Monterey County, CA

County

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2023 Population

435,834

0.406% 1-year decline

US Senator

Alex Padilla

Democratic Party

US Senator

Adam Schiff

Democratic Party

2023 Median Age

35.3

0.57% 1-year increase

2023 Poverty Rate

12.6%

2.09% 1-year increase

2023 Median Household Income

$94,486

3.78% 1-year growth

2023 Employed Population

186,050

0.774% 1-year decline

About

The 5 largest ethnic groups in Monterey County, CA are Other (Hispanic) (40.3%), White (Non-Hispanic) (27.6%), Two+ (Hispanic) (10.5%), White (Hispanic) (8.9%), and Asian (Non-Hispanic) (5.52%).

None of the households in Monterey County, CA reported speaking a non-English language at home as their primary shared language. This does not consider the potential multi-lingual nature of households, but only the primary self-reported language spoken by all members of the household.

80% of the residents in Monterey County, CA are U.S. citizens.

The largest universities in Monterey County, CA are Hartnell College (2,341 degrees awarded in 2022), Naval Postgraduate School (2,226 degrees), and California State University-Monterey Bay (2,220 degrees).

Most people in Monterey County, CA drove alone to work, and the average commute time was 25.4 minutes. The average car ownership in Monterey County, CA was 2 cars per household.

Monterey County, CA borders Fresno County, CA, Kings County, CA, San Benito County, CA, San Luis Obispo County, CA, and Santa Cruz County, CA.

About the photo: Coast of Northern Big Sur

Photo by Stewart Butterfield

United States California Salinas, CA

Population & Diversity

Monterey County, CA is home to a population of 436k people, from which 80% are citizens. As of 2023, 28.8% of Monterey County, CA residents were born outside of the country (125k people).

In 2023, there were 1.46 times more Other (Hispanic) residents (176k people) in Monterey County, CA than any other race or ethnicity. There were 120k White (Non-Hispanic) and 45.9k Two+ (Hispanic) residents, the second and third most common ethnic groups.

Population & Diversity

Citizenship

80%

2023 Citizenship

79.7%

2022 Citizenship

The following chart shows US citizenship percentages in Monterey County, CA compared to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Diversity

Race and Ethnicity

The 3 largest ethnic groups in Monterey County, CA

Other (Hispanic)
176k ± 4.71k
White (Non-Hispanic)
120k ± 462
Two+ (Hispanic)
45.9k ± 3.63k

61%

Hispanic Population

266k people

61% of the people in Monterey County, CA are hispanic (266k people).

The following chart shows the 7 races represented in Monterey County, CA as a share of the total population.

Global Diversity

The PUMS dataset is not available at the County level, so we are showing data for California.

Most Common Origin

Mexico
3,899,021 ± 46,015 people
Philippines
824,230 ± 22,055 people
China
685,370 ± 20,148 people

In 2022, the most common birthplace for the foreign-born residents of California was Mexico, the natal country of 3,899,021 California residents, followed by Philippines with 824,230 and China with 685,370.

Foreign-Born Population

28.8%

2023 Foreign-Born Population

125k people

28.9%

2022 Foreign-Born Population

127k people

The following chart shows the percentage of foreign-born residents in Monterey County, CA compared to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Military

Veterans

Most Common Service Period

Vietnam
4,605 ± 429
Gulf War (2001-)
3,243 ± 515
Gulf War (1990s)
1,886 ± 340

Monterey County, CA has a large population of military personnel who served in Vietnam, 1.42 times greater than any other conflict.

Economy

The economy of Monterey County, CA employs 186k people. The largest industries in Monterey County, CA are Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting (26,850 people), Health Care & Social Assistance (21,824 people), and Retail Trade (17,716 people), and the highest paying industries are Finance & Insurance ($89,238), Utilities ($87,727), and Public Administration ($83,822).

Males in California have an average income that is 1.26 times higher than the average income of females, which is $75,777. The income inequality in California (measured using the Gini index) is 0.498, which is higher than than the national average.

Employment

Occupations

186k

2023 Value

± 3,672

−0.774%

1 Year decline

± 2.78%

The most common job groups, by number of people living in Monterey County, CA, are Farming, Fishing, & Forestry Occupations (19,025 people), Sales & Related Occupations (16,858 people), and Management Occupations (16,725 people). This chart illustrates the share breakdown of the primary jobs held by residents of Monterey County, CA.

