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| Monterey County, California | ||
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 Location in the state of California | ||
 California's location in the U.S. | ||
| Founded | 1850 | |
|---|---|---|
| Seat | Salinas | |
| Area - Total - Land - Water |
3,771 sq mi (9,767 km²) 3,322 sq mi (8,604 km²) 449 sq mi (1,163 km²), 11.91% | |
| Population - (2020) - Density |
439,035 122/sq mi (47/km²) | |
| Website | www.co.monterey.ca.us | |
Carmel
Downtown Monterey
Fisherman's Wharf, Monterey
Residential neighborhood, Harden Ranch, Salinas
Monterey County is a county located on the Pacific coast of the U.S. state of California, its northwestern section forming the southern half of Monterey Bay. The northern half of the bay is in Santa Cruz County. As of 2020, the population was 439,035. The county seat is Salinas. Monterey County is a member of the regional governmental agency, Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments.
The beautiful coastline, including Big Sur, California Highway 1, and the 17 Mile Drive on the Monterey Peninsula has made the county world famous. The city of Monterey was the capital of California under Spanish and Mexican rule. The economy is primarily based upon tourism in the coastal regions, and agriculture in the Salinas River valley. Most of the county's people live near the northern coast and Salinas valley, while the southern coast and inland mountain regions are almost devoid of human habitation.
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 county derived its name from Monterey Bay. The word itself is composed of the Spanish words monte and rey, which literally means "Hill" and "King". The bay was named by Sebastian Vizcaino in 1602, in honor of Gaspar de Zuniga y Acevedo, Conde de Monterrey, the Viceroy of New Spain.
Geography[]
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 9,767 km² (3,771 sq mi). 8,604 km² (3,322 sq mi) of it is land and 1,163 km² (449 sq mi) of it (11.91%) is water. The county has roughly the same land area as the state of New Jersey.
Cities and towns[]
- Carmel-by-the-Sea
- Del Rey Oaks
- Gonzales
- Greenfield
- King City
- Marina
- Monterey
- Pacific Grove
- Salinas
- Sand City
- Seaside
- Soledad
Census-designated places[]
- Aromas
- Boronda
- Bradley
- Carmel Valley Village
- Castroville
- Chualar
- Del Monte Forest, includes the well-known community of Pebble Beach
- Elkhorn
- Las Lomas
- Moss Landing
- Pajaro
- Prunedale
- San Ardo
- San Lucas
- Spreckels
Other unincorporated communities[]
Other locales[]
- Big Sur includes the areas of Lucia and Gorda
- Laguna Seca Ranch
- Fort Ord decommissioned in the 1990s, some of it was converted to California State University, Monterey Bay
- Naval Postgraduate School
- Presidio of Monterey, home to the Defense Language Institute and one of three presidios in California
- Jacks Peak Park, including the highest point on the Monterey Peninsula
Adjacent counties[]
- San Luis Obispo County - south
- Kings County - southeast
- Fresno County - southeast
- San Benito County - east
- Santa Cruz County - north
Transportation infrastructure[]
Major highways[]
U.S. Highway 101- California State Route 1
- California State Route 68
- California State Route 146
- California State Route 156
- California State Route 183
- California State Route 198
Public transportation[]
Monterey County is served by Amtrak trains and Greyhound Lines buses. Monterey-Salinas Transit provides transit service throughout most of Monterey County, with buses to Big Sur and King City as well as in Monterey, Salinas and Carmel. MST also runs service to San Jose.
Airports[]
- Monterey Peninsula Airport is located just east of the City of Monterey. Commercial flights are available.
Demographics[]
As of the census² of 2000, there were 401,762 people, 121,236 households, and 87,896 families residing in the county. The population density was 47/km² (121/sq mi). There were 131,708 housing units at an average density of 15/km² (40/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 55.92% White, 3.75% Black or African American, 1.05% Native American, 6.03% Asian, 0.45% Pacific Islander, 27.82% from other races, and 4.98% from two or more races. 46.79% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 52.9% spoke English, 39.6% Spanish and 1.6% Tagalog as their first language.
There were 121,236 households out of which 39.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.0% were married couples living together, 11.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.5% were non-families. 21.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.14 and the average family size was 3.65.
In the county the population was spread out with 28.4% under the age of 18, 10.9% from 18 to 24, 31.4% from 25 to 44, 19.3% from 45 to 64, and 10.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 female residents there were 107.3 male residents. For every 100 female residents age 18 and over, there were 107.7 male residents.
The median income for a household in the county was $48,305, and the median income for a family was $51,169. Men had a median income of $38,444 versus $30,036 for women. The per capita income for the county was $20,165. About 9.7% of families and 13.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.4% of those under age 18 and 6.8% of those age 65 or over.
Politics[]
For most of the 20th century, Monterey County was a Republican stronghold in presidential elections. From 1900 until 1992, the only Democrats to carry the county were Woodrow Wilson, Franklin Roosevelt, and Lyndon Johnson. Since 1992, the county has become a Democratic stronghold in Presidential and congressional elections, with George H.W. Bush in 1988 being the last Republican to win Monterey County.
