San Benito County located in the Coast Range Mountains of the U.S. state of California. The county seat is Hollister, which includes three fifths of the county's population. As housing costs have gone up in the San Francisco Bay Area, commuters have begun moving to San Benito County. San Benito County was formed in 1874 and named after the San Benito Valley. The county has a total area of 1,391 mi², 99.9% of it is land and 0.1% of it is water. As of 2000, there were 53,234 people, 15,885 households, and 12,898 families residing in the county.