Moving to Salinas, California

About Salinas, California
Salinas

Salinas (; Spanish for "Salt Flats") is a city in the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Monterey County. With a population of 163,542 in the 2020 Census, Salinas is the most populous city in Monterey County. Salinas is an urban area located along the eastern limits of the Monterey Bay Area, lying just south of the San Francisco Bay Area and 10 miles (16 km) southeast of the mouth of the Salinas River. The city is located at the mouth of the Salinas Valley, about eight miles (13 km) from the Pacific Ocean, and it has a climate more influenced by the ocean than the interior.

Salinas serves as the main business, governmental, and industrial center of the region. The marine climate is ideal for the floral industry, grape vineyards, and vegetable growers. Salinas is known as the "Salad Bowl of the World" for its large, vibrant agriculture industry.

It was the hometown of writer and Nobel laureate John Steinbeck (1902–68), who set many of his stories in the Salinas Valley and Monterey. Salinas has a high Hispanic proportion, which at 79.6%, is the highest proportion of Hispanic Americans out of any city in California, and 8th largest overall in the nation. The city also has a sizable Asian-American population, with a large and historic Filipino population. The city once also had the 2nd biggest Chinatown in the nation behind only San Francisco.

Gender
Gender Salinas California Country
Female 49.2% 50.3% 50.8%
Male 50.8% 49.7% 49.2%
Gender

Household Income


Income Salinas California Country
Less than $10,000 3.6% 4.7% 5.8%
$10,000 to $14,999 2.8% 3.9% 4.1%
$15,000 to $24,999 7.8% 6.9% 8.5%
$25,000 to $34,999 7.3% 7.1% 8.6%
$35,000 to $49,999 12.8% 10% 12.0%
$50,000 to $74,999 20.3% 15.3% 17.2%
$75,000 to $99,999 15.7% 12.3% 12.8%
$100,000 to $149,999 16.5% 17.1% 15.6%
$150,000 to $199,999 6.6% 9.4% 7.1%
$200,000 or more 6.5% 13.3% 8.3%
Education


Education Salinas California Country
< 9th Grade 26% 8% 5.0%
9-12th Grade 10% 7% 7.0%
High School or GED 23% 20% 27.0%
Other College 17% 21% 20.0%
Associate's Degree 8% 8% 9%
Bachelor's Degree 12% 22% 20.0%
Master's Degree 3% 9% 9.0%
Professional Degree 1% 3% 2.0%
Doctorate Degree 0% 2% 1.0%
Household Income
Education
Race / Ethnicity


Ethnicity Salinas California Country
White 12.1% 36.5% 60.1%
African American 1.1% 5.4% 12.2%
American Indian 0.1% 0.3% 0.6%
Asian 6% 14.6% 5.6%
Hawaiian 0.1% 0.3% 0.2%
Other 0.1% 0.3% 0.3%
Multiracial 1.3% 3.4% 2.8%
Hispanic 79.2% 39.1% 18.2%
Race / Ethnicity