MERCED COUNTY FAST FACTS

Merced County is located in California’s Central Valley neighboring the Sierra Nevada foothills to the east and a mix of rural and urban counties to the west. An agricultural epicenter that is nearly 2,000 square miles, the county grossed $3.72 billion in agricultural commodities in 2021. Serving nearly 60,000 students in 20 school districts across Merced County, it is also home to California’s tenth research university, UC Merced.

107 SCHOOLS

59,066 STUDENTS

92% GRAD RATE

286,461* POPULATION

11.5% STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES

76.8% SOCIOECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGE STUDENTS

25.3%

ENGLISH LEARNER STUDENTS

2.6% HOMELESS STUDENTS AND FOSTER YOUTH

2,643 CREDENTIALED TEACHERS SCHOOL ACCOUNTABILITY SYSTEM

California’s accountability system is based on a multiple measures system that assesses how local educational agencies (LEAs) and schools are meeting the needs of their students. Performance on these measures is reported through the California School Dashboard. The most recent update to the Dashboard resets the previous baseline since some student testing was suspended or optional during the COVID-19 health crisis. To view information about your local school, visit caschooldashboard.org.

13,209 ** SCHOOL EMPLOYEES

$58,861 COUNTY MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME

58.8% 4-YEAR AND COMMUNITY COLLEGE-GOING RATE (2019-20)

Student data for 2021-22 school year collected from California Department of Education.

* United States Census Bureau (2020)

**This reflects the number of Merced County school employees at any given time in 2022.

Schools By Type

Enrollment By Ethnicity

School District Enrollment

Merced County’s 20 school districts and the county office of education serve a diverse population of students from transitional kindergarten through adults at 107 school sites across the region. PLANADA ELEMENTARY