Demographics of Merced County, California

Merced County, California had 297,260 people on July 1, 2025, by the Census Bureau’s estimate: +14,365 since July 2020. Age, income, poverty, housing and origin below come from the American Community Survey, averaged over 2020–2024, each with its margin of error.

Merced County, in four figures

297,260
Population: July 1, 2025, Vintage 2025 estimate.; +5.1%
Change since July 2020: +14,365 people.; 31.8 ±0.2
Median age: ACS 2020–⁠2024.; $65,510 ±$2,304
Median household income: ACS 2020–⁠2024, in 2024 dollars.

Population, year by year

July 1 estimates from the Census Bureau’s Vintage 2025. Each year's change is births less deaths, net moves from abroad and net moves from elsewhere in the country, with the Bureau's small residual. The 2020 row's components run 3 months, from the April census to July 1.

Merced County, California's population grew 5.1% from July 2020 to July 2025, against +3.1% nationally

The July 1 estimate of Merced County, California's resident population and the nation's, each year of the Census Bureau's Vintage 2025, as a share of its July 2020 level (= 100).

U.S. Census Bureau — Census Bureau population estimates — counties and Puerto Rico municipios, with components of change

About this chart

The figures

Merced County, California's population grew 5.1% from July 2020 to July 2025, against +3.1% nationally. The July 1 estimate of Merced County, California's resident population and the nation's, each year of the Census Bureau's Vintage 2025, as a share of its July 2020 level (= 100).
July 1	Population	Index	United States
2020	282,895	100.0	100.0
2021	287,854	101.8	100.2
2022	291,781	103.1	100.7
2023	294,319	104.0	101.6
2024	296,807	104.9	102.5
2025	297,260	105.1	103.1

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Population of Merced County, California on July 1 of each year, Vintage 2025
July 1	Population	Change	Births less deaths	From abroad	From elsewhere in the country
2020	282,895	+438	+366	+3	−18
2021	287,854	+4,959	+1,424	+116	+3,329
2022	291,781	+3,927	+1,586	+989	+1,459
2023	294,319	+2,538	+1,690	+1,536	−656
2024	296,807	+2,488	+1,619	+1,754	−890
2025	297,260	+453	+1,591	+145	−1,310

Age, 2020–2024

The median age is 31.8 ±0.2: for men 31.1 ±0.3 and for women 32.5 ±0.2. Shares are of everyone the survey counts, in the Bureau’s sex-by-age table (B01001).

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People in Merced County by age, ACS 2020–2024
Age	People	Share	California	United States
Under 5	20,395 ±69	7.0% ±<0.1	5.5% ±<0.1	5.6% ±<0.1
5 to 17	62,935 ±1,553	21.7% ±0.5	16.5% ±<0.1	16.3% ±<0.1
18 to 24	32,744 ±1,126	11.3% ±0.4	9.1% ±<0.1	9.1% ±<0.1
25 to 44	79,664 ±1,210	27.5% ±0.4	28.7% ±<0.1	26.9% ±<0.1
45 to 64	60,462 ±1,129	20.8% ±0.4	24.6% ±<0.1	24.8% ±<0.1
65 and over	34,001 ±1,190	11.7% ±0.4	15.7% ±<0.1	17.2% ±<0.1

Income and poverty, 2020–2024

Median household income is $65,510 ±$2,304, and income per person $28,030 ±$830, in 2024 dollars. The median is $99,122 ±$310 in California and $80,734 ±$166 in the United States.

Households by income

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Households in Merced County by income, ACS 2020–2024
Household income	Households	Share	California	United States
Under $25,000	15,958 ±1,064	18.5% ±1.2	12.5% ±0.1	14.6% ±<0.1
$25,000 to $49,999	16,687 ±1,167	19.4% ±1.4	13.3% ±0.1	16.7% ±<0.1
$50,000 to $74,999	15,941 ±1,081	18.5% ±1.3	13.0% ±0.1	15.5% ±<0.1
$75,000 to $99,999	11,499 ±945	13.4% ±1.1	11.6% ±0.1	12.6% ±<0.1
$100,000 to $149,999	13,522 ±874	15.7% ±1.0	17.8% ±0.1	17.5% ±<0.1
$150,000 to $199,999	6,243 ±749	7.3% ±0.9	11.3% ±0.1	9.6% ±<0.1
$200,000 or more	6,205 ±624	7.2% ±0.7	20.5% ±0.1	13.4% ±0.1

Poverty by age

The poverty rate is the share of people whose family income is below the federal threshold for their family’s size, of everyone for whom the Bureau determines it (B17020).

