City · Merced County, California

Atwater, California

Atwater is a city in Merced County, California, part of the Merced, CA metro area. It has 32,162 residents. Atwater, California has a quality-of-life score of 2 out of 100 (very low), ranking #15,376 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within California it ranks #1,004 of 1,062 cities and towns. It ranks best on comfortable days (high), drought exposure (low) and suicide rate (low). It ranks worst on high school diploma or higher (low), social associations (low) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) (high).

2Very low

Quality-of-life score: #15,376 of 15,651 cities and towns
California: #1,004 of 1,062 in CA
Population: 32,162 (2020-2024)
Land area: 7 mi²
Density: 4,897.5 /mi²
FIPS code: 0603162

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 76 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety16#13,168/15,637
Economy11#13,933/15,631
Housing11#13,297/14,977
Health40#9,371/15,609
Healthcare20#12,573/15,650
Environment9#14,050/15,453
Education1#15,532/15,649
Infrastructure27#11,439/15,650
Community2#15,358/15,651
Leisure & amenities13#13,618/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Atwater, California ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Merced County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Comfortable days · high33.4%
91/100California 34.8%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationMerced County value
Drought exposure · low2%
90/100California 9%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAAMerced County value
Suicide rate · low9.2 /100k
87/100California 9.9 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataMerced County value
Days with unhealthy air · low0.0%
84/100California 12.4%2025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyMerced County value
Grocery stores · high2.1 /10k
76/100California 2.0 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsMerced County value
Distance to an Amtrak station · low9 mi
76/100California 10 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauMerced County value

Weaknesses

High school diploma or higher · low74.4%
2/100California 84.7%United States 89.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Social associations · low3.4 /10k
2/100California 6.2 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMerced County value
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · high10.0 µg/m³
3/100California 9.4 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyMerced County value
New business applications · low7.4 /1k
4/100California 14.1 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauMerced County value
Students per teacher · high21.7×
4/100California 21.7×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsMerced County value
Loneliness · high39.4%
5/100California 37.8%United States 33.2%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationRising
29,296 (2015-2019) → 32,162 (2020-2024)
+9.8%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
New homes permittedWorsening
2.5 /1k (2021) → 0.1 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−95%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Home price to income ratioWorsening
4.1× (2015-2019) → 5.6× (2020-2024)
+37%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
87.2% (2015-2019) → 91.0% (2020-2024)
+3.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$55,674 (2015-2019) → $64,472 (2020-2024)
+16%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
50.4% (2015-2019) → 53.4% (2020-2024)
+3 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Atwater, California improved on 2 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 11 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved2

Broadband+3.9 points87.2% → 91.0%
Household income+16%$55,674 → $64,472

Declined1

Price / income+1.5×4.1× → 5.6×

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Atwater, California between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	28.7 min2015-2019	28.3 min2020-2024	−0.3 min	Within the margin of error	52%
Bachelor's degree or higher	14.0%2015-2019	12.9%2020-2024	−1.1 points	Within the margin of error	21%
Broadband subscriptions	87.2%2015-2019	91.0%2020-2024	+3.9 points	Improved	25%
Child poverty rate	29.2%2015-2019	28.4%2020-2024	−0.9 points	Within the margin of error	50%
Effective property tax rate	0.83%2015-2019	0.70%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	42%
High school diploma or higher	73.2%2015-2019	74.4%2020-2024	+1.2 points	Within the margin of error	49%
Home price to income ratio	4.1×2015-2019	5.6×2020-2024	+1.5×	Declined	9%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4212015-2019	0.4192020-2024	−0.002	Within the margin of error	52%
Median household income	$55,6742015-2019	$64,4722020-2024	+16%	Improved	25%
Poverty rate	20.7%2015-2019	21.0%2020-2024	+0.3 points	Within the margin of error	41%
Rent as share of income	30.2%2015-2019	31.9%2020-2024	+1.7 points	Within the margin of error	42%
Rent-burdened households	50.4%2015-2019	53.4%2020-2024	+3 points	Within the margin of error	45%
Unemployment rate	11.2%2015-2019	12.3%2020-2024	+1.1 points	Within the margin of error	28%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	8.2%2015-2019	10.5%2020-2024	+2.3 points	Within the margin of error	24%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Atwater, California five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Atwater, California in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Atwater, California itself moved −5.2 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

