Monterey County, California

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. 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, 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 were from.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and 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

to the north, San Benito County, Fresno County, and Kings County to the east as well as San Luis Obispo County to the south.

National protected areas

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 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:

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

Race / Ethnicity	Pop 1980	Pop 1990	Pop 2000	Pop 2010	Pop 2020	% 1980	% 1990	% 2000	% 2010	% 2020
White alone	173,456	186,166	162,045	136,435	120,077	59.72%	52.34%	40.33%	32.87%	27.35%
Black or African American alone	18,425	21,506	14,085	11,300	9,051	6.34%	6.05%	3.51%	2.72%	2.06%
Native American or Alaska Native alone	2,927	2,124	1,782	1,361	1,314	1.01%	0.60%	0.44%	0.33%	0.30%
Asian alone	19,696	25,365	23,203	23,777	25,123	6.78%	7.13%	5.78%	5.73%	5.72%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone	x	x	1,543	1,868	1,859	0.38%	0.45%	0.38%	0.45%	0.42%
Other race alone	811	929	1,190	741	2,170	0.28%	0.26%	0.30%	0.18%	0.49%
Mixed race or Multiracial	x	x	9,945	9,572	14,120	x	x	2.48%	2.31%	3.22%
Hispanic or Latino	75,129	119,570	187,969	230,003	265,321	25.87%	33.62%	46.79%	55.41%	60.43%
Total	290,444	355,660	401,762	415,057	439,035	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, and eastern parts of Prunedale were the county's most affluent and educated. These areas had a median household income significantly above that of the California or the U.S. overall and comprised roughly 8%-10% of neighborhoods. 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.
Social deprivation 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

Rank	neighborhood	Census Reference/Geo-Unit	Median Household Income
1	Carmel Valley	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	Block Group 3, Census Tract 116.02	$122,056
8	Carmel Valley	Block Group 4, Census Tract 116.02	$118,159
9	Carmel Valley	Block Group 2, Census Tract 110	$118,125
10	Carmel Valley	Block Group 4, Census Tract 110	$115,667
11	Carmel	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	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	Block Group 1, Census Tract 116.04	$104,902
19	City of Carmel	Block Group 2, Census Tract 118.01	$101,984
20	Creekbridge, 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.''