Modoc County, California

Modoc County population, land area and income

Modoc County had 8,491 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 3,948.2 square miles of land. It ranks 56th of 58 in California by population and 12th by land area. That works out to 2.2 people per square mile, below the US average of 96.3, and in the bottom quarter nationally.

The median county-equivalent in California has 187,274 residents, so Modoc County has 5% of the typical county's population.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $51,996 is in the bottom quarter among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

How Modoc County's population changed since 2020

Modoc County lost 186 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a drop of 2.1%. That ranks 42nd 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, Modoc County recorded 241 births and 484 deaths, a natural change of -243. Net international migration added +97 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to -61. The largest single component was natural change, which removed 243 people.

Where Modoc County is

The Census internal point of Modoc County is at 41.592900, -120.718400. 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 Modoc County outlined. Dots are towns of 1,000+ people with residents in it.

Towns in Modoc County

One incorporated place of 1,000+ people has residents in Modoc County, 2,652 people together, or 31% of the county. Each figure counts only the part of the town inside Modoc County; towns marked "part" extend into another county. The largest is Alturas with 2,652.

Counties bordering Modoc County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 6 neighbors for Modoc County, including 3 across a state line. The most populous is Washoe County, NV, with 507,280 residents. Distances run between Census internal points in a straight line.

• NV

  Washoe County, NV

  507,280 people

  81 mi SE

• Shasta County

  181,121 people

  90 mi SW

• OR

  Klamath County, OR

  70,438 people

  89 mi NNW

• Siskiyou County

  42,498 people

  94 mi W

• Lassen County

  28,340 people

  61 mi S

• OR

  Lake County, OR

  8,194 people

  84 mi NNE

Distance to Sacramento and the nearest big city

Sacramento is 212.4 miles SSW of Modoc County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is Chico, CA (population 102,911), 139.2 miles away. The nearest place of 10,000 or more is Klamath Falls, OR (population 22,174), 69.6 miles away.

Modoc County FIPS code

The FIPS code of Modoc County is 06049: state code 06 for California plus county code 049. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $51,996.