Merced County, California
County seat: Merced · Population 297,260 (2025) · 1,938 sq mi
Merced County is the 23rd most populous of California's 58 counties, with 297,260 people (2025 estimate). Its county seat is Merced. The map shows its 6 cities and towns and the 6 neighboring counties.
Merced County facts
- County seat
- Merced
- Population (2025 estimate)
- 297,260 +5.2% since 2020
- Land area
- 1,938 sq mi 25th largest of 58
- Water area
- 41 sq mi
- Population density
- 153 per sq mi
- Established
- 1855
- Named after
- Merced River 145-mile (233 km)-long tributary of the San Joaquin River in central California
- Largest city
- Merced 99,724
- Median household income
- $65,510
- Cities and towns
- 6 plus 18 CDPs
- ZIP codes
- 24
- Time zone
- Pacific
- FIPS code
- 06047
Cities and towns in Merced County
Merced County has 6 incorporated cities, towns and villages. Populations count the people living inside Merced County; cities that cross a county line also list the other counties.
| Name | Type | Population 2025 | Also in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Merced (county seat) | City | 99,724 | |
| Los Banos | City | 49,614 | |
| Atwater | City | 32,133 | |
| Livingston | City | 14,690 | |
| Gustine | City | 6,112 | |
| Dos Palos | City | 5,697 |
Unincorporated communities (CDPs)
Census-designated places are communities without their own city government; the county provides their services.
| Community | Population | Also in |
|---|---|---|
| Winton | 11,797 | |
| Delhi | 11,009 | |
| Franklin | 7,392 | |
| Hilmar-Irwin | 6,132 | |
| McSwain | 5,783 | |
| Planada | 3,506 | |
| Santa Nella | 2,107 | |
| Le Grand | 1,636 | |
| South Dos Palos | 1,102 | |
| El Nido | 510 | |
| Ballico | 447 | |
| Cressey | 386 | |
| Bear Creek | 346 | |
| Dos Palos Y | 273 | |
| Volta | 268 | |
| Snelling | 243 | |
| Stevinson | 144 | |
| Tuttle | 73 |
ZIP codes in Merced County
24 ZIP codes reach into Merced County. ZIP codes ignore county lines, so some also cover a neighboring county.
- 93610 also Madera County
- 93620 also Fresno and Madera counties
- 93622 also Fresno and Madera counties
- 93635
- 93665
- 95301
- 95303
- 95312
- 95315
- 95316 also Stanislaus County
- 95317
- 95322 also Stanislaus County
- 95324
- 95333
- 95334
- 95340
- 95341
- 95348
- 95360 also Stanislaus County
- 95365
- 95369 also Mariposa County
- 95374
- 95380 also Stanislaus County
- 95388
Population of Merced County, 2020–2025
Merced County grew by 14,803 people (+5.2%) between April 2020 and July 2025: 8,276 more births than deaths and a net gain of 6,457 people from migration.
| Year (July 1) | Population |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 282,895 |
| 2021 | 287,854 |
| 2022 | 291,781 |
| 2023 | 294,319 |
| 2024 | 296,807 |
| 2025 | 297,260 |
Neighboring counties
- Stanislaus County northwest · 557,719 people
- Mariposa County northeast · 16,918 people
- Fresno County southeast · 1,035,456 people
- Madera County east · 167,927 people
- San Benito County southwest · 70,082 people
- Santa Clara County west · 1,914,391 people
Printable Merced County map
The PDF is a vector file with real text: it prints sharp on Letter paper and you can search it for a town. The PNG is 2400 pixels wide for slides and documents. Both are free to use with a credit to WhichCounty.
- PDF (Letter) (161 KB)
- PNG (2400 px) (106 KB)
Paste this code to embed the map on your site:
Sources
- Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Cartographic Boundary Files (1:500,000).
- Population: Census Bureau county and city estimates, Vintage 2025. CDP populations: American Community Survey 2020–2024.
- Places and ZIP codes: Census Bureau 2026 Gazetteer and 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Area relationship files.
- County seat, founding year and name origin: Wikidata (CC0), checked against state sources.
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