Los Banos, California
15 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1921 and the latest in 1983. It stands in the Los Banos census division. It lies in ZIP code area 93635. It lies near Henry Miller Field. The Survey maps it on the Los Banos quadrangle. 45,532 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 118 feet above sea level.
Then and now
1921 to 1983The same ground, surveyed 62 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.


On record in Los Banos
Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.
On the National Register 2 records
Bank of Los Banos Buildinglisted 1979
Church of St. Josephlisted 2004
Population over time
2 figuresLos Banos grew from 35,972 to 45,532 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 35,972 | |
| 2020 | 45,532 | +9,560 (+27%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
9 surveys from 15 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1921 USGS Los Banos quadrangle1:31680, 2 printings
- 1947 USGS Los Banos quadrangle1:24000
- 1947 USGS San Jose quadrangle1:250000
- 1956 USGS San Jose quadrangle1:250000
- 1960 USGS Los Banos quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1961 USGS Los Banos quadrangle1:62500
- 1962 USGS San Jose quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1966 USGS San Jose quadrangle1:250000
- 1983 USGS Merced quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
522 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 522 fires within 5 miles of Los Banos between 1992 and 2020, burning about 1,028 acres in total. 2 started naturally. 23 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 333 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 93 |
| Debris and open burning | 43 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 23 |
| Smoking | 13 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 7 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 5 |
| Other causes | 2 |
| Natural | 2 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 September 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | BADGER |
| 8 September 1996 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Merced-Mariposa Unit | MILLER |
| 6 September 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Merced-Mariposa Unit | 152 |
| 5 September 2002 | Smoking | under an acre | Grasslands Wildlife Management Area | ROADSIDE |
| 4 September 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Grasslands Wildlife Management Area | ROADSIDE |
| 30 September 1999 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Grasslands Wildlife Management Area | VOLTA |
| 30 September 1996 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Merced-Mariposa Unit | GROOM |
| 3 September 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Grasslands Wildlife Management Area | HILLYER |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
6 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 6 workings within 5 miles of Los Banos: 4 past producers, 2 producers. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude C. Wood Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Los Banos Creek Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Los Banos Creek Pit No. 1 | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Los Banos Gravel Co. Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| M-K, Hassler Construction Co. | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Richardson Sand and Gravel No. 2 | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
14 since 1996Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Los Banos in 14 storm reports between 1996 and 2023: 3 thunderstorm wind, 3 funnel cloud, 3 flood, 2 tornado. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Los Banos | $50,000 | no account filed |
| April 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Los Banos | $20,000 | no account filed |
| April 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Los Banos | $20,000 | no account filed |
| November 1997 | Tornado (F0) | Los Banos | $5,000 | An F0 tornado developed as a severe thunderstorm was dissipating in rural, west Merced County just south of Los Banos. Damage was essentially limited to stored grain/fodder for cattle and some fences. Tornado was reported by several witnesses with its last point 3 miles farther south than its initial touchdown point. The path was from the NNW to SSE. |
| August 2023 | Flood | Los Banos | - | California Highway Patrol reported roadway flooding on Interstate 5 9S Los Banos north of the SR 165 exchange. |
| May 2019 | Funnel Cloud | Los Banos | - | Reports and photos on Facebook and Twitter of a funnel cloud over the northeastern portion of Los Banos. |
| January 2017 | Flood | Los Banos | - | California Highway Patrol reported half of Henry Miller Avenue was flooded west of State Route 165 north of Los Banos. |
| May 2016 | Heavy Rain | Los Banos | - | Received several social media reports of nuisance flooding in Los Banos area around 1834 PST. |
| June 2003 | Wildfire | Los Banos | - | The 152 Fire was of unknown origin and burned 2750 acres in Western Merced County. The cost of the fire was unknown but no structures were lost nor were there any injuries. |
| June 2003 | Wildfire | Los Banos | - | The I5 Fire was human caused and burned 1500 acres before containment on the 30th. The cost was unknown. |
| April 1998 | Funnel Cloud | Los Banos | - | Funnel cloud reported by Merced County Sheriff in addition to lightning activity with a thunderstorm. This storm eventually moved southeastward and prompted issuance of a Severe Thunderstorm Warning for Northwest Fresno County just a few miles to the southeast. |
| May 1998 | Flood | Los Banos | - | Very heavy rain from a thunderstorm ponded water on State Highway 152 on both the west and east ends of Los Banos in West Merced County. |
| February 1998 | Tornado (F0) | Los Banos | - | Storm spotter videotaped a very brief touchdown of a funnel from a wall cloud in rural Merced County. No damage occurred. |
| March 2005 | Funnel Cloud | Los Banos | - | no account filed |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abbato (historical) | 1.2 miles | 15 | |
| Trent | 2.1 miles | 17 | |
| Volta | 4.9 miles | 17 | |
| Gadwall (historical) | 5.2 miles | 15 | |
| Brito | 8.8 miles | 20 | |
| Santa Nella Village | 9.3 miles | 20 | |
| Ingomar | 10.5 miles | 14 | |
| Dos Palos Y | 11.4 miles | 17 |
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on Los Banos | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q590932 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 277547. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.








