2025 Compare Cities Economy:
Seaside, CA vs Merced, CA

Change Cities
Highlights
- Household income in Merced, is 29% less than it is in Seaside and is 32% below the National Average.
- Seaside unemployment rate is 4.2%.
- Merced unemployment rate is 9.3%.
 Seaside, CAMerced, CAUnited States
 Unemployment Rate  Unlock9.3%6.0%
 Recent Job Growth  Unlock2.5%1.6%
 Future Job Growth30.8%  Unlock33.5%
 Sales Taxes9.3%  Unlock6.2%
 Income Taxes  Unlock8.0%4.6%
 Income per Cap.$29,506  Unlock$37,638
 Household Income  Unlock$52,305$69,021
 Family Median Income$78,855  Unlock$85,028
 space
 Est. Households By Income
 Seaside, CAMerced, CAUnited States
 Income Less Than 15K  Unlock14.3%9.4%
 Income between 15K and 20K2.6%  Unlock3.8%
 Income between 20K and 30K  Unlock10.4%8.1%
 Income between 30K and 40K8.9%  Unlock8.0%
 Income between 40K and 50K  Unlock8.8%7.6%
 Income between 50K and 60K6.4%  Unlock7.2%
 Income between 60K and 75K  Unlock10.6%9.6%
 Income between 75K and 100K14.3%  Unlock12.8%
 Income between 100K and 150K  Unlock13.4%16.3%
 Income between 150K and 200K7.7%  Unlock7.8%
 Income greater than 200K  Unlock4.5%9.5%
 space1
 Population By Occupation
 Seaside, CAMerced, CAUnited States
 Management, business, finance10.3%  Unlock16.4%
 Engineering, computers, science  Unlock2.9%6.5%
 Community, social services1.2%  Unlock1.8%
 Legal  Unlock0.5%1.2%
 Education, library5.9%  Unlock6.2%
 Arts, design, media, sports, entertainment  Unlock1.4%2.0%
 Healthcare practitioners and technology3.8%  Unlock6.2%
 Healthcare support  Unlock5.3%3.3%
 Firefighters, law enforcement2.0%  Unlock2.1%
 Food preparation, serving  Unlock6.2%5.4%
 Building maintenance12.2%  Unlock3.6%
 Personal care  Unlock3.7%2.6%
 Sales, office, administrative support18.0%  Unlock20.9%
 Farming, fishing, forestry  Unlock8.1%0.6%
 Construction, extraction, maintenance/repair7.7%  Unlock8.1%
 Production, transportation, material moving  Unlock15.8%13.1%
Reviews for Seaside    4 Reviews

Over 4 years ago

I’ve lived in Seaside for the past 20 years and I love it. I’m a fourth generation Monterey Bay family. Seaside hands down has the best views in the Monterey Bay. It’s a  More

   |    Reply

Over 15 years ago

Housing in Seaside is more affordable than it was, mainly due to the bursting of the housing bubble. There are still problems, though, mainly because of the huge number  More

   |    Reply

Over 19 years ago

unless you went to grad school, or are already rich, don't expect to be able to get a nice house here. You'll be house-poor(not able to afford anything outside of your  More

   |    Reply

Start Your Review of Seaside

Reviews for Merced    44 Reviews

Merced is totally slept on - you want a little bit of everything CA has to offer, at a fraction of the price of other CA cities? Merced is the place to go. The town  More

   |    Reply

Over 5 years ago

Good place to live. More affordable than most of california. The city is growing and there is alot of business and growth here. Moved from the Bay area years ago and  More

   |    Reply

Great place to live. Lots of progress and changes coming to the city. Great place to raise a family. UC Merced is expanding and businesses are investing. Downtown is  More

   |    Reply

Start Your Review of Merced


Premium Subscription
Includes Cost of Living compares for child care, utilities, transportation, health, taxes, housing for home owners vs renters, weather, insurance premiums and so much more.


The premier source for comprehensive city data for over 30 years.

© Best Places. All rights reserved.