Merced, California

"Merced" redirects here. For other uses, see Merced (disambiguation).

Merced, California
City
Merced Theatre Tioga Hotel Merced County Courthouse Merced County High School
Flag Seal
Interactive map of Merced, California
Merced Location within California Merced Location within the United States
Coordinates: 37°18′N 120°29′W
Country	United States
State	California
County	Merced
Incorporated	April 1, 1889
Government
• Type	Council–manager
• Mayor	Matthew Serratto
• State senator	Anna Caballero (D)
• Assemblymember	Esmeralda Soria (D)
• U.S. rep.	Adam Gray (D)
Area
• Total	23.25 sq mi (60.2 km2)
• Land	23.25 sq mi (60.2 km2)
• Water	0.00 sq mi (0 km2)  0%
Elevation	171 ft (52 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	86,333
• Rank	80th in California
• Density	3,712.61/sq mi (1,433.45/km2)
Time zone	UTC−08:00 (PST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−07:00 (PDT)
ZIP codes	95340–95341, 95344, 95348
Area code	209
FIPS code	06-46898
GNIS feature IDs	1659751, 2411080
Website	www.cityofmerced.gov

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Merced (/mɜːrˈsɛd/ ^ⓘ mur-SED; from Spanish for 'Mercy', pronounced [meɾˈseð]) is a city in and the county seat of Merced County, California, United States, in the San Joaquin Valley. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 86,333, up from 78,958 in 2010. 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 multiple beaches to the west. The community is served by the passenger rail service Amtrak, a minor, heavily subsidized 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, 55 miles (89 km) from Fresno, and 270 miles (430 km) from Los Angeles.

In 2005, the city became home to the 10th University of California campus, University of California, Merced (UC Merced), the first research university built in the U.S. in the 21st century.