32,162 residents (±43)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79
60–69

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

9,872 households (±530)

Atwater, California
California share

Under $25k18%1,751
$25k–50k20%1,932
$50k–75k21%2,118

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

9,872 households (±530)

Atwater, California
California share

Own52%5,141
Rent48%4,731

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

12,626 workers (±658)

Atwater, California
California share

Drive alone79%10,001
Carpool13%1,594
Public transit0.7%†83

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Merced, CA

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Merced County, the county holding most of Atwater's residents.

Merced County has 3,592 employer establishments, 122 for every 10,000 residents (0.49× the US rate of 248; 0.46× California's), with 49,545 paid employees at an average annual pay of $49,482. The Census Bureau also counts 15,002 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 3,592; 15,002 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 122; US 248 · California 263
Paid employees: 49,545
Average annual pay: $49,482; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Merced County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Ambulatory health care services	356	12.1	0.58×Fewer than typical	3,282	$67,165	448
Restaurants and other eating places	335	11.4	0.62×Fewer than typical	5,977	$22,660	87
Truck transportation	280	9.5	1.88×More than typical	1,173	$59,273	1,478
Specialty trade contractors	273	9.3	0.60×Fewer than typical	2,592	$63,887	719
Limited-service restaurants	169	5.7	0.72×Fewer than typical	3,687	$20,647	30
Lessors of real estate	149	5.1	0.41×Fewer than typical	559	$41,599	1,010
Offices of physicians	127	4.3	0.67×Fewer than typical	912	$78,552	53
Construction of buildings	122	4.1	0.55×Fewer than typical	529	$56,692	474
Full-service restaurants	117	4	0.52×Fewer than typical	1,581	$26,801	38
Building equipment contractors	106	3.6	0.60×Fewer than typical	744	$59,239	150
Services to buildings and dwellings	104	3.5	0.52×Fewer than typical	513	$44,275	1,139
Automotive repair and maintenance	103	3.5	0.69×Fewer than typical	595	$44,197	343

Rank places for an industry Open Merced County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 294,319 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $892.8K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Atwater, California: $27.76 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $892.8K; −7.9% vs FY2025
Per resident: $27.76; US $1,994
Sole-source: 30%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.1%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Agricultural Marketing Service$298.2K33%
Federal Prison System / Bureau of Prisons$279.3K31%
Department of Veterans Affairs$276.1K31%
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service$35.6K4.0%
Department of the Air Force$3,5300.4%
Federal Prison Industries / Unicor$1280.0%

Top recipients

RONALD DANEL$276.1K31%
DOLE PACKAGED FOODS, LLC$258.6K29%
SEVEN CORNERS INC$254.2K28%
CERTIFIED STAINLESS SERVICE, INC.$35.6K4.0%
TEASDALE FOODS, INC.$32.6K3.7%

Spending by fiscal year

1.5MFY2017
3.1MFY2018
2.1MFY2019
999KFY2020
1.6MFY2021
1.7MFY2022
1.3MFY2023
826.8K

Top industries (NAICS)

Fruit and vegetable preserving and specialty food manufacturing · 3114$291.3K33%
Other nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing · 3279$276.1K31%
General medical and surgical hospitals · 6221$254.1K28%
Boiler, tank, and shipping container manufacturing · 3324$35.6K4.0%
Building equipment contractors · 2382$13.5K1.5%
Employment services · 5613

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Atwater, California, so they do not add up across cities.

Atwater, California's figures are part of those of Merced County, CA ($155.1M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.6% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Atwater is mostly in Merced County.

See federal money in Merced County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Atwater, California is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Adam GrayD-CA-13 · 100% of residentsWith party 76%Missed 5.9%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Merced County9100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Merced, CA4

Other cities and towns in Merced County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/0603162

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends