Stanislaus County, California

Stanislaus County, California
County
County of Stanislaus Spanish: Condado de Estanislao[1][2]
Images, from top down, left to right: Modesto Arch, Knights Ferry's General Store, a view of the Tuolumne River from Waterford
Seal
Motto:  "Striving to be the best!"
Interactive map of Stanislaus County
Location in California
Country	United States
State	California
Region	San Joaquin Valley
Incorporated	April 1, 1854[3]
Named for	Estanislao
County seat (and largest city)	Modesto
Government
• Type	Council–CEO
• Body	Board of Supervisors
• Chair	Channce Condit
• Vice Chair	Mani Grewal
• Board of Supervisors[4]	Supervisors Buck Condit Vito Chiesa Terry Withrow Mani Grewal Channce Condit
• CEO	Jody Hayes
Area
• Total	1,515 sq mi (3,920 km2)
• Land	1,495 sq mi (3,870 km2)
• Water	20 sq mi (50 km2)
Highest elevation [5]	3,807 ft (1,160 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	552,878
• Density	360/sq mi (140/km2)
GDP [6]
• Total	$28.674 billion (2022)
Time zone	UTC−8 (Pacific Time Zone)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−7 (Pacific Daylight Time)
Area code	209
FIPS code	06-099
GNIS feature ID	277314
Congressional districts	5th, 9th, 13th
Website	stancounty.com

Stanislaus County (/ˈstænɪslɔː(s)/ ^ⓘ;^[7] Spanish: Condado de Estanislao)^[8][9][10] is a county located in the San Joaquin Valley of the U.S. state of California. As of 2023, its estimated population is 564,404.^[11] The county seat is Modesto.^[12]

Stanislaus County makes up the Modesto metropolitan statistical area. The county is located just east of the San Francisco Bay Area and serves as a bedroom community for those who work in the eastern part of the Bay Area.

The first European to see the area was Gabriel Moraga in 1806.

The county was named after the Estanislao River, which in turn was named in honor of Estanislao, a mission-educated renegade Native American chief who led a band of Native Americans in a series of battles against Mexican troops until finally being defeated by General Mariano Vallejo in 1826. Estanislao was his baptismal name, the Spanish name version after Saint Stanislaus the Martyr.

Between 1843 and 1846, when California was a province of independent Mexico, five Mexican land grants totaling 113,135 acres (458 km²; 177 sq mi) were granted in Stanislaus County. Rancho Orestimba y Las Garzas, Rancho Pescadero and Rancho Del Puerto were located on the west side of the San Joaquin River, and Rancho Del Rio Estanislao and Rancho Thompson were on the north side of the Stanislaus River. Additionally in 1844, Salomon Pico received a Mexican land grant of 58,000 acres (235 km²; 91 sq mi) in the San Joaquin Valley, somewhere near the Stanislaus River and the San Joaquin River in what is now Stanislaus County. However, the grant was never confirmed by the land commission.^[13]

Stanislaus County was formed from part of Tuolumne County in 1854. The county seat was first situated at Adamsville, then moved to Empire in November, La Grange in December, and Knights Ferry in 1862, and was ultimately fixed at the present location in Modesto in 1871.^[14]

As the price of housing has increased in the San Francisco Bay Area, many people who work in the southern reaches of the Bay Area have opted for the longer commute and moved to Stanislaus County for the relatively affordable housing.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,515 square miles (3,920 km²), of which 20 square miles (52 km²) (1.3%) are covered by water.^[15]

Stanislaus County has historically been divided socially and economically by the north-flowing San Joaquin River, which provided a natural barrier to trade and travel for much of the county's history. Isolated from the main rail corridors through the county and the irrigation projects that generated much of the region's economic prosperity, the part of Stanislaus County west of the river (known to locals as the "West Side" of the county) has largely remained rural and economically dependent on agricultural activities. Because of its proximity to Interstate 5 and the California Aqueduct, some towns within this area, including Patterson and Newman, have experienced tremendous growth and are being transformed into bedroom communities for commuters from the nearby San Francisco Bay Area, while others (including Westley and Crows Landing) have been almost entirely overlooked by development and remain tiny farming communities.

