Chico, California

Chico is the most populous city in Butte County, California, United States. It sits in the Sacramento Valley region of Northern California and had a population of 101,475 at the 2020 census, up from 86,187 in 2010. It is the cultural and economic center of the northern Sacramento Valley and the most populous city in California north of the capital, Sacramento. The name is a Spanish word meaning boy or little. The first known inhabitants were the Mechoopda Maidu, who had a village within today's city boundaries. The City of Chico was founded in 1860 by John Bidwell, who had reached California with one of the first wagon trains in 1843, and it was incorporated on January 8, 1872. Chico is known as a college town, home to California State University, Chico, and for Bidwell Park, one of the largest urban parks in the world.