Los Banos is a city in Merced County, California, in the western San Joaquin Valley near the junction of State Route 152 and Interstate 5. The 2020 census counted 45,532 residents, up from just under 36,000 in 2010, reflecting the city's role as a gateway for Central Valley commuters. The name means 'the baths' in Spanish, a nod to the region's water and its early settlement. The city lies at the eastern foot of Pacheco Pass, about ten miles from San Luis Reservoir. Formed by San Luis Dam — dedicated by President John F. Kennedy in 1962 — the reservoir is the largest off-stream reservoir in the United States and a landmark of the federal Central Valley Project. Its presence, together with the valley's fertile soils, underpins the surrounding agricultural economy of dairies, melons, tomatoes, almonds, and other row and field crops. Los Banos grew as an agricultural service center and today functions as both a farming town and a bedroom community for the Bay Area. State Route 152, the Pacheco Pass highway, carries thousands of daily commuters over the Diablo Range toward Gilroy and San Jose, making Los Banos one of the region's principal commuter bases despite the distance and traffic. Education is provided by the Los Banos Unified School District, which operates Los Banos and Pacheco high schools among its campuses. The city's downtown, fairgrounds, and growing retail corridors serve local and regional needs, while Interstate 5 offers north-south access toward Sacramento and the Los Angeles basin. Residents balance a Central Valley pace of life with the realities of a long, often congested westbound commute — a trade-off that has come to define the city's modern character. For homebuyers, Los Banos pairs single-family housing with direct highway links to two major California economies.