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 2020 | 46,299 | 28.24% | 113,953 | 69.52% | 3,671 | 2.24% |
| 2016 | 34,895 | 26.16% | 89,088 | 66.78% | 9,425 | 7.06% |
| 2012 | 37,390 | 30.27% | 82,920 | 67.13% | 3,208 | 2.60% |
| 2008 | 38,797 | 29.89% | 88,453 | 68.15% | 2,533 | 1.95% |
| 2004 | 47,838 | 38.38% | 75,241 | 60.36% | 1,574 | 1.26% |
| 2000 | 43,761 | 37.23% | 67,618 | 57.53% | 6,155 | 5.24% |
| 1996 | 39,794 | 36.66% | 57,700 | 53.15% | 11,064 | 10.19% |
| 1992 | 36,461 | 31.25% | 54,861 | 47.01% | 25,367 | 21.74% |
| 1988 | 50,022 | 49.83% | 48,998 | 48.81% | 1,361 | 1.36% |
| 1984 | 55,710 | 57.16% | 40,733 | 41.79% | 1,027 | 1.05% |
| 1980 | 47,452 | 54.67% | 29,086 | 33.51% | 10,256 | 11.82% |
| 1976 | 40,896 | 51.02% | 36,849 | 45.97% | 2,408 | 3.00% |
| 1972 | 47,004 | 57.04% | 32,545 | 39.49% | 2,859 | 3.47% |
| 1968 | 33,670 | 50.16% | 28,261 | 42.10% | 5,193 | 7.74% |
| 1964 | 24,579 | 37.90% | 40,093 | 61.83% | 172 | 0.27% |
| 1960 | 33,428 | 56.26% | 25,805 | 43.43% | 180 | 0.30% |
| 1956 | 29,514 | 59.54% | 19,932 | 40.21% | 127 | 0.26% |
| 1952 | 30,578 | 62.51% | 18,051 | 36.90% | 286 | 0.58% |
| 1948 | 17,233 | 50.59% | 15,704 | 46.10% | 1,126 | 3.31% |
| 1944 | 12,246 | 45.82% | 14,342 | 53.66% | 140 | 0.52% |
| 1940 | 11,810 | 44.01% | 14,758 | 55.00% | 265 | 0.99% |
| 1936 | 7,565 | 37.70% | 12,267 | 61.13% | 235 | 1.17% |
| 1932 | 6,200 | 39.37% | 8,942 | 56.77% | 608 | 3.86% |
| 1928 | 7,228 | 63.12% | 4,138 | 36.13% | 86 | 0.75% |
| 1924 | 4,744 | 61.07% | 886 | 11.41% | 2,138 | 27.52% |
| 1920 | 4,817 | 67.76% | 1,771 | 24.91% | 521 | 7.33% |
| 1916 | 3,599 | 44.81% | 3,878 | 48.28% | 555 | 6.91% |
| 1912 | 1 | 0.01% | 3,392 | 46.26% | 3,939 | 53.72% |
| 1908 | 2,486 | 53.64% | 1,616 | 34.87% | 533 | 11.50% |
| 1904 | 2,453 | 59.17% | 1,415 | 34.13% | 278 | 6.71% |
| 1900 | 1,964 | 50.10% | 1,825 | 46.56% | 131 | 3.34% |
| 1896 | 1,878 | 45.82% | 2,149 | 52.43% | 72 | 1.76% |
| 1892 | 1,709 | 41.65% | 1,606 | 39.14% | 788 | 19.21% |
| 1888 | 1,875 | 48.55% | 1,866 | 48.32% | 121 | 3.13% |
| 1884 | 1,476 | 50.72% | 1,381 | 47.46% | 53 | 1.82% |
| 1880 | 1,260 | 50.36% | 1,205 | 48.16% | 37 | 1.48% |
According to the California Secretary of State, as of April 2008, Monterey County has 147,066 registered voters. Of those voters, 72,550 (49.3%) are registered Democratic, 42,744 (29.1%) are registered Republican, 5,488 (3.7%) are registered with other political parties, and 26,284 (17.9%) declined to state a political party. Except for Sand City, all of the other cities, towns, and the unincorporated area of Monterey County have more individuals registered with the Democratic Party than the Republican Party. In Sand City, the Republicans have the advantage by 1 voter.
In August 2018, it adopted a flag designed by a Nob Hill resident.[2]
Environmental features[]
Midcounty coastline with the McWay Rocks in foreground.
Monterey County has habitat to support the following endangered species:
Home prices[]
An average 1,800 sq ft (170 m2) home in Salinas' desirable north-western district valued at roughly $700k
As of December 2005, Monterey County ranked among America's ten most expensive counties with Santa Barbara County topping the list with a median home price of $753,790. In Monterey County, the median home price was $699,900. In the northern, more densely populated part in the county, the median home price was even higher, at $712,500, making it the fourth most expensive housing market in California. The disparity between the median household income of roughly $48,305 and the median home price of $700k has been cause for recent concern over excluding potential home buyers from the market.
See also[]
References[]
External links[]
- County of Monterey official website
- Carmel Magazine: The Lifestyle Magazine of the Monterey Peninsula
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| This page uses content from the English language Wikipedia. The original content was at Monterey County, California. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with this Familypedia wiki, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons License. |
- ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/.
- ^ Johnson, Jim (8 September 2018). "Monterey County gets first-ever flag as final design chosen". Monterey Herald. http://www.montereyherald.com/government-and-politics/20180829/monterey-county-gets-first-ever-flag-as-final-design-chosen.