- Merced County, California
-
County of Merced — County — 
SealLocation in the state of California
California's location in the United States
Country 
United StatesState 
CaliforniaRegion San Joaquin Valley Incorporated 1855 County seat Merced Area – Total 1,971.87 sq mi (5,107.1 km2) – Land 1,928.69 sq mi (4,995.3 km2) – Water 43.18 sq mi (111.8 km2) Population (2010) – Total 255,793 – Density 129.7/sq mi (50.1/km2) Time zone Pacific Standard Time (UTC-8) – Summer (DST) Pacific Daylight Time (UTC-7) Website co.merced.ca.us Merced County (pronounced /mərˈsɛd/ mər-SED), is a county located in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California, north of Fresno and southeast of San Jose. As of the 2010 census, the population was 255,793, up from 210,554 at the 2000 census. The county seat is Merced. The county is named after the Merced River.
Contents
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 2000 census, the county has a total area of 1,971.87 square miles (5,107.1 km2), of which 1,928.69 square miles (4,995.3 km2) (or 97.81%) is land and 43.18 square miles (111.8 km2) (or 2.19%) is water.[1]
Cities and towns
Cities over 10,000 population
Incorporated cities under 10,000 population
Unincorporated communities
- Ballico
- Cressey
- Delhi
- Hilmar-Irwin
- Le Grand
- Planada
- Santa Nella
- Snelling
- South Dos Palos
- Stevinson
- Winton
Adjacent counties
- San Benito County, California - southwest
- Santa Clara County, California - west
- Stanislaus County, California - north
- Mariposa County, California - east
- Madera County, California - southeast
- Fresno County, California - south
- Tuolumne County, California - northeast by a corner
National protected areas
- Merced National Wildlife Refuge
- San Luis National Wildlife Refuge
Transportation infrastructure
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 (3km) southwest of downtown Merced, provides passenger air service. General aviation airports in the county include Castle Airport, Gustine Airport, and Los Banos Municipal Airport.
Demographics
Historical populations 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% [2][3][4] 2010
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%).[5]
Population reported at 2010 United States Census The County Total
PopulationWhite African
AmericanNative
AmericanAsian Pacific
Islanderother
racestwo or
more racesHispanic
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
cityTotal
PopulationWhite African
AmericanNative
AmericanAsian Pacific
Islanderother
racestwo or
more racesHispanic
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
placeTotal
PopulationWhite African
AmericanNative
AmericanAsian Pacific
Islanderother
racestwo or
more racesHispanic
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
communitiesTotal
PopulationWhite African
AmericanNative
AmericanAsian Pacific
Islanderother
racestwo or
more racesHispanic
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[6] 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 56.21% White, 3.83% Black or African American, 1.19% Native American, 6.80% Asian, 0.19% Pacific Islander, 26.13% from other races, and 5.65% from two or more races. 45.34% 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.[7]
Politics
Merced County vote
by party in presidential electionsYear GOP DEM Others 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 Merced is considered a bellwether county. The last Democrat to win a majority in the county was Barack Obama in 2008 and the last Republican was George W. Bush in 2004.
Merced is part of California's 18th congressional district, which is held by Democrat Dennis Cardoza. Merced was previously represented by Democratic representatives Gary Condit and Tony Coelho. In the state legislature Merced is in the 17th Assembly district, which is held by Democrat Cathleen Galgiani, and the 12th Senate district, which is held by Republican Anthony Cannella.
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.
Places of interest
Castle Air Force Base and United States Penitentiary, Atwater are located in an unincorporated area near Atwater.
See also
- List of California Historical Landmarks
- List of California public officials charged with crimes, Merced County
- List of school districts in Merced County, California
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Merced County, California
References
- ^ "Census 2000 U.S. Gazetteer Files: Counties". United States Census. http://www.census.gov/tiger/tms/gazetteer/county2k.txt. Retrieved 2011-02-13.
- ^ http://www.census.gov/population/www/censusdata/cencounts/files/ca190090.txt
- ^ "American FactFinder". Factfinder2.census.gov. http://factfinder2.census.gov. Retrieved 2011-11-17.
- ^ "University of Virginia Library". Mapserver.lib.virginia.edu. http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu/. Retrieved 2011-11-17.
- ^ "2010 Census P.L. 94-171 Summary File Data". United States Census Bureau. http://www2.census.gov/census_2010/01-Redistricting_File--PL_94-171/California/.
- ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ Oppenheim, Jamie. "Hmong youth not preserving traditions, professor says." Monday March 29, 2010. Retrieved on September 20, 2010.
External links
Stanislaus County Tuolumne County Santa Clara County 
Mariposa County 
Merced County, California 
San Benito County Fresno County Madera County Municipalities and communities of Merced County, California Cities 
CDPs 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 | University of California Merced | Volta | Winton
Unincorporated
communitiesAmsterdam | Arena | Athlone | Brito | Buhach | Calpack | Castle Gardens | Cortez | Fergus | Fluhr | Hamburg Farms | Hilmar | Hopeton | Ingomar | Irwin | Kadota | Lingard | Merced Falls | Plainsburg | Santa Rita Park | The Grove | Trent
Ghost towns Abbato | Agatha | Aladdin | Alcant | Alexandria | Arundel | Bellevue | Brickville | Burchell | Central Point | Charleston | Chester | Colony Center | Cuba | Dickenson | Edendale | Elgin | Ferrin | Gadwall | Gracey | Gwin | Hoff | La Branza | Linora | Marguerite | Nairn | Ortigalito | Plainsburg | Sturgeon | Tenger | Union | Yam
Categories:- California counties
- Merced County, California
- San Joaquin Valley
- Metropolitan areas of California
- Counties of the United States with Hispanic majority populations
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