A number or rare and endangered species are found in Stanislaus County. The beaked clarkia, (Clarkia rostrata), is listed as a candidate for the federal endangered species list. It has only been found in blue oak-gray pine associations in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, a habitat that occurs at moderately high elevations. Colusa grass, (Neostapfsia colusana) is listed as endangered by the state. It is restricted to vernal pools.^[16]

• San Joaquin River National Wildlife Refuge (part)

• Interstate 5
• State Route 4
• State Route 33
• State Route 99
• State Route 108
• State Route 120
• State Route 132
• State Route 165
• State Route 219

• Stanislaus Regional Transit Authority operates local bus service and paratransit in Modesto, regional service in Stanislaus County, and commuter service connecting to Bay Area Rapid Transit and Altamont Corridor Express.
• The cities of Ceres, Oakdale, Riverbank, and Turlock run small local bus systems.
• Both Greyhound and Amtrak have stops in Modesto and Turlock. Amtrak for Turlock actually stops in Denair.

Modesto City-County Airport has previously had a number of scheduled passenger flights. Currently, its main air traffic is general aviation. Other (general aviation) airports around the county include Oakdale Airport, Patterson Airport, and Turlock Airpark.

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1860	2,245		—
1870	6,499		189.5%
1880	8,751		34.7%
1890	10,040		14.7%
1900	9,550		−4.9%
1910	22,522		135.8%
1920	43,557		93.4%
1930	56,641		30.0%
1940	74,866		32.2%
1950	127,231		69.9%
1960	157,294		23.6%
1970	194,506		23.7%
1980	265,900		36.7%
1990	370,522		39.3%
2000	446,997		20.6%
2010	514,453		15.1%
2020	552,878		7.5%
2023 (est.)	551,430	[17]	−0.3%
U.S. Decennial Census[18] 1790-1960[19] 1900-1990[20] 1990-2000[21] 2010[22] 2020[23]

Stanislaus County, California – Racial and ethnic composition
Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.

Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)	Pop 2010[22]	Pop 2020[23]	% 2010	% 2020
White alone (NH)	240,423	207,908	46.73%	37.60%
Black or African American alone (NH)	13,065	14,302	2.54%	2.59%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	2,870	2,621	0.56%	0.47%
Asian alone (NH)	24,712	33,169	4.80%	6.00%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)	3,016	3,713	0.59%	0.67%
Other race alone (NH)	842	2,734	0.16%	0.49%
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)	13,867	22,453	2.70%	4.06%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	215,658	265,978	41.92%	48.11%
Total	514,453	552,878	100.00%	100.00%

Population, race, and income
Total population[24]	512,469
White[24]	391,597	76.4%
Black or African American[24]	14,691	2.9%
American Indian or Alaska Native[24]	5,270	1.0%
Asian[24]	26,718	5.2%
Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander[24]	3,584	0.7%
Some other race[24]	49,245	9.6%
Two or more races[24]	21,364	4.2%
Hispanic or Latino (of any race)[25]	211,811	41.3%
Per capita income[26]	$21,820
Median household income[27]	$50,671
Median family income[28]	$56,996

