Fresno, California
| Fresno, California | |
 | |
| General information | |
Mayor of Fresno
Jerry Dyer | |
| Last mayoral election: | 2024 |
| Next mayoral election: | 2028 |
| Last city council election: | 2025 |
| Next city council election: | 2026 |
| City council seats: | 7 |
| City website | |
| Composition data | |
| Population: | 542,107 |
| Race: | White 33.2% African American 7.6% Asian 14.7% Native American 2.4% Pacific Islander 0.2% Multiple 15.2% |
| Ethnicity: | Hispanic or Latino origin 50.5% |
| Median household income: | $66,804 |
| High school graduation rate: | 80.1% |
| College graduation rate: | 24.9% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 census and 2023 ACS data. Percentages are rounded to the nearest 0.1%. | |
| Related Fresno offices | |
| California Congressional Delegation California State Legislature California state executive offices | |
Fresno is a city in Fresno County, California. The city's population was 542,107 as of 2020, according to the United States Census Bureau.
Click on the links below to learn more about the city's...
- Mayor
- City council
- Other elected officials
- Elections
- Census information
- Budget
- Contact information
- Ballot measures
- County government
City government
- See also: Mayor-council government and Council-manager government
The city of Fresno blends elements of a council-manager system with a strong mayor system. In this form of municipal government, the city council serves as the city's primary legislative body and the mayor serves as the city's chief executive. The mayor, however, appoints a city manager to oversee the city's day-to-day operations and implement city policies.[1][2]
Mayor
The mayor serves as the city's chief executive and is responsible for proposing a budget, signing legislation into law, and appointing departmental directors. He or she presides over council meetings, proposes legislation for discussion, and holds the power to appoint or remove committee heads, but does not have the authority to vote. The mayor does, however, possess limited veto powers. The mayor also represents the city on the state, national, and international levels. The current Mayor of Fresno is Jerry Dyer (nonpartisan). Dyer assumed office in 2021.[2]
City manager
The city manager is the city's chief administrative officer. He or she is appointed by the mayor and approved by the city council. The responsibilities of the city manager include overseeing the city's day-to-day operations, carrying out the legislative initiatives of the mayor and city council, and assisting in the planning and implementation of the city's budget.[1]
City council
The Fresno City Council is the city's primary legislative body. It is responsible for approving and adopting the city budget, levying taxes, and making or amending city laws, policies, and ordinances.[3]
The Fresno City Council has seven members. Each member is elected by one of the city's seven districts.[3]
The widget below automatically displays information about city council meetings. The topic list contains a sampling of keywords that Voterheads, a local government monitoring service, found in each meeting agenda. Click the meeting link to see more info and the full agenda:
Other elected officials
Ballotpedia does not cover any additional city officials in Fresno, California.
Mayoral partisanship
Fresno has a Republican mayor. As of November 2025, 66 mayors in the largest 100 cities by population are affiliated with the Democratic Party, 23 are affiliated with the Republican Party, one is affiliated with the Libertarian Party, three are independents, five identify as nonpartisan or unaffiliated, and two mayors' affiliations are unknown. Click here for a list of the 100 largest cities' mayors and their partisan affiliations.
Mayoral elections are officially nonpartisan in most of the nation's largest cities. However, many officeholders are affiliated with political parties. Ballotpedia uses one or more of the following sources to identify each officeholder's partisan affiliation: (1) direct communication from the officeholder, (2) current or previous candidacy for partisan office, or (3) identification of partisan affiliation by multiple media outlets.
Elections
2025
The city of Fresno, California, held a special election for City Council District 5 on March 18, 2025. The filing deadline for this election was December 20, 2024.
2024
The city of Fresno, California, held general elections for mayor and city council on November 5, 2024. A primary was scheduled for March 5, 2024. The filing deadline for this election was December 8, 2023.
2022
The city of Fresno, California, held general elections for city council on November 8, 2022. A primary was scheduled for June 7, 2022. The filing deadline for this election was March 11, 2022.
2020
The city of Fresno, California, held a primary election for mayor and city council districts 2, 4, and 6 on March 3, 2020. A general election was scheduled for November 3, 2020, if no candidate received a majority of votes in the primary. The filing deadline for this election was December 6, 2019.
2019
The city of Fresno, California, held a special election for the city council's District 2 seat on August 13, 2019. A runoff election was scheduled for November 5, 2019. The filing deadline for this election was May 17, 2019.
2018
The city of Fresno, California, held general elections for city council on November 6, 2018. The primary was on June 5, 2018. The deadline for candidates to file to run in this election was March 9, 2018.
2016
The city of Fresno, California, held elections for mayor and city council on November 8, 2016. A primary election took place on June 7, 2016. The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in this election was March 11, 2016. Three of the seven city council seats were up for election.[4]
2014
The city of Fresno, California, held nonpartisan elections for city council on November 4, 2014. A primary election was held on June 3, 2014. The filing period for candidates wishing to run in this election ended March 7, 2014.[5]
Four of the seven city council seats were up for election. These were districts 1, 3, 5 and 7. District 1, however, was an open seat, as incumbent Blong Xiong was ineligible to run due to term limits.
In the June 3 primary election, incumbents Oliver Baines, Sal Quintero and Clint Olivier won re-election outright by receiving a majority of the votes. In District 1, no candidate received a majority. The top two candidates therefore advanced to the general election on November 4. These candidates were Cary Catalano and Esmeralda Soria.[6]
Census information
The table below shows demographic information about the city.
| Demographic Data for Fresno | |
|---|---|
| Fresno | |
| Population | 542,107 |
| Land area (sq mi) | 115 |
| Race and ethnicity** | |
| White | 38% |
| Black/African American | 6.7% |
| Asian | 14.2% |
| Native American | 1.5% |
| Pacific Islander | 0.3% |
| Other (single race) | 17.1% |
| Multiple | 22.4% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 50.6% |
| Education | |
| High school graduation rate | 80.1% |
| College graduation rate | 24.9% |
| Income | |
| Median household income | $66,804 |
| Persons below poverty level | 20.9% |
| Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2020). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2018-2023). | |
| **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | |
Budget
The city's budget process operates by fiscal years running from July 1 to June 30 of the next year. The mayor serves as the city council's chief executive officer and is responsible for preparing the annual budget. The city council adopts the budget after holding public hearings and then sends it to the mayor for his signature. The budget must be adopted by June 30 of any given year.[7][8]
Fiscally standardized cities data
The fiscally standardized cities (FiSC) data below was compiled by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy to make municipal budgets comparable across cities in the United States.[9]
| “ |
FiSCs are constructed by adding revenues and expenditures of each central city municipal government to a portion of the revenues and expenditures of overlying governments, including counties, independent school districts, and special districts. The allocations to FiSCs are estimates of the revenues collected from and services provided to central city residents and businesses by these overlying independent governments. Thus FiSCs provides a full picture of revenues raised from city residents and businesses and spending on their behalf, whether done by the city government or a separate overlying government.[10] |
” |
| —Lincoln Institute of Land Policy[11] | ||
The tables below show estimated finances within city limits. As such, the revenue and expenses listed may differ from the actual city budget.
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Historical total revenue and expenditure
To see the historical total revenue or expenditures as a rounded amount in this city, hover over the bars.[9]
Fresno, California, salaries and pensions over $95,000
Below is a map of the nationwide salaries and pensions in this city over $95,000. To search a different ZIP code, enter it in the search bar within the map.
Contact information
Mayor's office
2600 Fresno Street
Room 2075
Fresno, CA 93721
Phone: 559-621-2489
City Clerk's office
2600 Fresno Street
Room 2133
Fresno, CA 93721
Phone: 559-621-7650
Click here for city council contact information.
Ballot measures
The city of Fresno is in Fresno County. A list of ballot measures in Fresno County is available here.
Noteworthy events
2020: Events and activity following the death of George Floyd
During the weekend of May 29-31, 2020, demonstrations and protests took place in cities nationwide, including Fresno, following the death of George Floyd. Events took place in Fresno, California, on Saturday, May 30, 2020, at the Unitarian Universalist Church in the northeast part of the city.[12] No curfews were issued. The national guard was not deployed.
2015: Study on city's nondiscrimination laws
In July 2015, the Movement Advancement Project described Fresno, California, as a city or county that prohibited discrimination in employment on the basis of gender identity via ordinances that apply to public and private employers. At that time, a total of 71 of America's largest 100 cities prohibited private employers from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation, while 69 of those cities also prohibited discrimination based on gender identity. This did not include those jurisdictions that prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity for government employees.[13]
Nondiscrimination laws can cover a variety of areas, including public employment, private employment, housing, and public accommodations. Such laws may be enacted at the state, county, or city level.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 City of Fresno, "City Manager," accessed August 9, 2021
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 City of Fresno, "Mayor's Office," accessed August 9, 2021
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 City of Fresno, "City Council," accessed August 9, 2021
- ↑ County of Fresno, "2016 Election Calendar," accessed August 13, 2015
- ↑ The Fresno Bee, "Key Election 2014 dates," February 3, 2014
- ↑ Fresno County, CA, "Statewide Direct Primary Election - June 3, 2014
- ↑ City of Fresno, "Fiscal Year 2023 Proposed Budget," accessed August 23, 2023
- ↑ City of Fresno, "Budget Procedures Manual (BPM) FY 2024," accessed August 23, 20231
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, "Fiscally Standardized Cities database," accessed August 23, 2023
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, "Fiscally Standardized Cities," accessed August 23, 2023
- ↑ ABC 30, "Protesters gather in northeast Fresno over death of George Floyd," May 30, 2020
- ↑ Movement Advancement Project, "Local Employment Non-Discrimination Ordinances," accessed July 7, 2015
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