• county
  • FIPS 06047
  • Largest town: Merced

Merced County, California

Merced County had 296,774 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 1,938.0 square miles of land. It ranks 23rd of 58 in California by population and 25th by land area.

Population
296,774
#23 of 58 in California · #248 in US
Area
1,938.0 sq mi
#25 of 58 in California · #293 in US
Density
153 / sq mi
#24 of 58 in California · #688 in US
Median household income
$58,962
#53 of 58 in California · #1,943 in US

Census Vintage 2024 estimates · SAIPE 2023 income · 2024 Gazetteer land area

Merced County within California. Pin: Sacramento.

Measure from here

Tools and pages that start from Merced County

Merced County population, land area and income

Merced County had 296,774 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 1,938.0 square miles of land. It ranks 23rd of 58 in California by population and 25th by land area. That works out to 153.1 people per square mile, 1.6 times the US average of 96.3, and in the top quarter nationally.

The median county-equivalent in California has 187,274 residents; Merced County is somewhat larger.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $58,962 is below the national county median among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

National rank among 3,144

Population

296,774

3144th1st

248th of 3,144 (US)

Land area

1,938 sq mi

3144th1st

293rd of 3,144 (US)

Density

153.1 / sq mi

3144th1st

688th of 3,144 (US)

Median household income

$58,962

3143rd1st

1943rd of 3,143 (US)

Rank within California (58)

Population

296,774

58th1st

23rd of 58 (CA)

Land area

1,938 sq mi

58th1st

25th of 58 (CA)

Density

153.1 / sq mi

58th1st

24th of 58 (CA)

Median household income

$58,962

58th1st

53rd of 58 (CA)

How Merced County's population changed since 2020

Merced County gained 13,811 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a rise of 4.9%. That ranks 5th of 58 in California for growth. The median California county changed by -0.6%, and the state as a whole by -0.2%.

Since the April 2020 estimates base, Merced County recorded 16,084 births and 9,528 deaths, a natural change of +6,556. Net international migration added +4,426 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to +2,917. The largest single component was natural change, which added 6,556 people.

283.0k2020284.8k2021292.0k2022294.4k2023296.8k2024
Census Vintage 2024 county estimates for July 1 of each year. The axis starts above zero so year-to-year changes are visible.

Components of change, April 2020 to July 2024

Births
16,084
Deaths
9,528
Net international migration
+4,426
Net domestic migration
+2,917
Change, July 2023 to July 2024
+2,372

Where Merced County is

The Census internal point of Merced County is at 37.194800, -120.722800. It sits in UTM zone 10N. The map shades California's 58 county-equivalents by population change from 2020 to 2024, darker for faster growth, with Merced County outlined. Dots are towns of 1,000+ people with residents in it.

Los Angeles County: -2.4%Kings County: +1.4%Sierra County: -3.6%Riverside County: +4.3%Santa Barbara County: -0.8%San Bernardino County: +1.4%Nevada County: -0.1%Santa Clara County: +0.1%Yuba County: +6.7%Fresno County: +1.4%Plumas County: -4.7%Monterey County: -1.0%Amador County: +3.6%Alameda County: -1.9%Tulare County: +2.0%San Joaquin County: +4.5%Alpine County: -6.8%Siskiyou County: -3.4%Butte County: -0.9%Kern County: +1.8%San Diego County: -0.1%Sacramento County: +1.5%Ventura County: -1.0%Yolo County: +3.4%Lake County: -0.6%Napa County: -3.4%Tehama County: -1.9%San Francisco County: -5.4%El Dorado County: +0.8%Calaveras County: +2.5%Inyo County: -2.7%Shasta County: -0.6%Lassen County: -12.3%San Luis Obispo County: -0.0%Mariposa County: -0.5%Trinity County: -2.8%Contra Costa County: +0.6%Mendocino County: -2.4%Imperial County: +1.1%Santa Cruz County: -3.4%Placer County: +6.9%Orange County: -0.5%San Benito County: +7.2%Marin County: -1.9%San Mateo County: -2.6%Colusa County: +0.9%Del Norte County: -2.2%Solano County: +0.5%Glenn County: -2.0%Tuolumne County: -2.7%Sonoma County: -0.6%Humboldt County: -2.9%Mono County: -1.8%Stanislaus County: +0.6%Merced County: +4.9%Sutter County: -0.9%Madera County: +5.8%Modoc County: -2.1%
Change 2020 to 2024
  1. < -2.7%
  2. < -1.0%
  3. < -0.0%
  4. < +1.5%
  5. ≥ +1.5%
no data

Orange pin: Merced County internal point. Dark pin: Sacramento.

Internal point

Decimal
37.194800, -120.722800
DMS
37°11'41.28"N 120°43'22.08"W
UTM
10N 702112.7E 4118911.3N
Geohash
9qd5sgh76
Plus code
849X57VG+WV

Towns in Merced County

6 incorporated places of 1,000+ people have residents in Merced County, 203,669 people together, or 69% of the county. Each figure counts only the part of the town inside Merced County; towns marked "part" extend into another county. The largest is Merced with 96,073.

  1. 01Merced96,073
  2. 02Los Banos48,684
  3. 03Atwater32,248
  4. 04Livingston14,767
  5. 05Gustine6,138
  6. 06Dos Palos5,759
Census Vintage 2024 subcounty estimates, county parts of incorporated places (SUMLEV 157).

Counties bordering Merced County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 6 neighbors for Merced County. The most populous is Santa Clara County, CA, with 1,926,325 residents. Distances run between Census internal points in a straight line.

Distance to Sacramento and the nearest big city

Sacramento is 104.3 miles NNW of Merced County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is Modesto, CA (population 220,592), 34.2 miles away. The nearest place of 10,000 or more is Los Banos, CA (population 48,684), 11.2 miles away.

Merced County FIPS code

The FIPS code of Merced County is 06047: state code 06 for California plus county code 047. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $58,962.

Questions people ask

What is the population of Merced County, California?

The Census Vintage 2024 estimate for July 1, 2024 is 296,774. That is up 13,811 people (4.9%) from the July 2020 estimate of 282,963.

What is the FIPS code of Merced County?

06047. The first two digits (06) are California; the last three (047) identify the county.

What is the largest town in Merced County?

Merced, with 96,073 residents inside Merced County in 2024.

Which counties border Merced County?

6 county-equivalents border it in the Census 2024 adjacency file: Santa Clara County, CA; Fresno County, CA; Stanislaus County, CA; Madera County, CA; San Benito County, CA; Mariposa County, CA.

Sources and data as of

Data as of: Census Vintage 2024 population estimates, 2024 Gazetteer land area and internal points, SAIPE 2023 median household income.

  1. 01Census Vintage 2024 county population estimates
  2. 02Census 2024 Gazetteer, counties
  3. 03Census SAIPE 2023 state and county estimates
  4. 04Census Vintage 2024 subcounty population estimates
  5. 05Census 2024 county adjacency file
  6. 06Census 2024 cartographic boundary file, counties (1:5,000,000)

How every number is computed: methodology. Spotted a wrong figure? Report an error.