Mendocino County is a county in California, United States, on the North Coast about 110 miles
north of San Francisco. It had a population of 91,601 at the 2020 census, an estimated 88,122 by
2025, and covers 3,878 square miles (10,040 km2) centred near 39°28′N 123°24′W.
Ukiah is the county seat; its postal code is 95482. The county holds 4 incorporated cities and
dozens of unincorporated communities strung along US 101 and the coast, and it runs on Pacific
Time. Its FIPS code is 06045.
Towns & Villages in Mendocino County
Mendocino County has 4 incorporated cities and more than a dozen census-recognized communities
with 2020 population figures, plus many smaller unincorporated places — ranches, mill sites
and rural crossroads — too small for the Census Bureau to track separately. CDP stands for
census designated place; Unincorp. covers hamlets and named localities with no Census Bureau
population count of their own.
| Place | Type | Pop. | ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ukiah | City · seat | 16,075 | 95482 |
| Fort Bragg | City | 6,983 | 95437 |
| Willits | City | 4,988 | 95490 |
| Point Arena | City | 460 | 95468 |
| Brooktrails | CDP | 3,632 | 95490 |
| Redwood Valley | CDP | 1,843 | 95470 |
| Covelo | CDP | 1,394 | 95428 |
| Laytonville | CDP | 1,152 | 95454 |
| Boonville | CDP | 1,018 | 95415 |
| Talmage | CDP | 986 | 95481 |
| Mendocino | CDP | 932 | 95460 |
| Calpella | CDP | 799 | 95418 |
| Potter Valley | CDP | 665 | 95469 |
| Hopland | CDP | 661 | 95449 |
| Philo | CDP | 319 | 95466 |
| Comptche | CDP | 167 | 95427 |
| Leggett | CDP | 77 | 95585 |
| Little River | CDP | 94 | 95456 |
| Caspar | Unincorp. | — | 95420 |
| Albion | Unincorp. | — | 95410 |
| Elk | Unincorp. | — | 95432 |
| Gualala | Unincorp. | — | 95445 |
| Anchor Bay | Unincorp. | — | 95445 |
| Manchester | Unincorp. | — | 95459 |
| Yorkville | Unincorp. | — | 95494 |
| Westport | Unincorp. | — | 95488 |
| Piercy | Unincorp. | — | 95467 |
| Navarro | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Cleone | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Dos Rios | Unincorp. | — | — |
The 2020 count above is a lower bound on how many named places exist in Mendocino County. The
old version of this page listed more than 140 entries, but many were not communities at all —
individual ranch addresses like “Bredehoft Place” and “Card Place,” mobile
home parks such as Caravan MH Park and Wagon Wheel MH Park, and one duplicate line (“Soda
Springs” twice). Those are dropped here rather than presented as if they were towns. Two
coastal names are easy to confuse: Anchor Bay and Gualala sit a few miles apart on Highway 1 and
share the same 95445 ZIP code, and Albion and Little River are separate unincorporated villages
about three miles apart, both south of Fort Bragg on the same stretch of coast.
Geography
Mendocino County sits on California’s North Coast, a rugged belt of redwood-forested
mountains, coastal bluffs and inland valleys between San Francisco Bay and the Oregon border
region. Of its 3,878 square miles, 3,506 are land and 372 are water, close to 10 percent —
high for an inland-heavy county, reflecting the Pacific coastline running the county’s full
western edge plus Lake Mendocino, a reservoir on the Russian River north of Ukiah. The Eel River
drains the county’s northern half and the Russian River its southern interior; the coast
itself is largely undeveloped bluff and beach, including the Lost Coast’s southern reach
near Usal.
Humboldt County lies to the north, Trinity County to the northeast, Tehama and Glenn counties
to the east, Lake County to the southeast, and Sonoma County to the south.
this site; Humboldt County and Trinity County do not, as no live Mendocino-bordering post exists
for either at this time.
