Amador County is a county in California, United States, in the Sierra Nevada foothills known as the Mother Lode Gold Country. It had a population of 40,474 at the 2020 census and covers 595 square miles (1,540 km2) of land centred near 38\u00b026\u2032N 120\u00b040\u2032W.<\/p>\n
Jackson is the county seat, and its postal code is 95642. The county has five incorporated cities, several unincorporated communities and historic mining camps, no CDP-level townships, sits in the Pacific time zone, and carries FIPS code 06-005.<\/p>\n
Amador County has five incorporated cities — Jackson, Sutter Creek, Amador City, Ione and Plymouth — plus a scatter of unincorporated communities and 19th-century mining camps left over from the Gold Rush, several of them now near-ghost towns. The list below carries over every settlement named in the county’s earlier records; a handful of tiny mining-camp names have no reliable modern population count and are marked accordingly.<\/p>\n
| Place<\/th>\n | Type<\/th>\n | Pop.<\/th>\n | ZIP<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jackson<\/td>\n | City · seat<\/td>\n | 4,637<\/td>\n | 95642<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Ione<\/td>\n | City<\/td>\n | 7,918<\/td>\n | 95640<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Sutter Creek<\/td>\n | City<\/td>\n | 2,469<\/td>\n | 95685<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Plymouth<\/td>\n | City<\/td>\n | 1,020<\/td>\n | 95669<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Amador City<\/td>\n | City<\/td>\n | 185<\/td>\n | 95601<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Pine Grove<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 95665<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Pioneer<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 95666<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Martell<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 95654<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Camanche North Shore<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Camanche Village<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| River Pines<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Buena Vista<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Fiddletown<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 95629<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Drytown<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 95699<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Volcano<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 95689<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Kirkwood<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Pine Acres<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Sutter Hill<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Carbondale<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Clinton<\/td>\n | Unincorp. (historic)<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Enterprise<\/td>\n | Unincorp. (historic)<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| New Chicago<\/td>\n | Unincorp. (historic)<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Red Corral<\/td>\n | Unincorp. (historic)<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Lockwood<\/td>\n | Unincorp. (historic)<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Amador Pines<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Electra<\/td>\n | Unincorp. (historic mining camp)<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Kit Carson<\/td>\n | Unincorp. (historic mining camp)<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Bunker Hill<\/td>\n | Unincorp. (historic mining camp)<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Clarksona<\/td>\n | Unincorp. (historic mining camp)<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Buckhorn<\/td>\n | Unincorp. (historic mining camp)<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n Camanche North Shore and Camanche Village sit on opposite banks of Camanche Reservoir and are easy to mix up on a map — the North Shore side is the larger census-designated place.<\/p>\n ZIP Codes<\/h2>\nSmaller mining-camp communities such as Kit Carson, Clarksona and Electra share ZIP codes with the nearest larger post office town and are not listed separately.<\/p>\n Geography<\/h2>\nAmador County climbs from the Central Valley floor near the San Joaquin River up through oak-studded Gold Country foothills into the granite high country of the Sierra Nevada crest, where the Mokelumne River canyon and Kirkwood ski area sit above 7,000 feet. The Mokelumne River forms much of the county’s southern boundary and feeds Camanche Reservoir and Pardee Reservoir, both major water-supply lakes. The county covers 595 square miles of land and 11.4 square miles of water.<\/p>\n Amador County borders El Dorado County<\/a> to the north, Alpine County<\/a> to the east, Calaveras County<\/a> to the south, and San Joaquin County<\/a> and Sacramento County<\/a> to the west.<\/p>\n Amador County had 40,474 residents at the 2020 census, giving a density of about 68 people per square mile. Ione, with 7,918 residents, is the county’s largest city; Jackson, the seat, is second at 4,637. Median household income runs below the California median of $95,521 — Amador is a smaller, rural county with an economy weighted toward tourism, agriculture and state institutions rather than the high-wage sectors concentrated in the Bay Area and Sacramento metro.<\/p>\n Wine is the county’s best-known industry: Amador is part of the Shenandoah Valley and Fiddletown AVAs and is home to more than 40 wineries, with Zinfandel its signature grape. Tourism tied to Gold Rush history, Camanche and Pardee reservoirs, and the Kirkwood mountain resort supports much of the service economy. Two state prisons, Mule Creek State Prison and Sierra Conservation Center’s Amador satellite, are among the county’s largest employers, along with the Amador County Unified School District and local government.<\/p>\n Amador County was formed in 1854 from parts of Calaveras County, during the peak years of the California Gold Rush, and takes its name from Jos\u00e9 Mar\u00eda Amador, a rancher and mine operator who worked a gold camp in the area in the late 1840s. Jackson, Sutter Creek, Amador City, Drytown and Volcano were all significant Mother Lode mining towns; the Kennedy Mine near Jackson was, for a time, one of the deepest gold mines in North America. Much of the county’s built heritage from that era survives along Highway 49, and Jackson’s downtown is a designated historic district.<\/p>\n State Routes 16, 49 and 88 are the county’s main roads, with Highway 49 running the length of the historic Mother Lode district and Highway 88 climbing east over Carson Pass into the Sierra Nevada.<\/p>\n The nearest commercial airport is Sacramento International Airport; Amador County Airport near Jackson serves general aviation only.<\/p>\n Where is Amador County, California?<\/strong> What is the population of Amador County?<\/strong> How big is Amador County?<\/strong> What is the county seat of Amador County?<\/strong> How many towns and cities are in Amador County?<\/strong> |