Racial and ethnic composition 2020 census As of the
2020 census, Merced had a population of 86,333. The population density was , and the median age was 30.5 years. There were 27,462 households, of which 42.1% included children under the age of 18. Of all households, 40.7% were married-couple households, 8.9% were
cohabiting couple households, 31.0% had a female householder with no partner present, and 19.5% had a male householder with no partner present. 21.1% of households were one person, and 8.6% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 3.11. There were 19,546
families (71.2% of all households). There were 29,083 housing units at an average density of , of which 27,462 (94.4%) were occupied. •
Mexican (50.9%) •
English (8%) •
German (6.5%) •
Irish (6.3%) •
Hmong (4.7%) •
African American (4.2%) •
Italian (2.7%) •
Filipino (2.3%) •
Portuguese (2.1%) •
Scottish (1.4%)
2023 ACS 5-year estimate In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that the median household income was $59,938, and the
per capita income was $26,140. About 18.6% of families and 23.0% of the population were below the poverty line.
2010 census The
2010 United States census reported that Merced had a population of 78,959. The
population density was 3,386.4 people per square mile. (1,307.5/km2). The racial makeup of Merced was 41,177 (52.2%)
White, 4,958 (6.3%)
African American, 1,153 (1.5%)
Native American, 9,342 (11.8%)
Asian, 174 (0.2%)
Pacific Islander, 17,804 (22.5%) from
other races, and 4,350 (5.5%) from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 39,140 persons (49.6%). The Census reported that 77,878 people (98.6% of the population) lived in households, 492 (0.6%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 588 (0.7%) were institutionalized. There were 24,899 households, out of which 11,484 (46.1%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 10,958 (44.0%) were
opposite-sex married couples living together, 4,921 (19.8%) had a female householder with no husband present, 1,941 (7.8%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 2,156 (8.7%)
unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 167 (0.7%)
same-sex married couples or partnerships. 5,356 households (21.5%) were made up of individuals, and 1,823 (7.3%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.13. There were 17,820
families (71.6% of all households); the average family size was 3.65. The population was spread out, with 25,091 people (31.8%) under the age of 18, 10,475 people (13.3%) aged 18 to 24, 20,986 people (26.6%) aged 25 to 44, 15,484 people (19.6%) aged 45 to 64, and 6,922 people (8.8%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28.1 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.6 males. There were 27,446 housing units at an average density of , of which 10,637 (42.7%) were owner-occupied, and 14,262 (57.3%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 3.5%; the rental vacancy rate was 8.5%. 31,690 people (40.1% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 46,188 people (58.5%) lived in rental housing units.
Hmong community Escaping persecution from Communist forces after the
Laotian Civil War,
Hmong refugees from
Laos moved to the United States in the 1970s and '80s, first settling in Merced and other areas in the
Central Valley of California. The Hmong could not initially take part in farming like they had expected, as the land was owned by other people. As the Hmong settlement matured and the Hmong children gained English language skills, the town's overall attitude began to be more accepting of the Hmong community. the Merced Department of Public Health's MATCH (Multidisciplinary Approach to Cross-Cultural Health) program, intending to draw Hmong patients into the health care system, a body of Hmong-speaking faculty and paraprofessionals (including college classes on Hmong culture and language), and media outlets for the Hmong community—cable television channel Channel 11 broadcasts programming to the Hmong community twice per week and radio station
KBIF 900 AM airs programming oriented towards Hmong people. and
Asian Indian) populations relative to the city and county's population size. In Merced County, Black history goes back to before the Civil War. According to historian Sarah Lim, during the mid-1800s Blacks came to this region and California as enslaved persons, while others arrived as free settlers. The 2011 census reported that 9,837 Black or
African Americans lived in Merced County
Crime In 2021, Merced had approximately 4,000 violent crimes occur within the city. This means that with a population of just 89,303 people, in 2021, individuals had approximately a 4.5% chance of falling victim to a crime while living-in or visiting Merced. Of the crimes that occurred, roughly 1,200 were physical (such as assault, rape or homicide) and 2,500 were property-related (e.g. burglary and theft). However, these crimes occurring in 2021 resulted in 13 fatalities. With its high crime rate, Merced is considered one of the "50 most dangerous" Californian cities to live in. ==Government==