Monterey County ( ), officially the County of Monterey, is a county located on the Pacific coast in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 439,035. The county's largest city and county seat is Salinas. Monterey County comprises the Salinas, California, Metropolitan Statistical Area. It borders on the southern part of Monterey Bay, after which it is named (northern half of the bay is in Santa Cruz County). Monterey County is a member of the regional governmental agency: the Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments. Scenic features along the coastline - including Carmel-by-the-Sea, Big Sur, State Route 1, and the 17 Mile Drive on the Monterey Peninsula - have made the county famous around the world. Back when California was under Spanish and Mexican rule, the city of Monterey was its capital. Today, the economy of the county is mostly based on tourism in its coastal regions, and on agriculture in the region of the Salinas River valley. Most of the county's inhabitants live near the northern coast or in Salinas Valley; the southern coast and inland mountainous regions are sparsely populated.
History
Monterey County was one of the original counties of California, created in 1850 at the time of statehood. Parts of the county were given to San Benito County in 1874. The area was originally populated by Ohlone, Salinan and the Esselen tribes.
The county derives its name from Monterey Bay. The bay was named by Sebastián Vizcaíno in 1602 in honor of the Conde de Monterrey (or Count of Monterrey), then the Viceroy of New Spain. Monterrey is a variation of Monterrei, a municipality in the Galicia region of Spain where the Conde de Monterrey and his father (the Fourth Count of Monterrei) were from.
Geography According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (13%) is water. The county is roughly 1.5 times larger than the state of Delaware, and roughly similar in population and the size to Santa Barbara County.
Adjacent counties
Santa Cruz County to the north, San Benito County, Fresno County, and Kings County to the east as well as San Luis Obispo County to the south. The southeast corner of the county borders Kern County.
National protected areas Los Padres National Forest (part) Pinnacles National Park (part) Salinas River National Wildlife Refuge Ventana Wilderness (part)
In October 2019, the Bureau of Land Management ended a five-year moratorium on leasing federal land in California to fossil fuel companies, opening 725,000 acres (1100 sq. miles; 29,000 ha) to drilling in San Benito, Monterey, and Fresno counties.
Marine protected areas
Soquel Canyon State Marine Conservation Area Elkhorn Slough State Marine Reserve Elkhorn Slough State Marine Conservation Area Moro Cojo Slough State Marine Reserve Portuguese Ledge State Marine Conservation Area Pacific Grove Marine Gardens State Marine Conservation Area Lovers Point State Marine Reserve Edward F. Ricketts State Marine Conservation Area Asilomar State Marine Reserve
Flora and fauna Monterey County has habitat to support the following endangered species:
Hickman's potentilla Santa Cruz Long-toed Salamander Santa Cruz Tarweed Southern Steelhead Trout Yadon's piperia
Demographics
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 439,035, with a median age of 35.0 years; 25.3% of residents were under the age of 18 and 14.2% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 101.5 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 100.6 males age 18 and older.
The racial makeup of the county was 36.2% White, 2.3% Black or African American, 2.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 6.1% Asian, 0.5% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 34.2% from some other race, and 17.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 60.4% of the population.
85.7% of residents lived in urban areas, while 14.3% lived in rural areas.
There were 131,789 households in the county, of which 40.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 25.6% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 20.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 143,631 housing units, of which 8.2% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 50.9% were owner-occupied and 49.1% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.9% and the rental vacancy rate was 4.0%.
Racial and ethnic composition
+Monterey County, California – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 1980Pop 1990Pop 2000Pop 2010 Pop 2020% 1980% 1990% 2000% 2010% 2020White alone (NH)173,456186,166162,045136,435120,07759.72%52.34%40.33%32.87%27.35%Black or African American alone (NH)18,42521,50614,08511,3009,0516.34%6.05%3.51%2.72%2.06%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)2,9272,1241,7821,3611,3141.01%0.60%0.44%0.33%0.30%Asian alone (NH)19,69625,36523,20323,77725,1236.78%7.13%5.78%5.73%5.72%Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)x included in the Asian category in the 1980 Censusx included in the Asian category in the 1990 Census1,5431,8681,8590.38%0.45%0.38%0.45%0.42%Other race alone (NH)8119291,1907412,1700.28%0.26%0.30%0.18%0.49%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)x not an option in the 1980 Censusx not an option in the 1990 Census9,9459,57214,120xx2.48%2.31%3.22%Hispanic or Latino (any race)75,129119,570187,969230,003265,32125.87%33.62%46.79%55.41%60.43%Total290,444355,660401,762415,057439,035 100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%
Income, education and poverty 2013
Generally, the western/southern parts of the Monterey Peninsula, Carmel Valley, Creekbridge (Salinas), and eastern parts of Prunedale were the county's most affluent and educated (see dark blue on map). These areas had a median household income significantly above that of the California or the U.S. overall (typically above $95,000 vs. $60,000 for California and $52,000 for the U.S.) and comprised roughly 8%-10% of neighborhoods (as defined by Census Block Groups). Educational attainment was at least on part with, or above, state and national levels, in these areas while the percentage of people living in poverty was typically a third or less than national and statewide average (with the exception of South Salinas).
Social deprivation (poverty and low levels of educational attainment) was concentrated in the central and eastern parts of Salinas, and central areas of Monterey, Seaside, Marina, Soledad and King City. In central and eastern Salinas up to 46% of individuals lived below the poverty line and those without a secondary educations formed a plurality or majority of residents. Overall, the Salinas metropolitan area, defined as coterminous with Monterey County, was among the least educated urban areas in the nation.