Places by population and race
Place	Type[29]	Population[24]	White[24]	Other[24] [note 1]	Asian[24]	Black or African American[24]	Native American[24] [note 2]	Hispanic or Latino (of any race)[25]
Airport	CDP	1,490	78.7%	16.3%	0.0%	0.0%	5.0%	61.7%
Bret Harte	CDP	4,916	62.7%	30.7%	1.4%	2.2%	3.1%	82.2%
Bystrom	CDP	3,858	73.8%	20.1%	5.8%	0.3%	0.0%	79.7%
Ceres	City	44,731	70.9%	18.2%	7.1%	2.0%	1.7%	54.8%
Cowan	CDP	302	75.8%	11.6%	0.0%	0.0%	12.6%	25.5%
Crows Landing	CDP	425	37.2%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	62.8%	75.5%
Del Rio	CDP	1,071	94.3%	0.0%	5.7%	0.0%	0.0%	8.2%
Denair	CDP	4,529	87.3%	11.3%	1.2%	0.0%	0.2%	37.7%
Diablo Grande	CDP	551	78.4%	11.8%	2.2%	7.6%	0.0%	29.0%
East Oakdale	CDP	3,118	96.5%	2.3%	0.9%	0.0%	0.3%	13.5%
Empire	CDP	4,071	84.6%	14.9%	0.3%	0.0%	0.1%	54.7%
Grayson	CDP	1,324	74.5%	13.2%	0.0%	12.3%	0.0%	83.5%
Hickman	CDP	490	95.1%	4.3%	0.6%	0.0%	0.0%	9.8%
Hughson	City	6,425	78.2%	18.5%	1.7%	0.4%	1.2%	49.4%
Keyes	CDP	5,809	76.7%	19.8%	2.0%	0.7%	0.7%	60.9%
Modesto	City	201,886	74.6%	12.6%	6.8%	3.9%	2.1%	35.7%
Monterey Park Tract	CDP	350	97.7%	2.3%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	27.7%
Newman	City	9,989	73.6%	22.7%	2.0%	1.2%	0.6%	62.6%
Oakdale	City	20,364	87.7%	6.0%	3.2%	0.4%	2.7%	23.3%
Parklawn	CDP	1,180	74.7%	14.9%	10.4%	0.0%	0.0%	76.6%
Patterson	City	19,697	60.9%	23.1%	4.5%	8.9%	2.6%	57.6%
Riverbank	City	22,198	77.5%	13.7%	4.1%	3.7%	1.1%	51.9%
Riverdale Park	CDP	1,243	81.6%	18.3%	0.0%	0.2%	0.0%	70.0%
Rouse	CDP	1,437	61.7%	23.4%	12.2%	2.7%	0.0%	70.4%
Salida	CDP	15,156	80.6%	10.8%	5.1%	2.9%	0.6%	42.8%
Shackelford	CDP	2,829	68.8%	22.1%	0.7%	4.9%	3.4%	71.4%
Turlock	City	67,953	78.1%	12.3%	6.3%	2.0%	1.3%	34.7%
Valley Home	CDP	327	93.3%	5.8%	0.9%	0.0%	0.0%	4.6%
Waterford	City	8,395	80.3%	17.7%	0.3%	0.5%	1.3%	45.7%
Westley	CDP	861	95.0%	5.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	90.8%
West Modesto	CDP	6,470	69.4%	20.0%	7.9%	2.0%	0.6%	56.8%

Places by population and income
Place	Type[29]	Population[30]	Per capita income[26]	Median household income[27]	Median family income[28]
Airport	CDP	1,490	$9,706	$18,779	$17,907
Bret Harte	CDP	4,916	$10,300	$30,833	$36,856
Bystrom	CDP	3,858	$10,543	$22,227	$34,000
Ceres	City	44,731	$17,688	$48,550	$51,839
Cowan	CDP	302	$11,544	$33,594	$30,729
Crows Landing	CDP	425	$12,860	$70,357	$71,250
Del Rio	CDP	1,071	$77,510	$107,171	$196,200
Denair	CDP	4,529	$23,537	$64,136	$69,291
Diablo Grande	CDP	551	$40,719	$88,393	$89,000
East Oakdale	CDP	3,118	$46,810	$107,250	$119,300
Empire	CDP	4,071	$12,729	$31,570	$35,718
Grayson	CDP	1,324	$12,381	$41,250	$41,086
Hickman	CDP	490	$19,337	$60,150	$60,380
Hughson	City	6,425	$19,985	$48,875	$54,357
Keyes	CDP	5,809	$12,996	$34,423	$35,571
Modesto	City	201,886	$22,886	$49,852	$56,629
Monterey Park Tract	CDP	350	$13,865	$85,256	$85,513
Newman	City	9,989	$18,134	$48,409	$49,673
Oakdale	City	20,364	$25,238	$61,183	$66,505
Parklawn	CDP	1,180	$12,647	$38,519	$39,417
Patterson	City	19,697	$20,649	$58,090	$64,471
Riverbank	City	22,198	$21,205	$59,779	$62,859
Riverdale Park	CDP	1,243	$14,726	$34,353	$34,698
Rouse	CDP	1,437	$9,476	$18,895	$21,838
Salida	CDP	15,156	$22,969	$72,671	$73,179
Shackelford	CDP	2,829	$7,829	$18,478	$21,453
Turlock	City	67,953	$22,289	$50,862	$60,434
Valley Home	CDP	327	$18,402	$38,250	$27,292
Waterford	City	8,395	$17,228	$54,583	$55,806
Westley	CDP	861	$8,714	$38,798	$39,327
West Modesto	CDP	6,470	$12,751	$31,110	$28,441

