Snelling, California
Snelling is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Merced County, California, United States. It is located on the north bank of the Merced River north of Merced, at an elevation of. The population was 238 at the 2020 census.
History
The "Snelling Ranch" post office opened in 1853, was closed for a time during 1861, and changed its name to "Snelling" in 1870. The name is from the Snelling family that operated a way station at the place beginning in 1851.Snelling's zip code is 95369 and its area code is 209.
Snelling was the county seat of Merced County from 1857 to 1872. The courthouse constructed in 1857 continued to serve as a justice court until the 1990s. The two-story building remains standing today and is a rare surviving example of a simple early California courthouse.
Geography
Snelling is in northeastern Merced County along the eastern edge of California's Central Valley, where the Merced River emerges from the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. It is at the north end of California State Route 59, which leads south to Merced, the county seat.According to the United States Census Bureau, the Snelling CDP covers an area of, of which, or 0.92%, are water.
Snelling first appeared as a census designated place in the 2010 U.S. census.
The 2020 United States census reported that Snelling had a population of 238. The population density was. The racial makeup of Snelling was 186 White, 0 African American, 3 Native American, 1 Asian, 0 Pacific Islander, 19 from other races, and 29 from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 38 persons.
The whole population lived in households. There were 96 households, out of which 27 had children under the age of 18 living in them, 43 were married-couple households, 16 were cohabiting couple households, 15 had a female householder with no partner present, and 22 had a male householder with no partner present. 26 households were one person, and 17 were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.48. There were 59 families.
The age distribution was 56 people under the age of 18, 14 people aged 18 to 24, 55 people aged 25 to 44, 63 people aged 45 to 64, and 50 people who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 43.3years. For every 100 females, there were 118.3 males.
There were 110 housing units at an average density of, of which 96 were occupied. Of these, 40 were owner-occupied, and 56 were occupied by renters.
Government
In the California State Legislature, Snelling is in, and in.In the United States House of Representatives, Snelling is in California's 13th congressional district, represented by Democrat Adam Gray as of January 2025.
Education
The city has the Snelling-Merced Falls Elementary School that serves K-8. It falls within the Snelling-Merced Falls Union Elementary District, with it being the district's only school.According to , a national education-ranking agency, it has an overall grade of B+. The school has 56 students, with 25% proficient in math and 55% proficient in reading.
The closest high school to Snelling is El Captain High School in Merced, around a 14-16 minute drive.
UC Merced is also close to the city, being only a 17 minute drive. It is a four-year public university in the University of California system.
Infrastructure
Transportation
runs directly through the city before abruptly ending at the Snelling city line at a three-way intersection with County Route J59 and County Route J16. SR-59 leads to State Route 99 and State Route 140 in Merced and State Route 152 near El Nido. County Route J59 leads to State Route 132 in La Grange and State Route 120 in rural Tuolumne County near Oakdale, California. County Route J16 leads to Interstate 5 near Westley and California State Route 49 near Hornitos.California Historical Landmark
Snelling Courthouse is a California Historical Landmark, number 409.The California Historical Landmark reads: