Official Federal Data
Monterey County, California
FIPS 06053 · Salinas, CA · Population 437,613
9 Sources
Updated June 22, 2026
$97,230 ▲
Median Income
$80,734 national
7.9% ▲
Unemployment
4% national
$38.3B ▲
GDP
28.2% ▲
Bachelor's+
35.7% national
Demographics & Population
Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 · 5-Year Estimates
Household Income
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median Household
$97,230 ▲
Per Capita
$40,422 ▲
Mean Household
$131,486 ▲
Poverty Rate
12.7% ▼
Median Income Comparison
Monterey County$97,230
California$99,122
National$80,734
Population Profile
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B02001, B03003
Cohorts
Under 18 · 25.7%
18-34 · 23.6%
35-54 · 25.1%
55-64 · 10.9%
65+ · 14.9%
Race & Ethnicity
Hispanic or Latino is an ethnic category and overlaps with the race categories above.
Educational Attainment
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · Population 25+
73.3%
High School+
National: 89.6%
▼ 16.3 pts
28.2%
Bachelor's+
National: 35.7%
▼ 7.5 pts
11.5%
Graduate+
National: 14.1%
▼ 2.6 pts
Employment Overview
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
437,613
Population
203,293
Labor Force
Employed
186,765
Unemployment Rate BLS LAUS 2025 annual
7.9% ▲ +0.6 pts YoY
Mean Commute 1 min below national avg
25.4 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
9.8%
Key Takeaways
- Income premium: Households earn well above the national median, supporting strong retail and housing markets.
- Talent gap: Bachelor's-or-higher attainment trails the national average by 7.5 pts, relevant for advanced-services attraction strategy.
Economy & Industry
Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW · Bureau of Economic Analysis
Key Takeaways
- Largest sector: Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting employs 52,506 workers (35.3% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $49,033.
- Economic scale: Regional GDP of $38.3B (2024).
- Wage stratification: Wholesale Trade averages $92,439 while Accommodation and Food Services averages $41,869, a 2.2x spread in the same local economy, with implications for workforce development and talent strategy.
Source: BLS QCEW + BEA Regional GDP.
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Industry Concentration
Location Quotient measures regional specialization vs. national average. LQ > 1.0 = concentrated.
Cluster Depth
Source: BLS QCEW · Sub-sectors with LQ ≥ 1.5 indicate genuine cluster concentration
Dominant Cluster
Goods-Producing Cluster
Coherent grouping of concentrated sub-sectors, signals supply-chain fit for site selectors
65,058
Cluster Employment
2.25x
Peak LQ
Concentrated Sub-Sectors
Support Activities for Agriculture and Forestry
74.18x 35,907
Crop Production
24.37x 16,449
Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation
3.45x 133
Accommodation
3.16x 7,736
Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar
2.80x 644
2.25x 65,058
Beverage and Tobacco Product Manufacturing
2.24x 939
Attraction Opportunities
LQ < 0.5 with ≥ 50 employed, realistic diversification targets. Source: BLS QCEW
0.10x
Miscellaneous Manufacturing
76 employed
0.10x
Publishing Industries and Telecommunications
114 employed
0.12x
Machinery Manufacturing
169 employed
0.12x
Warehousing and Storage
298 employed
0.13x
Furniture and Related Product Manufacturing
56 employed
0.16x
Printing and Related Support Activities
72 employed
Key Takeaways
- Top specialization: Support Activities for Agriculture and Forestry concentrates at 74.18x the national norm, top-decile concentration, the kind of signature sector that defines a region's economic identity to site selectors.
- Cluster depth: 7 sub-sectors register LQ ≥ 1.5, suggesting an interconnected industrial base rather than reliance on a single employer or sector.
- Attraction whitespace: 8 sub-sectors register LQ < 0.5, candidates for diversification or recruitment depending on labor-market fit.
Source: BLS QCEW sub-sector Location Quotients.
Housing & Affordability
Census ACS · HUD Fair Market Rents FY2026
Housing Overview
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates · Tables B25001, B25077, B25064
$781,000 ▲
Median Home Value vs 2019
$2,055 ▲
Rent/Mo
52.1% ▲
Owner-Occ
8.9% ▼
Vacancy
8.0x
Home Value to Income Ratio - Stretched
vs. ~4.1x national average
HUD Fair Market Rents
Source: HUD · Fair Market Rents FY2026
Studio
$2,173/mo
1 Bedroom
$2,232/mo
2 Bedroom
$2,684/mo
3 Bedroom
$3,623/mo
4 Bedroom
$3,945/mo
30% of monthly median household income (~$2,431/mo) · rents above this line are typically considered cost-burdened.
Key Takeaways
- Stretched market: Home value to income ratio of 8.0x is well above the ~4.1x national average; attainable workforce housing may be a recruitment friction.
- Affordable rent tiers: 2 of 5 HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom tiers sit below the 30%-of-median-income affordability threshold (~$2,431/mo).
Source: Census ACS housing tables + HUD Fair Market Rents.
Workforce Pipeline
Labor force readiness, commuting, and workforce composition
Labor Market Overview
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B23025, B08303, B08301
260,271 ▼
Working Age (18-64) vs 2019
Mean Commute 1 min below national avg
25.4 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
9.8%
Prime-Age Employed (25-54)
73.5%
of prime-age population
▼ vs 2019
Education & Talent Pipeline
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · College Scorecard
Bachelor's+
28.2% ▲
HS Diploma+
73.3% ▲
Regional / Statewide Institutions
Total credentials awarded
77,028/yr
15,215/yr
14,884/yr
12,110/yr
12,064/yr
11,468/yr
11,287/yr
Aging Workforce
Source: Census Bureau ACS · Derived from age & employment tables
18.3%
55-64 of working-age population (18-64)
Workforce by Occupation
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table C24010 · Civilian employed population 16+
Management / Professional
33%
Service
19%
Sales & Office
17.9%
Construction / Maint.
18.3%
Production / Transport
11.9%
Bars scaled 2× for visual differentiation; percentage labels show actual share of 186,765 employed workers.
Key Takeaways
- Talent pipeline: 6 regional institutions feed the workforce; the top three combined produce 42,209 annual credentials.
Source: ACS workforce data and College Scorecard.
AI Insights
AI-assisted analysis, drawn from 9 federal data sources
Sample AI Insight
Monterey County shows strong potential for support activities for agriculture and forestry attraction, with a 74.18x concentration and 35,907 jobs in this sub-sector. It ranks in the top decile nationally.
The interconnected base across support activities for agriculture and forestry, crop production, and scenic and sightseeing transportation creates supply-chain attraction leverage rather than single-employer risk, a structural advantage for industrial recruitment.
Industry Shift Analysis
Manufacturing Automation Risk
High
Healthcare Growth Forecast
+4.2% CAGR
Remote Work Migration
67/100
Prospect Match Scores
Advanced Manufacturing
92/100
Life Sciences
84/100
Data Centers
71/100
Illustrative example
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Data Sources
Updated from official federal government data.
Census ACS 5-Year2024
BLS QCEW2025 annual
BLS LAUS (via FRED)2025 annual
BEA Regional GDP2024
Census CBP2023
HUD Fair Market RentsFY2026
FCC Broadband Map2024
USAspending.govFY2026
College ScorecardAY 2022-23
Frequently Asked Questions
Key economic and demographic figures for Monterey County, California, from federal data sources.
What is the population of Monterey County, California?
437,613 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the median household income in Monterey County, California?
$97,230 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the unemployment rate in Monterey County, California?
7.9% (2025 annual average, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS).
What is the GDP of Monterey County, California?
$38.3B (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CAGDP1).
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