Merced County, California
Population 290,201 · Merced, Los Banos, Atwater
- Overall cost of living: −1.7% vs the US average, higher than 88% of US counties.
- Annual snowfall: 0 in, the lowest in the US.
- Unemployment rate: 10.2%, higher than 99% of US counties.
Cost & Housing
| Overall cost of living (vs US avg) | ≈−1.7% | higher than 88% of US counties |
|---|---|---|
| ≈ Shared figure for the whole Merced, CA metro area. Prices are published for areas, not single counties. | ||
| Median home price | $391,800 | higher than 90% of US counties |
| Median rent | $1,343 | higher than 88% of US counties |
| Electric bill | $184/mo | higher than 63% of US counties |
| Child care (preschool) | $8,582/yr | higher than 65% of US counties |
| Property tax rate | 0.67% | lower than 63% of US counties |
| Sales tax | 7.25% | the highest in the US |
| State income tax | 9.3% | the highest in the US |
| Property tax paid / yr | $2,634 | higher than 79% of US counties |
Jobs & Career
| Median household income | $65,510 | lower than 51% of US counties |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rate | 10.2% | higher than 99% of US counties |
| Job growth (5 yr) | +4.4% | higher than 71% of US counties |
| Jobs per 1k residents | 175.5 | lower than 80% of US counties |
| Profession jobs per 1k residents | N/A |
Climate & Environment
| Sunny days / yr | ≈288 days | higher than 98% of US counties |
|---|---|---|
| ≈ Regional estimate: satellite grid cell about 100 km across. Nearby counties can share it. | ||
| July high | 95°F | higher than 94% of US counties |
| January low | 38°F | higher than 90% of US counties |
| Annual snowfall | 0 in | the lowest in the US |
| Hot days (90°F+) | 106 days | higher than 95% of US counties |
| Freezing days (32°F or colder) | 24 days | lower than 93% of US counties |
| Severe drought | 27% of weeks | higher than 91% of US counties |
| Summer dew point | ≈44.1°F | lower than 93% of US counties |
| ≈ Regional estimate: NASA grid cell about 50 km across, read at where the county’s people live. Nearby counties can share it. | ||
| Annual precipitation | 12.1 in | lower than 96% of US counties |
| Disaster damage per $100k | $182/yr | higher than 76% of US counties |
| Flood damage per $100k | $100/yr | higher than 67% of US counties |
| Hurricane damage per $100k | $0/yr | the lowest in the US |
| Earthquake damage per $100k | $79/yr | higher than 96% of US counties |
| Tornado damage per $100k | $0.39/yr | lower than 91% of US counties |
| Wildfire damage per $100k | $2.5/yr | higher than 70% of US counties |
| PM2.5 air pollution | 13.4 µg/m³ | higher than 99% of US counties |
| Distance to coast | 65.2 mi | lower than 78% of US counties |
| Terrain relief | ≈3,127.5 ft | higher than 89% of US counties |
| ≈ Estimated from about 75 elevation points sampled across the county, so the true range is usually somewhat larger. | ||
Education & Health
| % Adults with a high school diploma | 72.3% | lower than 99% of US counties |
|---|---|---|
| % Adults with a bachelor's degree | 15.3% | lower than 85% of US counties |
| % Adults with a graduate degree | 4.7% | lower than 86% of US counties |
| Colleges within 30 mi | 3 | higher than 51% of US counties |
| Student-teacher ratio | 22.3:1 | higher than 99% of US counties |
| On-time high school graduation | 91.7% | higher than 64% of US counties |
| 8th-grade math (grade level) | gr 6.05 | lower than 92% of US counties |
| 8th-grade reading (grade level) | gr 6.72 | lower than 89% of US counties |
| 3rd-grade math (grade level) | gr 2.56 | lower than 91% of US counties |
| Library visits per resident | 1 | lower than 87% of US counties |
| Primary care docs / 100k | 42/100k | lower than 53% of US counties |
| Hospitals within 25 mi | 2 | lower than 60% of US counties |
| Hospital quality (avg stars) | 2.7★ | lower than 72% of US counties |
