About Chico The City of Chico was founded in 1860 by General John Bidwell, and incorporated in 1872 with a population of approximately 1,000 persons in an area of 6.6 square miles. The City of Chico, with recent annexations, has grown to over a 30.78 square mile Charter city of 84,396 with an urbanized, unincorporated area immediately adjacent to it making the total population of the Chico...