Ballico, California

Ballico is a census-designated place^[4] in Merced County, California, United States.^[2] It is located 9 miles (14 km) northwest of Atwater^[5] at an elevation of 151 feet (46 m).^[2] The population was 347 at the 2020 United States census,^[3] down from 406 in 2010.

Ballico
Census-designated place
Location in Merced County, California
Ballico Show map of California Ballico Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 37°27′16″N 120°42′22″W
Country	United States
State	California
County	Merced County
Area [1]
• Total	3.02 sq mi (7.8 km2)
• Land	3.02 sq mi (7.8 km2)
• Water	0.00 sq mi (0 km2)  0%
Elevation [2]	151 ft (46 m)
Population  (2020)[3]
• Total	347
• Density	114.8/sq mi (44.33/km2)
Time zone	UTC-8 (Pacific (PST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-7 (PDT)
ZIP Code	95303
Area code	209
GNIS feature IDs	1655810;[2] 2582939[4]

Ballico is located in the northern part of Merced County, just north of where the Santa Fe railroad (the original San Francisco and San Joaquin Valley Railroad line) crosses the Merced River. Delhi is to the west, Denair to the northwest, and Cressey is across the river to the southeast. The ZIP Code is 95303. The community is inside area code 209.

The name is a portmanteau of Ballantine Company, owner of the ranch on which the town was built.^[5]

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP covers an area of 3.0 square miles (7.8 km²), all of it land.^[1]

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
2010	406		—
2020	347		−14.5%
U.S. Decennial Census[6] 1850–1870[7][8] 1880-1890[9] 1900[10] 1910[11] 1920[12] 1930[13] 1940[14] 1950[15] 1960[16] 1970[17] 1980[18] 1990[19] 2000[20] 2010[21]

Ballico first appeared as a census designated place in the 2010 U.S. census.^[21]

The 2020 United States census reported that Ballico had a population of 347. The population density was 114.8 inhabitants per square mile (44.3/km²). The racial makeup of Ballico was 50.7% White, 0.3% African American, 4.9% Native American, 4.3% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, 20.7% from other races, and 19.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 50.4% of the population.

The whole population lived in households. There were 118 households, out of which 50.0% included children under the age of 18, 57.6% were married-couple households, 7.6% were cohabiting couple households, 20.3% had a female householder with no partner present, and 14.4% had a male householder with no partner present. 11.9% of households were one person, and 5.9% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.94. There were 100 families (84.7% of all households).

The age distribution was 25.6% under the age of 18, 12.1% aged 18 to 24, 23.6% aged 25 to 44, 27.4% aged 45 to 64, and 11.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32.9 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.4 males.

There were 119 housing units at an average density of 39.4 units per square mile (15.2 units/km²), of which 118 (99.2%) were occupied. Of these, 58.5% were owner-occupied, and 41.5% were occupied by renters.^[22][23]

Government

Local

The Turlock Irrigation District provides irrigation water and electrical service. Ballico and Cressey share an elementary school district.

State and federal

In the California State Legislature, Ballico is in the 4th senatorial district, represented by Republican Marie Alvarado-Gil, and in the 22nd Assembly district, represented by Republican Juan Alanis.^[24]

In the United States House of Representatives, Ballico is in California's 13th congressional district, represented by Democrat Adam Gray.^[25]