The City of Merced is the largest city in Merced County and is the County seat of government. As Merced County’s government and civic hub, Merced is home to major retail, commercial and industrial centers in the area. With a vibrant city center, Merced is the cultural and business hub of the County.
The City has a healthy and diversified economy, housing McLane Pacific and SaveMart Distribution center, two grocery distribution centers a cluster of boat manufacturing companies like Malibu Boats and Fine Line Industries. Furthermore, companies like Safeway, RTS Packing and Scholle Corporation, among others are operating highly successful operations in Merced.
Bisected by the CA99 Corridor and two transcontinental rail lines (Union Pacific and Burlington Northern and Santa Fe), the City has developed into an important transportation hub with extraordinary access to both Northern and Southern California markets and to key global transport hubs in the Bay Area and Los Angeles. The Merced Municipal Airport is a commercial facility offering direct flights to Los Angeles and Oakland and also houses a growing onsite industrial park complex. Merced has a bustling downtown that serves as the heart of the community. This area has undergone a significant metamorphosis over the past several years, with new restaurants, stores, and a new UC Merced Downtown campus. The City has become an important college town with both Merced College and the newest University of California campus, UC Merced. With 7,500 students currently, the UC Merced campus is designed to support an enrollment of over 12,000 students. UC Merced offers cutting-edge learning and research programs in a range of specialty areas including, engineering, natural science. UC Merced is home to the Health Sciences Research Institute, Sierra Nevada Research Institute and the UC Solar Technologies Institute. Merced College has an enrollment of over 10,000 students and offers an array of higher learning programming.