The 2010 United States Census reported that Stanislaus County had a population of 514,453. The racial makeup of Stanislaus County was 337,342 (65.6%) White, 14,721 (2.9%) African American, 5,902 (1.1%) Native American, 26,090 (5.1%) Asian (1.5% Indian, 1.1% Filipino, 0.7% Cambodian, 0.5% Chinese, 0.3% Vietnamese, 0.3% Laotian, 0.1% Japanese, 0.1% Korean, 0.1% Cambodian), 3,401 (0.7%) Pacific Islander, 99,210 (19.3%) from other races, and 27,787 (5.4%) from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 215,658 persons (41.9%); 37.6% of Stanislaus County is Mexican, 0.6% Puerto Rican, 0.5% Salvadoran, 0.2% Nicaraguan, and 0.2% Guatemalan.^[31]

(Note - the US Census Bureau says "this system treats race and ethnicity as separate and independent categories. This means that within the federal system, everyone is classified as both a member of one of the four race groups and also as either Hispanic or non-Hispanic." Consequently, there are a total of 8 race-ethnicity categories (e.g., White-Hispanic, White-non-Hispanic, Black-Hispanic, Black non-Hispanic, etc.). That, in turn, means that the total Hispanic population is made up of each of the four groups, thus the separate distinction for Hispanic and non-Hispanic.)^[32]

Population reported at 2010 United States Census
The County	Total Population	White	African American	Native American	Asian	Pacific Islander	Other races	two or more races	Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
Stanislaus County	514,453	337,342	14,721	5,902	26,090	3,401	99,210	27,787	215,658
Incorporated cities	Total Population	White	African American	Native American	Asian	Pacific Islander	Other races	Two or more races	Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
Ceres	45,417	26,217	1,185	609	3,093	346	11,463	2,504	25,436
Hughson	6,640	5,125	55	74	97	13	982	294	2,871
Modesto	201,165	130,833	8,396	2,494	13,557	1,924	31,244	12,717	71,381
Newman	10,224	6,812	234	106	191	40	2,287	554	6,299
Oakdale	20,675	16,558	163	210	463	37	2,386	858	5,398
Patterson	20,413	10,117	1,291	221	1,069	280	6,235	1,200	11,971
Riverbank	22,678	14,951	480	269	770	88	4,949	1,171	11,822
Turlock	68,549	47,864	1,160	601	3,865	313	11,328	3,418	24,957
Waterford	8,456	6,003	77	110	129	11	1,740	386	3,579
Census-designated places	Total Population	White	African American	Native American	Asian	Pacific Islander	other races	two or more races	Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
Airport	1,964	1,108	41	47	66	3	564	135	1,250
Bret Harte	5,152	2,441	52	50	40	45	2,327	197	4,272
Bystrom	4,008	2,006	79	62	91	18	1,580	172	3,053
Cowan	318	274	0	2	0	0	32	10	161
Crows Landing	355	162	5	1	0	0	182	5	248
Del Rio	1,270	1,027	25	5	143	1	27	42	107
Denair	4,404	3,425	25	55	42	4	699	154	1,423
Diablo Grande	826	510	77	3	70	6	77	83	254
East Oakdale	2,762	2,530	7	18	60	5	78	64	284
Empire	4,189	2,274	22	56	59	8	1,500	270	2,275
Grayson	952	455	17	4	3	0	417	56	819
Hickman	641	503	1	15	4	0	98	20	180
Keyes	5,601	3,109	71	60	200	32	1,919	210	3,233
Monterey Park Tract	133	77	17	0	0	0	38	1	112
Parklawn	1,337	673	24	22	7	0	541	70	1,090
Riverdale Park	1,128	575	6	25	29	0	414	79	700
Rouse	2,005	896	101	24	199	12	658	115	1,280
Salida	13,722	8,479	435	111	669	83	3,134	811	6,426
Shackelford	3,371	1,560	27	63	59	1	1,496	165	2,685
Valley Home	228	186	2	3	0	0	27	10	34
West Modesto	5,682	3,020	136	84	263	8	1,885	286	3,526
Westley	603	212	0	5	1	0	368	17	579
Other unincorporated areas	Total Population	White	African American	Native American	Asian	Pacific Islander	other races	two or more races	Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
All others not CDPs (combined)	49,585	37,360	510	493	851	123	8,535	1,713	17,953

As of the census^[33] of 2000, 446,997 people, 145,146 households, and 109,585 families were residing in the county. The population density was 299 people per square mile (115 people/km²). The 150,807 housing units had an average density of 101 units per square mile (39 units/km²). The racial/ethnic makeup of the county was 69.3% White, 2.6% Black, 4.2% Asian, 1.3% Native American, 0.3% Pacific Islander, 16.8% from other races, and 5.4% from two or more races. About 31.7% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race; 8.4% were of German, 6.3% English, 6.0% American, 5.5% Irish, and 5.1% Portuguese ancestry according to Census 2000. About 67.8% spoke English, 23.7% Spanish, 1.5% Syriac, and 1.3% Portuguese as their first languages.