Unemployment Insurance Claims

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for false.

This chart shows weekly unemployment insurance claims in California (not-seasonally adjusted) compared with the four states with the most similar impact.

The most recent data point uses Advance State Claims data, which can be revised in subsequent weeks.

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Industries

Employment by Industries

186k

2023 Value

± 3,672

−0.774%

1 Year decline

± 2.78%

The most common employment sectors for those who live in Monterey County, CA, are Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting (26,850 people), Health Care & Social Assistance (21,824 people), and Retail Trade (17,716 people). This chart shows the share breakdown of the primary industries for residents of Monterey County, CA, though some of these residents may live in Monterey County, CA and work somewhere else. Census data is tagged to a residential address, not a work address.

Employment by Industry Sector

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for California.

Y-Axis

2.57%

Year-over-year growth

Employment change between February 2022 and February 2023

As of February 2023, there are 17.9M people employed in California. This represents a 2.57% increase in employment when compared to February 2022.

Right after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, during April 2020, a general dip can be seen across industry sectors, resulting in an overall decline in employment by 14%.

The following chart shows monthly employment numbers for each industry sector in California.

Establishments by Size

The industries with the most establishments

690
Construction
589
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
536
Retail Trade

The visualization shows the distribution of establishments by industry and by size according to the number of employees.

Depending on the option selected, the visualization shows the number of employees or number of establishments and its share across establishment sizes.

Payroll by Industry Sector

The industries with the highest total annual payroll

$1.44M
Health Care and Social Assistance
$722k
Accommodation and Food Services
$691k
Retail Trade

The chart shows the total annual payroll and the average annual payroll by industry.

Civics

In the 2020 presidential election, the popular vote in Monterey County, CA went to Joseph R Biden Jr. with 69.5% of the vote. The runner-up was Donald J. Trump (28.2%), followed by Other (1.13%).

Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff are the senators currently representing the state of California. In the United States, senators are elected to 6-year terms with the terms for individual senators staggered.

California is currently represented by 52 members in the U.S. house, and members of the House of Representives are elected to 2-year terms.

Presidential Elections

Presidential Popular Vote Over Time

2020 Election Results

Joseph R Biden Jr. (69.5%)
Democratic Party
Donald J. Trump (28.2%)
Republican Party
Other (1.13%)
Green and Other Party

In the 2020 presidential election, the popular vote in Monterey County, CA went to Joseph R Biden Jr. with 69.5% of the vote. The runner-up was Donald J. Trump (28.2%), followed by Other (1.13%).

The following chart shows the popular vote results in Monterey County, CA for each registered party from 1976 to 2020.

Senator Elections

US Senators from California

Senatorial voting results are only available at the state level. Showing data for California.

Alex Padilla

Senator from California

Assumed office on January 20, 2021
Appointed to the seat following the resignation of Kamala Harris, who had become Vice President of the United States.

Adam Schiff

Senator from California

Assumed office on December 8, 2024
Elected to the seat to succeed Laphonza Butler, who had been appointed to the seat following the death of Dianne Feinstein.

Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff are the senators currently representing California.

In the United States, senators are elected to 6-year terms with the terms for individual senators staggered.

The following chart shows elected senators in California over time, excluding special elections, colored by their political party.

US Representative Elections

US Representatives from California

California is currently represented by 52 members in the U.S. house.

Members of the House of Representives are elected to 2-year terms, and the following chart shows the how the members for California have changed over time starting in 2008.

Education

In 2022, universities in Monterey County, CA awarded 8,601 degrees. The student population of Monterey County, CA in 2022 is skewed towards women, with 12,190 male students and 14,412 female students.

Most students graduating from Universities in Monterey County, CA are Hispanic or Latino (4,223 and 51.2%), followed by White (2,613 and 31.7%), Asian (454 and 5.5%), and Unknown (400 and 4.85%).

The largest universities in Monterey County, CA by number of degrees awarded are Hartnell College (2,341 and 27.2%), Naval Postgraduate School (2,226 and 25.9%), and California State University-Monterey Bay (2,220 and 25.8%).

The most popular majors in Monterey County, CA are Liberal Arts & Sciences (1,639 and 19.1%), General Business Administration & Management (657 and 7.64%), and General Psychology (408 and 4.74%).

The median tuition costs in Monterey County, CA are $44,766 for private four year colleges, and $5,742 and $17,622 respectively, for public four year colleges for in-state students and out-of-state students.

