Homes, condos and land for sale and rent in Merced, CA

 

Overview

Merced (Spanish for “Mercy”) is a city in, and the county seat of, Merced County in the San Joaquin Valley of Northern California. As of 2014, the city had a population of 81,743. Incorporated on April 1, 1889, Merced is a charter city that operates under a council-manager government. It is named after the Merced River, which flows nearby.
Merced, known as the “Gateway to Yosemite”, is less than two hours by automobile from Yosemite National Park to the east and Monterey Bay, the Pacific Ocean, and several beaches to the west. The community is served by the rail passenger service Amtrak, a major airline through Merced Regional Airport, and three bus lines. It is approximately 110 miles (180 km) from Sacramento, 130 miles (210 km) from San Francisco, 45 miles (72 km) from Fresno, and 270 miles (430 km) from Los Angeles.
In 2005, the city became home to the tenth University of California campus, University of California, Merced (UC Merced), the first research university built in the U.S. in the 21st century.

The first Merced post office opened in 1870. Merced incorporated in 1889 and now operates under the Council-Manager form of government.
A plaque marking the site of the Merced Assembly Center.
During World War II, the Merced County fairgrounds was the site of a temporary “assembly center” where Japanese Americans were detained after being removed from their West Coast homes under Executive Order 9066. 4,669 men, women and children from central California (with most coming from Merced County) were confined in the Merced Assembly Center from May 6 to September 15, 1942, when they were transferred to the more permanent Granada internment camp in Colorado.

Merced is approximately 110 miles (180 km) southeast of San Francisco and 310 miles (500 km) northwest of Los Angeles.
A major groundwater plume containing the contaminant PCE was discovered in Merced in the year 1987. Subsequently, drilling of new water wells was severely restricted.

Merced has a semi-arid climate. Average January temperatures are a maximum of 55.0 °F and a minimum of 36.0 °F. Average July temperatures are a maximum of 97.1 °F and a minimum of 60.9 °F. There are an average of 98.7 days with highs of 90 °F (32 °C) or higher and an average of 33.6 days with lows of 32 °F (0 °C) or lower. The record highest temperature of 114 °F was recorded on July 24, 1902, and August 8, 1905. The record lowest temperature of 13 °F was recorded on January 13, 2007.

Most of the rainfall occurs during the winter and averages 12.21 inches (310 mm) annually. There are an average of 48 days annually with measurable precipitation. The wettest year was 1998 with 21.66 inches (550 mm) and the driest year was 1947 with 5.50 inches (140 mm). The most rainfall in one month was 8.00 inches (203 mm) in January 1909. The most rainfall in 24 hours was 2.20 inches (56 mm), which occurred on January 30, 1911, and March 9, 1911. Although snow is relatively rare in Merced, averaging only 0.6-inch (15 mm) annually, the city’s proximity to the Sierra Nevada has resulted in some instances of remarkably heavy snowfall. The record 24-hour snowfall was 13.9 inches (35 cm) on February 16, 1946. The most snowfall in one month was 39.0 inches (99 cm) in December 1906.

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 (52.1%) 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 1,177.1 per square mile (454.5/km²), 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.

The Merced area has access to several institutions of higher learning. Within a one-hour radius, close to 100,000 students attend colleges and universities, including: University of California, Merced, California State University, Stanislaus, California State University, Fresno and the University of the Pacific. Schools of Engineering and Business are readily at hand. The University of California, Merced campus opened in late 2005 northeast of the city limits. UC Merced for the 2012 academic year has an enrollment of about 5,760 students. Merced is served by the Merced Union High School District and three major public high school campuses, Merced High School, Golden Valley High School, and El Capitan High School as well as a few smaller campuses offering alternative education. Merced has one community college, Merced College, which has an enrollment of more than 10,000 full-time equivalent students (FTES).
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