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The Commemorative Quarter for California





Welcome to Modesto ...

The city of Modesto is located in Stanislaus County<1> and is the County Seat for Stanislaus County.

While we don't have a date for the founding of Modesto, you might consider that their post office opened  in 1870.

The city was incorporated August 6, 1884.

When the people of Modesto refer to themselves (known as a demonym), they frequently use Modestan<2>

From the  Census Estimates for 2019, Modesto has a population of 215,001 people<3> (see below for details).

Modesto is 90 feet [27 m] above sea level.<4>.

Time Zone: Modesto lies in the Pacific Time Zone (PST/PDT) and observes daylight saving time

Area Codes for Modesto: 209 & 350<5>

The ZIP codes for Modesto: 95350-95358, 95397<6>

Population Details ...

Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Modesto had an population of 215,001 people. This is an increase of 6.88% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 13.84% since the 2000 Census).

At the time of the 2010 Census, Modesto had a population of 201,165 people (or 39.05% of the total population of Stanislaus County). This makes Modesto the county's most populous community.

The population of Modesto represents 0.54% of the population of California (which has 37,253,956 people), making it the state's 18th most populous community.

With a 2010 count of 201,165 people, the population of Modesto increased 6.52% from the 2000 Census (with a count of 188,856 people).

More information can be found on the Census Page for Modesto.

Communities Also Named Modesto ...

Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 3 communities that are also named Modesto - they are located in Georgia, Illinois and Indiana.

For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Modesto.

Websites for Modesto ...

Official Website:   www.ci.modesto.ca.us/

Chamber of Commerce:   www.modchamber.org/

Communities near Modesto ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Modesto.

To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.

We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Modesto. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Modesto.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Modesto. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Modesto.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Modesto. Our list includes 22 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Modesto.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Modesto ...

Looking for more information about Modesto? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.

In addition to the Tourism page for Modesto, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Modesto.

Adding Modesto to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Modesto in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.

From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Modesto was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<8>

X2X - From that list, the Modesto post office opened in 1870.

We also found Modesto in the book titled Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide (1895).

For more details, see References and Mentions for Modesto.

The official website for Modesto: www.ci.modesto.ca.us/

The official website for Stanislaus County: www.co.stanislaus.ca.us/

The official website for State of California: https://www.ca.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>If you're interested in how the shape of California's counties, including Stanislaus, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
<2>A demonym is the name for a resident of a community which is usually derived from (or is related to) the name of that community. In other words, it's how the residents of Modesto refer to themselves. It's important to note that there aren't any rules for taking a city's name and turning it into a demonym. A demonym is informal and while the majority of Modesto may use one name, keep in mind that others may use something different.
<3>Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Modesto.
<4>The elevation is an estimate for the area around Modesto - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<5>When there's a risk of an area code running out of phone numbers, an 'Overlay Area Code' is created that has the same geographic boundaries as the existing area code. In this case, the 209 code has been Overlayed with the 350 area code. New phone numbers in the Modesto area will be assigned with one of these codes: 209 or 350. As a result, placing a call in the Modesto area will require 10-digit dialing (where you enter both the area code and then the phone number).
<6>ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a city (such as Modesto). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Modesto or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS).

Our list of ZIP Codes for Modesto includes: 95350, 95351, 95352, 95353, 95354, 95355, 95356, 95357 & 95358.
<7>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<8>A copy of their list with background information can be found at:

      https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025