Shasta County, California

Shasta County is a county in California, United States, about 160 miles north of Sacramento in
the northern Sacramento Valley. It had a population of 182,155 at the 2020 census, an estimated
181,648 by 2025, and covers 3,847 square miles (9,960 km2) centred near 40°46′N 122°02′W.

Redding is the county seat and the county’s largest city; its postal code is 96001. The
county holds 3 incorporated cities and 28 census-designated communities with no township
government of their own — California abolished civil townships in the 19th century —
and it runs on Pacific Time. Its FIPS code is 06089.

Towns & Villages in Shasta County

Shasta County has 31 named places on record: 3 incorporated cities and 28 census-designated
places (CDPs) with no municipal government of their own. CDP stands for census designated place,
the Census Bureau’s term for a populated, unincorporated community with defined boundaries.

Four names on this list are easy to confuse. Shasta County is the whole 3,847-square-mile
jurisdiction; Shasta, the CDP with 1,043 residents, is a single Gold Rush-era settlement inside
it; and Shasta Lake, the city of 10,371, is a separate incorporated place named for the reservoir
next to it, not the CDP. Mount Shasta, the volcano the county itself is named for, sits well to
the north in Siskiyou County and has no settlement of that name here.

ZIP Codes

• 96001, 96002, 96003 — Redding
• 96007 — Anderson
• 96019 — Shasta Lake
• 96022 — Cottonwood
• 96008 — Bella Vista
• 96013 — Burney
• 96073 — Palo Cedro
• 96088 — Shingletown
• 96087 — Shasta (post office box only)
• 96062 — Millville
• 96028 — Fall River Mills
• 96051 — Lakehead
• 96033 — French Gulch
• 96056 — McArthur
• 96096 — Whitmore
• 96040 — Hat Creek
• 96017 — Castella
• 96016 — Cassel
• 96065 — Montgomery Creek
• 96084 — Round Mountain (post office box only)
• 96069 — Oak Run
• 96047 — Igo
• 96011 — Big Bend (post office box only)
• 96071 — Old Station
• 96076 — Platina

Happy Valley, Jones Valley, Mountain Gate, Johnson Park, Keswick and Ono have no ZIP code of
their own; mail there is delivered under the nearest incorporated town’s code.

Geography

Shasta County sits where the northern Sacramento Valley meets the southern Cascade Range.
Mountains line the county on the north, east and west; the valley floor opens south toward
Tehama County. Of its 3,847 square miles, 3,775 are land and 72 are water, about 1.9 percent
— most of it Shasta Lake, California’s largest reservoir by capacity, formed by Shasta
Dam on the Sacramento River. The Sacramento River itself runs the length of the county, through
Redding and south past Anderson and Cottonwood. Whiskeytown Lake, west of Redding inside the
Whiskeytown National Recreation Area, is the county’s second major reservoir, and the
northwestern corner of Lassen Volcanic National Park reaches into the county’s southeast.

Siskiyou County lies to the north, Modoc County to the northeast, Lassen County to the east,
Plumas County to the southeast, Tehama County to the south, and Trinity County to the west.
Siskiyou County,
Modoc County,
Lassen County,
Plumas County and
Tehama County all border Shasta
directly; Trinity County does too, but has no live post of its own on this site to link to.

Demographics

Shasta County had a population of 182,155 at the 2020 census, and the latest estimate puts the
county near 181,648 residents, a slight decline. Redding and Anderson are the two largest
incorporated communities, together holding well over half the county’s population. Median
household income runs $72,636, well below California’s statewide figure of $95,521 (2023
ACS). Population density works out to roughly 48 people per square mile of land, low for
California and typical of the mountainous northern part of the state.

Economy & Local Life

Health care and social assistance employs the most workers in the county, about 12,000 people,
followed by retail trade at roughly 9,223 and educational services at about 6,609. Mercy Medical
Center and Shasta Regional Medical Center, both in Redding, are the county’s two largest
hospitals. Shasta County government and the City of Redding are among the largest public-sector
employers, alongside Walmart and Shasta College. Sierra Pacific Industries, one of the largest
private landowners and lumber producers in the United States, is headquartered in Anderson.
Shasta Speedway, also in Anderson, hosts an annual ARCA Menards Series West stock car race, one
of the county’s biggest motorsports draws.

History

Shasta County was one of California’s original 27 counties, formed on 18 February 1850 at
statehood. It takes its name from Mount Shasta, which in turn takes its name from the Shasta
people, whose homeland covered much of the surrounding region.

Gold discovered near the town of Shasta in 1848 drew Forty-Niners up the Siskiyou Trail, and by
the 1850s Shasta had grown into a commercial hub of about 3,500 people, serving as a supply base
and stagecoach terminus for the mining camps of northern California; it was the county seat.
The Central Pacific Railroad bypassed the town in 1873 in favor of the newly founded settlement of
Redding, and Shasta formally lost the county seat to Redding in 1888. Today the old town survives
as Shasta State Historic Park, with several of its original 19th-century brick buildings still
standing. More recently, the 1992 Fountain Fire burned more than 63,000 acres east of Redding,
one of the costliest wildfires in the county’s history.

Getting There

Interstate 5 crosses the county north to south through Redding, Anderson, Shasta Lake and
Cottonwood. State Routes 36, 44, 89, 151, 273 and 299 also cross the county, with 299 running east
through Burney and Fall River Mills and 44 running southeast toward Shingletown.

• Sacramento — about 162 miles south
• Weed — about 69 miles north
• Anderson — about 9 miles south of Redding

Redding Municipal Airport, on the south side of the city, offers scheduled passenger service
and is the county’s only commercial airport. Amtrak’s Coast Starlight stops daily in
both directions at the Redding station, connecting to Seattle and Los Angeles.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Shasta County located?
It sits in northern California where the Sacramento Valley meets the southern Cascade Range,
about 160 miles north of Sacramento, bordered by Siskiyou, Modoc, Lassen, Plumas, Tehama and
Trinity counties.

What is the population of Shasta County?
182,155 at the 2020 census, with a 2025 estimate near 181,648.

How big is Shasta County?
3,847 square miles (9,960 km2), of which 3,775 square miles are land.

What is the county seat of Shasta County?
Redding, the county’s largest city, is the county seat; the town of Shasta held the title
before it, until 1888.

How many towns and cities are in Shasta County?
Three incorporated cities — Redding, Anderson and Shasta Lake — plus 28
census-designated places, from Cottonwood (6,268 residents) down to Platina (13).

What ZIP codes does Shasta County use?
96001 through 96003 for Redding, 96007 for Anderson, 96019 for Shasta Lake, and separate codes
for most of the county’s larger CDPs, including 96022 Cottonwood, 96013 Burney and 96073
Palo Cedro.

What is Shasta County known for?
Shasta Lake and Shasta Dam, Whiskeytown National Recreation Area, and the Gold Rush ghost town of
Shasta, now preserved as a state historic park.

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