A Central Valley farming area transforming into a suburban bedroom community for the Silicon Valley
Los Banos is surrounded by flourishing tomato farms and wetland refuges, and the community celebrates these roots — but pretty soon, Los Banos will not feel like a rural town. The growing suburban bedroom community has nearly 50,000 people and continues to bring in newcomers. “The main appeal is the proximity to the Bay Area. A lot of the new people buying in are commuters who have the ability to go to San Jose and the Silicon Valley. Instead of renting apartments, they can afford to buy their own homes here,” says Realtor Roger Cervantes, who works with Century 21 Select Real Estate and has over a decade of experience in the area. Los Banos has adjusted to these Silicon Valley transplants by building more housing and revitalizing the downtown space.
Los Banos is a quintessential part of California's food basket.
Route 152 gives Los Banos commuters access to Merced and San Jose.
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Homes from the early 1900s, midcentury options and a growing array of new construction in Los Banos
Downtown is the heart of Los Banos, where historic homes sit on grid-style blocks. Some of these houses were built in the early 1900s, including Mediterranean homes that cost around $350,000. The city then expands into blocks of midcentury houses, predominantly ranch-style homes that are priced at about $400,000. With the influx of Bay Area commuters, the city has grown substantially from its small-town roots. “We've been growing for the last 20 years, so now we have a lot of new communities, and the resale market is still growing,” Cervantes says. Los Banos continues to expand with sprawling subdivisions of new construction, including three-bedroom homes that cost around $400,000. There are also some custom-built homes on multiacre estates on the outskirts of town; these can cost up to $2 million. On average, houses stay on the market for 38 days in contrast to the national average of 44 days, with a median sales price of $475,000.
New homes are found throughout downtown Los Banos.
Mediterranean homes are popular near downtown Los Banos.
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Commutes to San Jose and more transportation
Los Banos is about 40 miles southwest of Merced, and residents can get there via state Route 152, which takes around 40 minutes. For travel to San Jose, residents can drive for about 80 miles west via state Route 152, and this can take an hour and a half or longer depending on traffic. Some residents work within Los Banos at the city’s biggest employers: Los Banos Unified School District, Walmart and Memorial Hospital Los Banos. The town is served by the The Bus, Merced’s transit system, which has a Los Banos commuter route. Memorial Hospital Los Banos is located on the west side of the city, as is Los Banos Municipal Airport. For longer flights, the city is about equidistant from San Jose Mineta International to the west and Fresno Yosemite International to the east.
The May Day Spring Fair and the Los Banos Tomato Festival
Throughout the year, Los Banos has community events that celebrate its farming heritage, including the longstanding May Day Spring Fair in early May. “It’s been going on for many years — since 1890. It’s one of the big ones,” Cervantes says. What began as a cattlemen’s picnic at a farm now includes five days of activities: pig racing, a livestock auction and a parade that starts downtown and ends at Los Banos Fairgrounds Park. Los Banos is known as the tomato capital of the world, so the Los Banos Tomato Festival in early October is always popular. The festival includes a tomato-themed cross fit competition called the Tomato Massacre, a tomato eating contest and the Salsa Showdown where the best salsa wins. In 2024, the city had the first Garlic Festival, featuring vendors selling garlic-flavored ice cream and more.
Downtown Los Banos and more shopping
One of the city’s main retail areas is a Main Street-style downtown of historic buildings. Since 2019, the Los Banos Downtown Association has been revitalizing the district, putting on frequent community events like a Christmas tree lighting and a farm-to-table dinner. Downtown has local shops and restaurants, including Wool Growlers Restaurant, a local mainstay for over 100 years. It serves hearty multicourse meals in a lively cafeteria setting, with long communal tables. In the southern half of the community, there’s dense retail and strip mall shopping centers on Pacheco Boulevard. The city also has a movie theater and a bowling alley on the west side of the community.
Main Street downtown Los Banos has seen some revitalization in the past few years.
Wool Growlers Restaurant of Los Banos has been around for over 100 years.
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Los Banos Unified School District and Los Banos Campus
Los Banos Unified School District, which has a B-minus rating on Niche, serves the city. It has an A rating for teachers and B for college prep. With about 11,000 students, the district’s student-teacher ratio is 23-to-1. For higher education in the city, there’s the Los Banos campus of Merced College, a community college. University of California Merced is about 40 miles northeast.
Residents of Los Banos can find work in education at Los Banos Unified School District.
Residents work at one of the city’s largest employers, Memorial Hospital, in Los Banos.
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Multiple wildlife refuges and municipal parks in Los Banos
“The whole city of Los Banos is surrounded by wildlife refuges. There are lots of outdoor activities to do with the family,” Cervantes says. Of these nature-oriented outdoor spaces, the San Luis National Wildlife Refuge is the best known. It features two auto tours, one route for elk and the other for waterfowl. It also has walking trails through the marshlands and a visitor center with an exhibit on the tule elk, a species only native to California. Los Banos also has over 40 municipal parks and trails evenly distributed throughout it, so most homes are within walking distance of at least one. Persimmon Park, on the west side of town, is one of the most popular. It has two playgrounds, a picnic pavilion and paved trails. The city’s residents can spend time outdoors for most of the year, although the summers can be hot with an average high of 85 degrees, giving the area a heat risk.
Los Banos is surrounded by wildlife refuges like San Luis National Wildlife Refuge.
Take car tours through San Luis National Wildlife refuge in Los Banos.
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Crime rates in Los Banos
According to some recent statistics from the FBI, Los Banos’ violent crime rate has increased from 36 to 45 per 100,000 people from 2022 to 2023. The property crime rate has decreased from 118 to 69. In comparison, the state of California’s violent crime rate increased from 92 to 103, while the property crime rate has decreased from 209 to 207 during this period. The police department has the VITAL group, volunteers who help with DUI checkpoints, patrolling Los Banos from volunteer vehicles and more.
Written By
Anna Anderson
Photography Contributed By
Jeff Carnie
Video By
Bill Jennings
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