VoltaCA
Settled in 1890, this town now has 268 residents.
Is Volta a good place to live?
41% of residents live below the poverty line in Volta, where California’s towns sit at 10% and U.S. towns at 9.6%. Volta has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.
268 people, and everyone knows the way
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Volta.
The schools Volta’s kids attend
The Los Banos Unified school district runs its public schools. Its one school is below. Enrollment at Volta’s public school: 387 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Volta ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–6 | Grades K–6 | 387 | – |
NCES · EDFacts
A job hub: Volta has 1.6 jobs for every working resident and draws in 202 commuters
Volta: 3.1% of working residents work locally. It had 206 jobs in 2024, down 301 from 2014. The top destinations are Los Banos (15%), Santa Nella (7%) and Merced (5%). Half of commuters travel less than 31 miles.
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2024 · ACS
Very high risk in Volta, with drought at the top
The FEMA hazard score here in Volta is 83 of 100. 55% of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from drought, followed by earthquakes at 33%.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The climate in Volta brings mild winters and hot summers
July afternoons reach 94°, January nights drop to 40° and snow is almost unheard of.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
How healthy Volta is
Among adults in Volta, 17% report frequent physical distress. In Volta, 31% of adults say their health is fair or poor, and 68% had a checkup this year.
| Volta | Typical California town | Typical U.S. town | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 16% | 14% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 9% | 8.1% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 22% | 19% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 68% | 72% | 79% |
| What stands out | Volta | CA |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 20.5% | 10.6% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 18.4% | 10.6% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 30.4% | 17.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
In Volta, 0.3% of the land is conserved
Volta’s trail network density is put at 1.1 miles per square mile. Across 1 park or preserve run 4.7 miles of trail. Its park or preserve gives Volta 9 acres of open land.
| Volta | Typical California town | Typical U.S. town | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.1 miles per square mile | 1.0 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 0.3% | 4.3% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Volta Wildlife Area | 0.1 mi | 9 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Everything we know about Volta
Moving to Volta: who provides what
Volta is unincorporated, so Merced County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Every workday, about 202 people come to Volta for work
Where Volta’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2024
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Volta; the nearest are
About 8 of every 100 Volta residents are enrolled in college, about the same as California.
About Volta
Census-designated place in California, United States
Volta is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Merced County, California, United States. It is located 5 miles (8 km) west-northwest of Los Banos at an elevation of 105 feet (32 m). The population was 366 at the 2020 census, up from 246 at the 2010 census. From 1858 to 1861, Lone Willow Station a swing station for the Butterfield Overland Mail, was located east of here on the west bank of Mud Slough, 18 miles east of the St. Louis Ranch Station and 13 miles northwest of Temple's Ranch station. A post office operated at Volta from 1890 to 1972. The name was from the Volta Improvement Company.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 4.4 sq mi
- Elevation
- 105 ft
- Area code
- 209
Questions about Volta
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Volta, CA a good place to live?
Volta has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.
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