Demographics
Mendocino County had a population of 91,601 at the 2020 census, and the latest estimate puts
the county near 88,122 residents by 2025, a decline typical of rural North Coast counties over
the period. Ukiah and Fort Bragg are the two largest communities, together holding roughly a
quarter of the county’s population. Median household income runs $68,092 (2024 estimate),
below California’s statewide 2023 ACS figure of $95,521. Population density works out to
roughly 26 people per square mile of land, among the lowest of California’s coastal
counties.
Economy & Local Life
Health care and social assistance is the county’s largest employment sector, with about
5,487 workers, followed by retail trade at 4,223 and construction at 3,022. Ukiah Valley Medical
Center and county government are the two biggest employers in the county seat. Timber and wine
have long anchored the rest of the economy: Anderson Valley, around Boonville and Philo, is a
recognized American Viticultural Area known for Pinot Noir, and Fort Bragg’s harbor at Noyo
still supports a commercial fishing fleet built on a logging-era economy. Cannabis cultivation,
long associated with the county’s share of the “Emerald Triangle” with Humboldt
and Trinity counties, has been estimated to account for roughly a third of local economic activity
in past studies. The county’s biggest annual event is the Mendocino County Fair, held in
Boonville each September.
History
The California Legislature created Mendocino County on 18 February 1850, one of the state’s
original 27 counties. It takes its name from Cape Mendocino on the county’s northern coast,
itself probably named for Antonio de Mendoza, viceroy of New Spain from 1535 to 1542. Ukiah became
the county seat as the interior filled with settlers along the Russian River valley.
The county’s inland north holds a difficult chapter of that settlement. What is now the
Round Valley Indian Reservation near Covelo began in 1856 as the Nome Cult Farm, and in 1863 several
hundred Concow Maidu people were forcibly marched roughly 100 miles from the Sacramento Valley to
Round Valley, a passage remembered as the Nome Cult Trail. President Ulysses S. Grant formally
established the reservation by executive order in 1870, and it today houses a confederation of
Yuki, Wailaki, Concow, Little Lake, Pomo, Nomlaki and Pit River people.
Getting There
US 101 runs the length of the county through Ukiah, Willits and Laytonville; no interstate
highway crosses Mendocino County. State Routes 1, 20, 128, 162 and 271 branch off it, with Route 1
tracing the coast through Fort Bragg, Mendocino and Point Arena.
- Santa Rosa — about 65 miles south
- Eureka — about 100 miles north
- Sacramento — about 140 miles east
- San Francisco — about 155 miles south
Ukiah Municipal Airport handles general aviation; the nearest commercial air service is at
Sonoma County Airport near Santa Rosa, roughly 65 miles south. Amtrak does not serve Mendocino
County directly — its nearest connection is a Thruway motorcoach link to the rail network at
Martinez, further south in the Bay Area.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Mendocino County located?
It sits on California’s North Coast, about 110 miles north of San Francisco, bordered by
Humboldt, Trinity, Tehama, Glenn, Lake and Sonoma counties.
What is the population of Mendocino County?
91,601 at the 2020 census, with an estimated 88,122 residents by 2025.
How big is Mendocino County?
3,878 square miles (10,040 km2) in total, of which 3,506 square miles are land.
What is the county seat of Mendocino County?
Ukiah, the county’s largest city with 16,075 residents at the 2020 census.
How many towns and cities are in Mendocino County?
Four incorporated cities — Ukiah, Fort Bragg, Willits and Point Arena — plus more than
a dozen census-designated places, including Brooktrails, Redwood Valley, Covelo, Laytonville and
Boonville.
What ZIP codes does Mendocino County use?
95482 and 95418 for Ukiah and Calpella; 95437 for Fort Bragg; 95490 for Willits and Brooktrails;
95468 for Point Arena; and smaller codes such as 95460 for Mendocino and 95415 for Boonville.
What is Mendocino County known for?
Anderson Valley wine, redwood-coast tourism around the town of Mendocino, and its place in the
Emerald Triangle cannabis-growing region shared with Humboldt and Trinity counties.
More counties in this state: Towns and villages in California.