Rank

3089of 3,144

Merced, California

Score 4.17 / 10· population 291,920

About 291,900 people live in Merced, California. It ranks #3,089 of 3,144 counties for liberty, and #51 of 58 in California. The combined sales tax is 7.75%, higher than in 80% of counties. Property tax takes about 0.67% of a home's value each year, less than in 57% of counties. Local government employs a larger share of working residents than in 84% of counties. The homicide rate is higher than in 84% of counties. Life expectancy is about 76.8 years, longer than in 61% of counties. Air quality is worse than in 95% of counties (a typical day's air quality index is 51), and flood and hurricane risk is higher than in 91% of counties. On this site's state scores, California gets 4.79 of 10 for economic freedom, based on the Fraser Institute's ranking, and 1 of 10 for gun rights.

v4 — beta, 30 October 2026, sourced values