Monterey is a medium-sized coastal city (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of California. With a population of 29,571 people and nine associated neighborhoods, Monterey is the 257th largest community in California.

Monterey home prices are not only among the most expensive in California, but Monterey real estate also consistently ranks among the most expensive in America.

15.72% of the workforce is employed in the armed forces, making the military a huge focus of life in Monterey. Even though it is a military town, the civilian sector still plays an important role in the local economy. The Education and Healthcare industries respectively employ 14.01% and 12.10% of the civilian workforce.

Also of interest is that Monterey has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.

Of important note, Monterey is also a city of artists. Monterey has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape Monterey’s character.

A relatively large number of people in Monterey telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 21.26% of the workforce works from home. While this may seem like a small number, as a fraction of the total workforce it ranks among the highest in the country. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.

Monterey, while not large, also appears to be attractive to some younger, educated professionals, who help shape the character of the city.

Monterey is also nautical, which means that parts of it are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and bays. Such areas are often places that visitors and locals go for waterfront activities or taking in the scenery.

Do you have a 4-year college degree or graduate degree? If so, you may feel right at home in Monterey. 53.97% of adults here have a 4-year degree or graduate degree, whereas the national average for all cities and towns is just 21.84%.

The per capita income in Monterey in 2022 was $57,335, which is upper middle income relative to California, and wealthy relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $229,340 for a family of four. However, Monterey contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

Monterey is an extremely ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Monterey home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Monterey residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Monterey also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 19.28% of the city’s residents. Important ancestries of people in Monterey include German, Irish, English, Italian, and French.

In addition, Monterey has a lot of people living here who were born outside of the US (16.23%).

The most common language spoken in Monterey is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Arabic.