +0.6%Mendocino County: -2.4%Imperial County: +1.1%Santa Cruz County: -3.4%Placer County: +6.9%Orange County: -0.5%San Benito County: +7.2%Marin County: -1.9%San Mateo County: -2.6%Colusa County: +0.9%Del Norte County: -2.2%Solano County: +0.5%Glenn County: -2.0%Tuolumne County: -2.7%Sonoma County: -0.6%Humboldt County: -2.9%Mono County: -1.8%Stanislaus County: +0.6%Merced County: +4.9%Sutter County: -0.9%Madera County: +5.8%Modoc County: -2.1%
Change 2020 to 2024
  1. < -2.7%
  2. < -1.0%
  3. < -0.0%
  4. < +1.5%
  5. ≥ +1.5%
no data

Orange pin: Butte County internal point. Dark pin: Sacramento.

Internal point

Decimal
39.665300, -121.603200
DMS
39°39'55.08"N 121°36'11.52"W
UTM
10N 619812.7E 4391542.2N
Geohash
9r198ug70
Plus code
84FWM98W+4P

Towns in Butte County

5 incorporated places of 1,000+ people have residents in Butte County, 141,033 people together, or 68% of the county. Each figure counts only the part of the town inside Butte County; towns marked "part" extend into another county. The largest is Chico with 102,911.

  1. 01Chico102,911
  2. 02Oroville19,712
  3. 03Paradise9,114
  4. 04Gridley7,355
  5. 05Biggs1,941
Census Vintage 2024 subcounty estimates, county parts of incorporated places (SUMLEV 157).

Counties bordering Butte County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 6 neighbors for Butte County. The most populous is Sutter County, CA, with 98,545 residents. Distances run between Census internal points in a straight line.

Distance to Sacramento and the nearest big city

Sacramento is 75.4 miles S of Butte County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is Chico, CA (population 102,911), 13.1 miles away. The nearest place of 10,000 or more is Oroville, CA (population 19,712), 11.9 miles away.

Butte County FIPS code

The FIPS code of Butte County is 06007: state code 06 for California plus county code 007. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $63,084.

Questions people ask

What is the population of Butte County, California?

The Census Vintage 2024 estimate for July 1, 2024 is 208,334. That is down 1,888 people (0.9%) from the July 2020 estimate of 210,222.

What is the FIPS code of Butte County?

06007. The first two digits (06) are California; the last three (007) identify the county.

What is the largest town in Butte County?

Chico, with 102,911 residents inside Butte County in 2024.

Which counties border Butte County?

6 county-equivalents border it in the Census 2024 adjacency file: Sutter County, CA; Yuba County, CA; Tehama County, CA; Glenn County, CA; Colusa County, CA; Plumas County, CA.

Sources and data as of

Data as of: Census Vintage 2024 population estimates, 2024 Gazetteer land area and internal points, SAIPE 2023 median household income.

  1. 01Census Vintage 2024 county population estimates
  2. 02Census 2024 Gazetteer, counties
  3. 03Census SAIPE 2023 state and county estimates
  4. 04Census Vintage 2024 subcounty population estimates
  5. 05Census 2024 county adjacency file
  6. 06Census 2024 cartographic boundary file, counties (1:5,000,000)

How every number is computed: methodology. Spotted a wrong figure? Report an error.