Merced County, California

County of Merced
County
149px 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
Official seal of County of Merced Seal
Location in the state of California
California's location in the United States
Coordinates:
Country	United States
State	California
Region	San Joaquin Valley
Incorporated	April 19, 1855
Named for	Merced River
County seat	Merced
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 (April 1, 2010)
• Total	255,793
• Estimate (2014)	266,353
• Density	130/sq mi (50/km2)
Time zone	Pacific Time Zone (UTC−8)
• Summer (DST)	Pacific Daylight Time (UTC−7)
Area code	209
FIPS code	06-047
GNIS feature ID	277288
Website	www.co.merced.ca.us

Merced County (/mərˈsɛd/ mər-SED), is a county located in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, the population was 255,793. 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 and southeast of 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.

Between 1841 and 1844, during the era when California was a province of independent Mexico, four Mexican grants were made in what became Merced County: Orestimba, Panoche de San Juan y Los Carrisalitos, San Luis Gonzaga and 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

• Merced National Wildlife Refuge
• San Luis National Wildlife Refuge

Demographics

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

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%
Est. 2014	266,353		4.1%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790–1960 1900–1990 1990–2000 2010–2014

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
Unincorporated communities	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/km²). There were 68,373 housing units at an average density of 36 per square mile (14/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.

Government

Merced County is a general law county, governed by a Board of Supervisors. The board consists of five members, elected by districts, who serve four-year terms.

State and federal representation

In the United States House of Representatives, Merced County is in California's 16th congressional district, represented by Democrat Jim Costa.

In the California State Legislature, Merced County is in the 21st Assembly District, represented by Democrat Adam Gray, and the 12th Senate District, represented by Republican Anthony Cannella.

Politics

Voter registration statistics

Population and registered voters
Total population	253,606
Registered voters	98,874	39.0%
Democratic	43,981	44.5%
Republican	32,767	33.1%
Democratic–Republican spread	+11,214	+11.4%
Independent	3,016	3.1%
Green	568	0.6%
Libertarian	483	0.5%
Peace and Freedom	318	0.3%
Americans Elect	2	0.0%
Other	180	0.2%
No party preference	17,559	17.8%

Cities by population and voter registration

Cities by population and voter registration
City	Population	Registered voters	Democratic	Republican	D–R spread	Other	No party preference
Atwater	27,922	41.0%	39.4%	37.4%	+2.0%	8.2%	18.3%
Dos Palos	4,940	38.0%	44.4%	35.0%	+9.4%	9.9%	14.9%
Gustine	5,484	38.3%	48.2%	30.3%	+17.9%	7.7%	17.0%
Livingston	12,899	34.6%	62.2%	15.9%	+46.3%	4.9%	18.9%
Los Banos	35,252	37.6%	50.1%	27.6%	+22.5%	7.8%	17.7%
Merced	78,111	41.0%	46.4%	30.2%	+16.2%	8.2%	18.3%

Overview

Merced County vote
by party in presidential elections

Year	GOP	DEM	Others
2012	44.3% 27,581	53.0% 33,005	2.7% 1,636
2008	45.0% 28,704	53.3% 34,031	1.7% 1,073
2004	56.5% 32,773	42.3% 24,491	1.2% 696
2000	51.8% 26,102	45.1% 22,726	3.2% 1,590
1996	44.4% 20,847	46.4% 21,786	9.2% 4,305
1992	36.5% 17,981	40.9% 20,133	22.7% 11,170
1988	51.2% 21,717	47.4% 20,105	1.4% 592
1984	58.9% 24,997	40.1% 17,012	1.1% 468
1980	48.8% 18,043	42.9% 15,886	8.3% 3,067
1976	46.1% 14,842	51.7% 16,637	2.3% 729
1972	54.3% 17,737	42.6% 13,914	3.5% 997
1968	40.9% 11,595	51.0% 14,453	8.1% 2,301
1964	31.2% 8,814	68.7% 19,431	0.1% 24
1960	43.4% 11,990	56.2% 15,545	0.4% 111
1956	46.0% 11,430	53.8% 13,366	0.2% 56
1952	53.3% 13,512	45.9% 11,639	0.9% 219
1948	42.6% 7,721	55.0% 9,959	2.5% 444
1944	41.3% 6,518	58.3% 9,192	0.4% 69
1940	36.4% 6,101	62.6% 10,501	1.1% 182
1936	25.5% 3,230	72.7% 9,208	1.8% 230
1932	27.2% 2,920	67.1% 7,202	5.7% 612
1928	60.2% 4,644	38.5% 2,970	1.4% 104
1924	52.9% 3,573	10.5% 710	36.5% 2,466
1920	63.0% 3,457	28.0% 1,537	9.0% 494

Previously reliably Democratic, Merced is now considered a bellwether county. It has voted for the winning candidate for president in every election since 1972. Democrat Barack Obama won a majority in the county in both 2008 and 2012. Republican George W. Bush won a majority in the county in both 2000 and 2004. This shift in favour of the Republican Party is a rarity given Californian politics' almost universal shift towards the Democratic Party in recent years. Since the opening of UC Merced, Merced County has tended to lean Democrat, with the student population favoring the Democratic Party.

According to the California Secretary of State, as of October 20, 2008, there are 97,179 registered voters in Merced County. Of those, 44,704 (46.0%) are registered Democratic, 35,955 (37.0%) are registered Republican, 3,090 (3.2%) are registered with other political parties, and 13,430 (13.8%) declined to state a political party. Atwater and the unincorporated areas of Merced County have Republican plurality registration advantages. All of the other cities and towns in the county have Democratic pluralities or majorities in voter registration.

Crime

The following table includes the number of incidents reported and the rate per 1,000 persons for each type of offense.

Population and crime rates
Population	253,606
Violent crime	1,658	6.54
Homicide	26	0.10
Forcible rape	78	0.31
Robbery	276	1.09
Aggravated assault	1,278	5.04
Property crime	4,390	17.31
Burglary	2,318	9.14
Larceny-theft	5,089	20.07
Motor vehicle theft	903	3.56
Arson	90	0.35

Cities by population and crime rates

Cities by population and crime rates
City	Population	Violent crimes	Violent crime rate per 1,000 persons	Property crimes	Property crime rate per 1,000 persons
Atwater	28,891	180	6.23	1,400	48.46
Dos Palos	5,079	59	11.62	162	31.90
Gustine	5,663	24	4.24	120	21.19
Livingston	13,394	74	5.52	306	22.85
Los Banos	36,897	142	3.85	1,210	32.79
Merced	80,976	810	10.00	4,111	50.77

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
• 20px State Route 59
• State Route 99
• 25px 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 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

• Atwater
• Dos Palos
• Gustine
• Livingston
• Los Banos
• Merced (county seat)

Census-designated places

• Ballico
• Bear Creek
• Cressey
• Delhi
• Dos Palos Y
• El Nido
• Franklin
• Hilmar-Irwin
• Le Grand
• McSwain
• Planada
• Santa Nella
• Snelling
• South Dos Palos
• Stevinson
• Tuttle
• Volta
• Winton

Places of interest

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

See also

• List of California Historical Landmarks
• List of museums in the San Joaquin Valley
• List of school districts in Merced County, California
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Merced County, California

Further reading

• A Memorial and Biographical History of the Counties of Merced, Stanislaus, Calaveras, Tuolumne and Mariposa, California. Chicago: Lewis Publishing Co., 1892.