Monterey, CA

Census Place

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2024 Population

29,613

US Senator

Alex Padilla

Democratic Party

US Senator

Adam Schiff

Democratic Party

2024 Median Age

37.5

1.08% 1-year increase

2024 Poverty Rate

9.81%

6.25% 1-year decrease

2024 Median Household Income

$102,846

1.21% 1-year decline

2024 Median Property Value

$1.08M

7.28% 1-year growth

2024 Employed Population

13,150

2.56% 1-year decline

About

None of the households in Monterey, 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.

91.7% of the residents in Monterey, CA are U.S. citizens.

The largest universities in Monterey, CA are Naval Postgraduate School (2,422 degrees awarded in 2024), Monterey Peninsula College (970 degrees), and Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey (281 degrees).

In 2024, the median property value in Monterey, CA was $1.08M, and the homeownership rate was 36.2%.

Most people in Monterey, CA drove alone to work, and the average commute time was 18.5 minutes. The average car ownership in Monterey, CA was 2 cars per household.

About the photo: A private beach somewhere along Highway 1 in Monterey, California.

Photo by Jesse! S?

United States California Monterey County, CA Salinas, CA Monterey County (North Central)--Seaside, Monterey, Marina & Pacific Grove Cities PUMA, CA Monterey (South & East) & San Benito Counties PUMA, CA

Population & Diversity

Monterey, CA is home to a population of 29.6k people, from which 91.7% are citizens. As of 2024, 17.7% of Monterey, CA residents were born outside of the country (5.23k people).

In 2024, there were 6.36 times more White (Non-Hispanic) residents (18k people) in Monterey, CA than any other race or ethnicity. There were 2.83k Other (Hispanic) and 2.15k Two Races Including Other (Hispanic) residents, the second and third most common ethnic groups.

Population & Diversity

Citizenship

91.7%

2024 Citizenship

92.9%

2023 Citizenship

As of 2024, 91.7% of Monterey, CA residents were US citizens, which is lower than the national average of 93.2%. In 2023, the percentage of US citizens in Monterey, CA was 92.9%, meaning that the rate of citizenship has been decreasing.

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

Diversity

Race and Ethnicity

The 3 largest ethnic groups in Monterey, CA

White (Non-Hispanic)
18k ± 967
Other (Hispanic)
2.83k ± 759
Two Races Including Other (Hispanic)
2.15k ± 627

23.6%

Hispanic Population

6.99k people

23.6% of the people in Monterey, CA are hispanic (6.99k people).

The following chart shows the 8 races represented in Monterey, CA as a share of the total population.

Global Diversity

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

Most Common Origin

Mexico
3,877,888 ± 45,899 people
Philippines
827,719 ± 22,100 people
China
695,724 ± 20,296 people

In 2024, the most common birthplace for the foreign-born residents of California was Mexico, the natal country of 3,877,888 California residents, followed by Philippines with 827,719 and China with 695,724.

Foreign-Born Population

17.7%

2024 Foreign-Born Population

5.23k people

15.6%

2023 Foreign-Born Population

4.66k people

As of 2024, 17.7% of Monterey, CA residents (5.23k people) were born outside of the United States, which is approximately the same as the national average of 14%. In 2023, the percentage of foreign-born citizens in Monterey, CA was 15.6%, meaning that the rate has been increasing.

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

Military

Veterans

Most Common Service Period

Gulf War (2001-)
601 ± 224
Vietnam
513 ± 193
Gulf War (1990s)
190 ± 108

Monterey, CA has a large population of military personnel who served in Gulf War (2001-), 1.17 times greater than any other conflict.

The chart shows the distribution of veterans by conflict in Monterey, CA.

Health

92.7% of the population of Monterey, CA has health coverage, with 43.6% on employee plans, 12.2% on Medicaid, 15.3% on Medicare, 15.4% on non-group plans, and 6.17% on military or VA plans.

Primary care physicians in California see 1,233 patients per year on average, which represents a 0% change from the previous year (1,233 patients). Compare this to dentists who see 1076 patients per year, and mental health providers who see 213 patients per year.

By gender, of the total number of insured persons, 45.9% were men and 54.1% were women.

