Merced County, California

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Merced County, California
County of Merced
Merced Theatre.JPG
Banks of San Luis Reservoir in July 2021 redux.JPG
UC Merced at night.jpg
Boeing B-29 SuperfortressCAM.jpg
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 of Merced County, California.png
Merced County, California
Interactive map of Merced County
Map of California highlighting Merced County.svg
Location in the state of California
Coordinates: 37°11′N120°43′W / 37.19°N 120.71°W / 37.19; -120.71 Coordinates: 37°11′N120°43′W / 37.19°N 120.71°W / 37.19; -120.71
CountryUnited States
State California
Region San Joaquin Valley
Incorporated April 19, 1855 [1]
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 cityMerced
Government
  Type Council–CEO
  BodyBoard of Supervisors
  ChairLloyd Pareira, Jr
  Vice ChairScott Silveira
  Board of Supervisors [2]
Supervisors
  • Rodrigo Espinoza
  • Josh Pedrozo
  • Daron McDaniel
  • Lloyd Pareira, Jr
  • Scott Silveira
   Chief executive officer Raul Lomeli Mendez
Area
  Total1,979 sq mi (5,130 km2)
  Land1,935 sq mi (5,010 km2)
  Water44 sq mi (110 km2)
Highest elevation
[3]
3,801 ft (1,159 m)
Population
 (2020)
  Total281,202
  Density140/sq mi (55/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 [4]
Area code 209
FIPS code06-047
GNIS feature ID 277288
Website www.co.merced.ca.us

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

Contents

As of the 2020 census, the population was 281,202. [5] The county seat is Merced. [6] 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. [7]

National protected areas

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.
1860 1,141
1870 2,807146.0%
1880 5,656101.5%
1890 8,08542.9%
1900 9,21514.0%
1910 15,14864.4%
1920 24,57962.3%
1930 36,74849.5%
1940 46,98827.9%
1950 69,78048.5%
1960 90,44629.6%
1970 104,62915.7%
1980 134,56028.6%
1990 178,40332.6%
2000 210,55418.0%
2010 255,79321.5%
2020 281,2029.9%
U.S. Decennial Census [8]
1790–1960 [9] 1900–1990 [10]
1990–2000 [11] 2010 [12] 2020 [13]

2020 census

Merced County, California - Demographic Profile
(NH = Non-Hispanic)
Race / EthnicityPop 2010 [12] Pop 2020 [13] % 2010% 2020
White alone (NH)81,59968,72931.90%24.44%
Black or African American alone (NH)8,7858,1913.43%2.91%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)1,1261,1640.44%0.41%
Asian alone (NH)18,18319,8247.11%7.05%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)4766170.19%0.22%
Some Other Race alone (NH)4391,2420.17%0.44%
Mixed Race/Multi-Racial (NH)4,7007,5781.84%2.69%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)140,485173,85754.92%61.83%
Total255,793281,202100.00%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

Places by population, race, and income

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%). [20]

2000

As of the census [21] 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. [22]

Government and policing

County Government

Merced County is a California Constitution defined general law county and is governed by an elected Board of Supervisors. The Board consists of five members, elected by districts, who serve four-year staggered terms. [23]

Merced County Sheriff

The Merced County Sheriff provides court protection, jail administration, and coroner service for the entire county. It provides patrol, detective, and other police services for the unincorporated parts of the county. The main sheriff station and offices are at Merced. There are two sheriff's substations. A Grand Jury report in 2010 stated that the Sheriff processed 12,746 average jail bookings per year with an average daily jail population of 1,123. [24]

Municipal police departments

Municipal police departments in the county are: Merced, population 83,000; Los Banos, population 38,000; Atwater, population 30,000; Livingston, population 13,000; Gustine, population 6,000; Dos Palos, population 5,500.

State and federal representation

In the United States House of Representatives, Merced County is in California's 16th congressional district , represented by Democrat Anna Eshoo. [25]

In the California State Legislature, Merced County is in the 21st Assembly District , represented by Democrat Diane Papan, and the 12th Senate District , represented by Republican Shannon Grove. [26]

Politics

Voter registration statistics

Cities by population and voter registration

Overview

Merced County voted for the winning candidate for president in every election from 1972 to 2012, before voting for Hillary Clinton in 2016. 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.