Admissions & Enrollments

Applicants, Admissions & Enrolled

University

Measure

In 2022 in Monterey County, CA, the percentage of applicants admitted was 92.4%, while the percentage of admitted who enrolled was 7.79%. The number of students enrolled in 2022 was 26,602 (45.8% men and 54.2% women).

The line chart shows the evolution of the percentage of applicants admitted, admitted who enrolled or the number of students enrolled according to the option selected in the upper button.

Enrollments by Gender and Races

Universities

In 2022 there were 26,602 students enrolled in Monterey County, CA, 45.8% men and 54.2% women.

By race, the largest number of students enrolled was concentrated in Hispanic or Latino with 14,789 records, of which 59.5% were women and 40.5% men.

Completions

Concentrations

In 2022, the most common concentation for Associates Degree recipients in Monterey County, CA was N/A with N/A degrees awarded.

This visualization illustrates the percentage of students graduating with a Associates Degree from schools in Monterey County, CA according to their major.

Universities

Gender

Race

Largest Universities by degrees awarded

Hartnell College
2,341 degrees awarded
Naval Postgraduate School
2,226 degrees awarded
California State University-Monterey Bay
2,220 degrees awarded

In 2022, the institution with the largest number of graduating students was Hartnell College with 2,341 degrees awarded.

Student Diversity

University

In 2022, 4,019 men were awarded degrees from institutions in Monterey County, CA, which is 0.877 times less than the 4,582 female students who received degrees in the same year.

In 2022 the most common race/ethnicity group awarded degrees at institutions was Hispanic or Latino students. These 4,223 degrees mean that there were 1.62 times more degrees awarded to Hispanic or Latino students then the next closest race/ethnicity group, White, with 2,613 degrees awarded.

Awarded Degrees over Time

The graph shows the evolution of awarded degrees by degrees. Under the paragraphs, the average number of awarded degrees by university in each degree is shown.

Working Population

Educational Pyramid

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for California.

Measure

In N/A, N/A% of men over 25 years of age had not completed any academic degree (no schooling), while N/A% of women were in the same situation.

This visualization shows the gender distribution of the population according to the academic level reached.

Educational Attainment

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for California.

Race

The most common educational levels obtained by the working population in 2022 were Some college (6.9M), High School or Equivalent (6.8M), and Bachelors Degree (6.36M).

This visualization illustrates the percentage distribution of the population according to the highest educational level reached. You can filter the data by race by using the selector above.

Housing & Living

People in Monterey County, CA have an average commute time of 25.4 minutes, and they drove alone to work. Car ownership in Monterey County, CA is approximately the same as the national average, with an average of 2 cars per household.

Median household income in Monterey County, CA is $94,486. In 2023, the tract with the highest Median Household Income in Monterey County, CA was Census Tract 107.02 with a value of $198,269, followed by Census Tract 132 and Census Tract 101.02, with respective values of $183,971 and $159,000.

In 2023, 29.8% of the population was living with severe housing problems in Monterey County, CA. From 2014 to 2023, the indicator declined 0.294%.

Housing

Rent vs Own

N/A%

Homeownership

N/A

70%

Homeowners with Mortgage

2023

This chart shows the percentage of owner in Monterey County, CA compared it's parent and neighboring geographies.

Equity

Income by Location

Use the dropdown to filter by race/ethnicity.

Race/Ethnicity

Highest Median Household Income (Total)

Census Tract 107.02
Census Tract 132
Census Tract 101.02

In 2023, the tract with the highest Median Household Income (Total) in Monterey County, CA was Census Tract 107.02 with a value of $198,269, followed by Census Tract 132 and Census Tract 101.02, with respective values of $183,971 and $159,000.

The following map shows all of the tracts in Monterey County, CA colored by their Median Household Income (Total).

Household Income

Please note that the buckets used in this visualization were not evenly distributed by ACS when publishing the data.

$94,486

Median Household Income

± $1,879

132k

Number of Households

± 2,745

The following chart displays the households in Monterey County, CA distributed between a series of income buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. The largest share of households have an income in the $200k+ range.

Wage Distribution

The closest comparable wage GINI for Monterey County, CA is from California.

0.498

2022 Wage GINI in California

0.497

2021 Wage GINI in California

In 2022, the income inequality in California was 0.498 according to the GINI calculation of the wage distribution. Income inequality had a 0.107% growth from 2021 to 2022, which means that wage distribution grew somewhat less even. The GINI for California was higher than than the national average of 0.478. In other words, wages are distributed less evenly in California in comparison to the national average.

