Merced County, California

Merced County is a county in California, United States, in the northern San Joaquin Valley about 55 miles northwest of Fresno. It had a population of 281,202 at the 2020 census, an estimated 297,260 by 2025, and covers 1,935 square miles (5,012 km2) of land centred near 37°11′N 120°43′W.

Merced is the county seat and largest city; its postal code is 95340. The county holds 6 incorporated cities and 19 census-designated places, plus a handful of unincorporated hamlets, and it runs on Pacific Time. Its FIPS code is 06047.

Towns & Villages in Merced County

Merced County has 25 census-recognized places: 6 incorporated cities and 19 census-designated places. CDP stands for census designated place — a settled community the Census Bureau counts but that has no city government of its own. California has no civil townships, so none are listed.

The 19 census-designated places, from largest to smallest at the 2020 count:

Several names here are easy to confuse. Dos Palos is the incorporated city; South Dos Palos and Dos Palos Y are two separate CDPs just outside its limits. Hilmar-Irwin is the CDP’s official name, but locals and the post office simply say Hilmar. Franklin is also known as Franklin-Beachwood, its former census name. Beyond the 25 counted places, the county has small unincorporated settlements including Santa Rita Park, Merced Falls, Cortez, Hopeton and Plainsburg; older directories also list one-time rail sidings such as Buhach, Calpack, Kadota and Athlone, which are not populated communities today.

ZIP Codes

• 95340 — Merced (central and south; 95344 is a Merced PO box ZIP)
• 95348 — Merced (north side)
• 95341 — Merced (south of downtown)
• 95343 — University of California, Merced campus
• 93635 — Los Banos (also serves Volta)
• 95301 — Atwater
• 95334 — Livingston
• 95322 — Gustine (also serves Santa Nella)
• 93620 — Dos Palos (also serves the Dos Palos Y area)
• 95388 — Winton
• 95315 — Delhi
• 95324 — Hilmar (the Hilmar-Irwin CDP)
• 95365 — Planada
• 95333 — Le Grand
• 95303 — Ballico
• 95317 — El Nido
• 95369 — Snelling
• 95374 — Stevinson
• 95312 — Cressey (PO boxes only)
• 93665 — South Dos Palos (PO boxes only)
• 93661 — Santa Rita Park (PO boxes only)

Franklin, McSwain, Bear Creek and Tuttle have no ZIP code of their own; mail there is delivered under Merced’s and Atwater’s codes. The county has 22 ZIP codes in all — 18 with street delivery and 4 that are PO-box only.

Geography

Merced County sits on the flat floor of the San Joaquin Valley, rising into the grassy Diablo Range foothills along its western edge. Of its 1,979 square miles of total area, 1,935 are land and 44 are water, about 2.2 percent. The San Joaquin River crosses the county from southeast to northwest, and the Merced River, which gave the county its name, enters from the Sierra foothills past Snelling. San Luis Reservoir, one of the largest reservoirs in California, sits on the western boundary near Santa Nella, and the valley floor holds major wetland reserves, including the Merced and San Luis national wildlife refuges and Great Valley Grasslands State Park.

Six counties border Merced: Stanislaus County to the north, Mariposa County to the northeast, Madera County to the east and southeast, Fresno County to the south, San Benito County to the southwest and Santa Clara County to the west.

Demographics

Merced County counted 281,202 residents in 2020, and the 2025 estimate puts it near 297,260 — one of the faster-growing counties in the Central Valley, helped by commuters priced out of the Bay Area. Merced (86,333) and Los Banos (45,532) are the two largest communities and together hold nearly half the county’s population. Median household income runs about $65,510, well below California’s statewide figure of $99,122. Population density works out to roughly 145 people per square mile of land, with most residents strung along the Highway 99 corridor between Delhi and Le Grand or around Los Banos in the west.

Economy & Local Life

Health care and social assistance is the county’s largest employment sector with about 14,540 workers, followed by retail trade at 12,246 and educational services at 11,943, but agriculture defines the economy. Merced County ranks among California’s top farm counties — milk, almonds, sweet potatoes and poultry lead, and the county grows about 90 percent of California’s sweet potato crop. The big private employers are food companies: E. & J. Gallo Winery runs one of the world’s largest wineries at Livingston, Foster Farms processes poultry there, and Hilmar Cheese Company operates a major cheese and whey plant at Hilmar. The University of California, Merced — the newest UC campus, opened in 2005 — is the biggest public employer alongside county government and Mercy Medical Center in Merced. The biggest annual event is the Merced County Fair, held each June at the fairgrounds in Merced; Los Banos hosts the Merced County Spring Fair each May.

History

The California legislature created Merced County on 19 April 1855 from the western portion of Mariposa County. The name comes from the Merced River, christened El Río de Nuestra Señora de la Merced — River of Our Lady of Mercy — by Gabriel Moraga’s expedition in 1806. Snelling served as the first county seat; the government moved to Merced in 1872 after the Central Pacific Railroad laid its valley line through the new town.

Two later chapters stand out. In 1919 the Cortez colony, one of a handful of planned Japanese-American farm settlements in California, was founded northwest of Livingston; its families were interned during World War II and many returned to their farms afterward. Castle Air Force Base at Atwater anchored the local economy from 1941 until its closure in 1995, and its runway now operates as Castle Airport beside the Castle Air Museum. In 2005 the University of California opened its tenth campus at Merced, the first new UC campus since 1965.

Getting There

Highway 99 carries the county’s main traffic through Delhi, Livingston, Atwater and Merced, while Interstate 5 runs the length of the west side past Santa Nella. Highway 152 links Los Banos to Gilroy over Pacheco Pass, Highway 140 runs east from Merced toward Yosemite, and Highways 33, 59 and 165 cover the farm belt.

• Fresno — about 55 miles southeast
• Modesto — about 40 miles northwest
• Sacramento — about 110 miles northwest
• San Jose — about 110 miles west

Fresno Yosemite International Airport, about 60 miles southeast, is the nearest major commercial airport; Merced Regional Airport handles small commuter flights. Amtrak’s San Joaquins trains stop at Merced, where YARTS buses connect to Yosemite National Park.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Merced County located?
In the northern San Joaquin Valley of central California, about 55 miles northwest of Fresno and 110 miles southeast of San Jose.

What is the population of Merced County?
281,202 at the 2020 census, with a 2025 estimate near 297,260.

How big is Merced County?
1,979 square miles in total, of which 1,935 square miles are land and 44 are water.

What is the county seat of Merced County?
Merced, which took over from Snelling in 1872 and is home to UC Merced.

How many towns and cities are in Merced County?
Six incorporated cities — Merced, Los Banos, Atwater, Livingston, Gustine and Dos Palos — plus 19 census-designated places, the largest being Winton and Delhi.

What ZIP codes does Merced County use?
22 in all: 95340, 95341, 95343, 95344 and 95348 for Merced; 93635 for Los Banos; 95301 for Atwater; and one code each for the smaller towns from Ballico to Winton.

What is Merced County known for?
Farming — it grows about 90 percent of California’s sweet potatoes — plus UC Merced, San Luis Reservoir and the wildlife refuges along the San Joaquin River.

More counties in this state: Towns and villages in California.