State
County
Land Area
23.2 sq mi
Density
3,651.10/sq mi
2020 Growth Rate
0.67%
Growth Since 2010
7.40%
Rank in State
Rank in Country
Metro Population
284,738
Merced is a city located in California. With a 2020 population of 84,802, it is the 101st largest city in California and the 410th largest city in the United States. Merced is currently growing at a rate of 0.67% annually and its population has increased by 7.40% since the most recent census, which recorded a population of 78,958 in 2010. Merced reached it's highest population of 84,802 in 2021. Spanning over 23 miles, Merced has a population density of 3,651 people per square mile.
The average household income in Merced is $63,265 with a poverty rate of 29.31%. The median rental costs in recent years comes to $1,005 per month, and the median house value is $237,500. The median age in Merced is 29.4 years, 27.9 years for males, and 31 years for females. For every 100 females there are 97.4 males.
According to the most recent ACS, the racial composition of Merced was:
2019 and 2020 population is estimated by projecting the raw 2018 numbers.
| Year | Total Population | Growth | Annual Growth Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 284,738 | 3,529 | 1.24% |
| 2020 | 281,209 | 3,529 | 1.25% |
| 2019 | 277,680 | 3,529 | 1.27% |
| 2018 | 274,151 | 3,055 | 1.11% |
| 2017 | 271,096 | 3,468 | 1.28% |
| 2016 | 267,628 | 1,275 | 0.48% |
| 2015 | 266,353 | 1,934 | 0.73% |
| 2014 | 264,419 | 2,393 | 0.91% |
| 2013 | 262,026 | 1,159 | 0.44% |
| 2012 | 260,867 | 1,570 | 0.60% |
| 2011 | 259,297 | 2,576 | 0.99% |
| 2010 | 256,721 | 0.00% |
| Race | Population | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| White | 44,389 | 53.70% |
| Some Other Race | 19,612 | 23.73% |
| Asian | 9,714 | 11.75% |
| Black or African American | 4,468 | 5.41% |
| Two or More Races | 3,661 | 4.43% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 748 | 0.90% |
| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander | 70 | 0.08% |
| Type | Count | Average Size | Owned |
|---|---|---|---|
| All | 25,490 | 3.2 | 41.3 |
| Married | 10,368 | 3.99 | 59.2 |
| Non Family | 7,818 | 1.56 | 31.7 |
| Female | 5,206 | 3.89 | 22.1 |
| Male | 2,098 | 3.69 | 36.2 |
3.72
Average Family Size
3.2
Average Household Size
| Education Attained | Count | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Less Than 9th Grade | 6,991 | 14.89% |
| 9th to 12th Grade | 5,713 | 12.16% |
| High School Graduate | 11,103 | 23.64% |
| Some College | 11,380 | 24.23% |
| Associates Degree | 4,038 | 8.60% |
| Bachelors Degree | 4,537 | 9.66% |
| Graduate Degree | 3,202 | 6.82% |
| Name | Total | High School | Bachelors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hispanic | 23,449 | 13,866 | 1,722 |
| White | 15,166 | 13,840 | 4,151 |
| Other Race | 9,973 | 4,844 | 468 |
| Asian | 4,881 | 3,446 | 1,311 |
| Black | 2,664 | 2,278 | 420 |
| Multiple Races | 1,517 | 1,405 | 316 |
| Native American | 537 | 362 | 38 |
| Islander | 58 | 58 |
The highest rate of high school graduation is among islander people with a rate of 100.00%.
The highest rate of bachelors degrees is among white people with a rate of 27.37%.
$31,536
Average Earnings
$33,309
Average Male
$29,362
Average Female
52.63% of Merced residents speak only English, while 47.37% speak other languages. The non-English language spoken by the largest group is Spanish, which is spoken by 37.14% of the population.
| Name | Total | In Poverty | Poverty Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hispanic | 45,120 | 14,678 | 32.53% |
| Other | 19,329 | 6,940 | 35.90% |
| White | 21,029 | 4,424 | 21.04% |
| Asian | 9,706 | 2,761 | 28.45% |
| Black | 4,322 | 1,489 | 34.45% |
| Multiple | 3,480 | 1,329 | 38.19% |
| Native | 736 | 334 | 45.38% |
29.31%
Overall Poverty Rate
26.71%
Male Poverty Rate
31.83%
Female Poverty Rate
The race most likely to be in poverty in Merced is Native, with 45.38% below the poverty level.
The race least likely to be in poverty in Merced is White, with 21.04% below the poverty level.
The poverty rate among those that worked full-time for the past 12 months was 7.04%. Among those working part-time, it was 26.80%, and for those that did not work, the poverty rate was 39.13%.
38.7%
Overall Marriage Rate
40.6%
Male Marriage Rate
36.9%
Female Marriage Rate
The age group where males are most likely to be married is 55-64, while the female age group most likely to be married is 45-54.
| Name | Veterans | % of Total |
|---|---|---|
| White | 2,227 | 6.90% |
| Hispanic | 904 | 2.99% |
| Black | 233 | 6.65% |
| Other | 213 | 1.63% |
| Asian | 116 | 1.72% |
| Indian | 80 | 13.89% |
| 2 or More | 74 | 3.90% |
6.17%
Veteran Poverty Rate
33.77%
Veteran Disability Rate
57.2%
Labor Force Participation
49.9%
Employment Rate
12.7%
Unemployment Rate
Non citizens include legal permanent residents (green card holders), international students, temporary workers, humanitarian migrants, and illegal immigrants.
77.31%
Native Born
22.69%
Foreign Born
12.89%
Non Citizen
9.80%
Naturalized
77.31% of Merced residents were born in the United States, with 65.65% having been born in California. 12.89% of residents are not US citizens. Of those not born in the United States, the largest percentage are from Latin America.
| Year | Population | Growth | Annual Growth Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 84,802 | 563 | 0.67% |
| 2020 | 84,239 | 563 | 0.67% |
| 2019 | 83,676 | 563 | 0.68% |
| 2018 | 83,113 | 524 | 0.63% |
| 2017 | 82,589 | 357 | 0.43% |
| 2016 | 82,232 | 457 | 0.56% |
| 2015 | 81,775 | 655 | 0.81% |
| 2014 | 81,120 | 417 | 0.52% |
| 2013 | 80,703 | 472 | 0.59% |
| 2012 | 80,231 | 526 | 0.66% |
| 2011 | 79,705 | 574 | 0.73% |
| 2010 | 79,131 | 15,238 | 2.16% |
| 2000 | 63,893 | 7,677 | 1.29% |
| 1990 | 56,216 | 19,717 | 4.41% |
| 1980 | 36,499 | 13,829 | 4.88% |
| 1970 | 22,670 | 2,602 | 1.23% |
| 1960 | 20,068 | 4,790 | 2.76% |
| 1950 | 15,278 | 5,143 | 4.19% |
| 1940 | 10,135 | 3,069 | 3.67% |
| 1930 | 7,066 | 3,092 | 5.92% |
| 1920 | 3,974 | 872 | 2.51% |
| 1910 | 3,102 | 1,133 | 4.65% |
| 1900 | 1,969 | -40 | -0.20% |
| 1890 | 2,009 | 563 | 3.34% |
| 1880 | 1,446 | 0.00% |