Merced and Stanislaus cities are demographically distinct, census data shows

Demographic statistics often get lumped together by county or region, but cities in Merced and Stanislaus counties have their own distinct characteristics.

Each town has a different population mix. They vary by age and race and lifestyle, which can create both opportunities and challenges for the private businesses and public agencies.

That’s why the Census Bureau constantly gathers data about what types of people live where. It used to ask probing questions only once a decade, but its American Community Survey now collects tidbits throughout every year.

The latest data for towns with 20,000 or more residents has been released.

They include facts for Merced and Atwater in Merced County, and Ceres, Modesto, Oakdale, Patterson, Riverbank and Turlock in Stanislaus County.

Browsing through the numbers, which combined data from 2011-13, reveals some interesting facts, such as:

Earnings gap: While men earn more than women in most of America, Atwater is the exception. Atwater women with full-time, year-round jobs earned more than men. The region’s biggest gender pay gap was found in Oakdale, where working women earned just 63 percent what that city’s men earned.

Singles scene: Those seeking single guys should look in Modesto or Merced, where more than 40 percent of the males age 15 and over had never been married. Single gals are much harder to find, especially in Oakdale, where only about 22 percent of females had yet to marry. But the real question is: Why do census-takers consider 15-year-olds of marrying age?

Disabled youngsters: Children in Atwater, Merced and Ceres were more than four times as likely to have disabilities as those living in Riverbank or Turlock. For working-age adults, Riverbank had the lowest percentage with disabilities, and Merced had the highest.

Commute times: Despite all the big employers, such as Amazon, that have moved to town, Patterson residents spent the most time driving to work. Their average morning commute was more than 40 minutes long. That’s nearly double the time it took for Turlock residents to arrive at work. In Merced and Atwater, the average commute to work is 22 minutes.

Unemployment: During the 2011-13 recession years, unemployment rates were high throughout the region. But they were lowest in Riverbank and Turlock at 14 percent, and highest in Ceres, 19 percent. Unemployment rates for the same time frame in Merced and Atwater were estimated at 18.8 and 18.2 percent , respectively.

Veterans: Adults in Oakdale and Tuolumne County were more than twice as likely to have served in America’s armed forces as those in Ceres. And they were nearly three times more likely to be veterans as Patterson adults. In Atwater, civilian veterans make up 8.3 percent of the population, while in Merced, that number drops to 5.5 percent.

Educated adults: In Stanislaus County, Oakdale had the highest percentage of adults who had graduated from high school, but it lagged behind Modesto, Riverbank and Turlock when it came to percentage of adults with college degrees. Turlock, which is a university town, had the most folks with high-level degrees, such as those needed to be doctors, lawyers and college professors. About 10.2 percent of people living in Merced, also a university town, have a bachelor’s degree, and 6.1 percent have a graduate or professional degree.

Racial diversity: In Atwater and Merced, Latinos make up more than 50 percent of the population. Less than 21 percent of Patterson’s residents were white non-Latinos, compared with 82 percent of those who lived in Tuolumne County. Patterson had the region’s highest percentage of black residents at nearly 9 percent, and about the highest percentage of Asians, 10 percent, and Latinos, 54 percent.

Seniors vs. toddlers: There were more than five senior citizens for every preschooler in Tuolumne County. By contrast, Patterson had more children under 5 than it had seniors over 65.

Fertility rates: Ceres and Turlock are only about 10 miles apart, but birth rates were higher in Turlock. About 7 percent of Turlock women told census-takers they had given birth to a baby during the previous year, compared with 5 percent of Ceres women. More than 55 percent of those Ceres moms were unmarried, but just 20 percent of those Turlock moms were single.

English speakers: About 22 percent of Ceres and Patterson residents don’t speak English very well, but that was true for only 11 percent of Manteca residents.

Hundreds of additional statistics about cities throughout America can be found on the Census Bureau’s website, http://factfinder2.census.gov.

This story was originally published November 18, 2014 at 7:16 AM with the headline "Merced and Stanislaus cities are demographically distinct, census data shows."