Proposed New Counties for California

Antelope County

• County Seat: Lancaster
• Formed from: Los Angeles
• Antelope County would separate the Antelope Valley north of the San Gabriel Mountains and east of I-5 from the rest of Los Angeles County. The larger cities of Lancaster and Palmdale would be affected.

Cajon County

• County Seat: Victorville
• Formed from: San Bernardino
• Cajon County is one of four proposed counties to be carved from San Bernardino County, currently the county with the largest land area in the United States. The area includes locations immediately north of Cajon Pass but south of Barstow. The cities of Victorville, Apple Valley, and Hesperia would be affected.

Coachella County

• County Seat: Palm Springs
• Formed from: Riverside and San Bernardino
• Coachella County would encompass the Coachella Valley cities of Palm Springs, Indio, and Cathedral City, plus Twentynine Palms and Joshua Tree National Park. These cities are economically and geographically separate from the Inland Empire area of the western parts of their current counties.

Colorado County

• County Seat: Needles
• Formed from: Riverside and San Bernardino
• Colorado County would include the Colorado River valley of California north of Imperial County. The two principal cities of this region, Needles and Blythe, are relatively small, but each is over two hundred miles from its county's seat.

Mojave County

• County Seat: Barstow
• Formed from: San Bernardino
• Mojave County encompasses the majority of present-day San Bernardino County. Since most of San Bernardino County's population is concentrated in the San Bernardino and Victorville areas, and Needles is over a hundred miles from Barstow in the other direction, those places should be set aside in their own counties. This is what is left.

Palomar County

• County Seat: Oceanside
• Formed from: San Diego
• San Diego County isn't as large or diverse as San Bernardino County or Riverside County, but the northern half of the county has its own large urban area, Oceanside-Carlsbad-Escondido. This area is growing as San Diego and Los Angeles reach closer to each other, but its relationship to the city of San Diego is similar to suburban Orange County's ties to Los Angeles.