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Merced County, California

County

County of Merced

Images, from top down, left to right: The historic Merced Theatre, San Luis Reservoir, UC Merced, The B-29A Super Fortress exhibit at the Castle Air Museum in Atwater

Seal

Location in the state of California

Country

United States

State

California

Region

San Joaquin Valley

Incorporated

April 19, 1855

Named for

Merced River, originally El Río de Nuestra Señora de la Merced ("River of Our Lady of Mercy" in Spanish).

County seat

Merced

Largest city

Merced

Government

• Type

Council–CEO

• Body

Board of Supervisors

Area

• Total

1,979 sq mi (5,130 km²)

• Land

1,935 sq mi (5,010 km²)

• Water

44 sq mi (110 km²)

Highest elevation

3,801 ft (1,159 m)

Population

(2020)

• Total

281,202

• Density

142.09/sq mi (54.862/km²)

Time zone

UTC−8 (Pacific Time Zone)

• Summer (DST)

UTC−7 (Pacific Daylight Time)

ZIP code

93620, 93635, 93661, 93665, 95301, 95303, 95312, 95315, 95317, 95322, 95324, 95333, 95334, 95388, 95340, 95341, 95343, 95344, 95348, 95365, 95369, 95374

Area code

209

FIPS code

06-047

GNIS feature ID

277288

Congressional district

13th

Merced County (ⁱ/mərˈsɛd/ mər-SED) is a county located in the northern San Joaquin Valley section of the Central Valley, in the U.S. state of California.

As of the 2020 census, the population was 281,202. The county seat is Merced. The county is named after the Merced River.

Merced County comprises the Merced, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Modesto-Merced, CA Combined Statistical Area. It is located north of Fresno County and Fresno, and southeast of Santa Clara County and San Jose.

History

The county derives its name from the Merced River, or El Río de Nuestra Señora de la Merced (River of Our Lady of Mercy), named in 1806 by an expedition headed by Gabriel Moraga, which came upon it at the end of a hot dusty ride on the El Camino Viejo across the San Joaquin Valley in Spanish colonial Las Californias Province.

Between 1841 and 1844, during the period when Alta California was a territory of independent Mexico, four Mexican land grants were made in what became Merced County: Rancho Orestimba y Las Garzas, Rancho Panoche de San Juan y Los Carrisolitos, Rancho San Luis Gonzaga, and Rancho Sanjon de Santa Rita

Merced County was formed in 1855 from parts of Mariposa County. Parts of its territory were given to Fresno County in 1856.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,979 square miles (5,130 km²), of which 1,935 square miles (5,010 km²) is land and 44 square miles (110 km²) (2.2%) is water.

National protected areas

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1860	1,141	—
1870	2,807	146.0%
1880	5,656	101.5%
1890	8,085	42.9%
1900	9,215	14.0%
1910	15,148	64.4%
1920	24,579	62.3%
1930	36,748	49.5%
1940	46,988	27.9%
1950	69,780	48.5%
1960	90,446	29.6%
1970	104,629	15.7%
1980	134,560	28.6%
1990	178,403	32.6%
2000	210,554	18.0%
2010	255,793	21.5%
2020	281,202	9.9%
2023 (est.)	291,920	14.1%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790–1960 1900–1990 1990–2000 2010 2020

2020 census

**Merced County, California - Demographic Profile**
(*NH = Non-Hispanic*)
Race / Ethnicity	Pop 2010	Pop 2020	% 2010	% 2020
White alone (NH)	81,599	68,729	31.90%	24.44%
Black or African American alone (NH)	8,785	8,191	3.43%	2.91%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	1,126	1,164	0.44%	0.41%
Asian alone (NH)	18,183	19,824	7.11%	7.05%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)	476	617	0.19%	0.22%
Some Other Race alone (NH)	439	1,242	0.17%	0.44%
Mixed Race/Multi-Racial (NH)	4,700	7,578	1.84%	2.69%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	140,485	173,857	54.92%	61.83%
Total	255,793	281,202	100.00%	100.00%

Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.

2011

Population, race, and income
Total population	253,606
White	170,229	67.1%
Black or African American	9,837	3.9%
American Indian or Alaska Native	2,617	1.0%
Asian	18,904	7.5%
Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander	517	0.2%
Some other race	43,893	17.3%
Two or more races	7,609	3.0%
Hispanic or Latino (of any race)	137,974	54.4%
Per capita income	$18,304
Median household income	$43,945
Median family income	$48,429

