The only incorported city in the county is Portola.
History
Plumas County was formed from parts of Butte County in 1854. Parts of the county's territory were given to Lassen County in 1864.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 6,769 km² (2,613 mi²). 6,614 km² (2,554 mi²) of it is land and 155 km² (60 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 2.29% water.
Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there are 20,824 people, 9,000 households, and 6,047 families residing in the county. The population density is 3/km² (8/mi²). There are 13,386 housing units at an average density of 2/km² (5/mi²). The racial makeup of the county is 91.78% White, 0.62% Black or African American, 2.55% Native American, 0.53% Asian, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 1.81% from other races, and 2.61% from two or more races. 5.65% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 9,000 households out of which 26.40% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.40% are married couples living together, 8.00% have a female householder with no husband present, and 32.80% are non-families. 27.50% of all households are made up of individuals and 10.10% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.29 and the average family size is 2.77.
In the county the population is spread out with 22.70% under the age of 18, 6.00% from 18 to 24, 22.60% from 25 to 44, 30.80% from 45 to 64, and 17.90% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 44 years. For every 100 females there are 99.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 97.90 males.
The median income for a household in the county is $36,351, and the median income for a family is $46,119. Males have a median income of $38,742 versus $25,734 for females. The per capita income for the county is $19,391. 13.10% of the population and 9.00% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 16.70% are under the age of 18 and 6.40% are 65 or older.
Cities and towns