Jury Pool Profile
Merced County, California
- County seat
- Merced
- Judicial district
- Merced County Superior Court
- Population (July 2025 estimate)
- 297,260
- Census PEP. The five-year ACS survey average is 290,201.
At a glance
Merced County is a 297,260-person venue. The county population is 32% White (Census race-alone categories). 63% identify as Hispanic or Latino of any race. Those figures overlap rather than adding up; counted separately, non-Hispanic White residents are 23.2%, which is the basis the chart below uses. Median household income is $65,325, $34,805 below the CA state median of $100,130; 15.3% of residents 25 and over hold a bachelor's degree or higher. 52.7% of residents 5 and older speak a language other than English at home, most commonly Spanish, then other Indo-European languages (4.5%), a group the Census does not break out. The largest employment sector is Education & health services, at 31.0% of covered employment, average pay $62,386/year. Trailing-12-month unemployment is 9.57%, above the 5.36% state average. The county has not voted for the same party across the 2016, 2020, and 2024 cycles . See Section 3 for cycle-by-cycle breakdowns.
- Population
- 290,201
- Median household income
- $65,510
- Unemployment
- 9.6%
Who sits on a jury?
<50% in any single race-alone group. White here: 32%; Black: 3%.
Merced County has a population of 290,201, with a median age of 31.8. By Census race-alone categories, White residents make up 31.5%; Black residents 2.8%. Independently, 63.4% of residents identify as Hispanic or Latino of any race.
The median household earns $65,325; 15.3% of residents 25 and over hold a bachelor's degree or higher; 18.4% live below the federal poverty line.
Economic context
Largest sector in BLS QCEW, even counting every withheld job toward the other sectors: Education & health services, about 31% of covered jobs.
Education & health services is the largest employment sector at 31.0% of covered employment, followed by Trade, transportation & utilities at 16.5%. Trailing-12-month unemployment is 9.57%, above the California state average.
Political composition
Different parties won across the 2016, 2020, and 2024 cycles.
Merced County was carried by the Republican candidate with 50.9% of the vote in 2024; the Democratic candidate with 54.1% of the vote in 2020; the Democratic candidate with 51.4% of the vote in 2016.
Languages, households, faith & health
Family households are 73% of all households (thresholds: ≥70% = 'family-dominant'; 50–70% = 'family-majority'; <50% = 'singles/nonfamily-majority'). 52.7% of residents 5 and older speak a language other than English at home (threshold for 'linguistically diverse' is ≥10%).
52.7% of residents 5 years and older speak a language other than English at home. The most common are Spanish, Tagalog, Arabic. Veterans account for 3.6% of the adult civilian population (7,464 individuals).