Coverage

Health Care Diversity

In 2024, insured persons according to age ranges were distributed in 17.1% under 18 years, 23.8% between 18 and 34 years, 35.3% between 35 and 64 years, and 23.8% over 64 years.

By gender, of the total number of insured persons, 45.9% were men and 54.1% were women.

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

Uninsured People

7.27%

Uninsured

43.6%

Employer Coverage

12.2%

Medicaid

15.3%

Medicare

15.4%

Non-Group

6.17%

Military or VA

Between 2023 and 2024, the percent of uninsured citizens in Monterey, CA grew by 19.7% from 6.08% to 7.27%.

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

Economy

The economy of Monterey, CA employs 13.2k people. In 2024, the largest industries in Monterey, CA were Accommodation & Food Services (1,653 people), Educational Services (1,615 people), and Professional, Scientific, & Technical Services (1,595 people), and the highest paying industries were Wholesale Trade ($120,422), Finance & Insurance ($107,750), and Manufacturing ($100,395).

Employment

Occupations

13.2k

2024 Value

± 974

−2.56%

1 Year decline

± 10.6%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Monterey, CA declined at a rate of −2.56%, from 13.5k employees to 13.2k employees.

The most common job groups, by number of people living in Monterey, CA, are Management Occupations (1,788 people), Education Instruction, & Library Occupations (1,205 people), and Sales & Related Occupations (1,179 people). This chart illustrates the share breakdown of the primary jobs held by residents of Monterey, CA.

Unemployment Insurance Claims

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

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.

Industries

Employment by Industries

13.2k

2024 Value

± 974

−2.56%

1 Year decline

± 10.6%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Monterey, CA declined at a rate of −2.56%, from 13.5k employees to 13.2k employees.

The most common employment sectors for those who live in Monterey, CA, are Accommodation & Food Services (1,653 people), Educational Services (1,615 people), and Professional, Scientific, & Technical Services (1,595 people). This chart shows the share breakdown of the primary industries for residents of Monterey, CA, though some of these residents may live in Monterey, CA and work somewhere else. Census data is tagged to a residential address, not a work address.

Median Earnings by Industry

$78,011

Median earning men ± $12,684

$54,686

Median earning women ± $4,383

The industries with the best median earnings for men in 2024 are Public Administration ($121,758), Wholesale Trade ($120,844), and Manufacturing ($108,052).

The industries with the best median earnings for women in 2024 are Information ($91,576), Public Administration ($72,125), and Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance ($67,375).

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.

Civics

In the 2024 presidential election, the popular vote in California went to Kamala Harris with 58.5% of the vote. The runner-up was Donald J. Trump (38.3%), followed by Robert Kennedy (1.25%).

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 51 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

Voting results are not available for Monterey, CA. Showing the available data for California.

2024 Election Results

Kamala Harris (58.5%)
Democratic Party
Donald J. Trump (38.3%)
Republican Party
Robert Kennedy (1.25%)
Independent Party

In the 2024 presidential election, the popular vote in California went to Kamala Harris with 58.5% of the vote. The runner-up was Donald J. Trump (38.3%), followed by Robert Kennedy (1.25%).

The following chart shows the popular vote results in California for each registered party from 1976 to 2024.

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.

Education

In 2024, universities in Monterey, CA awarded 3,673 degrees. The student population of Monterey, CA in 2024 is skewed towards men, with 5,433 male students and 4,707 female students.

Most students graduating from Universities in Monterey, CA are White (2,058 and 60.8%), Hispanic or Latino (764 and 22.6%), Asian (171 and 5.05%), and Two or More Races (167 and 4.94%).

The largest universities in Monterey, CA by number of degrees awarded are Naval Postgraduate School (2,422 and 65.9%), Monterey Peninsula College (970 and 26.4%), and Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey (281 and 7.65%).

The most popular majors in Monterey, CA are Systems Engineering (351 and 9.56%), Liberal Arts & Sciences (292 and 7.95%), and Operations Research (277 and 7.54%).

The median tuition cost for private four year colleges is $48,184.

Admissions & Enrollments

Enrollments by Gender and Races

In 2024 there were 10,140 students enrolled in Monterey, CA, 53.6% men and 46.4% women.

