Merced_County,_California

Merced County, California

Merced County, California

County in California, United States


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

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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

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2020 census

More information Race / Ethnicity, Pop 2010 ...

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

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Places by population, race, and income

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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%).[21]

More information Population reported at 2010 United States Census ...

2000

As of the census[22] 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 people/km2). There were 68,373 housing units at an average density of 36 units per square mile (14 units/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.[23]

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.[24]

Merced County Sheriff's Office

The seal of the Merced County Sheriff's Office.

The Merced County Sheriff's Office 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.[25]

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 13th congressional district, represented by Republican John Duarte.[26]

In the California State Legislature, Merced County is in the 27th Assembly District, represented by Democrat Esmeralda Soria, and the 14th Senate District, represented by Democrat Anna Caballero.[27]

Politics

Voter registration statistics

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Cities by population and voter registration

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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.

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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. The county also voted for Republican nominee Brian Dahle in the 2022 gubernatorial election over Democratic winner Newsom, as well as for all Republican nominees for statewide office.

Crime

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

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Cities by population and crime rates

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Economy

According to America's Labor Market Information System 2014 report,[33] the companies with the largest employment in Merced are, in alphabetical order:

Merced County grows 90% of California's sweet potato crop,[34] 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 (3.2 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.[35]

county seat

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Education

School districts include:[36]

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. Percentage of registered voters with respect to total population. Percentages of party members with respect to registered voters follow.

References

  1. "Merced County". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved January 31, 2015.
  2. "Laveaga Peak". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved January 31, 2015.
  3. "Merced County, CA Zip Codes". Zip-Codes.com. Retrieved May 29, 2016.
  4. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  5. "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Retrieved September 28, 2015.
  6. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved September 28, 2015.
  7. Forstall, Richard L., ed. (March 27, 1995). "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved September 28, 2015.
  8. "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. April 2, 2001. Retrieved September 28, 2015.
  9. U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B02001. U.S. Census website. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
  10. U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B03003. U.S. Census website. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
  11. U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B19301. U.S. Census website. Retrieved October 21, 2013.
  12. U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B19013. U.S. Census website. Retrieved October 21, 2013.
  13. U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B19113. U.S. Census website. Retrieved October 21, 2013.
  14. U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. U.S. Census website. Retrieved October 21, 2013.
  15. Oppenheim, Jamie. "Hmong youth not preserving traditions, professor says Archived June 8, 2010, at the Wayback Machine." Monday March 29, 2010. Retrieved on September 20, 2010.
  16. "Board of Supervisors". Merced County, CA. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
  17. Grand Jury report 2010 website
  18. "Communities of Interest — County". California Citizens Redistricting Commission. Archived from the original on October 23, 2015. Retrieved September 28, 2014.
  19. California Secretary of State. February 10, 2013 - Report of Registration Archived July 27, 2013, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved October 31, 2013.
  20. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  21. Office of the Attorney General, Department of Justice, State of California. Table 11: Crimes 2009 Archived December 2, 2013, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved November 14, 2013.
  22. Only larceny-theft cases involving property over $400 in value are reported as property crimes.
  23. United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation. Crime in the United States, 2012, Table 8 (California). Retrieved November 14, 2013.
  24. "Major Employers in California". www.labormarketinfo.edd.ca.gov. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  25. Promotions, Center for New Media and. "US Census Bureau 2010 Census". www.census.gov. Retrieved March 16, 2018.

Further reading

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

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