Of the 145,146 households, 41.2% had children under 18 living with them, 56.0% were married couples living together, 13.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.5% were not families. About 19.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.9% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 3.03, and the average family size was 3.47.

In the county, the age distribution was 31.1% under 18, 9.8% from 18 to 24, 29.0% from 25 to 44, 19.5% from 45 to 64, and 10.4% who were 65 or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.8 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 93.4 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $40,101, and for a family was $44,703. Males had a median income of $36,969 versus $26,595 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,913. About 12.3% of families and 16.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.5% of those under 18 and 8.8% of those 65 or over.

The United States Office of Management and Budget has designated Stanislaus County as the Modesto, CA metropolitan statistical area (MSA).^[34] The United States Census Bureau ranked the Modesto MSA as the 103rd-most populous MSA of the United States as of July 1, 2012.^[35]

The Office of Management and Budget has further designated the Modesto MSA as a component of the more extensive San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, CA combined statistical area, the 5th-most populous combined statistical area in the United States.

The following table includes the number of incidents reported and the rate per 1,000 persons for each type of offense.

Population and crime rates
Population[24]	512,469
Violent crime[36]	2,721	5.31
Homicide[36]	46	0.09
Forcible rape[36]	122	0.24
Robbery[36]	706	1.38
Aggravated assault[36]	1,847	3.60
Property crime[36]	12,156	23.72
Burglary[36]	5,748	11.22
Larceny-theft[36][note 3]	12,428	24.25
Motor vehicle theft[36]	3,401	6.64
Arson[36]	373	0.73

Cities by population and crime rates
City	Population[37]	Violent crimes[37]	Violent crime rate per 1,000 persons	Property crimes[37]	Property crime rate per 1,000 persons
Ceres	46,167	183	3.96	1,940	42.02
Hughson	6,754	10	1.48	144	21.32
Modesto	204,631	1,590	7.77	11,276	55.10
Newman	10,402	25	2.40	194	18.65
Oakdale	21,031	58	2.76	934	44.41
Patterson	20,769	53	2.55	734	35.34
Riverbank	23,070	57	2.47	761	32.99
Turlock	69,733	445	6.38	2,486	35.65
Waterford	8,604	31	3.60	205	23.83

The government of Stanislaus County is defined and authorized under the California Constitution and law as a general law county. The county government provides countywide services such as elections and voter registration, law enforcement, jails, vital records, property records, tax collection, public health, and social services. In addition, the county serves as the local government for all unincorporated areas.

The county government is composed of the elected five-member board of supervisors, several other elected offices including the sheriff-coroner, district attorney, tax assessor, auditor-controller, treasurer-tax collector, and clerk-recorder, and numerous county departments and entities under the supervision of the chief executive officer. As of January 2021, the members of the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors were:

• Buck Condit, District 1
• Vito Chiesa, District 2, chairman
• Terry Withrow, District 3 vice chairman
• Mani Grewal, District 4
• Channce Condit, District 5

The Stanislaus County Sheriff provides court protection, jail administration, and coroner services for the entire county. It provides patrol and detective services for the unincorporated areas of the county. The sheriff also provides law-enforcement services by contract to the municipalities of Riverbank, Patterson, Waterford, Salida, and Hughson. These municipalities fund police coverage as specified in the respective sheriff's contract with each city.^[38]

Municipal police departments in the county are: Modesto, population 213,000; Turlock, 73,000; Ceres, 46,000; Oakdale, 23,000; Newman 11,000.

Population and registered voters
Total population[24]	512,469
Registered voters[39][note 4]	231,870	45.2%
Democratic[39]	92,788	40.0%
Republican[39]	90,002	38.8%
Democratic–Republican spread[39]	+2,786	+1.2%
Independent[39]	6,442	2.8%
Green[39]	698	0.3%
Libertarian[39]	1,144	0.5%
Peace and Freedom[39]	682	0.3%
Americans Elect[39]	14	0.0%
Other[39]	2,437	1.1%
No party preference[39]	37,663	16.2%

Cities by population and voter registration
City	Population[24]	Registered voters[39] [note 4]	Democratic[39]	Republican[39]	D–R spread[39]	Other[39]	No party preference[39]
Ceres	44,731	42.6%	46.4%	33.0%	+13.4%	7.1%	16.1%
Hughson	6,425	50.8%	32.2%	44.8%	-12.6%	8.4%	17.8%
Modesto	202,751	48.6%	41.9%	37.5%	+4.4%	7.7%	15.7%
Newman	9,989	37.4%	42.9%	33.4%	+9.5%	8.7%	18.2%
Oakdale	20,364	48.1%	31.2%	45.0%	-13.8%	9.9%	17.6%
Patterson	19,697	39.4%	49.9%	25.7%	+24.2%	8.2%	19.3%
Riverbank	22,198	41.9%	39.9%	36.7%	+3.2%	7.7%	18.6%
Turlock	69,733	44.9%	38.4%	39.3%	-0.9%	7.6%	17.3%
Waterford	8,395	41.2%	31.7%	41.9%	-10.2%	9.1%	21.0%

Just like neighboring Merced County, Stanislaus is considered a bellwether county in presidential elections. The last major-party nominee to gain over 60% of the vote was Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964. Furthermore, in 1960, Stanislaus County was one of the most bellwether counties in terms of the popular vote, voting 0.02% more Democratic than the national average. It has voted for the winning candidate for president in every election since 1972, except in 2016 when it voted for Hillary Clinton instead of Donald Trump. In 2024, Donald Trump won the county in a slim victory, continuing the county's bellwether county status.

Trump's win in Stanislaus county made it one of eight counties to flip from Biden to Trump, as well as making Stanislaus one of five counties to vote for the Republican presidential candidate for the first time since George W. Bush in 2004. The last Democrat to win a majority in the county was Jimmy Carter in 1976, although Barack Obama won a plurality in 2008 and 2012, as did Bill Clinton in both 1992 and 1996, and as Biden did in 2020.

United States presidential election results for Stanislaus County, California^[40]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	104,684	54.12%	83,711	43.28%	5,028	2.60%
2020	104,145	48.22%	105,841	49.00%	6,001	2.78%
2016	78,494	45.01%	81,647	46.81%	14,265	8.18%
2012	73,459	47.14%	77,724	49.88%	4,633	2.97%
2008	77,497	47.98%	80,279	49.70%	3,736	2.31%
2004	85,407	58.65%	58,829	40.40%	1,388	0.95%
2000	67,188	52.38%	56,448	44.01%	4,631	3.61%
1996	52,403	44.79%	53,738	45.93%	10,866	9.29%
1992	47,275	36.93%	52,415	40.95%	28,315	22.12%
1988	51,648	53.07%	44,685	45.92%	982	1.01%
1984	55,665	59.23%	37,459	39.86%	861	0.92%
1980	41,595	49.41%	33,683	40.01%	8,908	10.58%
1976	32,937	44.83%	38,448	52.34%	2,080	2.83%
1972	39,521	51.41%	35,005	45.54%	2,341	3.05%
1968	29,573	45.45%	31,316	48.13%	4,174	6.42%
1964	21,973	33.74%	43,078	66.14%	77	0.12%
1960	30,213	49.62%	30,302	49.77%	375	0.62%
1956	26,695	48.60%	28,040	51.05%	192	0.35%
1952	29,270	55.57%	22,837	43.35%	570	1.08%
1948	18,564	48.38%	18,350	47.82%	1,457	3.80%
1944	14,297	47.23%	15,537	51.33%	437	1.44%
1940	14,803	46.63%	16,494	51.96%	449	1.41%
1936	8,613	35.44%	15,341	63.13%	348	1.43%
1932	7,614	36.18%	12,336	58.63%	1,092	5.19%
1928	10,753	67.13%	5,063	31.61%	203	1.27%
1924	7,569	56.86%	1,274	9.57%	4,469	33.57%
1920	7,038	61.61%	3,055	26.74%	1,330	11.64%
1916	4,401	37.66%	5,490	46.98%	1,796	15.37%
1912	17	0.22%	3,127	39.58%	4,756	60.20%
1908	1,663	46.45%	1,390	38.83%	527	14.72%
1904	1,437	52.39%	1,110	40.47%	196	7.15%
1900	1,058	43.81%	1,270	52.59%	87	3.60%
1896	1,007	40.92%	1,398	56.81%	56	2.28%
1892	992	38.90%	1,369	53.69%	189	7.41%
1888	903	39.02%	1,315	56.83%	96	4.15%
1884	979	39.49%	1,424	57.44%	76	3.07%
1880	752	39.31%	1,161	60.69%	0	0.00%