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Poverty rate in Merced County by age, ACS 2020–2024
Age	Below poverty	Rate	California	United States
All ages	54,568 ±3,516	19.1% ±1.2	12.0% ±0.1	12.5% ±0.1
Under 18	21,818 ±1,526	26.5% ±1.7	15.0% ±0.1	16.1% ±0.1
18 to 59	25,232 ±1,879	16.1% ±1.2	11.0% ±0.1	11.6% ±0.1
60 and over	7,518 ±803	16.0% ±1.6	11.5% ±0.1	11.0% ±<0.1

Housing, 2020–2024

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Housing in Merced County, ACS 2020–2024
Measure	Merced County	California	United States
Housing units	90,872 ±70	14,644,735 ±1,665	143,775,355 ±10,234
Occupied	94.7% ±0.6	92.5% ±0.1	89.9% ±0.1
Vacant	5.3% ±0.6	7.5% ±0.1	10.1% ±0.1
Owner occupied	54.0% ±1.4	55.9% ±0.3	65.2% ±0.3
Renter occupied	46.0% ±1.3	44.1% ±0.2	34.8% ±0.1
Median home value	$391,800 ±$5,618	$734,700 ±$1,307	$332,700 ±$236
Median gross rent	$1,343 ±$27	$2,036 ±$5	$1,413 ±$2
Median year built	1986 ±1	1976 ±1	1980 ±1

Occupied and vacant are shares of all housing units; owner and renter occupied are shares of occupied units. Value and rent are medians in 2024 dollars.

Origin and place of birth, 2020–2024

Hispanic or Latino origin is not a race in the Census Bureau’s tables. Here the people of Hispanic origin, of any race, are one row, and everyone else is counted by race alone (B03002), so the rows add to the whole.

Hispanic origin and race

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People in Merced County by Hispanic origin and race, ACS 2020–2024
Origin	People	Share	California	United States
Hispanic or Latino	183,933 ±0	63.4% ±<0.1	40.2% ±<0.1	19.3% ±<0.1
White alone, not Hispanic	67,325 ±878	23.2% ±0.3	33.8% ±<0.1	57.4% ±<0.1
Black alone, not Hispanic	7,455 ±474	2.6% ±0.2	5.2% ±<0.1	11.9% ±<0.1
Asian alone, not Hispanic	20,536 ±619	7.1% ±0.2	15.3% ±<0.1	5.9% ±<0.1
American Indian and Alaska Native alone, not Hispanic	573 ±209	0.2% ±0.1	0.3% ±<0.1	0.5% ±<0.1
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone, not Hispanic	709 ±148	0.2% ±0.1	0.3% ±<0.1	0.2% ±<0.1
Some other race alone, not Hispanic	1,299 ±448	0.4% ±0.2	0.6% ±<0.1	0.6% ±<0.1
Two or more races, not Hispanic	8,371 ±979	2.9% ±0.3	4.4% ±<0.1	4.3% ±<0.1

Place of birth and citizenship

“Born a citizen outside the states” counts people born in Puerto Rico, the island areas, or abroad to American parents. Naturalized citizens and those who are not citizens together make up the people born abroad (B05002).

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People in Merced County by place of birth and citizenship, ACS 2020–2024
Born	People	Share	California	United States
Born in the state	192,899 ±2,064	66.5% ±0.7	56.5% ±0.1	57.3% ±<0.1
Born in another state	20,160 ±1,152	6.9% ±0.4	15.0% ±0.1	26.9% ±<0.1
Born a citizen outside the states	2,887 ±517	1.0% ±0.2	1.5% ±<0.1	1.7% ±<0.1
Born abroad	74,255 ±2,379	25.6% ±0.8	27.0% ±0.1	14.1% ±<0.1
Naturalized citizens	31,203 ±1,454	10.8% ±0.5	14.7% ±0.1	7.4% ±<0.1
Not citizens	43,052 ±2,085	14.8% ±0.7	12.3% ±0.1	6.8% ±<0.1

Merced County among the counties of California

23rd of 58 by population, July 2025. Every one is listed on the California page.

Counties of California near Merced County in population, July 2025
County	July 2025	Change since 2020
Tulare County	485,146	+2.4%
Solano County	455,376	+0.5%
Placer County	442,081	+8.9%
Santa Barbara County	442,065	−1.4%
Monterey County	433,729	−1.5%
Merced County	297,260	+5.1%
San Luis Obispo County	282,367	< +0.1%
Santa Cruz County	258,852	−4.7%
Marin County	253,694	−2.9%
Yolo County	224,410	+3.1%
Butte County	209,211	−0.5%

Elsewhere on the site

Sources

Census Bureau population estimates — counties and Puerto Rico municipios, with components of change — U.S. Census Bureau · U.S. Government work · retrieved September 25, 2026
American Community Survey 5-year estimates — table-based Summary File · U.S. Government work

Data retrieved September 25, 2026