About Us
El Dorado County, located in east-central California, encompasses 1,805 square miles of rolling hills and mountainous terrain. The County’s western boundary contains part of Folsom Lake, and the eastern boundary is also the California-Nevada State line. The County is topographically divided into two zones. The northeast corner of the County is in the Lake Tahoe basin, while the remainder of the County is in the “western slope,” the area west of Echo Summit. This landscape invites residents and tourists alike to enjoy outdoor recreation activities year-round.
There are two municipalities within El Dorado County. The largest city in the County is the City of South Lake Tahoe, with a 2019 population of 22,197. The City of Placerville, the County seat, is located 45 miles northeast of Sacramento, the State capital. The City of Placerville has a 2019 population of 10,970. The remainder of the County’s approximate 156,000 residents lives outside of the two incorporated areas.
El Dorado County’s History
James W. Marshall discovered gold in Coloma on January 24, 1848, and the population of California and what would become El Dorado County, exploded with miners hoping to strike it rich. El Dorado, Spanish for "Golden One", was one of the original 27 Counties of the State of California, formed by an Act on February 18, 1850. Coloma was the first County seat of El Dorado County, but when the gold began to become scarce the County seat was moved to Placerville in 1857.
County Government
The County of El Dorado has operated under a charter since 1994. The Board of Supervisors is comprised of five members, one elected from each County district. The term of office is four years. Board members are limited to two consecutive terms. The Elections are held every two years with alternating years for District One, Two and Three and then District Four and Five. The Board of Supervisors has authority to perform all the duties vested in it by the Constitution, general law, and the charter. The Board of Supervisors appoints the Chief Administrative Officer, members of boards and commissions and non-elected department heads.
The Board of Supervisors hold regular sessions on Tuesdays at 9 a.m. in the Board of Supervisors’ meeting room, 330 Fair Lane, Placerville. To view the specific dates for this year’s Board meetings, agendas and minutes you may visit the Board’s web page. You can livestream the Board of Supervisors meetings by clicking here.
El Dorado County Statistical and Health Data
El Dorado County is one of about 3,141 counties and county equivalents in the United States and is one of 58 counties in California. It has 1,710.8 square miles in land area and a population density of 102.9 per square mile. In the last three decades of the 1900s its population grew by 256.6%. On the 2000 census form, 97.0% of the population reported only one race, with 0.5% of these reporting African-American. The population of this county is 9.3% Hispanic (of any race). The average household size is 2.63 persons compared to an average family size of 3.04 persons. In 2008 retail trade was the largest of 20 major sectors. It had an average wage per job of $28,339. Per capita income grew by 23.8% between 1997 and 2007 (adjusted for inflation). Click here for more El Dorado County statistical data(PDF, 21KB) . This information is being provided by STATS Indiana, the statistical data utility for the State of Indiana, developed and maintained since 1985 by the Indiana Business Research Center at Indiana University's Kelley School of Business. Major support provided by the Indiana Department of Workforce Development and Indiana University.
In 2013, El Dorado County was ranked as the 6th healthiest county in California, according to a national report just published by the University of Wisconsin’s Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Click here for more health and El Dorado County specific data.