| Life expectancy | 76.8 yrs | higher than 63% of US counties |
| % Uninsured (under 65) | 9.4% | higher than 50% of US counties |
| Mental health providers / 100k | 256/100k | higher than 72% of US counties |
| Dentists / 100k | 49/100k | higher than 58% of US counties |
| Lyme disease cases | 0/100k | the lowest in the US |
| % Near parks or rec facilities | 78.3% | higher than 73% of US counties |
Transit & Connectivity
| Airport drive time | 30 min | lower than 88% of US counties |
|---|---|---|
| Int'l airport drive time | 86 min | lower than 63% of US counties |
| Avg commute | 31 min | higher than 87% of US counties |
| Broadband coverage | 88.4% | higher than 61% of US counties |
| Transit commute share | 0.5% | higher than 71% of US counties |
| Work-from-home share | 6.6% | lower than 70% of US counties |
| Drive to a big city | 84 min | lower than 73% of US counties |
| Street intersections | 62 per sq mi | higher than 86% of US counties |
Community & Safety
| Violent crime | 5.6 per 1k | higher than 93% of US counties |
|---|---|---|
| Property crime | 18.8 per 1k | higher than 90% of US counties |
| Population | 290,201 | higher than 92% of US counties |
| Median age | 31.8 | lower than 97% of US counties |
| Net domestic migration | +1.4 per 1k/yr | lower than 55% of US counties |
| % Democratic vote | 46.5% Dem | higher than 82% of US counties |
| % Republican vote | 50.9% Rep | lower than 83% of US counties |
| % Third-party vote | 2.6% | higher than 91% of US counties |
| % White | 23.2% | lower than 98% of US counties |
| % Hispanic or Latino | 63.4% | higher than 98% of US counties |
| % Black | 2.6% | higher than 54% of US counties |
| % Asian | 7.1% | higher than 97% of US counties |
| % American Indian & Alaska Native | 0.2% | higher than 50% of US counties |
| % Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islander | 0.2% | higher than 88% of US counties |
| % Two or more races | 2.9% | lower than 66% of US counties |
| % Some other race | 0.4% | higher than 58% of US counties |
Recreation & Lifestyle
| Parks & protected areas | 206 parks | higher than 77% of US counties |
|---|---|---|
| Restaurants / 10k | 10.9 | lower than 77% of US counties |
| Arts & rec venues / 10k | 1.5 | lower than 73% of US counties |
| Drive to dark skies | 31 min | higher than 58% of US counties |
| Lakes & rivers | 2.1% | higher than 68% of US counties |
| Ski areas within 90 mi | 0 | the lowest in the US |
| Golf courses within 30 mi | 15 | higher than 58% of US counties |
| Marinas & boat tours within 90 mi | 80 | higher than 88% of US counties |
| Trails (km) within 30 mi | 260 km | higher than 58% of US counties |
| Named paved greenways (km) within 15 mi | 4 km | higher than 61% of US counties |
| Gyms & fitness centers within 30 mi | 69 | higher than 81% of US counties |
| Bars within 30 mi | 54 | higher than 75% of US counties |
| Music & theater companies within 30 mi | 4 | higher than 73% of US counties |
| Museums within 30 mi | 6 | higher than 75% of US counties |
| Breweries within 30 mi | 7 | higher than 78% of US counties |
| Wineries within 30 mi | 6 | higher than 86% of US counties |
| Theme parks & arcades within 90 mi | 81 | higher than 88% of US counties |
| Casinos & casino hotels within 90 mi | 7 | higher than 88% of US counties |
| Campgrounds & RV parks within 30 mi | 0 | the lowest in the US |
| Sports teams & arenas within 90 mi | 110 | higher than 91% of US counties |
| Bike paths (km) within 15 mi | 48 km | higher than 73% of US counties |
Most similar counties
Closest across all well-covered metrics.
Every number is from a public dataset; N/A means the source doesn't cover this county. Percentages compare against all US counties. ≈ marks a value not measured in the county itself; the line under it says where it comes from. Report bad data