Most affluent neighborhoods Roughly 8% of neighborhoods, as defined by Census Block Groups, had a median household income above $100,000 per year, about 60% above the national median. This coincided with the top 20 census block groups in the county listed below.
Most affluent neighborhoods (Median Household Income above $100k/yr.) Rank neighborhood Census Reference/Geo-Unit Median Household Income 1 Carmel Valley (North-West) Block Group 1, Census Tract 116.02 $152,411 2 Mount Toro Foothills, Salinas Valley Block Group 3, Census Tract 107.01 $143,508 3 Jacks Peak, Monterey Block Group 1, Census Tract 132 $142,143 4 Mount Toro Foothills, Salinas Valley Block Group 2, Census Tract 107.02 $141,364 5 Skyline Forest, Monterey Block Group 3, Census Tract 128 $130,221 6 Yankee Point, Carmel Block Group 3, Census Tract 117 $126,389 7 Carmel Valley (North-West) Block Group 3, Census Tract 116.02 $122,056 8 Carmel Valley (North-West) Block Group 4, Census Tract 116.02 $118,159 9 Carmel Valley (North-West) Block Group 2, Census Tract 110 $118,125 10 Carmel Valley (North-West) Block Group 4, Census Tract 110 $115,667 11 Carmel (East, outside of city limits) Block Group 2, Census Tract 117 $115,357 12 Jacks Peak, Monterey Block Group 2, Census Tract 132 $113,750 13 Skyline Forest, Monterey Block Group 5, Census Tract 128 $111,500 14 City of Carmel (Southern half) Block Group 1, Census Tract 118.02 $110,962 15 Las Palmas, Salinas Valley Block Group 2, Census Tract 107.01 $110,918 16 Pebble Beach, Monterey Peninsula Country Club Block Group 4, Census Tract 119 $107,500 17 Mount Toro Foothills, Salinas Valley Block Group 1, Census Tract 107.02 $105,511 18 Carmel Valley (North-West) Block Group 1, Census Tract 116.04 $104,902 19 City of Carmel (Northern half) Block Group 2, Census Tract 118.01 $101,984 20 Creekbridge (incl. Falcon Meadows), Salinas Block Group 2, Census Tract 106.03 $100,673 141* United States N/A $53,046 104* California N/A $61,094 154* City of Salinas N/A $49,264
* Asterisk denotes a hypothetical rank among Monterey County's 226 Census Block Groups (e.g. if the U.S. overall was a Census Block Group in Monterey County, it would be the 141st most affluent of 226).
Least affluent neighborhoods About 4.5% of neighborhoods, as defined by Census Block Groups, had a median household income below $30,000 per year, about 60% below the national median. This coincided with the 10 poorest of the 20 lowest income neighborhoods listed in the table below.
Least affluent neighborhoods (Median Household Income of $34.1k or less) Rank neighborhood Census Reference/Geo-Unit Median Household Income 1 Downtown Salinas Block Group 1, Census Tract 13 $21,411 2 Central Seaside Block Group 3, Census Tract 137 $22,994 3 East Salinas (Del Monte Ave.) Block Group 1, Census Tract 7.01 $23,250 4 Downtown Monterey Block Group 1, Census Tract 127 $24,911 5 Central Marina (Del Monte Blvd.) Block Group 3, Census Tract 142.01 $25,464 6 Hebbron Heights, East Salinas Block Group 2, Census Tract 5.01 $26,211 7 East Salinas (Del Monte Ave.) Block Group 3, Census Tract 7.01 $26,771 8 East Salinas (Del Monte Ave.) Block Group 2, Census Tract 7.02 $26,875 9 Hebbron Heights, East Salinas Block Group 1, Census Tract 5.01 $28,750 10 Downtown Monterey Block Group 2, Census Tract 127 $29,070 11 West Santa Rita, Salinas Block Group 1, Census Tract 105.06 $30,250 12 North-Central Salinas/Chinatown Block Group 2, Census Tract 18.02 $30,625 13 Central King City Block Group 2, Census Tract 113.02 $31,579 14 Central King City Block Group 1, Census Tract 113.02 $33,043 15 Central Soledad Block Group 3, Census Tract 111.01 $33,110 16 East Seaside Block Group 1, Census Tract 135 $33,242 17 East Salinas (Del Monte Ave.) Block Group 3, Census Tract 7.02 $33,244 18 East Soledad Block Group 1, Census Tract 111.02 $33,616 19 East Salinas Block Group 3, Census Tract 8 $33,938 20 North Salinas (E. Bernal Drive./Natividad Rd.) Block Group 3, Census Tract 4 $34,057 86* United States N/A $53,046 118* California N/A $61,094 73* City of Salinas N/A $49,264 * Asterisk denotes a hypothetical rank among Monterey County's 226 Census Block Groups (e.g. if the U.S. overall was a Census Block Group in Monterey County, it would be the 86th poorest of 226).
2010 census The 2010 United States census reported that Monterey County had a population of 415,057. The racial makeup of Monterey County was 230,717 (55.6%) White, 12,785 (3.1%) African American, 5,464 (1.3%) Native American, 25,258 (6.1%) Asian (2.8% Filipino, 0.7% Korean, 0.6% Chinese, 0.6% Japanese, 0.4% Vietnamese, 0.4% Indian), 2,071 (0.5%) Pacific Islander, 117,405 (28.3%) from other races, and 21,357 (5.1%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 230,003 persons (55.4%); 50.2% of Monterey County is Mexican, 0.8% Salvadoran, and 0.5% Puerto Rican.