Merced, California
Merced is a city in and the county seat of Merced County, California, United States, in the San Joaquin Valley. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 86,333, up from 78,958 in 2010. Incorporated on April 1, 1889, Merced is a charter city that operates under a council–manager government. It is named after the Merced River, which flows nearby.
Merced, known as the "Gateway to Yosemite", is less than two hours by automobile from Yosemite National Park to the east and Monterey Bay, the Pacific Ocean, and multiple beaches to the west. The community is served by the passenger rail service Amtrak, a minor, heavily subsidized airline through Merced Regional Airport, and three bus lines. It is approximately from Sacramento, from San Francisco, from Fresno, and from Los Angeles.
In 2005, the city became home to the 10th University of California campus, University of California, Merced, the first research university built in the U.S. in the 21st century.
History
The first Merced post office opened in 1870. Merced incorporated in 1889 and now operates under the council-manager form of government.During World War II, the Merced County fairgrounds were the site of a temporary "assembly center" where Japanese Americans were detained after being removed from their West Coast homes under Executive Order 9066. 4,669 men, women and children from central California were confined in the Merced Assembly Center from May 6 to September 15, 1942, when they were transferred to the more permanent Granada internment camp in Colorado.
Since 2005, Merced has been home to the University of California, Merced. Historic cultural attractions in the city include The Mainzer Theater which is known for its historic and architectural value, the County Courthouse Museum, the Merced Multicultural Arts Center and the County Library.
Also within a short distance from the city limits are the Castle Air Museum, Lake Yosemite, and Merced Falls. The city of Merced along with its surrounding cities are serviced by the Merced Sun-Star and the Merced County Times. The Merced Sun-Star daily newspaper has a circulation of 14,219 daily and 18,569 Saturday in the Merced area. The paper was sold to U.S. Media in 1985 and was acquired by The McClatchy Company in January 2004.
Homes at the median level in Merced had lost 62% of their value from the second quarter of 2006, when they peaked at $336,743, the biggest drop anywhere in the country. Home prices have since rebounded, with the median sale price in April 2018 at $247,000. The current average being $358,000. Investors from outside of the Valley were helping to drive up home prices.
The metro area went to a 14.2% unemployment rate in December 2013. Having since recovered to a rate of 8.7% in April 2018. Some efforts have been directed towards diversifying its economy and are showing a lowering trend in the overall unemployment rate, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
During the Great Recession Merced suffered one of the greatest property price collapses in the country and house prices at the end of 2009 had fallen to 1998 levels, according to Zillow, making housing affordable compared to many other California locations.
The economy has traditionally relied upon agribusiness and upon the presence of Castle Air Force Base. Over the past twenty years, more diversified industry has entered the area, including printing, fiberglass boat building, warehousing and distribution, and packaging industries.
In September 1995, Castle Air Force Base closed after phasing down over the previous three years. This affected residential real estate and some sectors of the retail and service economies, but overall retail continued to increase. Industrial development is increasing in the area. It is now known as the Castle Airport Aviation and Development Center. The Castle Air Museum remains at the site.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of.Merced is approximately southeast of San Francisco and northwest of Los Angeles.
A major groundwater plume containing the contaminant PCE was discovered in Merced in 1987. Subsequently, drilling of new water wells was severely restricted.
Climate
Merced has a cool semi-arid climate, with its annual precipitation falling just short of a mediterranean climate. The city features hot to sweltering, dry summers and mild, damp winters. There are an average of 99.7 days with highs of or higher and an average of 27.8 days with lows of or lower. The record highest temperature of was recorded on September 6, 2022. The record lowest temperature of was recorded on December 24, 1990.The wettest "rain year" was from July 1982 to June 1983 with and the driest from July 2013 to June 2014 with. The most rainfall in one month was in January 1909. The most rainfall in 24 hours was, which occurred on January 30, 1911 and March 9, 1911.
;Notes:
Economy
Top employers
According to the city's Official Website the top employers in the city are:| # | Employer | # of Employees |
| 1 | County of Merced | 1980 |
| 2 | University of California, Merced | 1,910 |
| 3 | Merced City School District | 1300 |
| 5 | Merced Union High School District | 890 |
| 6 | Merced College | 800 |
| 7 | Quad Graphics | 700 |
| 8 | City of Merced | 480 |
| 9 | Scholle Corporation | 370 |
| 10 | WalMart | 290 |
In the summer of 2014, the Castle Commerce Center's call center closed, subtracting 400 jobs from AT&T's share of employment.