This chart shows the number of workers in California across various wage buckets compared to the national average.

Transportation

Commuter Transportation

Most Common Commute in 2023

Drove Alone (70%)
Carpooled (10.1%)
Worked At Home (9.14%)

In 2023, 70% of workers in Monterey County, CA drove alone to work, followed by those who carpooled to work (10.1%) and those who worked at home (9.14%).

The following chart shows the number of households using each mode of transportation over time, using a logarithmic scale on the y-axis to help better show variations in the smaller means of commuting.

Commute Time

25.4 minutes

Average Travel Time

Using averages, employees in Monterey County, CA have a shorter commute time (25.4 minutes) than the normal US worker (26.6 minutes). Additionally, 3.06% of the workforce in Monterey County, CA have "super commutes" in excess of 90 minutes.

The chart below shows how the median household income in Monterey County, CA compares to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Car Ownership

2 cars

Average Number

The following chart displays the households in Monterey County, CA distributed between a series of car ownership buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. The largest share of households in Monterey County, CA have 2 cars.

Poverty

Severe Housing Problems

In 2023, 29.8% of the population was living with severe housing problems in Monterey County, CA. From 2014 to 2023, the indicator declined 0.294%.

The graph shows the trend of the percentage of the population living with severe housing problems.

Poverty & Diversity

12.6% of the population for whom poverty status is determined in Monterey County, CA (52.7k out of 419k people) live below the poverty line, a number that is higher than the national average of 12.4%. The largest demographic living in poverty are Females 35 - 44, followed by Females 25 - 34 and then Males 6 - 11.

The most common racial or ethnic group living below the poverty line in Monterey County, CA is Hispanic, followed by Other and White.

The Census Bureau uses a set of money income thresholds that vary by family size and composition to determine who classifies as impoverished. If a family's total income is less than the family's threshold than that family and every individual in it is considered to be living in poverty.

Children in Poverty

In 2023, 15.5% of the children was living in poverty in Monterey County, CA. From 2014 to 2023, the indicator declined 11.6%.

The graph shows the trend of the percentage of the children living in poverty.

Social Needs

Data only available at the state level.

Most prevalent states

N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A

In N/A, N/A had the highest N/A in the nation, at N/A. N/A has the second highest (N/A), followed by N/A (N/A).

The following map shows the N/A by state over multiple years.

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Health

90.1% of the population of Monterey County, CA has health coverage, with 39.1% on employee plans, 28.7% on Medicaid, 9.65% on Medicare, 11% on non-group plans, and 1.54% on military or VA plans.

Primary care physicians in Monterey County, CA see 1517 patients per year on average, which represents a 0.72% decrease from the previous year (1528 patients). Compare this to dentists who see 1402 patients per year, and mental health providers who see 232 patients per year.

By gender, of the total number of insured persons, 48.7% were men and 51.3% were women.

Coverage

Patient to Clinician Ratios

1,517 to 1

Patient to Primary Care Physician Ratio in Monterey County, CA

Primary care physicians in Monterey County, CA see an average of 1,517 patients per year. This represents a 0.72% decrease from the previous year (1,528 patients).

The following chart shows how the number of patients seen by primary care physicians has been changing over time in Monterey County, CA in comparison to its neighboring geographies.

Health Care Diversity

In N/A, insured persons according to age ranges were distributed in .

By gender, of the total number of insured persons, 48.7% were men and 51.3% were women.

The following chart shows the number of people with health coverage by gender.

Uninsured People

9.94%

Uninsured

39.1%

Employer Coverage

28.7%

Medicaid

9.65%

Medicare

11%

Non-Group

1.54%

Military or VA

The following chart shows how the percent of uninsured individuals in Monterey County, CA changed over time compared with the percent of individuals enrolled in various types of health insurance.

Health Indicators

Health Outcomes

Indicator

In 2023, the number of deaths among residents under age 18 per 100,000 population was 36.9 in Monterey County, CA.

The graphic shows the trend of the indicator in Monterey County, CA.

Health Behaviors

Indicator

In 2023, the percentage of the adult population (age 18 and older) that reports a body mass index (BMI) greater than or equal to 30 kg/m2 (age-adjusted) was 31.7% in Monterey County, CA.

The graphic shows the trend of the indicator in Monterey County, CA.