Humboldt County is also widely known for its cultural attributes associated with the cultivation and proliferation of marijuana. Growers of relatively small amounts around 99 plants and up to 3 pounds are protected under county guidelines for medicinal use under the auspices of California Proposition 215 (1996). David Samuels of The New Yorker describes the county as "the heartland of high-grade marijuana farming in California."[10] The 2008 independent film Humboldt County centers on the county's marijuana cultivation subculture.
Humboldt is a densely forested, rural county situated in Northern California's rugged Coast (Mountain) Ranges. With nearly 1,500,000 acres (6,100 km) of combined public and private forest in production, Humboldt County accounts for twenty percent of the total forest production for all of California. The county contains over forty percent of all remaining old growth Coast Redwood forests, the vast majority of which is protected or strictly conserved within dozens of national, state, and local forests and parks, totaling approximately 680,000 acres (over 1,000 square miles).
As of the 2000 United States Census, there were 126,518 people and 51,238 households in Humboldt County, and the population density was 35 people per square mile (14/km²). By 2006, the population was projected to have increased to 131,361 by the California Department of Finance. There were 55,912 housing units at an average density of 16 per square mile (6/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 84.71% White, 0.88% Black or African American, 5.72% Native American, 1.65% Asian, 0.19% Pacific Islander, 2.45% from other races, and 4.39% from two or more races. 6.49% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 13.3% were of German, 10.7% Irish, 10.3% English, 7.4% American and 5.7% Italian ancestry according to Census 2000. 92.1% spoke English and 4.6% Spanish as their first language.
There were 51,238 households out of which 28.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.1% were married couples living together, 11.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.2% were non-families. 28.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.95.
In the county the population was spread out with 23.2% under the age of 18, 12.4% from 18 to 24, 27.4% from 25 to 44, 24.5% from 45 to 64, and 12.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 97.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.6 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $31,226, and the median income for a family was $39,370. Males had a median income of $32,210 versus $23,942 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,203. About 12.9% of families and 19.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.5% of those under age 18 and 7.2% of those age 65 or over.
Arcata-Eureka Airport is located in McKinleyville (north of Arcata). Commercial flights are available. Other (general aviation) airports are located at Dinsmore, Garberville, Kneeland, Murray Field (Eureka) and Rohnerville (Fortuna).
Port of Humboldt Bay - on Humboldt Bay, California's second largest natural bay.