New US Census figures puts Merced among fastest-growing Valley counties. See by how much
Merced County added more than 25,000 people to its population during the 2010s, ranking as one of the fastest-growing counties in the central San Joaquin Valley by percentage increase over the decade.
Official figures released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau put Merced County’s population at 281,202 as of April 1, 2010, when the decennial Census was taken. That’s up by 25,490, or 9.9%, from the 2010 Census population of 255,793 residents.
The 9.9% change was the largest increase reported among nearby Fresno, Kings, Madera, Mariposa and Tulare counties.
The every-10-years Census provides the formal benchmark that will be used for not only redrawing boundaries for state legislative and congressional district, but also for allocating funds from myriad federal spending programs.
Population changes in other Valley counties were:
- Fresno County: an increase from 930,450 residents in 2010 to 1,008,654 in 2020 – a gain of 78,204 or 8.4%.
- Kings County: A decrease from 152,982 residents in 2010 to 152,486 in 2020 – a loss of 456 or 0.3%.
- Madera County: An increase from 150,865 in 2010 to 156,255 in 2020 – a gain of 5,390 or 3.6%
- Mariposa County: A decrease from 18,251 in 2010 to 17,131 in 2020 – a loss of 1,120 or 6.1%.
- Tulare County: An increase from 442,179 in 2010 to 473,117 in 2020 – a gain of 30,938 or 7.0%.
The population for the city of Merced is now counted as 86,333, an increase of 7,375 people or 9.3% from the 2010 Census count of 78,958 residents.
Statewide, California’s overall population rose from almost 37.3 million in 2010 to more than 39.5 million last year – an increase of almost 2.3 million or 6.1%.
The 2020 Census was marked by delays in collecting information from households caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, creating a corresponding delay in compiling the information for Thursday’s data release.