By race, the largest number of students enrolled was concentrated in White with 3,954 records, of which 37.1% were women and 62.9% men.

Completions

Concentrations

Most Common

Systems Engineering
229 degrees awarded
Operations Research
171 degrees awarded
Purchasing, Procurement, Acquisitions, & Contracts Management
160 degrees awarded

In 2024, the most common concentation for Postbaccalaureate Certificate recipients in Monterey, CA was Systems Engineering with 229 degrees awarded.

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

Universities

Gender

Race

Largest Universities by degrees awarded

Naval Postgraduate School
2,422 degrees awarded
Monterey Peninsula College
970 degrees awarded
Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey
281 degrees awarded

In 2024, the institution with the largest number of graduating students was Naval Postgraduate School with 2,422 degrees awarded.

Student Diversity

In 2024, 2,418 men were awarded degrees from institutions in Monterey, CA, which is 1.93 times more than the 1,255 female students who received degrees in the same year.

In 2024, the most common race/ethnicity group awarded degrees at institutions was White students. These 2,058 degrees mean that there were 2.69 times more degrees awarded to White students then the next closest race/ethnicity group, Hispanic or Latino, with 764 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.

Tuition

Average Net Price by Sector

Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above ($48,184) is the sector with the highest median state tuition in 2024.

Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above ($470) is the sector with the highest median state fee in 2024.

Public, 2-year ($938) is the sector with the highest average net price of books and supplies.

The graph shows the average net price by sector and year.

Housing & Living

The median property value in Monterey, CA was $1.08M in 2024, which is 3.24 times larger than the national average of $332,700. Between 2023 and 2024 the median property value increased from $1M to $1.08M, a 7.28% increase. The homeownership rate in Monterey, CA is 36.2%, which is lower than the national average of 65.2%.

People in Monterey, CA have an average commute time of 18.5 minutes, and they drove alone to work. Car ownership in Monterey, CA is approximately the same as the national average, with an average of 2 cars per household.

Housing

Property

$1.08M

Median Property Value 2024

±$34,046

$4,535

Median Property Taxes

±$511

The following chart display owner-occupied housing units distributed between a series of property tax buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. In Monterey, CA the largest share of households pay taxes in the $3k+ range.

The chart underneath the paragraph shows the property taxes in Monterey, CA compared to it's parent and neighbor geographies.

Rent vs Own

36.2%

Homeownership

2024

72.6%

Homeowners with Mortgage

2024

In 2024, 36.2% of the housing units in Monterey, CA were occupied by their owner. This percentage declined from the previous year's rate of 37.9%.

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

Equity

Household Income

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

$102,846

Median Household Income

± $7,149

12.5k

Number of Households

± 896

In 2024, the median household income of the 12.5k households in Monterey, CA declined from $102,846 from the previous year's value of $104,110.

The following chart displays the households in Monterey, 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, CA is from California.

0.493

2024 Wage GINI in California

0.495

2023 Wage GINI in California

In 2024, the income inequality in California was 0.493 according to the GINI calculation of the wage distribution. Income inequality had a 0.424% decline from 2023 to 2024, which means that wage distribution grew somewhat more even. The GINI for California was higher than than the national average of 0.474. 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 2024

Drove Alone (57.7%)
Worked At Home (23%)
Walked (9.22%)

In 2024, 57.7% of workers in Monterey, CA drove alone to work, followed by those who worked at home (23%) and those who walked to work (9.22%).

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

18.5 minutes

Average Travel Time

Using averages, employees in Monterey, CA have a shorter commute time (18.5 minutes) than the normal US worker (26.4 minutes). Additionally, 0.897% of the workforce in Monterey, CA have "super commutes" in excess of 90 minutes.

The chart below shows how the median household income in Monterey, 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, CA distributed between a series of car ownership buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. The largest share of households in Monterey, CA have 2 cars.

Poverty

Poverty & Diversity

9.81% of the population for whom poverty status is determined in Monterey, CA (2.61k out of 26.6k people) live below the poverty line, a number that is lower than the national average of 12.5%. The largest demographic living in poverty are Females 25 - 34, followed by Males 55 - 64 and then Females 18 - 24.

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

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.