Agriculture
Merced is ranked as the sixth-top producing county in California. In 2019, Merced County generated $3.271 billion in total value of production. The top five commodities from 2019 in Merced are:| Crops | $ Amount | Ranking in CA | % of State Total |
| Milk | 905,116 | 2nd | 15.5 |
| Almonds | 421,254 | N/A | 9.3 |
| Cattle | 297,451 | 4th | 8.7 |
| Chickens | 294,633 | 2nd | 8.1 |
| Sweet Potatoes | 234,964 | 1st | 92.2 |
Education
Merced is home to a community college, Merced College and the University of California Merced.UC Merced now enrolls 8,321 undergraduate and 772 graduate students for a total of 9,093 students, as reported in the university's fall 2021 census. Of the 2021-2022 undergraduate degrees awarded, the top degrees were: 19% Biological Sciences, 16% Psychology, 11% Management, and 10% Computer Science Engineering. The University of California, Merced campus opened in late 2005 northeast of the city limits. UC Merced spans a campus area of 1,026 acres. UC Merced enrolled about 7,967 students during the 2017–2018 academic year.
Merced is served by the Merced City School District, which has five main middle schools, Cruickshank Middle School, Herbert Hoover Middle School, Rivera Middle School, Weaver Middle School and Tenaya Middle School. There are also 14 elementary schools in this district.
Merced Union High School District has three major public high school campuses in Merced, Merced High School, Golden Valley High School, and El Capitan High School as well as a few smaller campuses offering alternative education.
Merced's community college, Merced College, has an enrollment of 8,996 students as of January 2021. The main campus of Merced College covers an area of 267 acres.
Health
. A 2016 Community Health Assessment prepared by the Merced County Department of Public Health, determined that top health topics that affect Merced and Merced county are heart disease and stroke; diabetes; access to health care; and drug and alcohol abuse. In 2017 the MCDPH published the Merced County Community Health Improvement Plan in an effort to "address health disparities and to promote health equity with the goal of health and wellness for all county residents."Demographics
| Race / Ethnicity | 2010 | 2000 | 1990 | 1980 | |
| White alone | 23.6% | 30% | 37.8% | 48.9% | 62% |
| Black alone | 4.9% | 5.7% | 6.1% | 6.1% | 7.3% |
| American Indian alone | 0.5% | 0.5% | 0.6% | 0.7% | 0.9% |
| Asian alone | 10.7% | 11.6% | 11.2% | 14.2% | 1.6% |
| Pacific Islander alone | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.1% | 14.2% | 1.6% |
| Other race alone | 0.5% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% |
| Multiracial | 3.4% | 2.4% | 2.7% | — | — |
| Hispanic/Latino | 56.3% | 49.6% | 41.4% | 29.9% | 28.2% |
2020
The 2020 United States census reported that Merced had a population of 86,333. The population density was. The racial makeup of Merced was 35.8% White, 5.4% African American, 2.5% Native American, 11.1% Asian, 0.3% Pacific Islander, 27.1% from other races, and 17.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 56.3% of the population. The most reported ancestries were:The census reported that 98.9% of the population lived in households, 0.4% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0.6% were institutionalized.
There were 27,462 households, out of which 42.1% included children under the age of 18, 40.7% were married-couple households, 8.9% were cohabiting couple households, 31.0% had a female householder with no partner present, and 19.5% had a male householder with no partner present. 21.1% of households were one person, and 8.6% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 3.11. There were 19,546 families.
The age distribution was 28.9% under the age of 18, 12.3% aged 18 to 24, 27.6% aged 25 to 44, 19.7% aged 45 to 64, and 11.6% who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 30.5years. For every 100 females, there were 96.2 males.
There were 29,083 housing units at an average density of, of which 27,462 were occupied. Of these, 43.3% were owner-occupied, and 56.7% were occupied by renters.
In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that the median household income was $59,938, and the per capita income was $26,140. About 18.6% of families and 23.0% of the population were below the poverty line.