United States presidential election results for Merced County, California [28]
Year Republican Democratic Third party
No.%No.%No.%
2020 39,39743.30%48,99153.84%2,6052.86%
2016 28,72540.58%37,31752.72%4,7476.71%
2012 27,58144.33%33,00553.04%1,6362.63%
2008 28,70444.81%34,03153.13%1,3162.05%
2004 32,77356.54%24,49142.26%6961.20%
2000 26,10251.77%22,72645.08%1,5903.15%
1996 20,84744.41%21,78646.41%4,3059.17%
1992 17,98136.48%20,13340.85%11,17022.66%
1988 21,71751.20%20,10547.40%5921.40%
1984 24,99758.85%17,01240.05%4681.10%
1980 18,04348.77%15,88642.94%3,0678.29%
1976 14,84246.08%16,63751.65%7292.26%
1972 17,73754.33%13,91442.62%9973.05%
1968 11,59540.90%14,45350.98%2,3018.12%
1964 8,81431.18%19,43168.74%240.08%
1960 11,99043.37%15,54556.23%1110.40%
1956 11,43045.99%13,36653.78%560.23%
1952 13,51253.26%11,63945.88%2190.86%
1948 7,72142.60%9,95954.95%4442.45%
1944 6,51841.31%9,19258.25%690.44%
1940 6,10136.35%10,50162.57%1821.08%
1936 3,23025.50%9,20872.69%2301.82%
1932 2,92027.20%7,20267.10%6125.70%
1928 4,64460.17%2,97038.48%1041.35%
1924 3,57352.94%71010.52%2,46636.54%
1920 3,45762.99%1,53728.01%4949.00%
1916 2,13240.72%2,63750.36%4678.92%
1912 100.24%1,97846.78%2,24052.98%
1908 1,10744.58%1,10044.30%27611.12%
1904 97249.07%86343.56%1467.37%
1900 81141.59%1,08155.44%582.97%
1896 65336.24%1,11761.99%321.78%
1892 78239.66%99550.46%1959.89%
1888 77343.04%97254.12%512.84%
1884 80945.47%95353.57%170.96%
1880 51641.08%73658.60%40.32%

According to the California Secretary of State, as of October 20, 2008, there were 97,179 registered voters in Merced County.[ citation needed ] 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.

Merced County has been somewhat of a bellwether county for presidential elections. Since 1916, it has voted for the winner in each election except in 1956, 1968, and 2016. Despite a leftward shift in recent years, Merced County voted "Yes" in the 2021 California gubernatorial recall election despite the fact that it had voted for Newsom by a margin of 4% in the 2018 California gubernatorial election.

Crime

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

Cities by population and crime rates

Economy

According to America's Labor Market Information System 2014 report, [32] the companies with the largest employment in Merced are, in alphabetical order:

Merced County grows 90% of California's sweet potato crop, [33] due in part to the efforts of John Buttencourt Avila, called "the father of the sweet potato industry".

Transportation

Major highways

Public transportation

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

Census-designated places

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2010 census of Merced County. [34]

county seat

RankCity/Town/etc.Municipal typePopulation (2010 Census)Population (2018 CA Department of Finance)
1 Merced City78,95886,750
2 Los Banos City35,97240,986
3 Atwater City28,16831,235
4 Livingston City13,05814,328
5 Delhi CDP10,755
6 Winton CDP10,613
7 Franklin-Beachwood CDP6,149
8 Gustine City5,5205,874
9 Hilmar-Irwin CDP5,197
10 Dos Palos City4,9505,679
11 Planada CDP4,584
12 McSwain CDP4,171
13 Le Grand CDP1,659
14 South Dos Palos CDP1,620
15 Santa Nella CDP1,380
16 Ballico CDP406
17 Cressey CDP394
18 El Nido CDP330
19 Dos Palos Y CDP323
20 Stevinson CDP313
21 Bear Creek CDP290
22 Volta CDP246
23 Snelling CDP231
24 Tuttle CDP103

Education

School districts include: [35]

K-12:

Secondary:

Elementary:

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.

See also

Notes

  1. Other = Some other race + Two or more races
  2. Native American = Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander + American Indian or Alaska Native
  3. 1 2 Percentage of registered voters with respect to total population. Percentages of party members with respect to registered voters follow.

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Further reading