El Dorado County, California

El Dorado County is a county in California, United States, in the north-central part of the
state, its eastern edge running along the Nevada line above Lake Tahoe. It had a population of
191,185 at the 2020 census, an estimated 192,323 by 2025, and covers 1,708 square miles (4,424
km2) centred near 38°47′N 120°32′W.

Placerville is the county seat; its postal code is 95667. The county holds 2 cities, 10 census
designated places and a long tail of unincorporated communities scattered from the Gold Country
foothills up into the Sierra Nevada, and it runs on Pacific Time. Its FIPS code is 06017.

Towns & Villages in El Dorado County

El Dorado County has 2 incorporated cities and 10 census designated places with a 2020 count on
record, plus dozens of smaller unincorporated communities with no population of their own. CDP
stands for census designated place, a populated area with no local government; Unincorp. covers
crossroads and rural settlements.

The county has well over 100 additional named localities — ranch subdivisions, lake-shore
enclaves and old mining camps such as Kelsey, Volcanoville, Logtown and Grizzly Flat — that
have no census population of their own and are not listed individually here. Note the spelling
pair Grizzly Flats (the CDP, above) and Grizzly Flat (an older, separate mining-camp locality a
few miles east) — the two are not the same place despite the near-identical name.

ZIP Codes

• 95667 — Placerville
• 96150 — South Lake Tahoe
• 95762 — El Dorado Hills
• 95682 — Cameron Park and Shingle Springs
• 95619 — Diamond Springs
• 95726 — Pollock Pines
• 95634 — Georgetown and Auburn Lake Trails
• 95709 — Camino
• 95636 — Grizzly Flats
• 96142 — Tahoma
• 95613 — Coloma
• 95672 — Rescue
• 95633 — Garden Valley
• 95684 — Somerset
• 95720 — Kyburz

Cold Springs, Fair Play, Greenwood, Twin Bridges, Pilot Hill, Camp Richardson, Echo Lake, El
Dorado, Strawberry, Omo Ranch, Outingdale and Phillips have no ZIP code of their own; mail there
is delivered under a neighboring town’s code.

Geography

El Dorado County climbs from the Sacramento Valley’s eastern edge, through the oak-covered
Gold Country foothills, into the granite peaks of the Sierra Nevada, ending at Lake Tahoe’s
south shore. Of its 1,708 square miles, roughly 1,682 are land and 26 are water — most of
that water frontage on Lake Tahoe itself, split with three neighboring counties. Freel Peak, at
10,886 feet, is the county’s highest point and the tallest peak entirely within El Dorado
County. The South Fork American River, where James Marshall found gold in 1848, cuts through the
county’s western half past Coloma and Placerville.

Placer County lies to the north, Douglas County, Nevada, to the northeast across the Sierra
crest, Alpine County to the southeast, Amador County to the south, and Sacramento County to the
west. Placer County, Douglas County, Nevada, Alpine County, Amador County and Sacramento County all border El
Dorado directly.

Demographics

El Dorado County had a population of 191,185 at the 2020 census, and the latest estimate puts
the county near 192,323 residents. El Dorado Hills and South Lake Tahoe are the two largest
communities, together holding more than a third of the county’s population. California’s
statewide median household income runs $95,521 (2023 ACS). Population density works out to about
114 people per square mile of land, split unevenly between the dense western foothill suburbs
near Sacramento and the sparsely populated Sierra high country around Tahoe.

Economy & Local Life

El Dorado County’s economy splits between two very different halves: the western
foothills, a bedroom community for the Sacramento metro area, and South Lake Tahoe, a
year-round tourism and resort economy. Government, health care and retail trade employ the
largest shares of workers on the west slope, while accommodation, food service and ski-resort
operations dominate around the lake. Heavenly Mountain Resort, straddling the California–
Nevada line above South Lake Tahoe, is the county’s largest single employer in tourism,
running lift-served skiing in winter and a gondola and mountain-coaster operation in summer. The
Apple Hill growing district, spread across ranches near Camino and Pollock Pines, draws visitors
each fall for apple picking, cider pressing and pumpkin patches at more than 50 family farms. El
Dorado County also produces wine, with dozens of small wineries concentrated around the Fair Play
and Camino appellations. The county’s biggest annual event is the Apple Hill harvest season,
running September through December.

History

El Dorado County was one of California’s original 27 counties, created at statehood on
February 18, 1850, and named for the legendary city of gold, El Dorado. On January 24, 1848,
James Marshall found gold flakes in the tailrace of Sutter’s Mill at Coloma, on the South
Fork American River, an event that touched off the California Gold Rush the following year.
Coloma briefly served as the county seat before Placerville, then known as Hangtown for its
early record of vigilante justice, took over in 1857 and has held the seat since. The Marshall
Gold Discovery site at Coloma has been a state historic park since 1942 and a National Historic
Landmark since 1961.

Getting There

US Route 50 is the county’s main east–west corridor, running from Sacramento through
Placerville and up to South Lake Tahoe and the Nevada line; the county has no interstate
highway. State Routes 49, 89, 88, 153 and 193 also cross the county.

• Sacramento — about 40 miles west
• Reno, Nevada — about 60 miles northeast
• Stockton — about 60 miles southwest
• Auburn — about 20 miles north

Sacramento International Airport, about 50 miles west of Placerville, is the nearest major
commercial airport. Lake Tahoe Airport, on South Lake Tahoe’s south side, handles general
aviation. Amtrak does not serve El Dorado County directly; the nearest station is in Sacramento,
reached by connecting bus service.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is El Dorado County located?
It sits east of Sacramento, running from the Gold Country foothills up into the Sierra Nevada to
Lake Tahoe’s south shore, bordered by Placer, Douglas (Nevada), Alpine, Amador and
Sacramento counties.

What is the population of El Dorado County?
191,185 at the 2020 census, with a 2025 estimate near 192,323.

How big is El Dorado County?
1,708 square miles (4,424 km2), of which about 1,682 square miles are land.

What is the county seat of El Dorado County?
Placerville, formerly known as Hangtown, is the county seat.

How many towns and cities are in El Dorado County?
Two incorporated cities — Placerville and South Lake Tahoe — plus ten census
designated places, including El Dorado Hills and Cameron Park, and dozens of smaller
unincorporated communities.

What ZIP codes does El Dorado County use?
95667 for Placerville, 96150 for South Lake Tahoe, 95762 for El Dorado Hills, 95682 for Cameron
Park and Shingle Springs, and 95619, 95726, 95634, 95709, 95636, 96142 and 95613 for the
county’s smaller communities.

What is El Dorado County known for?
The 1848 gold discovery at Coloma that sparked the California Gold Rush, the Apple Hill orchards
near Camino, and the South Lake Tahoe resorts on the shore of Lake Tahoe.

More counties in this state: Towns and villages in California.