In the United States House of Representatives, Stanislaus County is in California's 13th congressional district, represented by Republican John Duarte.^[41]

In the California State Senate, Stanislaus is represented by:^[42]

• the 4th Senate District, represented by Democrat Marie Alvarado-Gil.

In the California State Assembly, Stanislaus is split between the 22nd Assembly District, represented by Republican Juan Alanis, and the 9th Assembly District, represented by Republican Heath Flora.

Agriculture is Stanislaus County's number one industry, with almonds being the primary agricultural product.^[43]

The California State University, Stanislaus is a campus of the California State University located in Turlock.

The Yosemite Community College District covers a 4,500-sq-mi area and serves a population over 550,000, encompassing all of two counties (Stanislaus and Tuolumne) and parts of four others (Calaveras, Merced, San Joaquin, and Santa Clara). It is composed of two colleges: Modesto Junior College in Modesto and Columbia College in Sonora in Tuolumne County to the northeast.

Kaplan College has a campus in Modesto, ITT Technical Institute has campus in Lathrop in San Joaquin County to the northeast, and San Joaquin Valley College has campus in Modesto.

School districts include:^[44]

Unified:

Secondary:

• Modesto City High School District

Elementary:

Stanislaus County is in the Sacramento television market, thus receives Sacramento media.

The county also has media outlets that serve the local community:

• The Modesto Press is the local online news site for Modesto and the surrounding areas of the Central Valley.
• The Modesto Bee is a Modesto-based daily newspaper.

• Eugene

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2010 census of Stanislaus County.^[45]

† county seat

Rank	City/Town/etc.	Municipal type	Population (2010 Census)
1	† Modesto	City	201,165
2	Turlock	City	68,549
3	Ceres	City	45,417
4	Riverbank	City	22,678
5	Oakdale	City	20,675
6	Patterson	City	20,413
7	Salida	CDP	13,722
8	Newman	City	10,224
9	Waterford	City	8,456
10	Hughson	City	6,640
11	West Modesto	CDP	5,682
12	Keyes	CDP	5,601
13	Bret Harte	CDP	5,152
14	Denair	CDP	4,404
15	Empire	CDP	4,189
16	Bystrom	CDP	4,008
17	Shackelford	CDP	3,371
18	East Oakdale	CDP	2,762
19	Rouse	CDP	2,005
20	Airport	CDP	1,964
21	Parklawn	CDP	1,337
22	Del Rio	CDP	1,270
23	Riverdale Park	CDP	1,128
24	Grayson	CDP	952
25	Diablo Grande	CDP	826
26	Hickman	CDP	641
27	Westley	CDP	603
28	Crows Landing	CDP	355
29	Cowan	CDP	318
30	Valley Home	CDP	228
31	Monterey Park Tract	CDP	133

• List of museums in the San Joaquin Valley
• List of school districts in Stanislaus County, California
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Stanislaus County, California

• John T. Bramhall, The Story of Stanislaus. Modesto, CA: Modesto Herald, 1914.
• Sol P. Elias, Stories of Stanislaus: A Collection of Stories on the History and Achievement of Stanislaus County. Modesto, CA: Sol P. Elias, 1924.
• A Memorial and Biographical History of the Counties of Merced, Stanislaus, Calaveras, Tuolumne and Mariposa, California. Chicago: Lewis Publishing Co., 1892.

• Official website
• Connecting Stanislaus
• Visit Stanislaus
• Stanislaus County Fair
• California State University Stanislaus
• Modesto Junior College
• Stanislaus PRIDE Center
• Stanislaus County Farm Bureau
• Stanislaus County Free Library
• Stanislaus County Law Library
• Stanislaus County at the Wayback Machine (archived November 1, 1996)

37°34′N 120°59′W / 37.56°N 120.99°W / 37.56; -120.99