Places by population, race, and income

Places by population and race
Place	Type	Population	White	Other	Asian	Black or African American	Native American	Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
Atwater	City	27,922	66.0%	21.6%	7.0%	4.3%	1.1%	49.2%
Ballico	CDP	384	72.1%	24.7%	1.6%	0.0%	1.6%	49.2%
Bear Creek	CDP	188	44.7%	55.3%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	89.4%
Cressey	CDP	614	57.0%	42.3%	0.7%	0.0%	0.0%	63.7%
Delhi	CDP	9,892	59.0%	28.9%	7.1%	2.2%	2.8%	67.8%
Dos Palos	City	4,940	79.6%	18.1%	0.0%	2.0%	0.3%	66.5%
Dos Palos Y	CDP	207	77.3%	22.7%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	65.2%
El Nido	CDP	297	44.1%	55.9%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	72.4%
Franklin	CDP	5,766	71.4%	14.8%	6.6%	2.5%	4.7%	56.4%
Gustine	City	5,484	85.8%	13.2%	0.3%	0.0%	0.6%	56.1%
Hilmar-Irwin	CDP	5,224	95.1%	3.6%	1.0%	0.2%	0.0%	9.2%
Le Grand	CDP	1,893	51.8%	47.4%	0.0%	0.0%	0.8%	88.4%
Livingston	City	12,899	48.0%	32.8%	17.5%	0.9%	0.9%	71.5%
Los Banos	City	35,252	81.0%	11.3%	3.3%	3.9%	0.5%	67.4%
McSwain	CDP	4,041	82.8%	8.8%	6.7%	0.3%	1.4%	20.6%
Merced	City	78,111	56.1%	24.1%	11.4%	6.8%	1.7%	49.6%
Planada	CDP	4,366	52.3%	44.2%	1.2%	1.6%	0.8%	96.2%
Santa Nella	CDP	1,292	84.1%	12.0%	0.0%	3.9%	0.0%	70.4%
Snelling	CDP	97	100.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	3.1%
South Dos Palos	CDP	2,144	88.9%	10.0%	0.0%	1.1%	0.0%	94.1%
Stevinson	CDP	132	53.8%	46.2%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	46.2%
Tuttle	CDP	21	100.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
University of California, Merced	CDP	0	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Volta	CDP	126	100.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	55.6%
Winton	CDP	11,742	61.2%	28.4%	8.2%	1.6%	0.7%	74.5%

2010 census

The 2010 United States Census reported that Merced County had a population of 255,793. The racial makeup of Merced County was 148,381 (58.0%) White, 9,926 (3.9%) African American, 3,473 (1.4%) Native American, 18,836 (7.4%) Asian, 583 (0.2%) Pacific Islander, 62,665 (24.5%) from other races, and 11,929 (4.7%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 140,485 persons (54.9%).

Population reported at 2010 United States Census
The County	Total Population	White	African American	Native American	Asian	Pacific Islander	other races	two or more races	Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
Merced County	255,793	148,381	9,926	3,473	18,836	583	62,665	11,929	140,485
Incorporated city	Total Population	White	African American	Native American	Asian	Pacific Islander	other races	two or more races	Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
Atwater	28,168	18,410	1,225	364	1,416	76	5,300	1,377	14,808
Dos Palos	4,950	3,377	167	62	37	4	1,075	228	3,075
Gustine	5,520	3,875	73	54	95	8	1,191	224	2,769
Livingston	13,058	5,263	106	348	2,223	18	4,547	553	9,547
Los Banos	35,972	20,846	1,354	512	1,162	134	10,123	1,841	23,346
Merced	78,958	41,177	4,958	1,153	9,342	174	17,804	4,350	39,140
Census-designated place	Total Population	White	African American	Native American	Asian	Pacific Islander	other races	two or more races	Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
Ballico	406	237	2	3	11	2	128	23	210
Bear Creek	290	156	4	2	14	0	93	21	170
Cressey	394	253	1	3	15	1	95	26	195
Delhi	10,755	5,655	118	157	405	30	3,930	460	7,706
Dos Palos Y	323	225	1	8	1	0	82	6	197
El Nido	330	162	0	7	9	0	147	5	245
Franklin	6,149	3,455	273	77	931	12	1,072	329	3,250
Hilmar-Irwin	5,197	4,475	15	23	87	1	439	157	916
Le Grand	1,659	869	19	35	17	1	659	59	1,357
McSwain	4,171	3,196	56	34	282	9	422	172	1,081
Planada	4,584	1,681	22	23	46	1	2,725	86	4,347
Santa Nella	1,380	832	22	25	31	0	433	37	968
Snelling	231	206	0	3	6	0	13	3	33
South Dos Palos	1,620	809	135	21	36	10	552	57	1,262
Stevinson	313	228	4	0	0	0	73	8	133
Tuttle	103	77	6	0	6	0	9	5	31
University of California, Merced	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Volta	246	201	7	0	1	4	29	4	132
Winton	10,613	5,696	175	140	701	8	3,455	438	7,566
Other unincorporated areas	Total Population	White	African American	Native American	Asian	Pacific Islander	other races	two or more races	Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
All others not CDPs (combined)	40,403	27,020	1,183	419	1,962	90	8,269	1,460	18,001

2000

As of the census of 2000, there were 210,554 people, 63,815 households, and 49,775 families residing in the county. The population density was 109 people per square mile (42 people/km²). There were 68,373 housing units at an average density of 36 units per square mile (14 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 56.2% White, 3.8% Black or African American, 1.2% Native American, 6.8% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 26.1% from other races, and 5.7% from two or more races. 45.3% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 6.6% were of Portuguese and 6.0% German ancestry according to Census 2000. 55.1% spoke English, 35.3% Spanish, 3.2% Hmong, 2.9% Portuguese and 1.0% Punjabi as their first language.

There were 63,815 households, out of which 45.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.8% were married couples living together, 14.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.0% were non-families. 17.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.25 and the average family size was 3.69.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 34.5% under the age of 18, 10.3% from 18 to 24, 27.9% from 25 to 44, 17.8% from 45 to 64, and 9.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females there were 99.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.6 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $35,532, and the median income for a family was $38,009. Males had a median income of $31,721 versus $23,911 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,257. About 16.9% of families and 21.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.4% of those under age 18 and 10.7% of those age 65 or over.

As of 2008, according to the Lao Family Community, a nonprofit organization, about 8,000 Hmong lived in Merced County.

Economy

According to America's Labor Market Information System 2014 report, the companies with the largest employment in Merced are, in alphabetical order:

Anberry Rehabilitation Hospital
Atwater Elementary Teachers
Bianchi & Sons Packing Co (produce)
E & J Gallo Winery
Foster Farms
Golden Valley Health Center
Hilmar Cheese Company
J. Marchini & Son (farming)
Liberty Packing Co
Live Oak Farms (produce)
Livingston District Office (education)
Malibu Boats West Inc
McLane Pacific (wholesale food services)
Merced County Human Services
Mercy Medical Center Merced
Pacific Gas and Electric Company
Quad/Graphics (printing)
Sensient Dehydrated Flavors
University of California, Merced
Walmart
Werner Co (ladders)
Western Marketing & Sales (farming)
Yosemite Wholesale Warehouse

Merced County grows 90% of California's sweet potato crop, due in part to the efforts of John Buttencourt Avila, called "the father of the sweet potato industry".

Transportation

Major highways

Interstate 5
State Route 33
State Route 59
State Route 99
State Route 140
State Route 152
State Route 165

Public transportation

Merced County Transit, or "The Bus", provides local service in Merced as well as connecting service between most cities in Merced County.
The University of California, Merced, operates its own transit system, Cat Tracks. This system connects with Merced County Transit.
Yosemite Area Regional Transportation System, or YARTS, connects Merced with Yosemite National Park.
Greyhound buses and Amtrak trains provide long-distance intercity service.

Airports

Merced Regional Airport, located two miles (3.2 km) southwest of downtown Merced, provides passenger air service. General aviation airports in the county include Castle Airport, Gustine Airport, and Los Banos Municipal Airport.

Communities

Cities

Census-designated places

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2010 census of Merced County.

† county seat

Rank	City/Town/etc.	Municipal type	Population (2010 Census)	Population (2018 CA Department of Finance)
1	† Merced	City	78,958	86,750
2	Los Banos	City	35,972	40,986
3	Atwater	City	28,168	31,235
4	Livingston	City	13,058	14,328
5	Delhi	CDP	10,755
6	Winton	CDP	10,613
7	Franklin-Beachwood	CDP	6,149
8	Gustine	City	5,520	5,874
9	Hilmar-Irwin	CDP	5,197
10	Dos Palos	City	4,950	5,679
11	Planada	CDP	4,584
12	McSwain	CDP	4,171
13	Le Grand	CDP	1,659
14	South Dos Palos	CDP	1,620
15	Santa Nella	CDP	1,380
16	Ballico	CDP	406
17	Cressey	CDP	394
18	El Nido	CDP	330
19	Dos Palos Y	CDP	323
20	Stevinson	CDP	313
21	Bear Creek	CDP	290
22	Volta	CDP	246
23	Snelling	CDP	231
24	Tuttle	CDP	103

Education

School districts include:

K-12:

Dos Palos-Oro Loma Joint Unified School District
Delhi Unified School District
Gustine Unified School District
Hilmar Unified School District
Los Banos Unified School District
Turlock Unified School District

Secondary:

Le Grand Union High School District
Merced Union High School District

Elementary:

Atwater Elementary School District
Ballico-Cressey Elementary School District
El Nido Elementary School District
Le Grand Union Elementary School District
Livingston Union School District
McSwain Union Elementary School District
Merced City Elementary School District
Merced River Union Elementary School District
Plainsburg Union Elementary School District
Planada Elementary School District
Snelling-Merced Falls Union Elementary School District
Weaver Union Elementary School District
Winton School District

University of California Merced is in the county.

Places of interest

The former Castle Air Force Base and the United States Penitentiary, Atwater are located in an unincorporated area near Atwater.